Every game franchise has its "black sheep".  Often times they'll have more than one but there is usually one title that stands out among the rest as the game everyone seems to hate except for a select few... only for that select few's appreciation of the work to gain more and more traction until it's widely accepted among the fanbase.  Zelda has Majora's Mask, Mario has Mario 2, Pokemon has Black and White, and the Kingdom Hearts series has basically any game that released after KH1.  For one of the most defining series in gaming, Metroid, that game is Metroid II: Return of Samus.

At one point widely considered the worst Metroid game and, to many, is still the worst "canon" Metroid game, Return of Samus released for the original Game Boy in 1991.  It sees our protagonist, bounty hunter Samus Aran, on a mission to exterminate the Metroid species after the Galactic Federation discovers their native ecosystem on the planet SR-388, lest they once again fall into Space Pirate hands.  It was innovative for the series, introducing several now mainstays such as Samus' triple firing beam the Spazer, the Plasma Beam which can pass through enemies and obstacles, the Space Jump which allows Samus to continue jumping indefinitely in the air, and the Spider Ball and Spring Ball, two Morph Ball upgrades that allow Samus to climb walls and natively jump in the form, thereby freeing her movement.  Metroid II also introduced and defined how saving would go in a Metroid game, being the advent of proper "save rooms" which are scattered throughout the planet.

However, as innovative as Metroid II was, it was also one of the most divisive games in the series.  Contemporary critics largely seemed to agree that the Game Boy hardware was holding back what could've maybe been a great game, though they couldn't exactly agree on how exactly it was doing so.  The small screen size and how it limits what Samus can see, the large caverns full of darkness and nothingness, the heavier focus on run and gun gameplay, the spirtework, the music, basically every element of this game had been praised and criticized in equal measure.  No two reviewers could agree on why this game missed the mark, but all of them could agree that it did, that the game was flawed and broken in ways that stopped it at the finish line.  And as the series evolved, and hardware evolved alongside it, Metroid II seemed like it was doomed to fade into obscurity, the lost, outdated Metroid game whose entire contribution to the series could be explained away in a couple sentences of the opening crawl of Super Metroid, its much more successful baby sister.

But that wouldn't be the end for Metroid II.  Rather, Return of Samus would see a second life among the community, with many citing it as a flawed but spectacular Metroid entry that had been sadly overlooked by both critics and the fandom at large.  I remember, actually, the first time I ever heard anyone talk about Metroid II was a very old video by the now retired content creator dookieshed, where he talked a lot about how the game was an underrated gem and how it nailed the sci-fi/horror atmosphere that the Metroid series would later on adopt as a feature in titles like Fusion and Dread.  Return of Samus became the community's favorite child, the misunderstood and oft forgotten middle kid in a line of icons.  The true Metroid fan's favorite.  Literally the Majora's Mask of the series.  And as the cult classic of the series, it would get a lot of love from the community, being the center of so much discussion and reevaluation and, most importantly, reworking.  Remaking Metroid II is such a common practice within the Metroid community that the most famed version of Metroid II is literally called Another Metroid 2 Remake.

Nintendo themselves would even try their hand at remaking the Metroid series' most underrated title.  In 2017, a year after the release of AM2R, Nintendo would release the creatively titled "Metroid: Samus Returns", a remake of Return of Samus for the 3DS by the developer MercurySteam, who would later go on to develop the next mainline Metroid title, the long awaited Metroid Dread.  Obviously with a game that has gotten this much love and this many remakes/reimaginings, both fan-driven and official, it's inevitable that people would compare and contrast them, see how they're different and the different approaches to what Metroid IS to them.  But an interesting thing that is revealed in this discussion is that none of these games seem to replace the original Metroid II.  Unlike the previous Metroid remake and its predecessor, Zero Mission and the original Metroid, there is no consensus that any version of Metroid II has truly perfected it.  That no matter what the remake does, something about Metroid II keeps getting lost in translation.  And I kind of want to explore why that is by analyzing each of the three key versions of Metroid II, what its goals are, and why there is still something to be gained from the original Metroid II all these years later.

The Metroid IIs - Why You Can't Make a Perfected Version of the Most Imperfect Metroid

What every version of Metroid II has in common

Before we begin discussing their individual ideologies, I want to establish the things the three of them have in common.  Namely their basic plot and core design ideology as a result of said plot.  Each version of Metroid II starts with the same basic plot setup.  After Samus' victory against the Space Pirates on the Planet Zebes, she reported her findings to the Galactic Federation.  These findings included the discovery of the Space Pirates' secret weapon, the Metroids.  The Metroids are a species of parasites that can latch onto a being and drain them dry of their life force in a matter of seconds, their origin is completely unknown and it seems likely they were intentionally created as a bioweapon rather than being a naturally occurring species in the universe.  The Galactic Federation, anticipating the Space Pirates being able to regroup, becomes worried about the continued existence of Metroids in the universe and so sends Samus on her next mission: to find the home planet of the Metroids and drive them to extinction, a harsh but necessary action for the benefit of the universe.

This leads Samus to the remote planet of SR-388, an alien world that was so off the Federation's radar that it didn't even receive a proper name.  It has seemingly never be inhabited, the planet being a haven of as of yet unknown fauna.  It is also the "native" planet of the Metroids, them seemingly having been created here for some unknown purpose.  As Samus touches down, she begins her hunt, delving below the surface into the massive labyrinth of caverns within.  It's here that she discovers the horrifying truth: the Metroids here are not simply existing, they're thriving.  Growing.  Evolving.  Breeding.  The larval stage of the Metroids, the ones she encountered in her previous journey, were basically an appetizer.  These new Metroids are faster, meaner, and their previous weakness to her beam weaponry has been effectively eliminated.  While they are now more vulnerable to both concussive and explosive force, their bodies have grown a natural defensive physiology to protect their weak points.  And the longer Samus goes on, the more they grow, eventually becoming massive alien monsters that look more like Xenomorphs than Metroids.

And so Samus must fight.  She must wander this planet, hunting horrifying creatures that are more hunting her than the other way around.  All the while discovering the hidden past of the Metroids, revealing that this seemingly uncharted planet may not have been as uncharted as it seems.  She will discover the secrets of the people who raised her, that the wise and noble Chozo people, a beacon of peace and technological prowess, might not have been the people she believed them to be.  She is truly alone, the odds entirely against her, the monsters lurking in every wall and crevice.  This is where Metroid II really shines for a lot of people, this sense of loneliness, of isolation, the weight of sins long past.  It nails the atmosphere of a Metroid game, with many of its fans saying the series has yet to truly recapture how perfect Metroid II's atmosphere is.  Metroid II's core strength is being so unabashedly, so truly "Metroid".  It's almost the real template for the series' style, atmosphere, and narrative, which is surprising given the fact that it's a Game Boy sequel not a lot of people knew about or played.  Super may have been the perfector, but Metroid II was truly the originator of "Metroid".

Samus Returns

We'll start by talking about the first incarnation of Metroid II that I personally played, the official 3DS remake Metroid: Samus Returns.  The long awaited return of the Metroid series, after a 10 year gap of no mainline titles (technically 7 but at this point Other M is no longer considered a mainline title); Samus Returns was, as previously stated, the first game in the series to be developed by game developers MercurySteam.  It is part of a noted trend, one might even say it's a "strategy", of Nintendo hiring new developers to remake their older titles to see if they can be trusted to begin working on newer ones, i.e. Grezzo and the Zelda remakes they did before making Echoes of Wisdom.  It is perhaps most famous for being one of the last 3DS titles people even noticed came out as they were fully moving over to the Nintendo Switch, a game clearly released to show that Nintendo was continuing to support the 3DS so if the Switch also failed, they could refocus on the 3DS until they found another niche.

I will not mince words here, of the two notable remakes of this game, Samus Returns is arguably the bigger departure in design ideology.  MercurySteam was working with a dormant franchise in a genre that had evolved past its humble origins.  Metroid is famed for bringing the sprawling open worlds with roadblocks that require you to go around and complete other objectives to clear to the masses, but even by the time that its fourth entry, Metroid Fusion, had hit the market we were starting to see the genre grow past it.  The release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the game that makes up the "Vania" part of the Metroidvania, showed an insufficiency in the Metroid part of the formula.  That while Metroid nails the atmosphere and exploration aspects, its core gameplay can be, and often is, somewhat lacking.  Namely, the combat, which in Metroid is very slow and not especially dynamic.  Now I think it's part of the charm, Metroid makes you feel like you're a roaming tank firing off at enemies to make them dead.  But to a wider audience, the traditional Metroid game would probably be a bit lackluster.  Samus Returns was launching the same year as Hollow Knight, arguably the greatest Metroidvania to ever exist, and Hollow Knight has all the things Metroid has in spades AND good combat.

So MercurySteam was in a peculiar position with Samus Returns.  Metroid needed some modernization, something to make it feel like a Metroidvania that came out in 2017 and not 1993, but how to do that without losing the spirit of Metroid.  Their solution is, in my opinion, elegant.  Metroid: Samus Returns largely plays like a traditional Metroid title, maybe a bit faster than games past but it primarily has the same methodical gameplay of the past titles.  But, it does make the combat more interactive.  Samus now has a counter as one of her core mechanics, particularly beneficial in this game as the fauna of SR388 really like getting in close.  When enemies, and especially Metroids, go in for an attack they will briefly flash and make a sound effect sometimes.  This opens up a parry window, allowing Samus to counter said enemy and stun them.  This allows the bounty hunter to safely deal damage to or dispatch the enemy safely.

As well, she gets new abilities in the form of the Aeion system.  Aeion is a Chozo techno-mysticism that Samus has built into her suit and/or DNA, allowing her to unlock new abilities from interacting with ancient Chozo technology.  These abilities range from environmental (a scanner which reveals hidden destructible blocks and unveils part of the map) to defensive (a brief super armor) to offensive (a powerful rapid fire shot which decimates enemy HP).  One can easily criticize these powers for being a bit too good at times, and I think the criticism is fair, but it does really inform how Samus Returns wishes to be perceived.  A traditional Metroid for a modern era, creating a more dynamic and action-forward experience.

However, as you could imagine, this greater focus on dynamic gameplay makes Samus Returns quite a bit different from the game it's remaking.  While Samus Returns does retain much of the atmosphere and the same basic plot structure of Metroid II, it is a far more action-y affair than the traditional Metroid series had been thus far.  Its key design ideology is very much to create the best "game" that Metroid II can be, rather than creating the best version of Metroid II in the same way Zero Mission attempted to create the best version of Metroid.  It's a game that focuses on being as fun as possible to reintroduce the wider world to Metroid, and in my mind, it succeeds, I adore Samus Returns, it is my third favorite Metroid game and second favorite of the classic series.  However, it's undeniable that it loses part of Metroid II in its quest.

See, one of the things that makes Metroid II so special, makes its atmosphere so beloved, is how natural everything feels.  Samus is the invader on this closed alien ecosystem and she never knows how close or far from a Metroid she truly is.  She is hunted as she is hunting, as previously stated.  Any room could contain a Metroid and while the game does show you the discarded shells of Metroids who have reached different stages of maturity to indicate that you're in the right location, encounters with Metroids in II feel very sudden.  Like Samus is stumbling upon a bear in the forest, a wild animal living its life that she now must do battle with.  This is not the case with Samus Returns.

In Samus Returns, every Metroid feels so choreographed.  Metroid fights aren't as much random elements in the world as dedicated boss fights Samus is being led to.  They're always events when they happen, a cutscene of the Metroid slamming through the wall to attack Samus occurs transferring directly into the battle.  This causes a ripple effect across Samus Returns, the natural feel of the environment of SR-388 is just gone.  In its place a fun but very video game-y world  It's not a bad decision, I want to make clear, so often when people highlight changes in adaptation it's with the note of "oh, this version is better".  Samus Returns is doing what is best for its own goals, not just in trying to make a more modernized Metroid experience but also in creating an accessible one.  These are neither correct nor incorrect decisions, they are just decisions one made.

But, it does compromise the original atmosphere of Metroid II in making this decision.  It fails to be a definitive remake of Metroid II because what it wants to be is so different from what Metroid II wanted to be.  Again, I think Samus Returns is brilliant, it's one of my favorite Metroid games and, honestly, one of my favorite games of all time.  Settled nicely in slot 90 (for now).  But in trying to be more action-y, more dynamic, more modernized, it doesn't become "THE Metroid II".  It's simply A Metroid II.  It makes big swings in its ideology that create what is probably the best "game" of the three, but if you are looking for loyalty to the source material, is the worse of the two adaptations of it.

AM2R

Now let's talk about the one that's the more faithful of the two, at least spiritually.  AM2R is a critically acclaimed and masterfully done fan rendition of Metroid II.  Attempting to actually do for Metroid II what Zero Mission did for the original Metroid, AM2R's core ideology seems to be "enhance, not recontextualize".  It's not like a direct remake by any means, it adds a considerable amount to the game, including a new B plot, new areas, and most notably a bunch of new lore.  If anything it fleshes out the history of SR388 MORE than Samus Returns did.  Lore that is all fanon, obviously, but it's still really cool to see, especially since for a series that is mostly about a solo warrior wandering through dark caverns and facilities to fight monsters, there's been a surprising lore focus.  The Prime series taught us that Metroid fans love lore, even if it doesn't feel like they should given the core ideal behind these games is "our main character is completely alone on deserted alien planets".

Now it's not entirely fair to say that AM2R's desire is "enhance, not recontextualize" as there are some very distinctive parts of this game that do go deep into interpretation on what the Metroid's purpose was.  But I think that the key idea driving AM2R is to make the modern player understand what it felt like to play Metroid II back in the day.  Its key ideals are preserving the atmosphere, of keeping that aspect of "Metroids are just as much hunting Samus as the other way around" intact.  It's a very hostile world, a world of creatures who have evolved into monsters after billions of years of isolation.  It does even lead into the horror aspects of Metroid more than Nintendo ever would on their own, the parallels between Metroid and Alien are drawn attention to and utilized for great effect.  Even if AM2R is not simply "Metroid II but in a more updated gameplay style", it does a lot to preserve the oppressive atmosphere and unique design ideals that make Metroid II so beloved.

But it is also a remake that does update Metroid II into a more updated gameplay style.  I don't know if this started out as a romhack of Metroid Zero Mission, the at the time most recent 2D Metroid as depressing as that is to say.  But it keeps a lot of Zero Mission's DNA, its visual style and core gameplay are very much borrowed from the GBA title.  This leads to a lot of very important, nay, crucial gameplay ideas.  For instance, being able to just switch on your missiles instead of having to hold down the button is obviously very important for a game where you must use those missiles constantly, as Metroids are only vulnerable to the concussive force of the Missiles.  It also adds some of Samus' missing powerups from the original Metroid II, most notably her iconic Screw Attack and her wide variety of beams.  But unlike Samus Returns, it doesn't modernize it to such a drastic extreme.  AM2R is what most Metroid fans probably think of when they think of safe, comfortable Metroid gameplay.

However, while I find AM2R incredibly fascinating and compelling and think that it probably is as close to a perfect Metroid II remake as we're going to get, it too is missing something.  And ironically I think what it is missing from Metroid II comes in what its core goal is.  AM2R wants to sell you what it felt like to play Metroid II back in the day, to enter this truly alien world with its deep atmosphere and its vast caverns.  But the feeling of playing Metroid II is far grander than what Metroid II actually is and as such, AM2R also cannot truly replace it.

For me, a major part of it is that AM2R is so inspired by both the horror vibes Metroid II has as well as actual horror films and video games.  I made the comparison with Alien before and I think that's pretty accurate to AM2R's general ideology.  It feels like a Metroid that is trying to bring that connection with the film that inspired it to the forefront.  There's a lot of body horror elements in AM2R, they visibly show the Metroids molting and growing throughout their life cycles, they literally use gross, flopping bug limbs as an indicator of when a Metroid is utilizing a smarter AI than previously encountered Metroids.  They also lean very hard into the darkness, there are times where you will be literally running around in the dark only to be assaulted by a Metroid who was lurking within.  Which especially seems Xenomorph-esque given the more monstrous designs of adult Metroids.

However, as you could probably imagine, I think that these decisions, these attempts to make it more of the sci-fi horror that its cult following always said it was cause AM2R to miss the same thing that Samus Returns misses.  Metroids aren't events, aren't staged like video game boss fights but they also aren't treated as natural creatures in this world.  They're the monsters that lurk in the dark, horror movie bad guys instead of predators that naturally roam this world.  Because it's so caught up in trying to capture what Metroid II felt like, it misses a key aspect of what Metroid II is.  Again, that's not a bad thing, it is simply an adaptational choice.  But it's one that makes it, just like Samus Returns, A version of Metroid II rather than THE version of Metroid II, at least in my opinion.

Why You Can't Remake Metroid II "Perfectly"

So why is this?  Why is it that despite two incredibly excellent remakes that, while both attempting to accomplish different things, still seem to be enhanced versions of this game, we haven't been able to create a version that truly replaces the original?  By all accounts this should be easy, Metroid II is an incredibly archaic Game Boy game, it should be one of the easiest entries in the series to replace with a later remake.  And yet, both of the big remakes of Metroid II fail to capture something specific about it, the natural feeling that Metroid II has that makes it so special?  In my honest opinion, the reason why Metroid II is such a hard game to "perfect" without losing something is the thing that makes it so in need of a remake.  I think Metroid II's biggest strength is being an early Game Boy title.

The Game Boy, as fantastic as it was, also was an infamously underpowered system.  It didn't even play in color initially, opting instead for different shades of what could only be described as "pea green".  While there are tons of truly evergreen titles on the system, it is now a very disappointing library to return to as a lot of games are simply just "poorer versions of console titles".  A lot of games had to compromise a lot to fit onto the Game Boy, and while at the time players were okay with said compromises if it meant getting to game on the go, it's undeniable that a lot of original Game Boy games feel really bad to play now.  Especially the earlier releases, games that didn't really know what worked on the hardware or, indeed, how to work the hardware at all.  I'm sure most people reading this have played an early Game Boy entry in a beloved series and hated the process the entire time.  Hi Super Mario Land.

However, I think that it is these technical limitations and this inexperience with the hardware that makes Metroid II what it is.  The dark, oppressive atmosphere that players felt in SR388 comes from how uncanny the game is.  It's weirdly quiet and very empty, a world of tight passages and small caverns.  A world that feels truly uncharted and uninhabited.  And while I'm sure this was an intentional decision to design it this way, it is undeniable that it came with great consideration for the Game Boy hardware.  Doing a big world just wasn't feasible, having a lot of music wasn't feasible, and having to account for these hurdles creates the very oppressive atmosphere of Metroid II.  This world exists because of the Game Boy.

This extends to the very natural feel of coming across Metroids, of just having them be parts of the environment.  I'm sure that, if the hardware had permitted it, we might've seen something akin to Samus Returns with the Metroid encounters.  Each Metroid being a specific boss fight and each encounter being an "event".  But the hardware limitations didn't permit that even if they wanted it, so Metroids are now a common element of the world that Samus simply stumbles upon.  I wouldn't be surprised if the sheer amount of Metroids was itself adjusting for a hardware limitation, there being 40+ Metroids to hunt rather than a handful.  It's a way to reuse assets and keep your game much smaller, but it also contributes heavily to Metroid II's vibe.  Having a population of Metroids makes SR388 feel more natural, sells the alien world that Samus is the true invader on that much more.

However, this is seen as outdated by the majority of players.  Metroid II has always had its fans, obviously, it probably has the most dedicated individual fanbase of any Metroid game period.  But it is incredibly difficult to make a game that has this same ideology anymore.  Especially in a franchise attempting to appeal to the widest audience possible, having this very specific, distinctive atmosphere, a world you just feel like you're thrown in and told to go hunting, it can feel obtuse and archaic.  Both remakes of Metroid II lose something of Metroid II because they have to.  Because the kind of game design that makes Metroid II so magical is also not acceptable anymore by a wider audience.  The game industry has changed, audiences have changed.  Samus Returns and AM2R may never replace what truly works about Metroid II, but that's good.  Because the changes they make, the ideas they bring to the source material, allow the spirit of Metroid II to survive.  There can never be a "perfect" Metroid II, but I think three flawed but ultimately brilliant Metroid IIs is more than a fair trade-off.