Metroid Fusion Playthrough

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Published on October 7, 2021 11:00:05 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2dkiAhED30

Game:

Metroid Fusion (2002)

Duration: 2:33:48

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2002, GBA. Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Samus’s return to handhelds results in one of the more peculiar titles in the franchise. It’s a more story-driven affair than past installments with Samus offering narration before, during and after the events. The game also has very little to do with Metroids. At least, they are not driving the plot like before, though they remain an integral aspect.

This time, the enemy is the X parasite, which infects Samus and leaves her near-death during a mission on SR388, the Metroid homeworld. She recovers from a Metroid vaccine and is then sent to investigate a research station that she soon learns has been overrun by the X and is led by a parasite called the SA-X that mimics Samus at full strength—something Samus is anything but at the start of this mission.

The game’s emphasis on plot, with much of the talking done by the ship’s computer, whom Samus dubs Adam after her old CO, is an interesting choice. Metroid seems like the kind of franchise that would benefit from this approach. However, the game’s trade-off is the emphasis is less on exploring and more on getting from one objective to another. True to form, the abilities you gather open new areas and there are plenty of secrets. However, they feel a little bit more like a byproduct and the game really doesn’t really open up until the end.

The tradeoff, though, is a game full of atmosphere and even a little bit of horror as Samus has to contend with the SA-X, which can deliver some serious damage. The six main environments you have to explore are full of variety and offer different challenges. The enemies you encounter throughout are also full of surprises. There are more than a dozen bosses and most are new enemies to the franchise. A few old faces return, but otherwise, they are brand-new and most are embedded with Samus’s abilities that you must unlock. The game’s pacing is near-perfect and it does feel like a roller coaster at times as Samus tries to stay one step ahead of her adversary. There’s also a bit of mystery that is eventually explained.

That, however, is the game’s one real failing. The final 10% of the story doesn’t quite work and the 11th hour twist with the ship’s AI doesn’t make much sense. The final confrontation with the SA-X isn’t quite as memorable as it should be, either. The ending does leave Samus in an interesting place, but the payoff isn’t quite what it could have—or should have—been.

That minor quibble aside, Fusion is a masterfully designed game and a superior effort that pushes the Metroid mythos into new and exciting directions.


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0:00 Intro/Prologue
5:46 B.S.L. Main Station (Missiles/Morph Ball)
13:47 Sector 1 (Charge Beam)
22:21 Sector 2 (Bombs and Hi-Jump)
35:33 Sector 4 (Speed Booster)
48:24 Sector 3 (Super Missile)
55:58 Sector 6 (Varia Suit)
1:05:21 Sector 5 (Ice Missile)
1:15:16 Sector 3 (Wide Beam; Prevent Boiler Explosion)
1:24:06 Return to Main Station
1:28:32 Sector 5 (Power Bombs)
1:34:26 Return to Ship
1:36:55 Reactor Core (Space Jump)
1:40:54 Sector 2 (SA-X Encounter and Plasma Beam)
1:48:31 Sector 5 (Gravity Suit)
1:54:41 Sector 4 (Level 4 locks; Diffusion Missiles)
2:03:49 Sector 6 (Wave Beam)
2:08:43 Secret Lab
2:09:41 Sector 1 (Ridley-X; Screw Attack)
2:15:43 Clean-Up; Samus' Revelation
2:22:25 Race to Operations Deck
2:24:22 SA-X Fight
2:26:08 Countdown and Omega Metroid Fight/
2:29:11 Epilogue and Credits