Metroid Fusion Review
Originality: I was talking to a friend of mine about this game and he said something that totally describes this game. It really does feel like a horror game. In my opinion, it combines the best elements of metroid (upgrade profession, small but important dialogue, higher level thinking skills way beyond Mario or 2-d Zelda) with the “Alien” movie series. This game, from start to finish, freaked me out at points and kept me on my toes at all time. I’ve never been so paranoid about an enemy showing up at any random point to kill me as I have with the SA-X (zombies are nothing compared to that thing…). What a gloriously amazing collaboration of ideas (both game play and story).
20/20
Graphics: While no Minish cap or Advanced Wars, this game still performs well in graphics. I’ll admit, all the little weird shapes in the game prevent me from being able to tell if they are done well (because they are alien by design so I don’t know if they are good or bad) but I enjoyed the way the game looked.
8/10
Art Style: The art style was very fitting for this game (alien, confused, even distorted somewhat in message). I loved it. This so fits this universe!
15/15
Story: This is yet another 2-d Nintendo game that proves that Mario 2-d (or 3d for that matter) games have no business not having a better story than what they do. This games story was incredibly specific, had me on the edge of my seat for most of the game, and had quite a few twists in it (more than almost any game I’ve ever played actually). Absolutely fantastic “Alien”-like story that fits this game well and blows most games out of the water in the GBA era. My only complaint is the lack of a more in-depth ending (total cliffhanger… which has yet to be continued considering Fusion is the latest game according to the timeline).
28/30
Game Interface: For the gba, it was fine. For the 3ds they could have given us the decency of putting the map on the bottom screen so you didn’t have to constantly pause while moving through this massive ship (especially during the timed portions). I’m deducting here for Nintendo being lazy in the 3ds era!
3/5
Controls easy and fluid or difficult and rigid? The controls are hard. It’s fast past combat in which you have to be aware of where your enemies are, where they will move to, moving yourself, charging weapons, and pointing them in any of 6 directions. It’s a hard game and the controls are difficult to master, but that’s kind of the point for this game so no deduction. This was meant for the hardcore; they weren’t lazy.
5/5
Is it fun? At times, no. It’s stressful. It’s frustratingly stressful. I was stuck on one boss in particular (the plant boss) and kept getting sucked into the plants and couldn’t figure out how to escape. Even my friend that played this game a ton on the gba and said it was the only game he ever speed clear couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Then I realized you had to hold A (lol). I guess the original game didn’t require that but the 3ds one did? Not sure. It really is a great game that you feel accomplished beating, but it’s one of those games that you play for the challenge and not for the simple amusement.
12/15
Total: 91/100
Up to Date Game Grade Rankings
- Batman Arkham City Armored Edition - 100
- Zelda Skyward Sword-98
- Zelda Minish Cap – 92
T4. Zelda Oracle of Ages – 91
T4. Metroid Fusion - 91
T6. Zelda Twilight Princess – 90
T6. Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon - 90
T8.Guildwars 2 – 89
T8.Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - 89
T10. Pokémon X - 88
T10. Kid Icarus Uprising – 88
T10. Darksiders 2 - 88
T10. Fire Emblem Awakening - 88
14. Mario and Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story – 86
15. Animal Crossing New Leaf - 84
T16. Paper Mario Sticker Star – 83
T16. Zelda: A Link Between Worlds-83
18. Trine - 80
- Zelda: A Link to the Past – 78
T20. Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D – 74
T20. Rome: Total War-74
22. Super Mario 3d land – 72
- Red Alert 3 - 70
- Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze* - 68
- New Super Mario Bros. U - 66
- New Super Mario Bros.Wii – 57 *
- Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition – 53*
- Kirby Squeak Squad - 43
