AM2R: Return of Samus

06.08.2016

Users 85/100

Genre: Platform Adventure Indie

AM2R, short for Another Metroid 2 Remake, is an action-adventure video game developed by Milton Guasti under the pseudonym DoctorM64, and released in August 2016 for Microsoft Windows, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Metroid series. It is an unofficial, enhanced remake of Nintendo's Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991), borrowing the art style and overall feeling of the Game Boy Advance game Metroid: Zero Mission (2004). Shortly after the game's release, Nintendo sent DMCA notices to websites hosting AM2R; download links to the game were removed from its official website, but Guasti said that he still planned to continue working on the game privately. In September 2016, Guasti ended the development of AM2R after he received a DMCA takedown request from Nintendo. The game follows Samus Aran, who aims to eradicate the parasitic Metroids from their home planet SR388. It includes several new features, including redone graphics and music, a map system, and new areas and minibosses. The controls were changed to be less "floaty", in line with the gameplay of later titles in the series. Video game journalists appreciated the game, frequently calling it impressive and commenting on the improved visuals compared to those of the original Metroid II, although one thought the conditions required to win battles against Metroids were too specific considering how often they occur. The game was nominated for The Game Awards 2016, but was later removed from the nominations page without notice.

The game's plot is largely unchanged from Metroid II. It now features a Super Metroid-style introduction narrated by Samus Aran (narration above), about the nature of her mission on SR388. Over the course of the game, Samus's scanners automatically download Logbook entries similar to the Metroid Prime series that reveal additional lore about areas and bosses. She can uncover optional areas that include the landing sites of the G.F.S. Thoth and an Anhur-class patrol ship carrying the two ill-fated Galactic Federation teams sent to rescue the Galactic Federation Special Squadron sent previously. Metroid II did not feature the final resting places of these Federation teams, despite mentioning them in the manual. Samus also encounters surviving Federation Marines battling a Zeta Metroid that metamorphoses into an Omega Metroid before effortlessly killing them. It is not possible to save the marines. The mysterious earthquakes linked to the deaths of Metroids are insinuated to be caused by the Queen Metroid herself, as her cries can be heard during the last few in the game. The Logbook reveals that the cave system is located between two tectonic plates on SR388. The game ends with Samus killing off the remaining Metroids, the Queen, and discovering an infant Metroid she later calls the baby. After the credits, Samus speaks the famous introductory phrase from Super Metroid: "The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace." In the best ending, Samus is seen in her Gunship calling the Space Science Academy about the baby, leading into Super Metroid.