Recently, I’ve been playing a hell of a lot of Metroid Fusion. As my game of choice for my friend’s Archipelago, I’ve been practicing it constantly and gotten to know it on a fundamental level.
Metroid Fusion is my favorite Metroid game. It’s a game that a lot of people who’ve played it like to complain about it’s linearity, and genuinely, I’ve never had an issue with it. Yes, there are a set number of sectors, and yes, you do have the invisible hand pushing you through the story (albeit, not super invisible), but linearity does not affect the gameplay at all. Fundamentally, the entire story of Fusion depends on you going through all of the sectors in a set order; you’re introduced to that concept at the very beginning, and following each sector isn’t surprising.
People like to say that you’re told where to go, but that isn’t even true. Sure, you’re given a general location to aim for, but a lot of the time, you have to go in the complete opposite direction to find the Security Room, or pursue further down the main objective path to find the actual boss fight (in the case of Serris). They’re more like hints giving you an idea of where you should be going, which might not be ideal for you if you like being lost, but I also don’t think it invades the story in the way some people make it out to be. There’s a lot less mindless wandering around because of it, which I actually really like.
Plus, returning to the Navigation Room to talk to ADAM might sound egregious and annoying, but I never really found it to be an issue. Frankly, it’s not much different from hitting a roadblock because you don’t have the right upgrade and having to return to a previous fork in the road. That’s essentially how the Navigation Rooms work; you complete everything you physically can at the moment in that sector, so you return to ADAM to see what’s going on in the other sectors and where to go next. And, with later sectors locked off with higher level keycards, it’s not like you can really progress through them anyway. Sure, you could try going through the tunnels between the sectors early, but the enemies in there will be much higher level because the expectation is for you to wait like most other Metroid games.
ADAM never really says anything that’s mind-numbingly obvious. It’s more like gentle nudging in the right direction, or suggestions about what’s happening in the plot (like figuring out that having Metroid DNA means Samus is susceptible to Ice Beam now). It’s not like you’re set up to play an on-rails walking simulator, pushed in the correct direction with yellow paint. There is still so much exploration and uncertainty within this game despite the sectors and perceived linearity. I really don’t like how people make Fusion out to be this shitty linear game that’s super obvious and annoying because it’s so far from the truth.
Also, uncertainty plays such a key role in the game, so it’s not shocking that the game uses it all of the time as a driving force. I truly feel dreadful walking into every new area, simply because I don’t know what will come for me. I love how straight-up and earnest ADAM is about the SA-X and how you should get the f!ck out of Dodge if you ever see her. It fundamentally sets up the anxiety and claustrophobia of Fusion, making it feel like you’re truly never safe.
Fusion’s movement is very easy to understand, definitely not the best in the series, but one of the cleanest of the earlier Metroid games. Ledge-grabbing, frankly, is one of the best additions to the Metroid series. Not only can you perform backflips, or grab onto dedicated ledges, but you can climb on ladders! Instead of having to depend always on upwards platforming, you can climb! Sure, sometimes the climbing doesn’t work right, especially if you’re using modern control methods (cough, cough), but it helps with the movement (and difficulty) tremendously, forging new routes to take and thus, more exploration! YES! MORE EXPLORATION!
Plus, the sound-effect is truly peak, like it feels like you’ve smacked a hand against a metal platform, and the game lets you know. Hell, all of the sound effects in Fusion are peak. Take a listen:
Also, the bosses in Fusion are quite memorable. I think, out of every boss in the entire series—including Prime—Nightmare is one of the most memorable bosses ever
There’s also Ridley again, which is kinda fun this time around, mostly because you can see Ridley’s corpse in the Subzero Containment room in Sector 1 early on in the game, only to return there later and see his containment unoccupied. Terrifying and dreadful stuff, frankly. It’s also kinda funny because you’re dropped down into a pit with Ridley sitting there, paying homage to Fusion’s predecessor, Super Metroid, only to see a VERY different Ridley sprite appear. It bends your expectations, especially if you’ve played the previous Metroids leading up to this point.
And of course, there’s the SA-X fight, though I don’t want to spoil too much about the boss fights and especially not one so crucial to the plot of the story. Let’s just say, fighting Samus as Samus is incredibly challenging (a truth that Smash players should also understand).
And hey! We actually got a story this time! I love the story in Fusion, I frankly wish more people talked about it. The sad part about Dread existing is that Fusion’s story is tossed to the sideline because Dread builds upon it, but Fusion’s core story is one that’s fundamental to Samus’ character post-Fusion. It’s crucial that we learn that Samus gets infected with the X-Parasite, and the cure being Metroid DNA to set up Dread, yes, but there’s also the stuff with the SA-X, and the general destruction of a Galactic Federation Laboratory, and learning the character of ADAM as he learns to no longer cater to the Galactic Federations rules later on. Truly such a special story, and one I really like (even if the translation is poorly done).
Yes, Samus does monologue quite a bit in this game compared to previous games, but I think it adds more to the silent protagonist type of Samus, rather than hinder it. It’s nice to hear what she’s thinking while exploring the game, since, y’know, she doesn’t say much outside of this. Interesting for introspection reasons.
All in all, a very solid game that I adore. 10/10, no notes. The only flaw, in my mind, is that sometimes Samus will drop from a ledge or ladder if you aren’t looking in the direction you plan to jump before you press the jump button. Kind of annoying, but I haven’t played Fusion on original hardware yet, so maybe it makes more sense on a GBA.
And that’s about it! Fusion, my beloved, what a spectacular game. There has never quite been a game like it, truly. Honestly, I’d like to do reviews of all of the Metroid games, or at least the remakes, but it’s been a hot minute since I’ve played them, and I can’t really go into an impassioned rant if I barely remember what happened outside of major boss fights.
What do you think about Metroid Fusion? Which Metroid game is your favorite and why? Leave a comment below!
Next SMS post will be up on 1/11 of next year, and will likely be on the Professor Layton crossover with Ace Attorney. Haven’t decided yet. By the way, can you believe we’re at the end of the year? Kinda wild, I haven’t processed it yet. Next week’s main post will be a 2025 wrap-up on the games and books I’ve read over the year, so stay tuned for that!
And as always, see you next week!
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