YMMV / Another Metroid 2 Remake

• Best Boss Ever: The Torizo sentry fights much like how it did in Super Metroid. A fine opponent but not much to write home about, until... you seemingly defeat it and it starts breaking down, but instead the room expands to a 2x2 size and the guy grows wings and starts chasing you around in a hectic Platform Battle!
• Broken Base:
  • Nintendo's DMCA claim against the game shortly after the full release caused arguments on all fronts. Pure dick move on their front because they had eight or so years to do so yet let it continue regardless? Or did they deliberately do it as a best case scenario by letting the game get out there for a bit for unofficial redistribution while still protecting their IP of the franchise? People also point out how a full release remake of Metroid II for free makes the original re-release for the 3DS Virtual Console obsolete, which can hurt sales. The announcement that Nintendo themselves were making an official Metroid 2 remake quelled some of those still sore over this getting C&D with more than a few at least understanding the reason AM2R got taken down.
  • Many players, particularly those who considered the graphics and soundtrack of Metroid II to be unmemorable, celebrate the remake as a fantastic improvement over the original. That being said, there are also those that feel the atmosphere suffered due to reusing assets from Metroid: Zero Mission and certain music and gameplay choices, as the original elevated the series standard on tension with its ominous music and dark corridors.
  • Patch v1.1 nerfed the Omega Metroids, considered to be That One Boss. As shown in this thread, there is some contention over whether or not this is justified. Was this a necessary balancing patch to make the game more fair and reduce Fake Difficulty, as well as making it easier to complete the game with a low item percentage? Or did it take away the fair challenge of fighting Omega Metroids, and therefore the fun and satisfaction of beating one?
  • Whether this or Nintendo's official remake is the better remake of Metroid II. A lot of fans are adamant Another Metroid 2 Remake is better on the grounds of it being more faithful to the original and utilizing well-drawn 2D sprites, whilst just as many think Samus Returns is superior for adding more content and being overall more polished in terms of gameplay and graphics. Though even some who prefer AM2R may still suggest buying Samus Returns to support the series.
• Demonic Spiders: Alpha Metroids have taken a step up in annoyance - unlike in the original, you can only hit them from underneath. So naturally they stay as low to the ground as possible and dodge any incoming missiles. In fact, the most damage they do will probably come from you trying to lure them into a spot where you can actually hit them. Even if you manage to kill one, it's not uncommon that you'll be weakened enough that the next Metroid finishes you off.
• Disappointing Last Level: Although the game features several enhancements to Metroid II, the last few areas are pretty much the same as they were in the original, including the long and safe path to the Queen's nest after the three Omega Metroids. The Queen herself uses a simple pattern of three attacks for several phases, which came off as an anticlimax to some players.
• Epileptic Trees: Some fans theorized that Nintendo was aware of this, since it spent ten years in development (confirmed by Sakamoto), and chose to intentionally delay the C&D by a couple of days so it could circulate (not confirmed).
• Fandom Rivalry: Developed the second Nintendo announced their own remake of Metroid II following their C&D of this one. AM2R's supporters point out its sticking to Zero Mission-esque pixel art and having a decade-long development cycle as its advantages. Supporters of Samus Returns consider it inferior for sticking to 2D visuals, not really bringing much new to the table like Samus Returns, and lacking Nintendo's professional endorsement.
• Fridge Brilliance: As per usual, Samus is slowed in water without the Gravity Suit. However, traveling through water in Morph Ball form is slightly faster than trying to just run through it, which makes sense — a compact sphere creates less drag than a full suit of Powered Armor.
• Friendly Fandoms: On the other hand, a lot of fans of AM2R like Samus Returns and think both games are great in their own right. They still like to compare both games and how differently they approach remaking Metroid II: Return of Samus. It's also helped by the fact that a number of suggestions by the fans that followed AM2R through its development (such as a Ridley battle or a cameo by the X-Parasites) were either denied by the developer or planned but never implemented by the fan game, but here they see full glorious implementation, which hints that Nintendo and MercurySteam may have been following AM2R's development a lot more closely than one would think. For the record, the creator of AM2R wholeheartedly supports Samus Returns, calling it the Metroid II he has always wanted to play; after buying a 3DS just to play it, he said that he "really enjoyed the game."
  Milton Guasti: Is Metroid Samus Returns worth your time? I think so. It's a very well realized action game that poses a decent challenge. And it's also a very good reinterpretation of the original Metroid 2. The vision that the devs had is extremely different to mine, but it was very well executed, and that's what matters.
• Game-Breaker: The Ice Beam. Since it turns all non-Metroid enemies into one hit kills, you have very little to be afraid of once you find it, outside of Serris and the Metroids. This is balanced out by the Ice Beam being found in the very last ruin (the Charge Beam is found in the Ice Beam's original spot.)
• Hilarious in Hindsight: AM2R has its own page listing coincidental similarities between itself and Metroid: Samus Returns.
• Memetic Mutation: "Prince of Persia sucks!!!"^ExplanationSome placeholder text for the Power Grip's description in the game's debut video from 2008. Guasti put that text in as a joke but forgot to remove it from the video. He actually enjoys the Prince Of Persia games. This is also Dummied Out since in the final game, you start with the Power Grip.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The GFS Thoth area. If the empty hallways filled with the thrown about corpses of GF marines weren't enough, at one point the scan data that you've already acquired resends itself giving the room data with one room at the very top reading "MOTION DETECTED."
  • After the first fight with an Omega Metroid, an earthquake happens as usual. But as the quake subsides, you hear this horrifying distant inhuman scream. Turns out the Metroid Queen is not happy you've been killing her spawn...
  • The post-credits scene if you get 100% Completion. A Hornoad is shown hopping around where the Baby Metroid hatched, when suddenly a nearby crystal shakes and transforms into a yellow blob, which longtime fans will recognize as an X-Parasite. The Hornoad tries to escape, to no avail as the X possesses and reduces it to a skeleton; it then morphs into a hideous Red Hornoad, which crushes the Baby Metroid's empty egg as other crystallized X begin stirring. It's an extremely disturbing scene (more so than Samus Returns' take, according to some fans), and what's worse, YOU caused it!
    • The music in that scene is spine-chilling even by Metroid standards. It begins as a remix of "Environmental Mystery" from Metroid Fusion (already considered one of that game's most unnerving tracks) before shifting to a foreboding and atmospheric orchestral piece as the X kills its victim and its brethren awaken from dormancy.
    • The original draft is even scarier. The Hornoad dies twice as fast from its infection, and instead of a high-pitched squeal, it emits a bloodcurdling scream that echoes throughout SR388's subterrain. Its death animation is also more gruesome, with visible blood. The description for the video puts it best:
      Slap it in the player's face: "This planet is completely and utterly FUCKED, and it's all thanks to you."
• Overshadowed by Controversy: The DMCA takedown by Nintendo pushed it to this status. Coupled with everything about Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which was released around the time that the C&D was issued, it helped turn a good chunk of the Metroid fanbase against Nintendo for what they saw as treating a beloved franchise horribly on its 30th anniversary. A good majority of people wouldn't have heard of the fangame if it weren't for the takedown and the fuss over it.
• Remade and Improved: Despite being a fan project and many agreeing that the original game was okay, many agree that it out does the GB original by miles, thanks to a combination of having a more in-depth Metroidvania map than the original and having a lot of improvements that were introduced in later Metroid titles.
• Scrappy Mechanic: The Zeta and Omega Metroids have the ability to not only knock you back, but they can even knock you down or send you flying backwards as you fall on your back. Due to Mercy Invincibility being pathetically short-lived, you will likely get thrown into a corner and stunlocked into near-oblivion by follow up attacks. Depending on the room you fight the Metroids in, it's possible to get thrown backwards into the previous room, which causes any damage you inflicted on the Metroid to not count since now its health is fully restored.
• That One Boss: The Omega Metroids are particularly nasty, especially if you've played Metroid Fusion right before playing this. A mix between Giant Mook, Boss in Mook Clothing and Lightning Bruiser, they deal very powerful attacks that take up nearly the whole screen, making it a hassle just to stay alive. Unlike their (only) appearance in Fusion, the Ice Beam doesn't work, and you're expected to use Super Missiles to defeat it. However, trying to aim them at its obvious weak point is frustrating because it will most likely hit you as you're doing so, only made worse by the fact that it can knock you off your feet. It has a hidden weak point on its back, but good luck figuring that out, much less actually hitting it. If that weren't enough, try to shoot them at the wrong time and they'll just swat the missile out of the air. Oh, and there's four of them. Thankfully, 1.1 reduced their health and damage output.
• Tough Act to Follow: Another Metroid 2 Remake is considered better than most official Metroid games by many fans. This gives Metroid: Samus Returns some rather big shoes to fill.

---