AM2R

Honestly the only fan game that doesnt feel fan made.

A fan-made masterfully executed remake of Metroid II. AM2R is perhaps my favourite Metroid game (or at least on par with Super Metroid) despite ironically not being made by Nintendo. It controls great; looks beautiful, and perfectly captures the 'feel' of what Metroid is, in my opinion, "supposed" to be. Mysterious, lonely, anxiety-inducing, quiet, challenging, but enjoyable. No coddling, no hand-holding, no bright arrow signs to show you where to go, and certainly no excess dialogue. Most of those who play this wonderful remake will immediately gravitate towards comparing it to the official Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS, although they are hardly comparable.

AM2R is one of the very few games that have reduced me to tears. After killing the Metroid Queen, the ending is immensely impactful and bittersweet - much like how the aftermath of wiping out an entire species would feel, the atmosphere emanates emptiness. There is no action, no fighting, nothing. Just you and the last little metroid, following you to your ship. The soundtrack has been reworked to near perfection.

Wholeheartedly, this is a stunning remake of an otherwise underappreciated instalment in the Metroid series.

This is a pretty faithful remake of the original GB Metroid 2. It plays pretty similar to the other GBA metroid games, and overall I found this enjoyable, even if it was a little short. Yeah its definitely not on the same level as Super Metroid, but damn the fact a fan could create such a good game based on a cheap looking early 90s gameboy game is super impressive. My only complaint is there are some annoying enemies and some areas have slightly awkward design.

As a moderate fan of the Metroid series, this fan remake of Metroid 2 didn't do much for me. I don't doubt it's better than the original which I haven't nor plan to play. It looks and plays close enough to Super Metroid, but there are so many glaring flaws that I can't get into it. It's like a warm, delicious pizza that someone poured ex-lax all over.

That ex-lax comes mostly in the form of the metroids themselves which are the most aggravating mini-bosses I ever fought in a game. The main game is fun and I cruised through it. The actual bosses are challenging but enjoyable. These little jerkwads are another story. Between being protected everywhere but the bottom and constantly charging at you in a random pattern, it's what I what definitely call NOT A GOOD TIME. Given that you are constantly facing them, it's a valid reason for quitting the game which I did after two hours.

There are other minor problems like weird level design with rooms too big for their own good and bad pacing with certain areas dumping a ton of upgrades and items all-at-once. It's an impressive fan project but with Metroidvanias like Rabi-Ribi and Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight coming out in 2016 with even smaller development teams (read: one guy), it's hard to overlook its faults. If you're a dedicated Metroid fan, you may be able to overlook the things I hated.

AM2R is my choice for the best game of 2016. I get extra cool points since it's illegal now. Politics aside, I think AM2R's quality is nothing short of incredible. The Metroid series has been screwed by its owners right and left for practically a decade now, and I love that a dedicated fan took the initiative and made a fantastic game that truly captures the feeling of Metroid that people loved. This project is a true labor of love; no money was made for all I understand--all that got exchanged here is a great game.

The original Metroid II was always an underrated title. It had an unsettling, cold atmosphere that was only possible to capture (probably partially by accident) at the time on its system (the original Game Boy). It wasn't a brilliantly designed game, but contributed to the series both mechanically and aesthetically, and these contributions played a large part in the creation of Super Metroid, still remembered by many (myself included) as one of the greatest Super Famicom games. AM2R is an adaptation that makes liberal changes to the original, adding in techniques seen in all of the games that proceeded Metroid II as well as some original ones. While it doesn't have quite the same feeling, the graphics are nonetheless spooky and effectively depict the environment of SR388 on a modern PC.

One of the things I always loved about the Metroid series is the creators' dedication to physics. So many platformers feel terrible to me compared to Metroid, and I was skeptical than an indie developer would be able to match the controls I expected. Color me surprised that AM2R might just have the best movement and control in any Metroid game, official or not. Samus controls quickly and smoothly, and even has a shortcut button for morphing now, which was something I never knew I wanted. The game has plenty of hidden sequence breaking tricks to facilitate speed runs, some of them quite cleverly designed. While not all of the combat in the game is perfect, the enemies presented here do provide a significant challenge even for a Metroid veteran. Fans of the original will not just get a 1:1 remake--there are lots of new areas and bosses to discover here, and lore-wise they fit nicely into the series we already know.

I understand why Nintendo had to shut this game down, but I am very happy it was able to spread onto the internet before that happened. The odds that Nintendo will ever release another 2D Metroid game are looking slimmer by the year, and with the failure of Federation Force and Other M once can't blame them. However, AM2R perfectly demonstrates how the Metroid fanbase is still out there and still cares deeply about this series. If you are a Metroid fan and have given this game a blind eye, I urge you to sail the dark corners of the internet and give it a try for yourself.