Cool Metroid II Remake Fan Project

[Warlock]

http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/vonrichter/metroid-sr388-trailer-82877.phtml

It's very well done, I'm impressed. There are a lot of Super Metroid sprites, but also quite a bit of original work, and even enhancements to those sprites. I particularly like the ice area.

Edit: Ok, I guess it's not a Metroid II remake - it's an original game that takes place on SR388. Still, very cool.

Anyways, it's much better than this one IMO:
http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/
(seriously, any sprite that guy couldn't rip from the GBA titles, he used the original gameboy sprite with horrible coloring.. it looks awful... also, why is Ridley in one of those videos? Ridley was not in Metroid II.....)

[rock_nog]

No - no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should've sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful... I had no idea.

Seriously, damn, that is freakin' awesome!

[erm2003]

Very cool. I hope they finish it, though from everything I read they are intending to. This will be an incredible game!

[ShadowTiger]

I saw this last night from trying to find more sources (Better versions of...) the Metroid II Enter SR388 theme from Metroid 2. I was incredibly impressed. I loved Super Metroid and Fusion and Zero Mission, so I'll be hitting this like a truck the moment it comes out.

[MottZilla]

Looks pretty sweet. It's a shame they're going to get a cease and desist letter very soon if they haven't already and will get sued if they don't stop. It wouldn't be the first time such has happened.

I would love to see a commercial Metroid game like it. If anything it shows that 2D games with 3D hardware can make some sweet stuff and that people are still interested in 2D games. I'd really love to see the team that did Metroid Zero Mission remake Metroid II.

[Warlock]

Looks pretty sweet. It's a shame they're going to get a cease and desist letter very soon if they haven't already and will get sued if they don't stop. It wouldn't be the first time such has happened.

I would love to see a commercial Metroid game like it. If anything it shows that 2D games with 3D hardware can make some sweet stuff and that people are still interested in 2D games. I'd really love to see the team that did Metroid Zero Mission remake Metroid II.

I don't know, that other project has been around awhile and still hasn't gotten one.. or Zelda Classic for that matter. So who knows.

[rock_nog]

I don't know, that other project has been around awhile and still hasn't gotten one.. or Zelda Classic for that matter. So who knows.
I remember a while back there was a Metroid fangame in the works that included a Zelda Classic-type level editor, and it got a "cease and desist." *shrug*

[vegeta1215]

Anyways, it's much better than this one IMO:
http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/
(seriously, any sprite that guy couldn't rip from the GBA titles, he used the original gameboy sprite with horrible coloring.. it looks awful... also, why is Ridley in one of those videos? Ridley was not in Metroid II.....)

Have you checked that one out much at all? It looks really good. Watch the demo video from his March 20th 2008 post - it's all new stuff made with the engine he's developed. As cool as a Metroid II remake would be, a brand new 2D Metroid would be even better.

I'll have to watch the video from the first link on another computer, it keeps hanging mine up for some reason.

[Warlock]

Have you checked that one out much at all? It looks really good. Watch the demo video from his March 20th 2008 post - it's all new stuff made with the engine he's developed. As cool as a Metroid II remake would be, a brand new 2D Metroid would be even better.

I'll have to watch the video from the first link on another computer, it keeps hanging mine up for some reason.

Yes, I watched that. It sucked. It's basically 100% ripped from the GBA titles. Besides which, the project is done in Game Maker.

[MottZilla]

Metroid Classic had its website deleted when the host was threatened by Nintendo or the group that Nintendo pays to protect its IP, probably the ISDA or whatever it may be.

Ew Game Maker. ='(

But the one you first posted looks like its Direct X or using OpenGL for Alpha Blending and doing those particle effects.

[Warlock]

Metroid Classic had its website deleted when the host was threatened by Nintendo or the group that Nintendo pays to protect its IP, probably the ISDA or whatever it may be.

Ew Game Maker. ='(

But the one you first posted looks like its Direct X or using OpenGL for Alpha Blending and doing those particle effects.

Yes, the first video is very impressive. I'm quite impressed with all the extra frames of animation they added to the Super Metroid sprites alone. It looks very slick.

And yeah, ew Game Maker indeed :P Though I'm actually impressed with how much that program has evolved - I actually own a very old version (from the early 90s) and it was pretty shitty - like 20x20 pixel sprites (lolz?), lots of stupid limitations that didn't need to be there, etc. I suppose if you know absolutely nothing about programming, it's a decent tool. But yeah :)

[vegeta1215]

Yes, I watched that. It sucked. It's basically 100% ripped from the GBA titles. Besides which, the project is done in Game Maker.

I missed the part about him using Game Maker. Regardless, I still think it looks cool. The "look" (GBA sprites etc) doesn't bother me.

I did manage to watch the Metroid SR388 video. I'm not sure why that destructoid page is so screwy, but here's a link to the YouTube video for everyone who's having trouble with it like I did: http://youtube.com/watch?v=uoKMZXnsF4k

It does look pretty sweet. Very promising. I just hope the level design is good - you can have all the pretty graphics you want, but they won't save the game if the level design is shoddy. (similar to how dungeons can make or break a Zelda Classic quest) Any info on what platform/s that will be available on when it's done? (PC/Mac/Linux)

[Darth Marsden]

Will you port the game to DS/PSP/Mac?
As long as Game Maker games can´t be compiled on other platforms than PC, no.
I gave the tech demo a try (here (http://64digits.com/games/index.php?cmd=view_game&id=4639) if you missed it) and I have to say, it's actually pretty good. I died on the end battle, but I did manage to get most of the hidden bonuses, which I was pretty chuffed about.

[MottZilla]

I actually played through Metroid II on my Super Gameboy on my Super Famicom tonight. I don't believe I'd ever actually played through the whole thing.

I think Metroid II is often under rated and under appreciated. It did alot of things that setup Super Metroid that some may assume Super Metroid did and not Metroid 2. Like the Spring Ball, Spazer Beam, Plasma Beam, Ducking, Shooting below you when jumping, the Spider Ball which came back after Super Metroid 3. I think the reason it tends to get a bad reputation is people who are douche bags don't understand the game was made in 1992 on the Gameboy, and it didn't magically over time evolve with technology.

Anyway, after playing through the game I really would like to see a remake by Nintendo's Metroid Zero Mission team. The battle with the Metroid Queen was a bitch too. Mainly because I kept wanting to stun her, morph ball and roll in her mouth and bomb her stomach. I did that earlier in the fight but towards the end she moved too fast and I just used the screw attack to avoid damage and shot missiles when I had an opening.

So who else here has played Metroid 2? The other than besides the dated technology that I think makes people not like Metroid 2 is the lack of any in-game map. While you don't need one, it certainly helps, especially since so many screens look similar. Just a straight remake with better graphics and a map would kick ass. Oh ya and ofcourse some nice music remixes.

[DarkDragoonX]

I loved Metroid 2... one of my favorite Gameboy titles by far. It was quite well put together, particularly given the hardware it was running on. The "evolved" Metroids weren't a bad idea, and the concept of hunting them down and killing them as the way to open up new areas (in addition to the locations opened up by new items) was pretty interesting.

As for the Metroid Queen... I haven't played the game in probably like a decade or something now, but I had no idea you could bomb her stomach, at least I don't remember doing so. Unless my memory is bad, I recall killing her via the Hey, Look At How Many Missles I Have method.

[Daarkseid]

As for the Metroid Queen... I haven't played the game in probably like a decade or something now, but I had no idea you could bomb her stomach, at least I don't remember doing so. Unless my memory is bad, I recall killing her via the Hey, Look At How Many Missles I Have method.

Either method works, I never knew about the stomach bombing method until a full decade after first beating the game. I think the last time playing Metroid II(back when I had a working GBA that played GB games) was to test out the stomach bombing method. Its actually a more fun way to beat what is mostly an easy boss.

[Warlock]

Metroid II was the first Gameboy title I owned (other than Tetris that came with it). It is indeed an amazing game. Like Mott said, it just hasn't aged well - it's in dire need of a remake by Nintendo.

Overall, I'd say:

Pros:
-Multi-directional firing
-Introduced the majority of Metroid staple items: Spider Ball, Spring Ball, Spazer Beam, Plasma Beam, and Space Jump (which back in 1992, was pretty much bad-ass)
-The monocrome aspect also had a positive effect on the Varia Suit, because they couldn't just palette swap like in the first game. So it gave Samus her iconic bowling-ball shoulders :D
-The ONLY Metroid game that lets you fight all Metroid life cycles. With the exception of the Omega Metroid (and really, the Fusion one is mutated or something I think), it's also the only one that let you fight Alpha, Gamma and Zeta Metroids (and I suppose the Queen Metroid), period.
-One of the precious few Metroid games *not* set on Zebes. The only other exceptions are Fusion, which was a boring space station, and the Prime series. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Zebes, but it's nice to see them branch out once and awhile :P They can only blow up that planet so many times ;)
-The ending fight was not rediculously stupid (i.e. shooting an immobile brain in a jar - at least Super Metroid had her fight back). It was pretty challenging, and even offered an escape (there is a whole in the floor you can morph ball into to run away) if you run out of missiles. There is also a neat trick where you can get the Queen Metroid to eat you in Morph Ball form, then lay bombs in her stomach for some nice damage :D
-Save system!!
-If you beat the game fast enough, Samus is much hotter than in classic Metroid :D
-Baby Metroid :D

Cons:
-The only real bosses in the game were Metroids. There were I think 2 or 3 mini-bosses, but otherwise fighting Metroids could get old after awhile.
-The whole "Kill X Metroids and then the lava will go down" linear approach was kind of stupid. Pretty much every other Metroid game does not artificially block your path in such an obvious and linear way.
-Since it was the Game Boy, a LOT of the environments looked very much the same. This could be annoying if you were lost.
-The game still didn't have the cool weapon-combo system from Super Metroid, so you had to re-find weapons if you wanted (or needed) to switch. I think I used Spazer or Wave Beam most of the time, until it forced me to get Ice Beam to kill the normal Metroids at the end :( It sort of compensates for this by having the weapons is multiple locations (in fact, I think there is one area near the end with every single weapon powerup in it), but still not as cool as combining them :)

[MottZilla]

That was something I thought was really stupid of people to say, that the game had bad graphics. For the time they were not, and infact Samus looked soooo much better than her original NES appearance which was garbage by comparison. And I mean all her graphics, both suits and the ending. The Varia suit is bad ass looking for sure. ;)

I don't think the linear gameplay was a bad thing, considering at the time it was already hard enough to find your way around, it would have been worse by giving you unlimited freedom.

It's a real shame, that Nintendo decided against releasing a Metroid II DX like they did for Tetris, Zelda, and others. And then it's a shame after Metroid Zero Mission they didn't do a Metroid 2 remake. =( Too late for the GBA now. And I would hate to see some stupid DS gimmik two screen or touch screen crap.

[Warlock]

Yes, I think the game still looks very good, especially compared to classic Metroid which just looks awful by today's standards. The only issue with the graphics I have is, like I said, that the environments tended to look very similar, which was bad for getting lost. Most areas had ruins, and every set of ruined used the same sprites, etc. So it could get confusing at times. I suppose the only other issue I'd give is that most enemies did not have a black palette color, but instead "transparent" was used for black. Since most of the backgrounds where black anyways, this usually isn't noticable, but in some cases (i.e. backgrounds with a dark gray pattern, or when they overlap walls), it is. Of course, classic Metroid did the exact same thing.