AM2R: Another Metroid 2 Remake

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Download the Demo (Initial Release is free)​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKxesrCU3kg​

Summary: Anyone remember Metroid II? That long-forgotten gem of the Metroid franchise, and while overall reactions to the original game are mixed, no one can deny the series wouldn't be the same without it. So with a game such as that, overshadowed by all it's 'superior' brethren, it's easy to understand why Metroid II would be in a need of a...revival.
This is, from what I can say, the perfect game for any fans of Metroid or Metroidvania, with all the elements it brings back and introduces.
And that's exactly what AM2R does, and in spades, nonetheless. Remade aesthetics, crisp sound, reinvented interface and gameplay, everything about this re-imagining is new, and in my opinion, better.
This project's been going since 2008, so this is by no means a new thing, but considering how long it's been going for, I'm really impressed the creator, DoctorM64, managed to stay determined for 6 years.

Visuals: Yes, a great deal of the sprites are ripped straight out of Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion and slightly modified, but it's the visual flare that keeps AM2R from ever looking stale or bland. New lighting effects, particles, death sequences, and fluid animations are all aspects added to the game's visuals.

Gameplay: The gameplay of both Metroid II and it's remake differ slightly from the usual Metroid formula, having the player explore a planet while fulfilling the objective of killing X number of Metroids. Where AM2R distances itself from Metroid II, however is where some major improvements start becoming apparent. The game's engine follows closely with Zero Mission's engine, allowing for fast and fluid movement, while still keeping tight controls and complex maneuvering. Running, shooting and the basic flow of the game is much faster, which should really appeal to some speedrunners who enjoy Metroid as a series.
A major complaint of Metroid II is the result of its linearity, a trope that, while not detracting from the game, doesn't quite allow for nearly as much explorations as some more-praised entries have. What AM2R brings to the party is a multitude of opportunities for sequence breaking, alternate paths, hidden walkways, and generally much more freedom than the original had. Weapons from past games return, including the beams, suit upgrades, missile upgrades, and and entirely remade interface to fit Samus's entire inventory. The sheer fluidity of the gameplay should welcome in an fans of the series, as well as ones for some recent titles, like Dust: An Elysian Tail.

Atmosphere: DoctorM64's been incredibly meticulous about preserving the isolated atmosphere that the Metroid games are widely praised for, and add some more charm to it. From the added backgrounds to the dynamic music, AM2R does a phenomenal job of immersing the player into the world of SR388, even keeping up the occasional Metroid trend of having some genuine scares from the player at times.

Sound: What the original soundtrack for the second entry in the series was, well... music. Very few tracks were actually implemented into the gameboy release, and, as a result, not many people have come to appreciate the sounds of Metroid II, and for pretty valid reasons. AM2R not only remasters all the original few tracks to the soundtrack, but adds custom made music that add to both the atmosphere and charm of the game. Sound effects are nothing special, juts classic running, jumping and shooting effects, but they get the job done.

I give this fangame the highest amount of recommendation I can for something like this; I've grown to love this project in the past 3 years, and I implore for any fans of Metroid or Metroidvania to at least give it a try. Maybe even non-fans of either category should give it a try. Who knows, it might just make you a fan.

 

Well, uh
Metroid 2 is good, better than Metroid 1 at least.
This has color
Metroid 2 has rooms that all have the same color backgrounds so it's impossible to tell where the hell you're going.
This is already better.
One thing though, it says "initial release is free", does that mean it'll eventually be worth money?

 

The game is required to be free, this guy doesn't exactly have the rights to Nintendo's IP, and therefore he's not legally allowed to charge money for it.

 

I remember this, it was cool.

 

Just now saw this and, wow, am I ready to play this.


Even though I have NOT played Metroid 2, it still looks pretty damn awesome. I love the Metroid series, even though i've just played 1 and SM, but this looks promising, I might get it. (Good thing it's free, too! )

 

I need to play this sometime. Then I can truly say that I've completed the holy quanity of classic Metroid games: Zero Mission, AM2R, Super Metroid, and Fusion. ^_^

 

Yeah, I been following this since it was first announced. I am SOOOO happy to finally see the Gammas and Zetas in better graphics finally (although I kinda wish they'd look more like how they do in the official games).

I also did the worst Let's Play ever of the first demo of the game.

 

How the heck do you Let's Play a demo.

The point of an LP is to introduce the game to an audience.
The point of a Demo is to introduce the game to an audience.

You're introducing the material for introducing the game to an audience, to an audience. Redundancy at its finest.

 

Guess these are all completely and utterly pointless then.

 

How the heck do you Let's Play a demo.

The point of an LP is to introduce the game to an audience.
The point of a Demo is to introduce the game to an audience.

You're introducing the material for introducing the game to an audience, to an audience. Redundancy at its finest.

so um
an lp isn't just for introducing a game???? otherwise there wouldn't be ten hundred let's plays of very common games
not like a lot of let's plays are made for the viewer's entertainment or anything

 

Yes.

 

A Let's Play is commentating over a game that you play. What kind of thing put in is up to the person making it to do. I did say my one was crappy, and I can guarantee it was. For starters I don't have the resources to record footage on the computer so I literally taped my hand-held camera onto the keyboard and recorded the demo as I played it. Forget the redundancy bit. You don't get more backwards than what I just described

When I do Let's Plays I do them for my own amusement. I don't care what anyone else thinks of my performance or how many views it gets. What matters is that I enjoy it. That's the same reason I make anything and what I think hurts a lot of people wanting to get popular. If you do it for your own amusement then the people you would want watching it will enjoy it regardless of the amount of views that you get.

Of course I'm one of those people that can't believe people can even make money off of doing Let's Plays (or youtube in general really for that matter) nowadays. It was just something you did for fun, nothing else. And that's why I like the Something Awful Forum ones a lot more most of the time. They tend to put much more passion into what they're making. They aren't restrained by the stupid "oh, how many views will I get? What can I do to get popular?".

That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that retsupurae would do a video of me. Hell, by this point I'm astounded they haven't done one of my vids. But ah well. Haven't had a functioning camera for like a year or somethin' now so you don't have to worry about me really doing Let's Plays much anymore. The only LP I would recommend personally would be my Resident Evil Remake Let's Play. Partly because the camera is a lot better in that one, and partly cause well...I enjoyed my performance of it. Oh, and my Kirby 64 LP is pretty fun at times I think.

Now back to Another Metroid 2 Remake. I am so happy that he is taking his time doing this. He isn't rushing it out or anything. It's a labor of love and something that will truly be special once it's complete based on what's been shown so far. If it counts as one it will likely be one of my favorite Indie Titles of all time alongside Cave Story (then again I love Metroid 2 more than most people. Really an underrated title and the Spider-Ball allowed for so much exploration potential that simply isn't possible in the other titles).

 

Spoiler

A Let's Play is commentating over a game that you play.

Lemme stop you right there.

A Let's Play derives entirely on its own name. "Let's" as it "Let us", as in "Gather around kids, let's play something". It started on the "Something Awful" forums as its own forum section, and would involve asking for reader input to make in-game decisions if the type of game called for it. There are text-adventure LPs, screenshot LPs, video LPs, and in rare humorous situations, live-action LPs. ("Hey guys so I'm making some soup, what should I put in it???")

The Retsuprae group is also from the Something Awful forums -- at least one of them is a moderator of the very forum where it began. Job entailed scoping out for people ignoring forum rules (Such as "Don't play demos", "Please wait a few months after a game's release before you LP it", "Please be competent at the game you're playing and/or good at video editing"), as well as LPs of bad quality in general.

So eventually, either by people not liking the rules, or kids who saw an LP or two and wanted to make their own, it branched out into the rule-less void. It was never intended to be for profit -- some chucklefuck or two decided they may as well make money off all their HARD WORK PLAYIN' VIDEO GAMES. Kind of like modern-age Thomas Edisons; stealing ideas to make a profit for themselves.

But ultimately, in my opinion, if you aren't asking for reader/viewer input, it isn't a "Let's Play". It's an "I Play". Granted there are several LPs that are entertaining simply involving two or more people enjoying and making fun of the game, but that still technically falls under "Let's" in the general sense of the people playing, and that whole thing is sketchy and questionable how it branched out.

 

Or people could make videos of what they enjoy doing and allow others to indirectly enjoy the game and commentary by watching let's plays instead of having to abide by shitty "let's play rules"????????

 

Was going to get back to it and say "TLDR; Why not call your videos "Commentary: <Game name>" instead?" But someone had to go and comment.


So anyway, AM2R. There's another demo coming in a few weeks.

 

Slowbeef is no longer a moderator. That's been passed on to ChipCheezum I believe. Or maybe it was Ironicus. It's one of those two, but I think it's Chip. And don't worry dude, I know the origins. Slowbeef and Diabetus themselves have constantly discussed what an LP is and have stated quite a few times that they are not the be-all end-all of what is and isn't good. If it's good it's good. They have said that sometimes the personality of the LPer turns out to be what's more important in certain LPs.
Slowbeef is no longer a moderator. That's been passed on to ChipCheezum I believe. Or maybe it was Ironicus. It's one of those two, but I think it's Chip. And don't worry dude, I know the origins. Slowbeef and Diabetus themselves have constantly discussed what an LP is and have stated quite a few times that they are not the be-all end-all of what is and isn't good. If it's good it's good. They have said that sometimes the personality of the LPer turns out to be what's more important in certain LPs.

 

Demo 1.3 released!

 

Does it have Zetas yet?

 

Played the demo through to 96% completion, and unless there were Zetas hidden in the last 4% of the map I didn't check, I doubt it.
Still, DoctorM64 really knows how to surprise in a game that would otherwise feel very boring.

Spoiler

FIGHT THE TORZIO AND YOU'LL KNOW WHAT I MEAN JUST DO IT