As we get older and more and more games are released, we often look back at the titles that shaped our earlier years. The games that were there for us after school. The games that defined our generation. Or perhaps just the games which personally stood out. One such case of the latter, for me at least, is the second outing of Nintendo’s badass bounty hunter Samus Aran. On the Game Boy Metroid II: Return of Samus was one of my earliest gaming experiences. I didn’t own the game, but rather I borrowed it from my older brothers when they were done playing. It was gorgeous at the time, featuring a chilling soundtrack and just the right amount of action and exploration for my feeble mind to comprehend. Granted, I never beat the game because it was ridiculously confusing and hard (I’m only like, 6 in this scenario), but it still stuck with me.

Now we’re in 2017, some 25 years later, and Nintendo has re-released the game on the 3DS as Metroid: Return of Samus, complete with all new visuals, story elements, gameplay features, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a remake. Thankfully in that time I’ve also upgraded my intellect and gaming prowess, so I was actually able to beat it this time around. And man, what a journey it was. (more…)