Let’s start with an obvious question; Is AM2R a real Metroid game? Well, technically no. AM2R is a fan made remake of Metroid II for GameBoy. Since it wasn’t licensed by Nintendo, they decided to make the developers take down the option to download it from their website or any other associated site, making it a little harder to access. Even if Nintendo doesn’t want you to experience the best Metroid game since Zero Mission you should still know that this remake is great and deserves your attention… if you can find a way to download it that is.

Speaking of Zero mission, this game is built on the bones of Metroid Zero Mission. Using the same graphics and art style but also adding in new art as well as redesigned enemies that most Metroid fans will recognize. The game looks great and uses some 2.5D elements similar to Castlevania: Symphony of the night. In fact, it borrows ever so subtly from Symphony Of The Night in the best of ways. The developers did a good job with the art and presentation and never once does it lose it’s Metroid look or feel. There is some bullet hell moments late into the game that did feel just a bit out of place but never to the point where I forgot I was playing a Metroid game. This is one point where the new art really shines and adds an extra level of style I enjoyed. The music also remixes of the original soundtrack as well as new songs that perfectly fit in with the style of Metroid. I personally loved the soundtrack and think they did an amazing job with the music.

The game is a pretty straight forward remake but adds some new things sprinkled throughout. It’s the same story set up where Samus is sent to SR-388 to eradicate the Metroid threat. They did try some new things and I appreciated the things they tried to do to make the game more fresh and modern. One thing that I really liked was the addition of a lore book that gave you a brief rundown on enemies and locations. While i really enjoyed this I’m not sure how much of it is actually considered cannon and how much of it was just to fill in the blanks. Another interesting thing they did was add a dedicated morph ball button. This is especially helpful when doing anything with the Spider Ball. The controls are fully customizable with default settings for Zero Mission and Super Metroid. This is perfect for those who know super Metroid back to front and just want to slide right back in. This leads me to the controls. They feel just like Metroid Zero Mission. Platforming is precise and as tight as ever. Shooting feels accurate and the new unlimited bombing is perfect for bomb jumping into places you should never be. One thing I did notice is there are some difficulty spikes I think could be solved with better balancing but it could also just be learning the new limits and tricks to fighting the enemies.

This game is a weird thing. It’s a fan remake so it doesn’t really count as a proper Metroid game but at the same time it’s probably the closest we will get to one. While fan remakes are separate from cannon it’s hard to deny quality remakes such as this one. Especially when it’s as true to the source material as this one is. Overall, i highly recommend this game to any Metroid fan or fans of this style of game. It is a very high quality remake that could easily stand as a proper game in the Metroid series.