Metroid Fusion (2002)
Developed for the handheld Game Boy Advance console, Metroid Fusion is the fourth entry in the Metroid series. The game was produced and published by Nintendo in 2002. It is an action-adventure game that focuses on using abilities gained from defeating bosses to advance further. With excellent pixel art graphics and a tense, brooding soundtrack, Metroid Fusion is cited as one of the best games in the Game Boy Advance library.
Story
Galactic bounty hunter Samus Aran is tasked with guarding a group of Biologic Space Laboratories scientists while they explore the surface of planet SR388. While on an expedition, Samus is attacked by a creature infected by an X Parasite. After destroying the creature with a beam from her Power Suit blaster, an X Parasite emerges from the carcass of the defeated enemy and is absorbed by Samus. While flying her Gunship, the X Parasite infection causes her to lose consciousness and crash her ship into an asteroid belt. She is rescued and operated on by a BSL medical team. A vaccine created from the cells of a deceased Metroid saves her, and she becomes immune to the X Parasite. Tasked with destroying the monsters now infesting the research station, Samus sets out to recover her lost abilities. Along the way, she meets ADAM, a computer program that gives her objectives and assists her throughout her journey.
Trivia
Metroid Fusion is considered to be a more linear experience than its predecessors, essentially requiring bosses to be completed to gain the upgrades needed to advance through levels. While the other games in the series still required specific weapons to enter certain areas, there was more leniency in allowing the player to explore. The game was created on the same engine as the Nintendo game Wario Land 4. The tan and purple block sprites and water wave texture used in that game can be seen in a test level in Metroid Fusion.
