[Part of the Summer of Retro challenge of foray into the top titles on the Nintendo Game boy Advance. Check the Summer of Retro manifesto at the Handheld Gaming Age blog Summer of Retro is on]

What better way to kick off Summer Of Retro with my first dose of 2D Metroid? That’s right, I’ve only ever played Metroid in 3D as part of the Prime-series, which was published on Gamecube and later on the Wii.

Being the titular forth entry into the series, Metroid Fusion hit the Gameboy Advance back in 2002, and was met with high praise from both reviewers and fans. Let’s take a closer look and discover, if main character Samus Aran and her action adventure antics has held up against the test of time?

It has! The gameplay revolving around platforming, exploration and shooting hasn’t aged a day. Metroid Fusion might be categorized as an action adventure – but action is the main focus.
You’ll spend most of your time traversing the besieged Biologic Space Laboratories space station, negotiating adverse environments, fighting huge amounts of critters and looking for upgrades to Samus’ power suit, which increases both her armoury and opens up new areas of the space station.

Controls are tight and responsive; every death of our poor heroine is solely down to the player’s lack of ability. That said – Metroid fans back in the day found Fusion a bit on the easy side, compared to games in this day and age Fusion is definitely hardcore and will demand your attention.

The GBA is put to good use with a nice variety of sci-fi themed areas and special effects. Music and sound effects hit the mark for a GBA-title.

Samus’ fourth adventure is a good lengthy one; a first play through will net you around 10-12 hours entertainment. Five different endings beg for seconds, and the moody sci-fi story and setting does also ask to be visited more that just once.

Metroid Fusion is a perfect example of why the GBA still belongs in every handheld gamer’s collection – deftly designed gameplay and fantastic looks never loses its ability to entertain.

Verdict: Get it!

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Verdict guide:

Get it – Ebay, Amazon or bargain bin – just find it! This game belongs in your collection.

Borrow – Not worth paying premium dollar for, but worth your time.

Never mind – Might’ve been great in its day, but now…. forget it.

Article originally appeared on the Handheld Gaming Age blog Summer Of Retro Entry #1 – Metroid Fusion

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Professional gamesjourno for several years. Loves everything in the handheld gaming scene. Follow my blogging on Handheld Gaming Age.