Luckily, the same fans were recently delighted, like a bolt from the blue, with an all-new installment in the series: Metroid Dread. Not Metroid Prime 4, then, but a traditional, two-dimensional Metroid, and a direct sequel to Metroid Fusion, the GBA classic from 2002. For me, that game is still known as the pinnacle of the entire series, so expectations were immediately high tension. Perhaps a little too high-strung, because as entertaining as it may be, Metroid Dread didn’t grab me in the same way. Immediately I thought back to my experience with Fusion, which I no doubt looked back on with rose-colored glasses. What made that game so good or so different from its brand new sequel?
Not lost in space
In comparison with its predecessors, Metroid Fusion doesn’t actually make such a giant leap forward at all. Classic elements that the franchise is now known for also make an appearance in Fusion. A constant sense of isolation, an emphasis on exploration, the (sometimes too) well-hidden upgrades: it’s all there. What’s most striking when you pick up Metroid Fusion again now is that the experience Metroid Dread offers actually very closely matches that of Fusion.
The fact that Metroid Fusion is such a memorable game is not due to the power of its Metroidvania gameplay, but the foreboding atmosphere and the way it manages to build suspense. During her quest, Samus repeatedly comes face to face with the SA-X, a clone of Samus formed by the X-Parasite that can dominate her on every level. Initially you can’t do anything against the SA-X and escape or remain unseen is your only option. In this respect, Metroid Dread clearly borrows from its predecessor by also presenting the EMMI as elusive and terrifying adversaries – the name of the game already indicates the feeling it wants to evoke in the player.
Dread Space
Metroid Fusion is not a true horror game at first glance. The colorful appearance is too strong for that. But the strongest elements of this part do strike the right chord in the same way as with the aforementioned sci-fi horror examples. That lonely feeling where it seems as if you are completely on your own in a mainly hostile world has always been a regular fixture in the Metroid series and is further accentuated in Fusion. The metroidvania formula does not predominate, but that is actually not a minus at all. You cannot hold on to such an uneasy feeling for tens of hours. Fusion is short and sweet and can remain exciting for the entire playing time.