#AM2R

[coldgoldlazarus]

Not that we need a third Metroid II remake, but given how disparate the existing versions are from each other, I kinda have to wonder sometimes what another go that tries to combine the best of each might look like.

AM2R is probably the strongest overall package and embraces the series' lore in a great way, but does feel sometimes (to me at least) like it's still going a little too far in trying to force Metroid II into Super/Zero Mission's mold, most noticeably with the cool but jarring geothermal plant sequence.

Samus Returns spectacularly misses the mark with the tone and ending, but there are also a whole heap of other things I really like the handling of in the first 95% of it. (I have a whole list, in fact, buried somewhere in my drafts.)

And the original Metroid II, for all its early installment weirdness and hardware-induced shortcomings can make for an awkward experience, it also used some of those same limitations very elegantly to create a thematic sense of darkness that neither remake really matches. (Even if AM2R does wind up closer, IMO it still falls short in some ways, in trying to solve problems that the original had turned into features.)

Realistically speaking, all three are kinda very different beasts despite their shared core, and hard to reconcile easily. Even so, I do find myself thinking about whether it would still be possible to create a marriage of the best traits of each, and if so, what exactly that would look like.

[olavored]

Metroid Larva Pixel Art

I got over my art block.

This is just a bit of practice in pixel art, it seems very interesting, and useful

[mudkirby]

Drawing on school work. Bah.

[alligator-with-a-top-hat]

I'm being hypocritical here but its very frustrating how any discussion of AM2R or Samus Returns always boils down to "AM2R is better" even when I want to talk about the games in isolation. Number one, they're different games that make different decisions about gameplay and how to reinterpret Metroid II. Number two, despite the differences, a lot of the decisions they make are basically the same, and a lot of the time I catch people clowning on Samus Returns for something AM2R does very similarly (for example, the approach to adapting the soundtrack). Number three, Samus Returns has lots of flaws, but AM2R is itself no golden child (looking at the boss fights, though that's not the only thing).

I'm a big fan of AM2R, and between the two remakes I think it probably is the better one. But the difference in quality is not nearly as stark as people make it out to be, and Samus Returns has the unfortunate distinction of being compared to the original Metroid II, AM2R, AND Dread when there is a lot going for it on its own merits.

In the end, Samus Returns, AM2R, and the original Metroid II are companion pieces. They all give valuable insight into an important part of Metroid's history and how the gaming landscape changed from the 90s to the 2010s.

[it-seemo]

@yamcans00's Skulltober Day 27 - "Peaceful"

"The Last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace."

<- Day 26 | Day 27 | Day 28 ->

[im-maverick]

[gravebeetle]

This has to be the most specific thing I've ever made. This is a model of a Septogg, a creature found in Metroid 2: Return of Samus as well as the unofficial remake AM2R. It is also a functional cup, though it's rather inconvenient trying to store anything in there. AM2R really made me love these things despite the small role they play, and I wanted to make something showing this fondness. They're just funny little critters.

[the-starry-lycan]

AM2R, anyone?

[possessedscholar]

Quiz time!

Samus Returns was not the only remake of Return of Samus. Milton Guasti made the unofficial remake Another Metroid 2 Remake (often shortened to AM2R), notable for its unusual title.

[who-is-riley]

AM2R

The scientists constructed a small mobile research site within the cave system. The access tunnel leading to their research vessel has collapsed, and all of their equipment is non-operational.

Vital signs of all exo-suits are flatlined.

There are no survivors in this site.

[gloriousvermin]

I'm streaming soon

Chat doesn't work because I'm stupid and refuse to do research or hard things. That said pop in if you want, just don't expect much

I'm playing an ar2r randomizer

[coldgoldlazarus]

It is kinda funny how AM2R and Samus Returns, in trying to give each section of SR388 a unique aesthetic identity, actually lined up on that a fair bit for the most part. Area 1's a temple, Area 2's a hydroelectric plant, Area 4's a crystal mine. Area 3 is a robotics facility in both as well, even if the aesthetic interpretation of that concept differs more than some of the other overlaps.

Area 5, the Tower, is the biggest divergence, with AM2R making it a techy weapons facility with a lava moat, where SR makes it all jungley/swampy.

Area 6 is also subtly different, with AM2R treating it as an extension of the main tunnel route with some extra lava pools, while Samus Returns recasts it as a dusty underground desert. (Also, I'm disregarding the Distribution Center here, since that's a completely new section with no analogues in the other two versions, but if we take that as AM2R's Area 6, the divergence becomes just as strong as with the Tower.)

Most amusingly to me is at the end, with the Omega gauntlet and the Queen's lair. They both have a Chozo lab tied to the creation of the Metroids, and they both have an area where it's more of an organic nest... but the order is swapped. Organic bubbley area to abandoned lab in AM2R; abandoned lab to organic eggy area in Samus Returns.

Just kinda interesting parallels of mostly-convergent evolution between the two projects. Makes me wonder how much was influence by Metroid II itself, or if someone at Mercurysteam was aware of AM2R and taking notes, and how much was just lucky coincidence.

[olavored]

A lil' Metroid art I did a few days ago

never tried drawing the metroid queen before, I think it came out quite nicely :>

[fm-synthesizer]

[werewolf-cuddles]

Nintendo when fans do literally anything without their direct approval

[dizzypup90]

I'm really enjoying am2r overall, but that enjoyment goes flying out the window whenever the game forces me into one of it's bajillion metroid fights. Like whenever the scan says something like "there are 8 metroids remaining in the area" i'm like "oh great... this is gonna suck".

Like i know this game is all about exterminating the metroids but that makes it all the more important that those fights are... you know... fun.