What do you do, when you're making a sequel to such a beloved game as Metroid? On a much weaker platform, no less. Without having played it, it's hard to see Metroid II: Return of Samus as anything more than a stopgap release between the original and Super Metroid. It's not as influential as either and nowhere near as universally beloved as the latter. Even its (enjoyable but sort of misguided) remake was more of an apology to fans relegated to a handheld on its way out rather than a big release, and feels more like "Dread 0.5" than anything else today.

As might have been obvious by the score, I think Metroid II deserves a lot more love than it gets. Even at just a base level, there's so much it improves upon. To begin, all of Metroid's failings are very expertly fixed. Samus' moveset feels much "complete" the second you step on the surface of SR388, and despite the downgrade in hardware the artwork has been massively improved. Samus now looks like a proper badass robot man rather than some weird noodle creature, and even has a different spriteset for the Varia suit. Somehow, every area feels really distinct and memorable even with the complete lack of colors of the original GameBoy, and the copy/paste rooms that plagued the NES prequel are mostly a thing of the past. Even grinding is no longer an issue thanks to health/ammo recharge stations scattered around the map.

Just fixing all of that would have already made Metroid II a great improvement on the original, but the team clearly wouldn't have been happy with just that (Or perhaps, they just thought Metroid's structure would poorly fit a handheld system). Instead, it takes on a completely different structure: progress isn't tracked by how much of the world your current items let you explore, but by how many Metroids you have killed. While this makes the game more linear, exploration remains the focus. SR388 is labyrinthine and tracking down each of the creatures is often a lot more effort than killing them, and with this shift important items are often hidden out of the way, optional upgrades to your character rather than mandated points of progression. Something like the Varia Suit is legitimately well hidden and finding it feels extremely rewarding. Beams still don't stack but that no longer feels like a problem, because each of them is legitimately useful in its own way. I also love how much focus traversal is given, while the movement isn't exactly fun the caves of SR388 genuinely feel a lot more massive and monumental thanks to the Spider Ball and Space Jump letting you explore them in a way no conventional platformer protagonist ever could.

The attempts at atmosphere are also very effective. The GB sound-chip is used to great effect to make some legitimately amazing tunes at times (as well as very silly bleep bloops at other times, but even that feels surprisingly atmospheric when it syncs up with your low health beeping), and with how zoomed-in the screen is now, it's not hard to start feeling like you're getting lost in these massive caves and the next Metroid is right around the corner, ready to attack you when you're low on health and least expecting it. Similarly, there's a surprising amount of depth to the storytelling here, all without a single word. The fact that the doors from the original Metroid return, but only to protect certain formerly inhabited areas, the way that the environment gets more hostile and then eventually begins to die out as you approach the Metroid Queen's lair and the way you can hear her crying and roaring after you've laid waste to all her children are all really interesting touches that add a lot to what could have been a much simpler space opera romp. Even tiny details like how the item-holding statues are often found smashed into pieces by the end of the game (Like the Metroids are trying to hide the weapons from you) or that there's a massive empty chasm right beneath the Metroids' lair really sparks the imagination.

Beyond all of that, though, Metroid II triumphs in its ending, maybe the most pivotal scene in the entire franchise. I love how it plays out without ever taking control from the player: the Metroid hatches, and the player/Samus try to shoot it, before realizing it's friendly. Only gradually, do they get attached to it as it even helps them leave the planet, finally emerging out onto the surface of SR388, where after an entire game of pitch-black backgrounds, they're met with a beautiful starry sky, as they leave the planet together. After so much grim and questionably justified killing and violence, we're shown that Samus is still ultimately a kind person, and that even the most dangerous being in the world is capable of reciprocating that kindness. The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.