ShareThis
Metroid is experiencing something of a renaissance on Nintendo Switch. The series has gotten the delightful Metroid Dread and the glorious Metroid Prime Remastered on the system, and virtually all of Samus’s 2D adventures are on the platform… save for one. That’s about to change when Game Boy Advance Classic Metroid Fusion hits Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on March 9:
Nintendo is pushing this idea that fans can experience all of Samus’s 2D storyline on Switch once Fusion drops. Here’s a bit from Nintendo’s marketing team:
Once Metroid Fusion arrives, if you want to enjoy the main Metroid series in order, you can play Metroid on the NES – Nintendo Switch Online library, Metroid II – Return of Samus on the Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online library, Super Metroid on the Super NES – Nintendo Switch Online library, Metroid Fusion and then conclude with the latest installment on Nintendo Switch, Metroid Dread.
Now, to be fair, Nintendo is qualifying this a wee bit by saying you can enjoy the whole main Metroid series. Metroid: Zero Mission was the second GBA installment and was an astounding remake of the original Metroid. Meanwhile on Nintendo 3DS there was Metroid: Samus Returns, itself a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus on Game Boy. So, from a story perspective yes, fans will get the full thing on Switch, but both of those remakes are a must for series diehards to play. As for the 3D outings, Metroid: Other M, Metroid Prime 2, and Metroid Prime 3 are all currently confined to either Wii or GameCube, so there’s a ways to go before Switch is the ultimate Metroid platform.
If you’re curious what Metroid Fusion is, it is canonically considered Metroid IV, or the fourth mainline entry in the series. It follows the events of Super Metroid where, after Samus has eliminated the threat of Metroids from the galaxy, she faces a new challenge: the X parasites. With Metroids now extinct, the X are without their only natural predator and can now run amok unchecked. After suffering from a deadly infection of X that leaves Samus’s body radically altered and saved only by an infusion of Metroid DNA, Fusion sees her take on an evil doppelgänger of herself dubbed the SA-X.
Fusion gets some heat from longtime fans for being a more directed experience, but overall it is an exceptional installment in the series. Boasting creative enemy designs and the tight, compelling action that the series is known for, this is a gem that should have everyone excited to play this Thursday.
Source: Nintendo of America Press Release
