A very fun and challenging cousin of the beloved NES classic
User Rating: 9.6 | Metroid Fusion GBA
Metroid Fusion really attracted me because I was going on a flight and was bored of all my old GBA games. So I played it on the flight, and low and behold, it really stood well in the shoes any game named "Metroid" would inherit. With a much different story, and more complex gameplay, Metroid Fusion adds all new challenges to the game we all loved (who were old enough) back in 1986, only around 1 year after the original release of the NES platform. In Fusion, you still play as Samus, now it's wide open that Samus is a woman (as it was in Super Metroid), and you arrive on a deserted space station infected with the X. When creatures get infected with X (not the popular pill form drug that makes everything happy), they go crazy (although it sounds kinda like the pill), and attack you. Basically, it's the classic destoy the infestation story line, you've done it all before. Only, you start off without all your great abilities you'll get later in the game. You get some new abilities in this game, you learn them along the way. Some of your moves and attacks just weren't possible on the classic NES due to the lack of buttons on the NES controller (only d-pad, a,b,select,start vs GBA's d-pad,a,b,select,start,l,r). Needless to say, it's still great controlling Samus, who can do all kinds of cool spins and morph into a bomb and power bomb the hell out of enemies and secret walls. The visuals on Metroid Fusion, I must say, are as good as they could be on GBA during play mode. The cutscenes are mostly just stills, but we're still working with GBA here. Nevertheless, outstanding visuals with tons of enemy types, detailed scenery, and big scary bosses. How about what hits your ears? Cool music does, as would be expected from the series. If you can, play with the older model GBAs, so you get the headphone jack (SP doesn't support it), since Metroid Fusion has sound options that increase the surround with headphones. The guns all sound cool, all of them with different effects, and the enemies sound pretty cool for such a weak sound byting. Fun factor, I would say is very high. This game really reminds me of Castlevania, Aria of Sorrows for the GBA. Same style of playing with upgrade as you go progression. If you liked any of the originals, you will like this one. There is quite a difficulty factor here, though, being a much different playstyle than most are used to these days. It takes a lot of patience for even fairly good gamers, especially later in the game. So, I rate this game very well, in fact, one of the best non-Pokemon games for handhelds. Go out and get it for about $12 used at a Gamestop near you, it's a very worthy purchase (plus you can call yourself oldschool, even though you can't put down half-life 2!!). 
