Metroid Fusion is a 2002 action-adventure game created and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the fourth main game in the Metroid series. Players control Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who investigates a space station infected with shapeshifting parasites called X. This game, along with the GameCube version of Metroid Prime, marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year break since Super Metroid (1994).
Like earlier Metroid games, Fusion uses side-scrolling gameplay with elements of jumping, shooting, and solving puzzles. It introduces a mission-based system that helps guide players through specific areas. The game can connect to Metroid Prime using a GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable to unlock extra content.
Fusion was praised for its gameplay, controls, graphics, and music. However, some critics noted that the game is shorter and less open for exploration. It won awards such as "Handheld Game of the Year" from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, "Best Game Boy Advance Adventure Game" from IGN, and "Best Action Game on Game Boy Advance" from GameSpot. The game was later released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2011, the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014, and the Nintendo Classics service in 2023. A sequel, Metroid Dread, was released in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
Metroid Fusion is an action-adventure game where the player controls Samus Aran. Like other games in the series, Fusion takes place in a large world with many areas connected by elevators. Each area has rooms separated by doors. Most doors open when Samus shoots them, but some doors only open after she reaches a specific location. Fusion has a more structured path than other Metroid games because the story plays a major role. For example, the game includes Navigation Rooms, which show players where to go next.
The game involves solving puzzles to find hidden items, jumping between platforms, shooting enemies, and collecting power-ups that help Samus access new areas. Samus can absorb X Parasites, which give her extra health, missiles, and bombs. Power-ups are collected by downloading them in Data Rooms or by defeating bosses and absorbing a Core-X. New abilities include grabbing ledges and climbing ladders.
Players can use the GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable to connect to Fusion and unlock features in Metroid Prime. After completing Prime, players can unlock Samus’s Fusion Suit. After finishing Fusion, players can unlock a version of the first Metroid game that plays like the original. In Metroid: Zero Mission (2004), players can use the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable to connect to Fusion and unlock a picture gallery with images from Fusion’s ending.
Plot
Bounty hunter Samus Aran explores the surface of planet SR388 with a team from Biologic Space Laboratories (BSL). She is attacked by parasitic organisms called X. When she returns to the BSL station, Samus loses consciousness, and her ship crashes. The BSL ship that Samus was protecting rescues her and sends her to a Galactic Federation hospital for treatment. There, doctors find that the X parasites infected Samus's central nervous system. They treat her with a vaccine made from cells of an infant Metroid that Samus had previously adopted on SR388. The vaccine allows Samus to absorb the X parasites' nuclei for energy, but it also makes her more vulnerable to cold temperatures. Parts of Samus's infected Power Suit are sent to the BSL station for study, though the suit was too connected to her body to be fully removed while she was unconscious.
After Samus recovers, she is sent to investigate an explosion at the BSL station. Her new gunship's computer oversees the mission, and Samus names it "Adam" after her former commander, Adam Malkovich. Samus learns that the X parasites can copy the appearance of their hosts and that the X infected the station with the help of the SA-X, a parasite that mimics Samus at full power.
Samus avoids the SA-X and explores the space station, defeating large creatures infected by the X to regain her abilities. She finds a restricted lab containing Metroids, and the SA-X triggers the lab's auto-destruct system while attacking the released Metroids, who also destroy the SA-X. Samus escapes, but the lab is destroyed. Adam scolds Samus for disobeying orders and reveals that the Galactic Federation secretly used the lab to breed Metroids. Adam also explains that the SA-X made copies of itself through asexual reproduction. Adam then warns Samus to leave the station immediately.
While escaping, Samus kills an X parasite that mimics Ridley and reaches the Sector 1 navigation room. Adam tells Samus to let the Federation handle the investigation, as they plan to capture the SA-X for military use. Samus is angry, knowing the X would infect Federation soldiers and use their knowledge to conquer the universe. She decides to destroy the station. Though Adam initially blocks her by locking the navigation room doors, Samus calls it "Adam" and reveals that the computer contains Adam's consciousness, uploaded after his death. Adam agrees to help and suggests altering the station's propulsion system to crash it into SR388, which would destroy the X population. Samus realizes the computer is Adam's mind.
As Samus prepares to activate the propulsion system, the SA-X attacks her but is defeated. Samus sets the station on a collision course with SR388. Before leaving, she is attacked by an Omega Metroid. The SA-X attacks the Metroid but is destroyed. Samus absorbs the SA-X's nucleus and uses her restored Ice Beam to defeat the Omega Metroid. Her ship arrives, piloted by creatures she rescued from the station's Habitation Deck. They escape as the station crashes into SR388, destroying it.
Development
Nintendo announced a Metroid game for the Game Boy Advance in March 2001 and showed early video at the 2001 E3 convention under the name Metroid IV. The video showed Samus wearing a dark suit, running on walls and ceilings, with simpler, more "Game Boy Color-like" graphics. IGN wrote that the video was disappointing, describing it as "dark" and "muddy." At E3 2002, Nintendo demonstrated the game again, now called Metroid Fusion, with updated graphics. IGN gave Metroid Fusion the awards for Best of Show and Best Action Game.
Metroid Fusion was created by Nintendo Research & Development 1 (R&D1), the same team that made the 1994 Super Nintendo game Super Metroid. The gameplay, screen layout, and controls are similar to Super Metroid, with improvements. The story is shown through text and close-up scenes. It was written and directed by the series designer, Yoshio Sakamoto, and produced by Takehiro Izushi.
Sakamoto chose to create an original story instead of remaking a Metroid game because he wanted to make "something completely new." He hoped to see how players would respond. Fusion introduces gameplay features such as a more direct, mission-based structure that helps players explore areas. Objectives can be completed in different ways, acting "more as a guide for what the player should do instead of giving a completely blank map and saying 'Here you go, figure out what to do and how to do it.'"
According to the lead programmer, Katsuya Yamano, Nintendo R&D1 did not use programming techniques from previous Metroid games. Instead, they used their 2001 game Wario Land 4 as a reference. Samus's suit design was changed; the official reason is that an X Parasite attacked Samus and caused her to lose all her abilities. Missiles were improved with two upgrades, similar to beam upgrades: the Ice Missile, which works like the Ice Beam, and the Diffusion Missile, which greatly increases the blast radius. Other small abilities were added, such as climbing walls and ceilings. Health and missile pickups are replaced by X Parasites that appear after defeating enemies.
The music was composed by Minako Hamano and Akira Fujiwara. Hamano said Sakamoto wanted her to create music that matched Adam's dialogue. She aimed for "serious, ambient music rather than melody" to avoid making exploration themes "annoying." She also reused jingles from Super Metroid for Fusion. Because Nintendo of America wanted developers to use "Hollywood-like" voice actors, Hamano added a voice for an announcer. The developers planned to include voice acting, but due to ROM cartridge limits, voices were only used for warning announcements.
Release
Metroid Fusion was released in North America on November 18, 2002, in Europe on November 22, Australia on November 29, Japan on February 14, 2003, and China on March 2, 2006. Players can connect Fusion to Metroid Prime for the GameCube using a GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable. Metroid Prime was released on the same day as Fusion in North America.
A two-disc soundtrack album called Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks was published by Scitron on June 18, 2003. The second disc includes music from Fusion and one additional track arranged by Shinji Hosoe.
Metroid Fusion was released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in December 2011 as part of the "3DS Ambassadors" program, which included ten Game Boy Advance games for people who bought their 3DS consoles before a price drop. It was among the first three Game Boy Advance games released on the Wii U Virtual Console in April 2014. The game was also released on the Nintendo Classics service in March 2023. A sequel, Metroid Dread, was released in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.
Reception
The game Fusion received high praise from many reviewers. According to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, Fusion was widely acclaimed. The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it a score of 34 out of 40. X-Play said it was enjoyable to play and praised its high-quality graphics and sound. IGN called it an excellent example of a game made for the Game Boy Advance. GamesRadar and GamePro said the game was too short, but they loved playing it and found the hidden secrets and power-ups very creative. GameSpot was disappointed the game ended quickly but said fans of the Metroid series would enjoy it. Nintendo World Report and Eurogamer called it the best 2D Metroid game and the best Game Boy Advance game so far. Game Informer agreed, saying it had everything a Game Boy Advance player could want and gave it a perfect score. Play described it as an improved version of what made Metroid and Super Metroid great.
GameSpot said Fusion combined the best parts of Super Metroid into a new adventure. Scott Pelland of Nintendo Power said it brought back the classic Metroid gameplay. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game’s perfect controls. However, GameSpy said the game felt familiar, as even the final battle was similar to Super Metroid. GameZone said the small screen of the Game Boy Advance made it hard to play, but they still found it exciting.
Fusion received many awards. It was named “Handheld Game of the Year” by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences at the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. It also won “Best Game Boy Advance Adventure Game” from IGN and “Best Action Game on Game Boy Advance” from GameSpot, which had earlier named it the best handheld game of November 2002. It was a runner-up for GameSpot’s annual awards for “Best Sound,” “Best Graphics,” “Best Story,” and “Game of the Year” among Game Boy Advance games. In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine called Fusion “well-designed and well-made,” ranking it the 62nd-best Nintendo game.
Fusion sold over 1.6 million copies worldwide. In its first week, it sold more than 100,000 copies in North America. By the end of November 2002, it sold 199,723 copies in the United States alone, earning $5,590,768 in revenue. This made it the third best-selling Game Boy Advance game that month and the tenth best-selling game across all platforms. By August 2006, it had sold 940,000 copies, earning $27 million. Between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 21st highest-selling game for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, or PlayStation Portable in the United States. As of November 2004, it had sold 180,000 copies in Japan.