science

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Metroid II: Return of Samus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Metroid II: Return of Samus rather than just read about it. In short: Metroid II: Return of Samus is a 1991 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. The first Metroid game for a handheld game console, it was released in North America in November 1991 and in Japan and Europe in 1992.

Key takeaways

Metroid II: Return of Samus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Metroid II: Return of Samus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Metroid II: Return of Samus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Metroid II: Return of Samus is a 1991 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. The first Metroid game for a handheld game console, it was released in North America in November 1991 and in Japan and Europe in 1992. It follows the bounty hunter Samus Aran on her mission to eradicate the Metroids from their home planet, SR388, before the Space Pirates can obtain them. Players must find and exterminate the Metroids to progress. Like the original Metroid, released in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Metroid II was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. It introduced several features that became staples of the series, including Samus's Space Jump, Spazer Beam and the Spider Ball, and round-shouldered Varia Suit. Metroid II received positive reviews, with praise for its story, setting, and improved gameplay, but was criticized for its graphics and audio, especially the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd caverns music. By late 2003, it had sold 1.72 million copies worldwide. It was rereleased on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service in 2011 and on the Nintendo Classics service in February 2023. A sequel, Super Metroid, was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, and a remake, Metroid: Samus Returns, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017. An unofficial remake, AM2R, was released in 2016 for Windows.

Gameplay

Metroid II is an action-adventure side-scroller game in which the player controls the protagonist Samus Aran on the fictional planet SR388. Players advance through the game by using Samus' weapons to kill a fixed number (47) of Metroid creatures. The player is given a detector that displays the number of Metroids remaining in the area. Once all the creatures are eliminated, an earthquake occurs and the planet's lava levels decrease, allowing Samus to travel deeper through its tunnels. The Metroid creatures are encountered in different evolution stages of their development cycle: original, Alpha, Gamma, Zeta and Omega. The more developed the organism is, the stronger its attack. Metroid II features save modules located around the planet, which allow players to save their progress and continue in another session. The game features two weapons new to the Metroid series: the tri-splitting Spazer Laser Beam, and the Plasma Beam, which passes through enemies when shot. Samus can only equip one beam at a time, but she can switch between them by returning to where they are first found. Metroid II features the Space Jump, a new suit enhancement that allows Samus to jump infinitely and access otherwise unreachable areas. The game also sees the return of Samus' Morph Ball, a mode in which she curls up into a ball to travel through small tunnels. In addition, the game is the first in the series to feature the Spider Ball and Spring Ball. The Spider Ball allows Samus to climb most walls or ceilings, giving her freedom to explore both the surfaces and ceilings of caverns, and the Spring Ball gives Samus the ability to jump while curled up into a ball in the Morph Ball form.

Plot

In the first Metroid, Samus Aran foiled the Space Pirates' plans to use the newly discovered lifeform known as Metroids. Some time later, the Galactic Federation resolved to ensure that the Metroids' power could never again be used by the Pirates, and sent several teams to the Metroid's home planet SR388 to destroy the species. When the teams disappear, the Galactic Federation contracts Samus to finish the mission. Samus hunts and kills the Metroids one by one. Each exhibits unique mutations: the Metroids grow from small jellyfish-like creatures into large, hovering lizard-like beasts. After destroying most of the planet's Metroids, Samus kills the Queen Metroid. Returning to her ship, Samus finds a Metroid egg. A Metroid hatchling emerges and imprints onto Samus, thinking that she is its mother. Unable to commit to her mission of extermination, Samus spares its life. She exits the tunnels while the Metroid helps clear the way. Reaching the planet's surface, Samus and the infant Metroid board the ship together.

Development

Metroid II was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 (Nintendo R&D1), and produced by Gunpei Yokoi; they both also worked on the previous Metroid game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was directed by Hiroji Kiyotake and Hiroyuki Kimura, and designed by Makoto Kano, while Takahiro Harada serving as the main programmer. Metroid II marked a "new high point" for handheld game consoles, with graphics that were almost as good as the 8-bit graphics in games for the NES. The game features enhancements from its predecessor that include easier controls which allow Samus to crouch while firing at the same time, and jump while shooting straight down to attack anything below her. The game utilizes the cartridge's battery-backed memory for saving the player's progress. In the 2004 interview for the Nintendo Dream magazine, Kiyotake revealed that the planet SR388 was named after the Yamaha SR400 motorcycle. The Game Boy's black-and-white graphics resulted in changes to Samus's gear that eventually became permanent. In the original Metroid, color was used to differentiate between Samus's Power Suit and her Varia Suit (an upgraded version), but without color on the Game Boy, the two suits would have appeared similar, requiring the developers to develop a visual indicator for players to determine which suit Samus is wearing. They also updated her Varia Suit, adding round metal shoulders that have been a part of the suit in every Metroid game since.

Release Metroid II was released in North America in November 1991. This was followed by the release in Japan on January 21, 1992, and in Europe on May 21. It has shipped 1.72 million copies worldwide by late 2003. Nintendo included the game in its Player's Choice marketing label in North America in 1993. It was re-released through the Nintendo Power service in Japan on March 1, 2000. Metroid II, along with other Game Boy games such as Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, and several others were released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console service in 2011. It was released in Japan on September 28, and in North America and Europe on November 24.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Metroid II: Return of Samus: Samus enters the caverns of the planet SR388. The figures on the bottom of the screen indicate her energy, stock of missiles, and the remaining number of Metroids she must eliminate. — Samus enters the caverns of the planet SR388. The figures on the bottom of the screen indicate her energy, stock of missiles, and the remaining number of Metroids she must eliminate.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Metroid II: Return of Samus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Metroid II: Return of Samus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Metroid II: Return of Samus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Metroid II: Return of Samus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Metroid II: Return of Samus

In research: Metroid II: Return of Samus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Metroid II: Return of Samus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Metroid II: Return of Samus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1991 video games, Action-adventure games, Fiction about extinction, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Metroid II: Return of Samus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Metroid II: Return of Samus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Metroid II: Return of Samus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Metroid II: Return of Samus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Metroid II: Return of Samus in simple terms?

Why does Metroid II: Return of Samus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Metroid II: Return of Samus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Metroid II: Return of Samus.