And so video gaming sadly lost one of its greatest mavericks. Although he had left Nintendo, where he had worked for over 30 years, under difficult circumstances his place in the annals of history was assured. Inventor of innumerable games and hardware, including the ever popular Gameboy and the Wonder Swan, Yokoi was also the divining rod that took Nintendo on a journey from Hanafuda card maker to video game giant. From the early days of gadgets such as the hand grabber, shooting ranges and early arcade machines, Yokoi was the initial catalyst that eventually led Nintendo to develop the Famicon and later to world-wide domination.

He was also the head of Nintendo R&D 1, a team who were responsible for a wealth of games for Nintendo’s systems. In 1986, they developed a game that would rival anything produced by Nintendo for many years. That game was Metroid. Produced by Yokoi, directed by Satoru Okada and released in Japan on the Famicon disc system, the game was a revelation on many counts.

The main character was Samus Aran, a bounty hunter looking for the source of the Metroid, a jellyfish-like alien creature that could absorb huge amounts of energy. The Metroid were being used by the evil Space Pirates for developing biological weapons. The game initially played like a traditional two dimensional platform shooter, but many areas remained inaccessible. As the game progressed, Samus gained new abilities that would allow access to new areas. Thus the game area blossomed like a flower and the Samus was taken on a journey from a relatively weak cyborg bounty hunter to a terrible weapon of destruction, more machine than…….person. It was a game that would inspire many others, not the least being the much admired Turrican and more recently the Castlevania games.

Sequels followed in 1991 on the Gameboy and in 1994 on the Super Famicon. The latter, Super Metroid, produced by Makoto Kanoh and directed by Yoshio Sakamoto remains a constant favourite on gamers’ best of all time polls.

This leads us to the latest version of the series, Metroid 4 or Metroid Fusion. Unlike Metroid Prime on the Gamecube, which takes place just after the first game, Fusion carries on directly where Super Metroid left off. It is also the first Metroid game developed by Nintendo of Japan since Yokoi’s untimely death and remains resolutely in the Metroid tradition of a two dimensional platform shooter.

In Metroid 2, Samus battled through the planet of SR388, the home of the Metroid. The Metroid were wiped from the planet, the Queen Metroid being killed in the process. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Samus and the rest of the galaxy, the Metroid were developed by a long extinct race of creatures called the Chozo to destroy the parasitic indigenous life form of SR388, known ominously as X. Following the extinction of the Metroid, the X have been able to flourish on SR388 without any natural predators. On a routine visit to SR388, Samus is infected with the X which takes over her body and the biological systems of her cyborg suit, also made by the Chozo. Much of the suit is cut away by doctors in an effort to save Samus, but the only thing that stops the X is a vaccine made from the only cell sample of the very last Metroid, which was killed at the end of previous game.

The X in Samus’ system is killed instantly, but the Metroid cells bind with Samus’ suit, hence the title of the game. Thus Samus must start without most of the abilities she obtained in the last game and so it begins again. A distress call is received from the Space Station orbiting SR388. The X are invading. Samus rushes there to fight the X, now that her suit can withstand the danger.

Metroid games have taken many inspirations from Science Fiction films and this time is no different. The fusion of the Metroid with Samus is not unlike what the character of Ripley undergoes in Alien Resurrection and the X behave in many ways like the creatures in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The X is a parasite that inhabits the body of its host and takes it over from within. Samus will encounter many enemies that will be familiar to veterans of the series, albeit this time they are infected with the X. Killing an enemy reveals the X parasite left behind. If Samus can collect these before they fly off, the Metroid in her system will absorb the energy replenishing some of Samus’ health. But you must be quick. If an X is allowed to be absorbed by another creature, the creature will become tougher and more resilient. At times, the X can replicate the creature Samus have just killed.

Veterans of the series will be very much at home with Metroid Fusion. The basic idea of the gameplay remains very much the same as before, the game gradually expands in line with Samus’ abilities. The abilities themselves will be very recognisable too as there are no new ones to discover, which is a slight shame. Although the same could be said about Metroid Prime, Fusion does not have advantage of a new dimension to give the abilities a fresh edge. Thus the morph ball looks and behaves exactly the same as it always did, although given that this is the first two dimensional Metroid game in eight years, it can be forgiven.

Where the game does differ is in its structure. Previous Metroid games have required that the player does not leave the game alone for too long a period. The huge, expanding map means that period of abstinence can be confusing, as the player forgets which area they were going to next. The problem with handheld games is that it is not unusual for players to leave a game for longer periods between journeys on the train or where ever the games are played. Nintendo have worked around this by splitting the space station into seven distinct areas with the station’s computer guiding Samus on what to do next. The current objective can be replayed at any time and always remains in one of the distinct areas.

Although it avoids the problems of the player becoming totally lost, it does imbue the game with a different tone. The style is more episodic than before and strays further away from the structure of previous Metroid games than (ironically) Metroid Prime. It also means that Samus has an ever present ally. Although the ally is merely a computer, it does remove some of the intimidating, solitary atmosphere evident in previous titles. Before it was Samus working alone against the entire enemy force with only occasional help from the local wildlife to assist. This time, the computer is never more than a few screens away.

It could have been much worse though. Initially, the computer barks objectives at Samus who has to follow them like a lap dog performing tricks. It doesn’t really feel like you’re thinking for yourself, just following instructions whilst blasting whatever moves in between. Soon though, predicaments arise that require much more cerebral input from the player. Walls are blocked, objectives are changed and things are not what they seem. Often the player will be confronted with a dead end, with no obvious means of escape, requiring much lateral thinking and full use of Samus’ abilities. A side story develops that introduces a fairly predictable but nevertheless welcome twist to the plot.

All the time the player is being pursued by SA-X, a copy of Samus controlled by the X but with a Samus’ full quota of weapons and abilities. It’s a nice touch, not unlike the Nemesis from Biohazard 3 and although SA-X only appears at certain scripted points, it re-invigorates the sense of menace that the company of the computer takes away.

Besides the presence of SA-X, there are many boss fights in this game, more than any other Metroid title. It’s not a very long game, so at times it can feel like the bosses are coming one after another, but the quality of them rarely disappoints. Its old school gaming at its best; find the weak spot and then blast away. Rarely will encounters be won on their first visit though and some will require a fair amount of dexterity and patience from the player.

The controls though will never let the player down. Despite the smaller D-Pad, the control always feels tight and precise, slightly faster than Super Metroid and just as responsive. The eight way shooting is still as intuitive as it ever was. The loss of two buttons from the Super Famicon has not hindered the game either. There are still the two kinds of bomb and four types of missile available to the player as well as different beam weapons, although the weapons replace the previous versions this time rather than add to the existing arsenal, which can be just as well as the enemies can get very nasty towards the end of the game.

After Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, fans of the series may be disappointed with the length of the main game which will take around six hours to complete. It has the usual hidden bonuses which goes someway to alleviate this problem, some of which are more deviously hidden than any other game in recent memory. Expect to see Metroid Fusion near the top of Gamefaqs’ most popular lists for some time.

For those who own Metroid Prime, finishing Fusion will open up the original Metroid to be played on the Gamecube. It’s a true testament to the Fusion’s heritage that the original plays so well. For many players it will be their first chance to see where it all began and why Gunpei Yokoi’s game is held in such reverence.

And this is the key thing about Metroid Fusion; despite any negative points it’s a game that Yokoi would have been proud of. It’s not on the same level as Super Metroid nor Metroid Prime (few games are), but more importantly it isn’t Metroid-lite. Despite the small screen and change of structure, the game remains true to its roots. Technically, it’s tour-de force with some of the best graphics and sound seen yet achieved from the GBA, but more than that it follows a template that offers superb entertainment for both newcomers and veterans alike. It may not be highly original, but then there hasn’t been a Metroid title nor anything quite like it for some years.

And so the series that Yokoi and his team created back in 1986 continues and the memory of the great man lives on. The Gameboy may be Yokoi’s legacy, but the Metroid series remains his masterpiece.