I've been checking in on this project for the past couple of years but figured it would either never be finished or Nintendo would come swooping in at some point and kill it. But sure enough, it looks like a 1.0 version is finally ready. Figured I would pass the news along here in case some of you guys had looked at this years ago and totally forgotten about it. I guess the concern now is whether Nintendo tries to take it down now that its actually done. I didn't play any of the demos so I'm excited to see how the entire game looks now

Linky link: http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/2016/08/am2r-10-released.html

Edit: Been playing for a while and REALLY enjoying Samus' movement and the fluidity of the menus in general. There's options to switch between Super Metroid style controls and the more modern style that Fusion/Zero Mission introduced. Definitely feels like a labor of love that paid off well. Now, I haven't played the original Metroid 2 so I'd be curious to see whether any of you could draw any comparisons for how improved/altered the game feels (especially in terms of gameplay difficulty and things like that)

It's kinda crazy to think the day is finally here. I've been following this project for at least 7 years and to see it finally complete...it's pretty great, especially with yesterday being Metroid's 30th anniversary. Honestly could've have been timed better, even if Nintendo doesn't care, fans still do! Also, probably a good idea to snatch this as soon as possible in case of a nintendo take down.

Really cool news!

Have been following it on and off for years, glad this finally came out.

Now I guess I'll wait for Mother 4 to be finished! :)

I remember not liking Metroid 2, but I'd be willing to give it another shot via this remake. Thanks for the heads-up.

Edit: This is a feat. They took what is arguably the worst in the main line of games in the franchise and have turned it into a pretty damn good game. Ate up my afternoon and is probably going to get tomorrow afternoon as well.

Sweet

I've spend about a hour playing it really feels like a new GBA Metroid game similar to Fusion. The movement is really fast along with the view being much larger compared to the GB screen. Makes it easier to dodge attacks. Looks like they've added a few bosses since the first one wasn't in the original game. From my memories Metroid II wasn't that hard other than the final boss. This remake seems about the same on normal. So far seems like the multi year wait was worth it.

Everyone, look quick, it's a unicorn! Download it before Nintendo kills it with a stick!

So far. It's been amazing. Some weird oddities (like why would you force gamepads to use x/y axis instead of "buttons" (or POV switch) if you're not using an Xbox controller. I basically had to use Joy 2 Key to get my Dual Shock 4 to let me use the dpad.), but otherwise it is great.

Wonder how long that will last without being ceased and desisted.

Awesome game, you can skip the item collection noise which is just mindblowing for speed runs, also IBJs are pretty easy. Get it while you can, though I'm sure torrents will be up after the C and D.

*whispers quietly* AM2R got released? No, wait, that's ASMR...

The controls should probably be better optimised, but it's still nice having Samus on my computer.

Nice. I played a build of this a year or so ago and it seemed really polished then, i'm curious to see how much it's changed.

I dont think Nintendo care enough about Metroid to bother.

Shit guys this is good, real good. Better grab it before the C&D comes down.

I have very vivid memories of playing Metroid II when I was young but I don't think I ever came that close to finishing it, so, as someone who hasn't been following this remake's development, this coming out was a really welcome surprise. The idea that a person's memories of a game might not mesh with the reality of what that game is actually like is one that comes up pretty often, so it's nice to play a version of a game from my childhood that meets the high expectations I have for it.

Cool, man. The only 2D Metroid I've never played.

Personally, I don't get why big companies don't just release these sorts of fan remakes officially. Streets of Rage Remake or Mega Man Unlimited, I'm looking at you. Closest I can think of is when Sonic CD got released with work from a fan (who's now working on Sonic Mania with a positive reception).

This is pretty great, even for someone who never played the original version. I know how I'm spending my sunday!

@csl316: Well, Capcom did officially release Street Fighter x Mega Man, so there's that.

Had no idea this existed, and Metroid 2 is the only 2D Metroid I haven't played. Super awesome!

Downloaded immediately last night. I only recently played Metroid II about 2 years ago, so it's still kind of fresh on my mind, but the bit I played of this remake was still pretty sweet.

This game is extremely well done, especially for a single-person project. Looking back at what I've already done Vs the original's maps, he very faithfully kept what was there, while adding some new quirks to make it play a little differently, much like how Zero Mission operated. In Zero Mission, you can recognize the maps, but there are quirks and abilities added in. This is very similarly done.

Jeremy Parish at USGamer doesn't expect there to be a C&D, because he's not asking for money. When it comes down to fan-games, Nintendo is a little less tone-deaf: they would have C&D years ago, it wouldn't have reached this stage.

The Chozo Statue in this game is the most canon.

As a fan game, this is a solid 10/10 ;

As a Metroid 2 remake, again, perfect score, as the original game is hard to enjoy, even on the very first playthrough l

As a Metroid game coming after Metroid Fusion and Metroid : Zero Mission... I'd give it a 5/10. The level design is still mostly tedious, the music underwhelming and the Metroid battles extraordinarily shaky and repetitive. The new gimmicks and boss battles are, for the most part, very fun though.

Looks like Nintendo might be cracking down on places hosting the game files? Still available via torrents and from the main AM2R website, this was just a mirror.

@malarkain: I saw that, and it saddens me. However, it's too late now, Nintendo. The Internet has it. YOU CAN NEVER PUT IT BACK IN THE BOX.

Oh, good thing I downloaded it before the DMCA hammer came crashing down. C'mon Nintendo, it's not like you're going to do anything with Metroid.

Didn't expect Nintendo to move on that one but yes, they would have a case in court, altough its outcome would affect the jurisprudence of Fair Use.

Not that it'll ever go to Court, no one besides Nintendo has the money for that.

I should check this out. I played Metroid II a couple of years ago and felt like I was lost the entire time. I did enjoy it though.

It also has one of my favourite endings in a game, so it would be interesting to see how a remake handles it.

I probably won't dig into it for a while, but I made sure to download it anyway. It's always bittersweet when I see stuff like this pop up in my news feeds. I understand copyright and ip protection and all, but when there's an extenuating circumstance like this, where a team made a clearly well made iteration of a game in a series that's been out of the spotlight for a while, you don't stomp it out of existence. You use it as an opportunity. I'm sure if Nintendo approached them they could very easily come to an agreement that ended with the game being made available. Of course I can only offer my layman's opinion on the matter. I'm sure it's quite a bit more involved.

Make Samus a brunette and claim it's a parody. Nofundo won't be able to do shit

I look forward to GB East doing a video titled: "AM2R with AXNR"

Looks like the main site has been hit with the DMCA now. So glad I got this before this happened.

@confusedowl: not surprised that didn't take long. glad i grabbed the file when i saw the story on kotaku over the weekend. haven't tried it yet but it looks fantastic. I loved metroid zero mission so another game similar to that that is all new to me sounds awesome.

Guys, it was actually nice of Nintendo to let this get a full release before dropping the C&D on it. They have investors to answer to, you know.

But they let it out of the box. They didn't have to, but they did. So now it's out there and probably will be forever.

...except threaten to take you to court and make you prove that it's a parody.

Finished it, probably 2nd or 3rd best game of the year or so. Took 7 hours and I got 90% of the items (every one that appeared on the map) without looking anything up, not too bad, 4-5 deaths or so. A few cool Speed Boost items though nothing as ridiculous as some of the ones in Zero Mission. The last boss kind of sucks but also sucked in the original and if you're working with that core design it's pretty tough to make it not suck.

If you're curious about the original game but don't actually want to play it I recommend MeccaPrime's LP:

@fredchuckdave: Also just finished it, took me about the same time as you (I got 95% though :P). I went back and got another item I missed, I suppose I'll go back and get 100%

I suppose it would be a bit weird to list it on a 2016 list, given that it's an unofficial remake. But if I were to put it on a list, it'd probably be in my top 5.

It's sad that fans have to make this sort of thing, all while Nintendo are making Metroid games that no one actually wants =/