Metroid II: Return of Samus (Japanese: メトロイドII RETURN OF SAMUS, Hepburn: Metoroido Tsū Ritān Obu Samusu?) is an action-adventure video game, the second game in the Metroid series, and the only one developed for the Nintendo Game Boy. The sixth installment in the overall series story, the game was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 (Nintendo R&D1), and published by Nintendo in North America in November 1991, in Japan in January 1992, and in Europe in May 1992. In Metroid II, the developers added round metal shoulders on Samus's Varia Suit to differentiate it from her Power Suit, since both looked similar on the Game Boy's limited greyscale display. The updated suit has since been a staple of the series, appearing in all subsequent games.
The story of Metroid II follows the protagonist and playable character Samus Aran, who is sent on a mission to exterminate the Metroid creatures from their home planet SR388 before the antagonistic Space Pirates obtain and use them. On the planet, Samus encounters Metroids in different stages of their evolution cycle, ranging in forms from small jellyfish-like creatures to large, hovering, reptilian beasts. Eventually, Samus reaches the Queen Metroid and kills it. Continuing through the planet's caverns, Samus finds a Metroid egg, which hatches in front of her. The creature forms a bond with Samus and follows her to her gunship, setting the plot for Super Metroid (1994).
Although not as well received as the original Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the game was still given generally favorable reviews, receiving an aggregated score of 79 percent from Game Rankings. Praise focused on the game's story and settings, while criticism targeted its graphics and audio. Video game magazine Nintendo Power ranked the game as the 102nd-best game on a Nintendo console in their list of the Top 200 Games. Tim Jones of IGN found Metroid II a refreshing departure from the norm, and praised its replay value, while 1UP.com's Jeremy Parish felt that the game's visuals were bland and monotonous, noting that the music was not up to par with what the series is known for.
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“Compassion is frequently a sense of our own misfortunes, in those of other men; it is an ingenious foresight of the disasters that may fall upon us hereafter. We relieve others, that they may return the like when our occasions call for it; and the good offices we do them are, in strict speaking, so many kindnesses done to ourselves beforehand.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)