Talk:Metroid II: Return of Samus

Not an Unused Enemy?

A comment on the video linked at the bottom of this page claims that the room shown isn't unused, but rather that it's just a used room that happens to be internally adjacent to a different used room. May someone confirm or clarify? (I might've misunderstood, and I'm too awful at navigating Metroid 2 to check myself) --DoubleATam (talk) 21:07, 13 September 2017 (EDT)

Plasma Beam SFX: Version Difference or Poor Emulation?

I watched someone else's video playthrough and noticed the Plasma Beam made an entirely different sound effect from the one I heard on the 3DS Virtual Console release (European in my case, in case that turns out to matter). I've heard Game Boy sound emulation is pretty rough, but my version's Plasma Beam sounds like "bzooweeep" while the other person's seemed a more monotone "eeee", which is pretty different. Is it known to be an emulator difference or a version difference? If not, I can try to investigate more later and maybe record the sound to actually show what I mean. --DoubleATam (talk) 21:07, 13 September 2017 (EDT)

"Inaccessible Content" is actually accessible.

The room is actually part of the tunnels you travel through after destroying the first five Metroids, specifically the part where you see a Metroid husk sitting on the ground. — NES Boy (talk) 16:45, 27 September 2017 (EDT)

Good to know, thank you for determining where that map data is used!--RavenWorks (talk) 15:44, 13 December 2018 (EST)

Possible copy protection?

My copy of METROID II: Return of Samus spontaneously stopped working recently, and I'm currently wondering if I've accidentally stumbled upon some sort of copy protection that's linked to whether the battery exists or not. When I turn on the system, the Game Boy and/or Nintendo logos appear correctly (and the cartridge's contacts are quite clean), so it's definitely making a good connection — but as soon as the BIOS finishes, it just cuts to a blank screen.

I've tested my cartridge on my original Game Boy, my Game Boy Color, and my Game Boy Player, and I get the same results on them all.

Given how old the game is, I'm hoping that it's just triggering some kind of weird anti-bootleg code 'cause the battery has run dry (and possibly also corrupted the save data to such a state that the game doesn't know what it's looking at) — and not that the game itself has just up and died.

Would anyone happen to have some insight on this? -Kizul Emeraldfire (talk) 18:44, 6 July 2018 (EDT)

I wonder if there is a way to emulate a dead battery in an emulator. That could be a good way to confirm/deny this. --Hiccup (talk) 04:07, 7 July 2018 (EDT)

Out of curiosity, I opened up my copy of Metroid II (a legitimate copy) and desoldered the battery to see what would happen if I tried playing it without the battery. As expected, the game doesn't hold a save but it plays perfectly fine otherwise. I played it for around ten minutes like this and didn't notice any differences. If it matters at all, I tested this on a Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-101 model). Ferrox (talk) 12:07, 8 July 2018 (EDT)

So, in other words: my game is legitimately dead. :( Rats.

Well, at least now I know for certain! :) Thank you, Ferrox! -Kizul Emeraldfire (talk) 12:49, 8 July 2018 (EDT)

Possibly Unused Cavern Theme

I don't recognize this song and am fairly certain it does not ever play in the game.

http://metroid.retropixel.net/games/metroid2/music/m207.mp3

Source: http://metroid.retropixel.net/games/metroid2/music/

Also found it here: https://archive.org/details/15MultipleMetroidsAppear/07+-+Third+Cave.mp3

In playlists on youtube it doesn't even show up.

A different #4 is found here: http://vgmrips.net/packs/pack/metroid-ii-return-of-samus-game-boy.

By my research, using the the track list names posted in vgmrips.net, Area 1 uses "Caverns 1". Area 2 uses "Caverns 2" (and one entrance plays the "Area 1", which I think is a bug (that's the entrance from the Chozo ruins under water back into the main cave)). Area 3 and Area 5 use "Cavern 3". Area 4 & 6 use "Caverns 4".

Speculation: This missing track was intended for Area 8. I say this because of the pattern the the game plays tracks. (There's no map out there that reflects the game's music transitions.) You start the game with the "Main Theme", then when you go near the big cave of area 1, "Cavern 1" starts. Enter the ruins and "Chozo Ruins" plays, which is the same for all Chozo ruins. After you leave the area and go back to the main tunnel, the "Main theme" starts again. This pattern of Main Theme ⮆ Cavern theme ⮂ Chozo Theme (if there is Chozo ruins) ⟲. After each area you go into the main tunnel and hear the main theme again. This pattern continues until you reach area 8 (area 7 is a transition area and plays the "Main Theme"). When you reach Area 8, it also play the main theme, which breaks the pattern. --Kvon (talk) 18:00, 30 October 2018 (EDT)

This just appears to be a bad rip of a song, and does not correspond to any song in the game's data as far as I can tell. You can experiment by poking at $CEDC to enqueue a new song. Values range from $00 to $20. Doing a cursory search of the door transitions in the disassembly, it appears that all 4 atmospheric cavern themes are used at one point or another (songs $3, $4, $5, and $D). -- RT-55J (talk) 00:35, 15 May 2023 (UTC)