I've heard a lot of people say this is the definitive version of Metroid 2, even over the official remake, Samus Returns.
And now that I've finally played it after all these years... I...don't think I agree with that sentiment.
Don't get me wrong, it is a really good remake of Metroid 2, and it's got a ton of stuff going for it, but so does Samus Returns. The latter easily has the better combat; the melee counter was a brilliant addition to Samus' arsenal. It may be a little more clunky SR compared to Dread, but it's still a very fun mechanic that adds a lot of depth.
The Metroid fights in particular are a lot more fun in SR. AM2R's Metroid Fights are kinda...middling. They're clunky, hard to hit, and only have a handful of things they can do in a fight. Not to mention the abysmal arenas some of these fights take place in. And like, that's...not exactly a great look for a game about fighting Metroids.
Unequivocally, the best thing about AM2R is the atmosphere. They absolutely fuckin' nailed it. The music, the spritework, the varying biomes, the ending?? It's all brilliant and I was constantly wowed every time I found myself in a new location. I'm still mad Samus Returns turned the ending into a glorified Ridley fight. That's the one part you just had to not fuck up and what did you do???
Anyway, I really liked the segments of the game original to AM2R. Getting a Prime-style scan of environments, enemies, and whatnot really fleshes out the world. But unlike prime, you don't have to pause the game to look at things every six seconds!!! Also the "charge to draw pickups to you" is in the game and it's so nice. Why isn't that in the main series?
The addition of the Federation ship on the surface is really cool. You get some insight on the Metroids and why they only reach later stages of life, and a secret boss fight! Oh also you can go to the room Samus visits in Fusion before she gets attacked lmao
I'm not sure how I feel about the other new bosses though, I think the Torizo is fun, but the others are kinda...mehhh?? And then at worst they're the Big fuckin' wheel in the tall corridor.
AM2R is a very fun game, and I'm happy I finally played it, I'm just not convinced that it's as definitive of a version as people claim it to be.