Another Metroid 2 Remake: Return of Samus

Metroid
Metroid: Confrontation	2012
Another Metroid 2 Remake: Return of Samus	2016

Key points

Another Metroid 2 Remake: Return of Samus is a free fan-made remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy.

Features various control style options based on Metroid II: Return of Samus, Super Metroid, and Metroid: Zero Mission.

No longer available for download due to Nintendo's DMCA takedown, preventing any future updates, bugfixes, and other platform releases.^[1] An unofficial patch, however, is available.

Both Mac OS X and Linux versions are unofficially released.

General information

Official forums

Wikitroid - A Wikia for the Metroid franchise.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Official website (unavailable)

The soundtrack is available for free at higher quality than in-game here.

Essential improvements

AM2RLauncher

Requires a zipped archive of the official v1.1 of the game (AM2R_11.zip) originally distributed by DoctorM64 prior to the DMCA takedown.

Needs to download patch data files first, works offline afterwards.

An unofficial, open-source front-end tool that can launch and update the game with the Unofficial AM2R Community Updates, which features the following improvements:

New game modes, extra unlockables, and some of the planned but canceled features.
Widescreen support, although the original aspect-ratio is still available.
Implements the remastered, high-quality soundtrack originally planned for a v1.2 update.
Option for PlayStation and Nintendo SNES/Switch controller prompts; only applies to XInput-based controllers.
Various bugfixes and tweaks.

Eases creation of an *.apk file to install the game onto supported Android devices.

Includes Mod Support.

Makes managing save files easy.

Keep up-to-date for AM2R news from within the launcher.

How to use AM2R Launcher^[2]

Download the launcher here.
Extract the contents of this zip file to its own folder somewhere it can be easily accessed on your computer.
Get a copy of AM2R_11.zip and put it somewhere it can be easily accessed on your computer.
Run the launcher and click the Download button to download the necessary patch files,
Click on the Select 1.1 button, and select your copy of AM2R_11.zip. Should the AM2RLauncher error here or complain, then you have an invalid copy of AM2R_11.zip.
Make sure Community Updates (Latest) is selected from the drop-down menu, and then click the Install button to install the game and apply the latest Community Updates.
Click the Play button to launch the game from the AM2RLauncher.

AM2R Autopatcher

Requires a zipped archive of the official v1.1 of the game (AM2R_11.zip) originally distributed by DoctorM64 prior to the DMCA takedown.

Needs to be updated manually.

Alternative open-source tool that can apply the Unofficial AM2R Community Updates with optional high-quality soundtrack, and create an Android build of the game.

Includes all necessary patch data, works offline.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\AM2R\config.ini <path-to-game>\modifiers.ini^{[Note 1]}
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.yoyogames.am2r/config.ini <path-to-game>/Contents/Resources/modifiers.ini
Linux	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/AM2R/config.ini

modifiers.ini contains settings that alter gameplay and difficulty.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\AM2R\save#
macOS (OS X)	$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.yoyogames.am2r/save#
Linux	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/AM2R

Save files from previous versions may not be compatible with the latest updates from AM2R Launcher.

Video

Video settings.

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		Upscales from 320x240 between 1x-4x or stretched to aspect-ratio in fullscreen using Nearest-neighbor scaling. Unofficial v1.5.2 patch from AM2R Launcher adds a Widescreen option that displays the game at a base resolution of 426x240.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Can be toggled with `Alt`+`↵ Enter` or from the Options menu under Display Options.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at 60 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

Advanced control settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Mouse not used at all.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		XInput and DirectInput supported.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		For XInput controllers, movement is bound to both left analog stick and D-pad. For DirectInput controllers, movement can be assigned to either left analog stick or D-pad.
Controller sensitivity		Deadzone and analog movement option available.
Controller Y-axis inversion		2D game.

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers
Button prompts		Numbered button prompts when using a DirectInput controller. For Nintendo button prompts, use AM2R Launcher, then go to Options → Display, then under Notifications set Controller Tips to `Nintendo Pro` or `SNES Colored`.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback		Only for XInput controllers.
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Game switch dynamically switches between keyboard and controller prompts.

Keyboard remapping.
XInput controller remapping.
DirectInput controller remapping.

Audio

Audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Sound Effects
Surround sound
Subtitles		No speech outside of ending.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP
Processor (CPU)
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	90 MB
Video card (GPU)	DirectX 9.0c compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Mavericks (10.9)
Processor (CPU)	an x86 or x64 based processor
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	90MB

Linux
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 14.04
Processor (CPU)
System memory (RAM)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	90 MB
Other	Following dependencies are required for Ubuntu/Debian distributions: `libgcc1:i386 libgl1-mesa-glx:i386 libglu1-mesa:i386 libopenal1:i386 libssl1.0.0:i386 libstdc++6:i386 libx11-6:i386 libxext6:i386 libxrandr2:i386 libxxf86vm1:i386 zlib1g:i386`.

Notes

↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

↑ Project AM2R - Another Metroid 2 Remake: No Future for AM2R - last accessed on September 2, 2016
↑ Verified by User:Miepee on 2021-12-29
Instructions based on the FAQ.

[gamedir-3] When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[1] Project AM2R - Another Metroid 2 Remake: No Future for AM2R - last accessed on September 2, 2016

[2] Verified by User:Miepee on 2021-12-29
Instructions based on the FAQ.

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

Developers

	Milton "DoctorM64" Guasti
Engines
	GameMaker
Release dates
Windows	August 6, 2016
macOS (OS X)	2016^{[citation needed]}
Linux	2016^{[citation needed]}
Taxonomy
Monetization	Freeware
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Scrolling, Side view
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Metroidvania, Platform, Shooter
Art styles	Pixel art
Themes	Sci-fi
Series	Metroid