Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

 GameCube
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 506 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 454 out of 506
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 506
  3. Negative: 28 out of 506
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  1. GarryW.
    Nov 12, 2004
    6
    If you like Metroid games, you'll love this. But you need a lot of paitence. Something I don't have I'm afraid. Multiplayer feels half-baked.
  2. Evman
    Nov 14, 2016
    6
    A unique, artistic and worthy sequel, though often feels like a disjointed retread of the first.

    It's definitely a long game, if only for the continued backtracking through areas you've been through a few times before. The visors make for some cool graphical effects, and visuals are top notch (60 frames per second in 2004, say whaaa!) though the audio - primarily the soundtrack    A unique, artistic and worthy sequel, though often feels like a disjointed retread of the first.

    It's definitely a long game, if only for the continued backtracking through areas you've been through a few times before.

    The visors make for some cool graphical effects, and visuals are top notch (60 frames per second in 2004, say whaaa!) though the audio - primarily the soundtrack sounds rather artificial and dated compared to many other games released around the same time. The shrill synth notes and repetitive riffs had me drop the music volume down via the options screen.

    The thing that irks me the most about this game is the way it needs to be played different from all the Metroids before. Take Super Metroid on the SNES for instance - you'd pass a yellow door and know to come back later when you had the Power Bomb. Now, you've got the cool 3D map in Metroid Prime 2 so you've got an even easier job of finding a path back to the door. So you get the power bombs and decide to make your way back - HOWEVER, due to being locked in a 'side quest' of 'Collect the 3 keys' you'll find yourself locked in a section of the game world and unable to progress until you complete the menial task.

    This kind of momentum breaking distraction occurs several times over the course of the game and combined with the disorienting transitions between the light and dark Aether I found myself unable to play the game for long without becoming frustrated at the 'stabs in the dark' approach to discovering the exact predetermined way forward.

    Don't even get me started on the overuse of the Morph/Boost/Gravity Ball in this game. Is it 2? 3 bosses that depend on its almost exclusive use?

    Not a terrible game, but the worst of the console-based Metroid titles.    … Expand
  3. Metroidguy4
    May 16, 2013
    10
    The graphics and controls for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes are very good and the boss battles are challenging and great. But I didn't care for the mutli-player mode because the modes that's offered in it is very limit.
  4. theflyestg
    Sep 23, 2015
    10
    Metroid Prime 2, it's basically Prime 1, but the pause menu is tweaked to make it a LOT better than the one in Prime. It is VERY hard if it is your first time playing it, but not too difficult for you to never play it ever again, it requires a lot of patience. The new power-ups and beams are much more intuitive than the ones in Prime. The music is pretty good, and the better graphics areMetroid Prime 2, it's basically Prime 1, but the pause menu is tweaked to make it a LOT better than the one in Prime. It is VERY hard if it is your first time playing it, but not too difficult for you to never play it ever again, it requires a lot of patience. The new power-ups and beams are much more intuitive than the ones in Prime. The music is pretty good, and the better graphics are very nice. I would highly recommend buying and playing this game.… Expand
  5. MYP
    Jun 18, 2021
    8
    Great atmosphere and gameplay, but as a follow-up to Metroid prime it carries the same flaws the sequel should have offered us a better story, world building and puzzles but they are all just like the original. Metroid prime 2 isn't a bad game but a lazy follow up to a more important game.
  6. SwoopTrust
    Nov 5, 2011
    9
    While not as good as Metroid Prime, the improved graphics, the addition of new suits and powerups, as well as the light and dark world, makes this a very compelling experience that everyone should play. Lore is as good as always, bosses are very fun to kill, and the general feel of the game is very polished. And also, hard difficulty really means hard. Really. Also features multiplayer,While not as good as Metroid Prime, the improved graphics, the addition of new suits and powerups, as well as the light and dark world, makes this a very compelling experience that everyone should play. Lore is as good as always, bosses are very fun to kill, and the general feel of the game is very polished. And also, hard difficulty really means hard. Really. Also features multiplayer, but it's not very good to be honest. That would be the con of the game. 9/10.… Expand
  7. chainthunder
    Aug 29, 2013
    10
    Metroid prime 2 echoes is my absolute favorite in the series. I did play this on metroid prime trilogy so I won't talk about the controls. The story is amazing even if it is simple and straight forward the graphics are great but again I am playing on the Wii. I know that one of the biggest complaints id the fact that your beams use ammo I think that's one of the best parts of this game inMetroid prime 2 echoes is my absolute favorite in the series. I did play this on metroid prime trilogy so I won't talk about the controls. The story is amazing even if it is simple and straight forward the graphics are great but again I am playing on the Wii. I know that one of the biggest complaints id the fact that your beams use ammo I think that's one of the best parts of this game in metroid prime 1 when you get a new beam it is stronger and you never have to use the weaker power beam but in echoes it causes you to be smart when should you use certain beams it make the game much more challenging. If you are on the fence about buying it I would say get it it is well worth your money… Expand
  8. joaopontesvaz
    May 27, 2014
    10
    Graphics: 9.8 Sound: 10 Gameplay: 10 Fun/Story: 10

    A beautiful, natural and darker sequel of Metroid Prime. Perhaps not having the same surprise factor, but a really great game.
  9. Youmustdienow
    Jun 21, 2017
    4
    In time for Metroid Prime 4's announcement I decided to warn people about this game.

    As a long time fan of the Metroid franchise it's frustrating that this game was designed for a narrow audience that likes their games brutally unforgiving. Nintendo typically makes games with a balanced difficulty to challenge the player. I've completed every Prime & mainline Metroid game to this date.    In time for Metroid Prime 4's announcement I decided to warn people about this game.

    As a long time fan of the Metroid franchise it's frustrating that this game was designed for a narrow audience that likes their games brutally unforgiving. Nintendo typically makes games with a balanced difficulty to challenge the player. I've completed every Prime & mainline Metroid game to this date. I've only given up several times one the NES original for being unfair & frustrating. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind hard. I've defeated the Unamed King in Dark Souls 3 & felt rewarded. In Prime 2 we get leeway to ease the challenge only by collecting every hidden upgrade in the game. That's fine but this game punishes for exploration. When you revisit sections you have to battle enemies who like to run around at top speed, that lock you in rooms, which then go invisible, & take way too long to inflict damage upon. Not till the end of the game when I combined light & dark suit power into my inventory was I able to cope with exploration. There are some boss battles that require you to switch between ball & suit. It becomes so riddled with difficulty spikes that I wanted to actually smash my controller. I had not been that angry while playing games in years. Every time a boss got too hard, I would dread back tracking to get better items because it's so easy to get lost. Not only that but the dark world drains health by roaming in it. By the time I got to the end, the boss fights became more and more unforgivable. They would place me in long winded battles depleting health bar after bar. When I died, I got sent all the way back to a save station. Had to hike back to the boss, watch cutscene, & face trial while experimenting to find weak spots during battle. When I fought my doppelgänger, the boss was impossible. It turned invisible & required pin point timing to inflict a small amount of damage on. The biggest slap in the face was before I got to end game. Just like other Prime games you need to find every hidden artifact possible. First game was mellow by comparison. I mean, the sky keys are like finding buried treasure while being blind folded. This game is overrated to no end. As a positive I wouldn't mind replaying this game if they ended up remaking it with less frustrating bits. Under the difficulty lies a gem. It sucks to hate this game over a programming decision like that. But then again how did Nintendo not think they would alienate a lot of fans by choosing to go this route?

    PS. The Prime series had some moments, but I've never seen any enemy from the original except for Ridley. In 2 we don't even get that. No basic enemy types are familiar. We never got Mother Brain once. Just some odd looking thing at the end of 3 that needed to be shot in the back of its head while pointing up with a Wii remote that couldn't detect off TV motions.    … Expand
  10. SilverUchiha
    Sep 28, 2011
    7
    Funny how I read a few reviews and people compared this game to Halo 2 as if Nintendo and Microsoft are having a "who has the biggest dick" contest and are throwing out their armored space-fighters to do the talking. I played Halo 2 on the PC and thought it was **** but everyone says the port was **** so who cares. The PC of Halo 1, however, was supposed to be good and I found it boring.Funny how I read a few reviews and people compared this game to Halo 2 as if Nintendo and Microsoft are having a "who has the biggest dick" contest and are throwing out their armored space-fighters to do the talking. I played Halo 2 on the PC and thought it was **** but everyone says the port was **** so who cares. The PC of Halo 1, however, was supposed to be good and I found it boring. Why people have to make the Halo v Metroid comparison is just baffling. Metroid is clearly better because it isn't nearly as boring. The environments are way nicer. And Samus is much more appealing than Master Chief. So can we stop comparing now? Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a sequel to the stupendous Metroid Prime. While I expected MP2 to not out-do the predecessor, I didn't think it'd falter this much. Then again, I consider the first to be nearly flawless while the second doesn't feel quite like a Metroid game should. That isn't to say that it's bad. But it just feels out of place in Metroid continuity so it's an awkward fit. What's good? Envinroments are as nice as ever, better detailed this time around. You also get to encounter friendly aliens for once in your miserable life. They are the Luminoth and they don't want you to be assimilated, but, instead, help them fight the Ing, a race of dark monsters that were created by some kind of weird disaster. The corrupt living and dead things to do their bidding, Borg style (I guess you might get assimilated after all). But where's all the Metroid **** we had to deal with in the last game? Well, for those who managed to get 100% completion in the first game, you'll see that Metroid Prime's new form (ala Dark Samus) is a main antagonist to the game, but lacks the tension that SA-X brought to the evil-Samus-clone department. Also, for some reason, there are space pirates here and they brought Metroids so that way this can still be called a Metroid game. Like I said, the story in this game doesn't quite mesh with the rest of the Prime trilogy and I don't like that. I'm also not a fan of ammunition for Samus' lasers. Yes, it may make it feel like every other bull**** FPS game that is out on consoles these days, but Metroid is better than those and doesn't need to be trying to copy those bastards. Besides, we all know that Dark beam is the same as the "Ice Beam" and that the light beam is the same as the "Plasma beam". Let's just drop the shenanigans and leave the ammunition limits to missiles like they've always been, okay? I would argue, however, this game is definitely harder than the first, but not impossible. It's just that the environments don't feel nearly as linear. So getting lost might happen from time to time. Not to mention that going between Light World and Dark World will force you to search through twice as many areas. And let's not forget that Dark World hurts you where as, in Zelda Tradition, it just makes you see prisoners of some dark magic spell and fight chickens. The addition of a multiplayer feature is definitely awesome, but I feel it lacks something. I love being able to see who the better Samus is. But there are so few levels (even if you can unlock two of them) and there isn't a lot of variety to really make the game challenging. Maybe if they included some maps from Metroid Prime 1 and allowed you to use characters from Metroid Prime Hunters, then it might be a lot better. As it stands, however, multiplayer is fun for a bit, but gets old fast. On the whole, MP2E is a good game, but it is well overshadowed by Metorid Prime 1. It still does a lot right, but I just think the crippling issue is that the story seems a little out of place. Lack of Kraid got some fans pissed at MP1. Now we don't even have Ridley and the pirates aren't that big a deal anymore. Now it's a bunch of shadow-bugs or whatever. I'd say this game is still worth getting, or at least renting.… Expand
  11. Nobilis1984
    Feb 2, 2014
    9
    Very good sequel that builds on a lot of tried and true.
    That is not it so fascinating as its predecessor is logical.
    Despite it offers tons of gaming fun.
  12. Mr.T.
    Nov 2, 2004
    10
    Heck, why stop at best Gamecube game ever? This might be the best game ever! Wait, scratch that, the best piece of entertainment ever! No, the best work of art ever made! Even better, the best thing to ever be fashioned by human hands! The pinnacle of God's creation! The height of evolution! The zenith of human existence!
  13. skeletonking123
    Sep 10, 2011
    9
    To me this is a far more superior game than the first game, it is more fun, has better looking graphics, great boss battles, and fantastic gameplay and music.
  14. JRo55
    Sep 30, 2014
    10
    This right here folks is not only the BEST Metroid game, but one of the best games of all time. Metroid Prime 2 is everything I want in a video game. It has AMAZING gameplay that is fun and challenging. The exploration is fantastic. This game is also home to some of the most atmospheric songs in all of video games. Areas such as Torvus Bog and Sanctuary Fortress are very interesting toThis right here folks is not only the BEST Metroid game, but one of the best games of all time. Metroid Prime 2 is everything I want in a video game. It has AMAZING gameplay that is fun and challenging. The exploration is fantastic. This game is also home to some of the most atmospheric songs in all of video games. Areas such as Torvus Bog and Sanctuary Fortress are very interesting to explore and have great atmosphere. The sense of isolation, while not as good as Prime 1, is still very good. If you haven't played this masterpiece, I feel bad for you!… Expand
  15. revolution_mc
    Jan 9, 2015
    10
    If you played Prime 1, all you need to know about Echoes is that it's darker, more complex and more difficult. Other than that (and slightly superior graphics) it's more Metroid Prime, which is a good thing.
  16. Signas501
    Apr 17, 2017
    10
    Metroid Prime 2 Echoes is my favorite of the Prime Trilogy, and I'm not afraid of showing it either. Metroid Prime 2 is probably the most difficult of the series, and with good reason too. The inclusion of a Beam Ammo system was designed and based off of the existing Luminoth weapon systems, which meant the integration gimmick would be an Ammo-based Beam Cannon upgrade to make playersMetroid Prime 2 Echoes is my favorite of the Prime Trilogy, and I'm not afraid of showing it either. Metroid Prime 2 is probably the most difficult of the series, and with good reason too. The inclusion of a Beam Ammo system was designed and based off of the existing Luminoth weapon systems, which meant the integration gimmick would be an Ammo-based Beam Cannon upgrade to make players learn to conserve their ammo and use it more wisely in a dangerous situation, and the Dark World to help players learn through trial, error, and consistency to explore and traverse the ever looming and corrosive atmosphere of Dark Aether, both inclusions added a much more gloomy, sinister experience, how all of Samus's experiences are... Near suicidal missions on abandoned installations or planets. Speaking of which, the once thriving homelands of the Luminoth now left desolate and twisted is the most expansive look at how Aether has nearly been destroyed by its Dark brethren. Each area is supposed to be depressing and bland, like the vast Agon Plains scorched by the Leviathon turning it into nothing more than a desert, the industrialized Torvus Forest reverted into a damp wetland bog, and a Holy Fortress once revered by the Luminoth for its technilogical advancements turned into a technological nightmare. You really start to feel for the beings of the Aether and how their war with the Ing turned into a one sided massacre. A common misconception of the game is that the game was made using assets from Metroid Prime, which in my eyes was actually a breath of fresh air, whether you come into this game as a new player, or a veteran of the first Metroid Prime, the controls are simple and easily adaptable. Funny how people complain about MP2 asset reuse when Legend of Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, and Kirby do the same thing and get tons of praise for it, huh? I found the lack of hand holding and backtracking perfectly similar to the first Prime game, and is perfectly befitting to the series nature, not telling me where the **** to go every two seconds like Red Faction: Armageddon and LoZ: Skyward Sword, which ironically it seems everyone is falling into this situation analysis these days, yet people hate that concept, but despise the concept when it comes to Metroid Prime 2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is praisable like the rest of the Prime series, as the rest of the series encompasses the same streamlined exploration, and lack of handholding, Prime 2 creates new, unique, story, creatures and more tense battles that test not your patience, but your experience of the games mechanics.… Expand
  17. MagMachina
    Apr 19, 2020
    10
    Metroid Prime 1 and 2 are my favourite games of all time for two reasons. Atmosphere and Gameplay!
    Echoes can be pretty hardcore in being a Metroidvania. But if you like the genre, Prime 2 might be the best in the series.
  18. Zombiemouse
    Aug 29, 2015
    4
    Finally finished Metroid Prime 2 today.
    I give it a 4/10, but please read why.
    I enjoy exploration in video games but it has to be rewarding. It seemed like the items in Prime 2 were nothing more than elaborate keys to get to other locations. Most items were literal keys. While I get that's kinda the point to exploration games, in Super Metroid the grapper had utility on top of    Finally finished Metroid Prime 2 today.
    I give it a 4/10, but please read why.
    I enjoy exploration in video games but it has to be rewarding. It seemed like the items in Prime 2 were nothing more than elaborate keys to get to other locations. Most items were literal keys. While I get that's kinda the point to exploration games, in Super Metroid the grapper had utility on top of swinging around. The hookshot in Zelda had hella utility besides going from point A to point B. The Screw Attack is the worst, as in Super, and pretty much every other metroid ever, the Screw Attack turned you into a spiral of invincible destruction. In prime 2, again, basically another key. It let you "jump longer" and had virtually no utility outside of that. But the worst part was, that each time you obtain a new "fun" item such as the morph ball, bombs, ect, they LITTER the area with doors and areas you can't reach until you get a DIFFERENT item. Like, haha, congrats you got this piece of **** bomb ball. Betcha wish you had spider ball tho don't cha? Guess you'll be back HERE again, won'tcha **** My final rant just deals with the lazy "get behind them" combat that is common with 90% of bosses and several VERY annoying enemies. It leads you to holding L to lock on, right or left on the stick to strafe behind them, and attempting to double-tap jump to quickly dash to the side. Problem #1: You can't see where you're dashing to. You take damage, fall off cliffs, hit walls, ect. Horrible. Problem #2: As you double tap jump, often times you simply JUMP up in the air, which actually SLOWS your strafing down causing even more frustration. Problem #3 is that it's hardly telegraphed whatsoever if you're far enough back behind the enemy to hit that precious weak spot, and if you miss, you'll take another 30 seconds to charge up another shot and by this time they've done their little 180 hop and are facing you again. Another problem is that the enemies rarely drop anything worth value (no exp) so by the end of the game when you have enough HP and armor, you're basically roaming the halls of the game going from point A to point B taking tiny amounts of damage the whole trip, completely ignoring enemies. Quality gameplay.
    That being said, the graphics were pretty and samus wasn't some crying whiny "I'm just a girl" sex object. She was samus. Seriously the art design and detail made up half of my 4/10 rating.    … Expand
  19. evanbiddulph
    Jan 4, 2011
    10
    Here's my Top 50 games of all time:

    The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past
    Super Metroid
    The Legend of Zelda
    Metroid Prime (Trilogy)
    Banjo-Kazooie
    Resident Evil 4
    Tetris DS
    Words with Friends (Scrabble)
    Super Mario Galaxy
    Mike Tysonâ
  20. Plasmaneedle
    Jun 16, 2014
    10
    While not quite as good as the original, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes still contains the excellent immersion, atmosphere and level design. It is also darker and more challenging than Prime. If you didn't like Prime you won't like this, but if you did you'll love this also.
  21. JesusC.
    Mar 7, 2005
    4
    The game is fun with GREAT visuals but the backtracking takes away from the fun and the multiplayer is worthless. Overall the game is fun but that is sucked out by the repetetiveness. AND you can kill a metroid by running into a door!
  22. BlogDog123
    May 26, 2011
    10
    I liked this game better than its predecessor because it's easier. Not only that, but this FPS looks great. The dark, brooding atmospheres, accompanied with eerie music make for a chilling experience, especially when you turn around to see an alien making a beeline towards you.
  23. helena23
    Oct 27, 2011
    10
    the best gameplay ive ever experienced,full of puzzles action and platforms, technically flawless MASTERPIECE
  24. NorwayGamer
    Jul 19, 2014
    10
    Even though this game is harder than the original, I still finished with a higher percentage than the first. That says something about how enjoyable this game is.

    Amazing graphics, which are enhanced a bit on the trilogy-version on Wii, along with those great motion-controls, making the game intuitive and amazing to control. This is such a master-crafted game, so much thought is put    Even though this game is harder than the original, I still finished with a higher percentage than the first. That says something about how enjoyable this game is.

    Amazing graphics, which are enhanced a bit on the trilogy-version on Wii, along with those great motion-controls, making the game intuitive and amazing to control.

    This is such a master-crafted game, so much thought is put into it, a true masterpiece indeed.

    If you haven't experienced the Metroid Prime trilogy, you've missed out on the top 10 greatest games ever made.    … Expand
  25. gorelequint
    Apr 25, 2013
    2
    Most people like games because of gameplay, graphics, how hard it was... but this game is hard to get into. The first level involves running around with virtually no direction given, and the second is worse, as you have to look for several keys with even less direction. Funnily enough, if you could save whenever you wanted, it might get a 3, but it screws that up too. You have to backtrackMost people like games because of gameplay, graphics, how hard it was... but this game is hard to get into. The first level involves running around with virtually no direction given, and the second is worse, as you have to look for several keys with even less direction. Funnily enough, if you could save whenever you wanted, it might get a 3, but it screws that up too. You have to backtrack all the way to your ship to save. No thanks, this game is strictly for Sci-fi nerds.… Expand
  26. DannyD.
    May 1, 2004
    10
    If this game is anything like the first, my vote's already been cast!
  27. TomH.
    Aug 1, 2005
    3
    Badly designed old-school tat.
  28. EdocS.
    Nov 22, 2004
    10
    If you enjoy not having a really good time your wasting your friggin time with this game. God likes Metroid, so why don't you?
  29. MetroidRules
    Nov 7, 2004
    10
    It's Metroid but better!
  30. DavidH.
    Dec 22, 2004
    10
    I liked it, in fact I LOVED it. Sme ov you gyz kannt spel reely gut, ya dig?
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best GameCube Game of 2004
2
#2 Most Discussed GameCube Game of 2004
4
#4 Most Shared GameCube Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 60 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 60
  3. Negative: 0 out of 60
  1. Gamestyle
    100
    To match such thrill-a-minute environments, the level design, puzzles, and boss fights are all insanely original.
    Read full review
  2. Games Radar
    90
    Other than a few superficial tweaks and some vanilla, offline multiplayer, the rest is exactly like the first Prime.
    Read full review
  3. NTSC-uk
    90
    Whilst none of the levels quite match up to the stunning quality that was Phendrana Drifts, it is, as a sum of its parts, wonderfully evocative as a playing experience and induces the same level, if not more, of internal satisfaction that Prime achieved.
    Read full review
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