It follows bounty hunter Samus Aran on her mission to eradicate the Metroids from their home planet, SR388, before the Space Pirates can obtain them.

The game introduced several features that became staples of the series, including Samus's round-shouldered Varia Suit, Space Jump, Spazer Beam and Spider Ball.

Metroid II received positive reviews, with praise for its story, setting, and improved gameplay, but was criticized for its graphics and audio.

Metroid II is an action-adventure side-scroller game[3][better source needed] in which the player controls the protagonist Samus Aran on the fictional planet SR388.

Players advance through the game by using Samus' weapons to kill a fixed number (47) of Metroid creatures.

[6] Once all the creatures are eliminated, an earthquake occurs and the planet's lava levels decrease, allowing Samus to travel deeper through its tunnels.

[4][5][7] The Metroid creatures are encountered in different evolution stages of their development cycle: original, Alpha, Gamma, Zeta and Omega.

[7] It was directed by Hiroji Kiyotake and Hiroyuki Kimura, and designed by Makoto Kano, while Takahiro Harada serving as the main programmer.

[16] The game features enhancements from its predecessor that include easier controls which allow Samus to crouch while firing at the same time, and jump while shooting straight down to attack anything below her.

[7][16] In the 2004 interview for the Nintendo Dream magazine, Kiyotake revealed that the planet SR388 was named after the Yamaha SR400 motorcycle.

[34] In September, the game's development ended after Guasti received a DMCA takedown request from Nintendo.

[35] Several journalists have enjoyed AM2R, frequently calling it impressive and commenting on the improved visuals compared to those of Metroid II.

[5] Jones considered the graphics average, and noted that the walls appeared mostly the same, which confuses players when wandering through identical tunnels.

[40] Aside from Samus, Parish complained of the visuals, describing the environment as bland and repetitive, full of monotonous rocks and sand with few details to differentiate the various areas, and enemies as simple and boxy.

Parish also found the music "downright painful", which he contrasted with the "moody, atmospheric compositions" the series was known for.

[39] Van Duyn similarly commented that the music is the only negative point in the game, and said that the ambient sounds tend to get annoying after hearing them frequently.

[40] In September 1997, 12 Nintendo Power staff members voted in a list for the top 100 games of all time.