#zettel #gaming/metroidvania # [[Metroid Fusion]] is a Horror Game The game does horror and atmosphere incredibly well for a Gameboy Advance game. The idea of a parasitic body-horror creature wandering with the sole purpose of killing you because you are its sole threat is horrifying. The footsteps you hear from the SA-X were horrifying to me as a youth as I knew that it was an instant death if it engaged me. When I had to actively flee from it during THE HARDEST STRETCH OF FUSION, I knew that if I failed the process would be really hard to amass health in advance of another really hard boss Nettori. I think the SA-X is an excellent antagonistic force, even if the final confrontation with it is ultimately a little underwhelming. I think the SA-X is much scarier than the EMMI in [[Metroid Dread]] as it's a living organism, whereas the EMMI are more robots and programmed to kill? Well then again maybe not... idk. They both have their scary factors. The atmosphere in the game is also great thanks to the sound design. As previously noted, the footsteps are incredibly creepy, but even then, the game knows when music is and isn't necessary. Some parts of the game have no music in them whatsoever, only the small whirring and beeps and boops of the space lab ambience. There isn't necessarily a threat to the player at this point, but it's oddly tense? I don't know how to describe it since it's not tense, but it's not a relaxing thing. This is in contrast to other examples of the [[Absence of Music in Media Can Create New Meaning in Scenes]], which are commonly seen to generate fear, tension, and anxiety. This Horror is only possible because of [[Metroid Fusion's Linearity Compared to Traditional Metroidvania Games works because the game is more focused on the horror elements]]. The team is able to control the progression of the player to make sure that each moment of fear is timed out just right.