Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) was released on PC over the weekend. The long in-development fan project unfortunately won’t be seeing much distribution, as Nintendo is aggressively shutting down the file sharing sites it’s being distributed through.
AM2R is a remake of Metroid II: The Return of Samus, the sequel to the cult classic Metroid for the NES. The fan remake has been in development since 2012, being worked on entirely by fans of the franchise. In addition to making the game available on PC, it adds new and improved sprite animations, and new gameplay similar to Metroid Zero Mission, a remake released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance.
The game was released for free on August 6, in time to coincide with the franchise’s 30th anniversary. According to Polygon, sites hosting AM2R were notified to remove the game by Nintendo’s Legal counsel.
“Nintendo’s broad library of characters, products, and brands are enjoyed by people around the world, and we appreciate the passion of our fans,” reads a statement provided to IGN by a Nintendo representative.
“But just as Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of others, we must also protect our own characters, trademarks, and other content. The unapproved use of Nintendo’s intellectual property can weaken our ability to protect and preserve it, or to possibly use it for new projects.”
As of this writing, the .zip file of AM2R is unavailable for download, but fans have uploaded torrents of the game to keep the remake project alive.
Although Nintendo may not be making a big deal out of the historic franchise’s 30th birthday, the composer for the original Metroid Hirokazu Tanaka released a very heartfelt message to all fans as a thank you for their continued love and support, while also offering some insight into the project.
