Metroid II: Return of Samus

In 1991, big heros such as Link and Mario all had new sequels with which to challenge their fans, but one classic hero was missing in action: the galatic bounty hunter, Samus Aran. Five Samus-less years had left Metroid fans terribly restless, but Nintendo came out and surprised them all when they opened a copy of Nintendo Power magazine to find an ad reading, "Metroid: The Universe has Expanded". Later that year Metroid II was released for the Gameboy console, ending the dry spell.

Samus' new adventure was full of even more surprises than the last, putting her on the homeworld of the Metroids -- SR388 -- not long after her last adventure. Her mission was to kill off the rest of the Metroids so that the space pirates might never again clone them for evil, but little did she know that the pirates were already a step ahead of her. They had exposed the Metroids to beta rays, creating entirely new breeds and mutations. In addition to improved graphics, bigger levels, and Samus' new look, there was an array of new upgrades and weapons for her power suit, such as the Spider Ball. The big evil this time was the Queen Metroid, who left behind a sole hatchling after her death which mistook Samus for it's mother. You might say the hardened bounty hunter softened up a little to it...