Sorry for the bump, but I need to gush about this game for a bit.
It took me awhile to get a Dualshock 3 working with my computer, so I didn't get into this until recently. But what a joy this game is. It really makes Metroid Zero Mission feel like it could have been better, and I've always used that game as the defining example of a remake done right. I've been dying for a proper sidescrolling Metroid since the brilliance of Zero Mission wore off. And even though this is a remake, it feels incredibly fresh. There are so many new ideas that feel right at home in the Metroid universe. The music is very well done. Even though I generally don't care for remixes, I think there are versions here that I like better than the originals.
AM2R is just as linear as the original M2, but it makes things feel much more non-linear somehow. I love that. And there are so many little bonus touches that you wouldn't expect in an unfinished fan game, like Samus's idle animation, and the background of the "surface" area changing from the beginning of the game (daytime) to the end (night time). The space jump controls better than it ever has in other Metroids. I think it was intentionally difficult to perform the space jump in the earlier games, but it feels so good to have the frustratingly tough controls fixed. It's great to be able to switch into and out of the space jump without having to land on the ground first. The faster speed of the morph ball works really well, and it makes the slowness of the spider ball a great tradeoff for being able to cling to walls.
Did anybody figure out if you can roll down the Metroid Queen's throat and drop bombs in her belly, like in the original?