First of all, for a fan-made remake of a classic of disputable merit, this game is on point when it comes to quality. The world closely follows the same map layout and physics as the original Metroid 2 and fixes OH SO MANY problems that the original game had. Some examples include: a much larger viewing area as Samus's sprite in the original game took up around 2% of the screen (which is quite a bit when you consider the Game Boy's pixel ratio); a map and area landmarks to make it less likely to become lost; and better aiming and enemy AI. And if that wasn't enough, the game was pretty much given the complete "Zero Mission" treatment as additional abilities and skills from other games, new bosses, added puzzles, and new optional areas were added to flesh out the game even more. I particularly enjoyed how the developer managed to fit an escape sequence, a staple in the franchise, into the game; it made it feel more like a true Metroid game as a result. Further in the game, I noticed some of the music from the original was replaced with newer songs, but there is no real loss there as the original hardly had any music in it outside the main SR388 theme, the metroid fights, and the last 4 songs you hear in the game. This was a very welcome addition as the original music was so boring and uninspired; it didn't really fit the "Metroid" vibe. This labor of love is the Metroid game that we dedicated fans have been waiting for since the lackluster performance of Other M. Since it is free it is well worth the play, that is if you can find it now.

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All of these good points make me wonder though...Why did Nintendo issue the cease and desist? I get that they have every right to protect their IP by any legal means necessary, but was shutting down a fantastically made fan project after it had been finished really the way to go? Nintendo could have done so many things to protect their IP without stating some legalese to Milton. I have seen quite a few examples where fan projects have garnered attention from the companies that own the IP in question, but they managed to handle it much better than what Nintendo has done. I'll list a few examples:

• A while back there was a fan-made Mega Man game that was being developed by a very dedicated fan and they ran into a similar problem that Milton had where the company that owned the IP had taken notice and contacted the developer about the matter. BUT instead, what CAPCOM did was much better by comparison. They gave this fan their full support AND even helped them by loaning them some software tools to make the project go more smoothly. The finished project, Mega Man X Street Fighter, was eventually finished and released on CAPCOM's fan-site without a hitch.
• Christian Whitehead, the developer of some fan games of his own, was also contacted by a big name dev; Sega in this case. Because of the quality of his work, he and and another dev called Headcannon teamed up and worked with Sega to produce these very well made enhanced ports of the original Sonic the Hedgehog games. And now they're working on Sonic Mania, which is basically the ultimate Sonic fan-game.
• And last but not least, Black Mesa, a fan-made HD remake of the first Half Life game. Similar to the Mega Man and Sonic scenarios where the game was being made and the owners of the original IP caught wind of it and contacted the devs. But instead of going all "I'ma sue you" on them, they allowed them to finish the game AND legally sell it on Steam. Sounds like a pretty good deal if you ask me.

Now with these successful scenarios present, why hasn't Nintendo caught on yet? The fans obviously aren't getting what they want from the owners of the IP in question, so they take matters into their own hands. And what does Nintendo do? They get WAY too protective of their property and inadvertently squash the hopes and dreams of their fans. What they should do is contact the dev and pay him to port the game to one of their consoles like the Wii U or 3DS, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. Now I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this matter. They're a big company in another country; they likely don't realize how much PR damage they're causing. But even if they did, they probably would still issue the takedown notice anyway because they are quite stubborn in that regard. Now don't get me wrong, this whole ordeal doesn't make me love Nintendo any less; it just makes me frustrated with them, like I would get with a family member. They still have a lot to learn, but until then, I'll be seeing you.

1. More often than not, when a fan-dev makes a fangame they are showing their appreciation to the company that made the original work. Most of the time they mean no harm in their intentions and just want to show how much they like the game or series that inspired them to make their own with their favorite characters. However sometimes when the fan project gets shut down, it breaks the heart of the fan sometimes even making them think that their favorite game company doesn't care about what the fans think at all.
2. They give potential future game developers a good jumping off point in which they can get into the field of game design, but if the project gets shut down relatively early in its development cycle, it becomes rather dejecting to the fan-dev thinking that game development just isn't for them.
3. Some fangames promote awareness of a franchise or series that might not be selling well or have been neglected by the owners of the original IP. Now this is where things get a little gray. Whether or not if the game gets canned, this still promotes awareness for the series in question. It just happens to work better if the game gets finished first.
4. Fans gain more from the experience of fangames and official works combined than from the official works by themselves. It is actually quite common for a fan to run into a fangame that is of extremely poor quality and makes them appreciate the polish that went into the official series more as a result. But in the event that a fangame is really good, it makes them not only appreciate the original work, but applaud the effort that the fan-dev made to make it as close to the original series as possible and anticipates whether or not if they will make anything original later.
5. Much like video game piracy, fangames WILL happen with or without the IP holder's consent and trying to police this and prevent it from happening is a fruitless effort that not only wouldn't accomplish anything, but would alienate any future game devs from making their own original work down the line.
6. Fan-devs gain more from encouragement than from a cease and desist. It costs nothing to allow them to keep their finished work up for others to play, and more often than not will not affect their sales much if at all. Most fan-devs even encourage the fans that play their games to buy from the original IP holders so as to offset their involvement in making their little project.
7. If a fan-game is good enough, it benefits both parties more if the original IP holders buy the rights to the fan work and/or ask them to port it to a system they regularly develop games for. Non-canonical works by the original IP holders do exist in the video game industry and fangames always fall under this as they have no legal rights to any of the characters, music, assets, etc. that they borrowed from.

Now with the advent of more user friendly game development tools like Unity, Game Maker Pro, RPG Maker, and the upcoming Mystic Searches S.T.A.G.E, it has become much easier for fans to get into game design. So what should the big gaming companies do? First of all the way I see it, STOP BEING SO STRICT. A hundred or so fangames that happen to contain assets from your works is not the end of the world. Your paychecks aren't going to be affected any from a few practice projects. Secondly, if you see one that looks promising, ENCOURAGE THE DEV. A few kind words can go a long way, especially if you can get a profit from it in some way, shape, or form. And lastly (and this is most important), if a popular fangame is of a series that hasn't seen the light of day in over a decade or so, TAKE THE HINT. It's obvious that the fans want that series to come back, but since you're not doing anything with it, they often take matters into their own hands. The only time you should break out the legalese is when a fan-dev is trying to make money off of their game when it contains many assets your company created. This should be done especially if that fan in question happens to work for a rival game company.

Only time will tell if gaming companies like Nintendo will loosen the leash they have on their property. Many gaming companies like Namco, Sega, and Capcom have already become more lenient on these matters, but while this is a step in the right direction, bigger gaming giants like Konami, Square Enix, and Nintendo still need to unclench and treat the fans as fans and not as parasites. But until then, I'll be seeing you.