I have a NTSC 2.2U w/ Wiikey. When I put in the disc, it wasn't showing on the disc channel, then when I clicked on the disk channel, it automatically updated my Wii, without even asking me. After it updated, I went into settings to check the firmware and saw that it was still 2.2U. Then I tried going into the Shopping Channel just to make sure it didn't update to 3.0U and it says I needed to update my Wii to access the channel. So, the update doesn't contain 3.0U. It just contains some things to make MP3 work. My Wii is still 2.2U.
I'm 4 hours in, and the game is amazing. At first it didn't feel like a Metroid game because there was so much talking, teamwork, character interaction, etc. (Which wasn't a bad thing, it just didn't feel like a Metroid game). But then, I reached the second planet and it was back to good old solo adventuring. I heard the game was a little easy, well easier than MP2 ( which I thought was a decent difficulty level), so I set it to Veteran instead of Normal. Controls are excellent. I'm using the Advanced mode (didn't try the other modes) and I don't find it difficult to control at all. I've played Red Steel, Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty for Wii, and this game feels WAY better (My hand got a little tired after a couple hours, though).