Release Date: March 19, 1994
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
In another example of my advancing age, Samus Aran and the Metroid series recently turned 30 years old. I was 15 years old when Metroid debuted on the NES. I wasn’t playing video games at the time, however. I was in high school, the girls were pretty, and I had a sudden urge to “play” with them way more than I wanted to play the Nintendo whatsit what everyone was talking about at the time. Once I returned to gaming, I skipped both Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Game Boy. I didn’t get my first taste of Samus’s adventures came with Super Metroid on the SNES. And boy, what a taste it was!
The story picks up right after Metroid II: Return of Samus. The previous games’ events are narrated by Samus herself in the beginning. She describes how a Metroid larva hatched from its egg and, believing Samus to be its mother, imprinted on her. Samus transported the Metroid larva to Ceres Space Colony, where scientists believed they could harness the larva’s power. She leaves the colony but receives a distress call soon after. Upon her arrival, she finds all the scientists dead and the larva stolen. The culprit is Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates. Samus escapes from Ceres before it self-destructs and tracks Ridley back to Zebes, site of the original game.
Everything about this game is absolutely beyond reproach. From the atmospheric music and sounds, to the colorful graphics and fluid animation, to the rock-solid gameplay, everything about Super Metroid screams quality. The game’s difficulty is well paced, offering up enough challenge without being cheap. Upgrades and new weapons are found at regular intervals, and they are often the key to reach previously inaccessible areas. Bosses are varied, from small to screen-filling, and will kill you mercilessly until you discover their weaknesses. The automap feature keeps track of every area you visit and will come in handy whenever you’re clueless as to where to go to next.
Is there anything in Super Metroid that ISN’T awesome? Not really. About the only peeve anyone can have with the game is its insistence on backtracking. Since some areas are inaccessible until you find the right upgrade or weapon to access it – a staple Metroid mechanic – you will regularly go back to areas you have been to before, just to see if the super bombs you picked up earlier can help you find a secret passage. This is a very minor nuisance and does not detract from the game one bit. Still, some people just hate backtracking.
Does the game still hold up? OH, HELL YES! I still fire up my SNES and play this game occasionally. My original game save was lost after the game’s battery died, but I have one in progress that I chip away at from time to time. Every time I play, I get fully entranced all over again. Nowadays, however, real life gets in the way. And real life has gotten way better at prying me away from my TV.
For those lacking a SNES and itching to play this gem, Nintendo has you covered. Super Metroid is available on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. If you have never played this game before, you really should give this game a try. If you have, playing again is a helluva nostalgic trip.
Good: Literally everything, from beginning to end!
Bad: Backtracking may annoy some people.
Final score: 9.5/10
