Super Metroid:

Released: 1994

Platform: Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)/Wii & Wii U Virtual Console

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Platformer/Action-Adventure

Super Metroid is the 3rd installment of the Metroid series, following on from the original Metroid on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Game Boy. You take the role of intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran as she once again battles her way through the desolate planes of the planet Zebes in search of a kidnapped Metroid Larva. Even though you are revisiting the exact same planet from the first game – it feels like a completely new place – and it certainly is at least, a completely new adventure. Super Metroid is an amalgamation of everything the series had already brought to the table. Every element had been refined, refurbished and renewed. Exploration felt so much more real delving through the maze-like corridors of Planet Zebes’ underbelly. Finding new and hidden power-ups, and retracing your steps both felt like mechanics that had been polished almost to perfection. The game itself shared a similar brethren shine of almost perfection – clearly this may have had something to do with the 18 months’ time Super Metroid had under development, no time had been wasted.

The game initiates with a quick prologue-battle and we see Samus flee from a space station that is rapidly self-destructing. Past here though, you’re on your own. Samus arrives at the surface of the planet Zebes and steps out into the the dimly lit exterior where the rain diminishes all hope of sanctuary. There appears to be no one, no friends, no foes and no features of the planet to signify you of anything. It perfectly captures the atmosphere of what the rest of the game will bring. You are stranded with no hope of assistance – no one is there to help. This is one of the great things about Super Metroid: you have to learn things. There is no player’s guide during the game to help you – admittedly you are given a bit of assistance on which buttons to press to activate certain power-ups, but aside from that the player has to find and learn everything for themselves. Super Metroid doesn’t hold your hand, and it doesn’t give you much help on deciding where to go. It’s like you really are lost in the game. The feeling of adventure really is cemented in the game because of this – you don’t know what’s around the corner, and you don’t really know if the corner is actually a corner at all.

As you creep your way into the adventure you are initially met with places that seem familiar, having been featured in the first game. Such as the area where you first find Samus’ Morph Ball, which happens to still be there in the same place in this iteration of planet Zebes. This starts the collection process moving, acquiring new power-ups, finding new accessible areas and again finding new, more powerful power-ups and abilities to use. The Morph Ball allows you to fit through tight gaps, the missiles allow you to blow holes in walls and access new doors, and there are other power-ups which also aid your exploration further. The best aspect of this though is the fact that no power-up or ability feels underused. None of them are one trick ponies by far, they all have uses that continually keep cropping up right until the end of the game. By the time you’ve collected all the power-ups, not to mention the countless number of expansions for them all, you really feel like Samus has become supercharged. It’s engaging having to quickly decipher which power-up will suit you best in a certain area and what skills you will need to advance further. The exploration factor is one of the finest parts of the game. Secret entrances are intricate and seemingly inaccessible doors require you to backtrack through the areas of Zebes once you’ve found the right power-up. What’s brilliant about Super Metroid though is the fact that you don’t need to collect all the power ups or find all the abilities to complete the game – but you wouldn’t necessarily know that on your first play through. It offers the opportunity for the player to jump back into the game and complete it in the hardest way possible – without any optional upgrades. It means there are hundreds of different strategies for playing and completing the game, each one as good as the last.

The way Super Metroid is presented is astounding considering it was designed for a 16-bit console, the music, the sound effects and the graphics are rolled up neatly into one doomy atmospheric package. Just take the music (or lack of) that plays as you first arrive on the planet Zebes. It’s certainly no fanfare. Immediately you’re presented with a looming overhang of long, distant notes that play over the top of a crackling foreground complete with lightning strikes. Everything in this piece fits perfectly with the thought of being stranded on a seemingly deserted planet. It smacks of mystery, of not knowing and evokes a feeling of unease. That’s exactly how Samus, and the player should feel like at that time. I’ve said before as I’ll say now, Super Metroid is deeply atmospheric. It conjures up emotions and feelings that a lot of modern games can’t. You almost feel like you’re 8 years old again and you’re sitting in the living room in the dark, shakily holding the controller in your hand, waiting for what fiendish creatures might appear next. The graphics look as good as they good for the time and for what the SNES could produce. Individual sprites are detailed and have been brought to life much better than their 8-bit counterparts on the NES. It feels like everything in this game was done as well as it ever could be done.

Super Metroid has definitely stood the test of time even now 18 years. It’s easily accessible, but can be devilishly hard for completionists playing without any aid. Every play through feels as good as the one before it, and every time you’ll find yourself discovering a new way to access that hard to reach area. Super Metroid could certainly be a game that never feels outdated – it certainly doesn’t now. It is certainly one of the best games to be featured on the SNES and also one of the greatest games of all time. To think that this game was available on the Wii U Virtual Console for a measly 30p – that has to be the deal of this century, and the last. Super Metroid is definitely worth playing at least once and if not many more times. It’s design, game mechanics, sound, graphics and quality of play all combine to make one almost perfect game.

VERDICT:

9.6/10