Super Metroid was a game I played little of upon its release but rediscovered it during high school when I discovered the world of ROMs. I didn’t know what I was missing and quickly burned through the game, and it quickly became one of my favourite platform and action/adventure game. I play this game every few years, and thought it would be a good time to write about it!
The story takes place directly after Metroid 2: Return of Samus. After completing her adventure on SR388, Samus brings the last Metroid larva to a space colony. Shortly after dropping it off, Ridley – leader of the space pirates – comes and captures the Metroid! Samus quickly takes off after him to the planet Zebes – the planet the original game took place on! I really liked the pace of the story – with it quite heavy early in the game to set the background, and then taking a backseat for the rest of it!
This game is an action/adventure game that helped to create the genre of Metroidvania! You take control of Samus, running and gunning enemies as you explore the planet of Zebes. Early on, many areas are not accessible to Samus, but as she continues to explore areas and destroys enemies, she finds new weapons and abilities that allow her to explore areas she was never able to before! This game design is excellent and really drives the players to continue to exploring the game world. The cycle of finding new items, which makes you more powerful, which allows you to progress further, really becomes engaging and fun!
The items found throughout the game are diverse and gameplay enhancing! The most iconic is the morph ball that allows players to turn into a ball, drop bombs, and zoom through tight places (and into secret areas)! Many other items add new functions to previous weapons such as the icebeam, which causes enemies to become platforms to jump on when hit successfully!
Samus can also acquire a number of special weapons such as missiles, super missiles, and super bombs. These items act as keys that eventually allow Samus to enter new areas (by blowing up different types of doors and blocks) but also have unique attack uses. Lastly, there are a bunch of different items that dramatically change how Samus moves around including speed boots, high jump boots, space jump, among others! There are many other items (and some cool armour) that all effect the gameplay of the game. The diversity and variety of items really makes exploring the game a lot of fun!
There are quite a few bosses sprinkled throughout the game, which really helped break up the exploratory focus of the game. Overall, the bosses are very satisfying to destroy and were quite challenging! The first time I fought the multi-screen boss Kraid, my mind was blow because of how epic in size he was! When I battled Crocomire, I was at the edge of my seat trying to push him into the lava (and jumped when he popped up again at the end of the battle)! Many of the other bosses had similar impacts on me, and added tremendously to the enjoyment of the game!
In terms of graphics, the game has aged exceptionally well. It still looks great with awesome special effects and detailed enemies! The environments were also diverse with lava caverns, water areas, and even a crashed ship! Overall, I think it is still one of the best looking games on the Super Nintendo. In terms of music, it is also excellent with tracks that really set the sci-fi tone. Many audio effects are also extremely satisfying, making collecting energy and destroying enemies all the more fun!
Overall, Super Metroid is one of my favourite games of all-time. It is an excellent action adventure game with great gameplay progression, awesome items, and challenging bosses! It was a game that defined a new genre of games! If you haven’t played this game before, please give it a shot! Overall, I give this game a final score of 10/10!
Final Score: 10/10
RetroGame Man 