Super Metroid (Virtual Console) Review

Super Metroid

With the last Metroid in captivity, the galaxy is at peace. But when Space Pirates snatch the larva for their own evil purposes, bounty hunter Samus Aran must spring into action once again!

Return to the labyrinthine underworld of Planet Zebes and explore deeper than ever before, using new abilities like the Grappling Beam and X-Ray Scope, and battle massive bosses with an awesome arsenal of beams, missiles and bombs.

Super Metroid is renowned as one of the greatest 2D action games ever made, and paved the way for the Metroid Prime series with its innovative map system, diverse range of weapons and suits, and wealth of secrets to discover.

By Drake

Metroid was a very popular series in the late 80's and early 90's. Despite only getting two games, players loved it for the unique things it brought: The whole game consisted of basically one gigantic overworld with many places to explore and items to find. On top of that, there were loads of secrets - Who can forget the fact that you get to play as suitless Samus by beating the game in 5 hours or entering the password "JUSTIN BAILEY"?

Metroid II for the Game Boy played similarly to the first game, but introduced new equipment, and a completely new gameplay element - Your goal this time was not to eliminate the leader of the enemies, but to eliminate the enemies themselves - Many Metroid eggs were scattered around the planet SR388 after the events on planet Zebes in the first game, and you had to search out and destroy them all, then defeat the Metroid Queen. Metroid II played a bit more linear than the first, with you being able to go deeper into the planet the more you find.

But both of these games would soon be followed by the 1994 sequel, Super Metroid. Set after the events of Metroid II, the story begins with Samus going to a research centre in space with a baby Metroid that followed her from SR388. Leaving, she later returns to find that the place has been wrecked and every crew member is dead. She finds the baby Metroid in a room at the back, but Ridley, the dragon-like creature from the first Metroid soon appears and snatches it, escaping to Zebes from the first game. Samus of course follows.

This begins the main game. What follows next is Samus heading through many, many rooms on Zebes, both new and old (Some old ones deformed over the time that passed since the first game), receiving upgrades as usual, and defeating all the nasty bosses that lurk at the back of areas. This game features all three big baddies from the first game - Mother Brain, Kraid and Ridley. There's plenty of new memorable ones as well - Look out for one called Crocomire. I'm not gonna say what he does, but he's pretty well-known among fans because of it.

The game introduces many new moves again - This is the first appearance of the Grapple Beam, allowing Samus to swing on ceilings to reach hard to reach places. It would return in the Metroid Prime series. Super Metroid also features the now famous ball with lightning bolt symbol for the Screw Attack, which has now become the logo for the series.

The locations in the game are varied - There's Crateria, the surface area, Brinstar, the area now overgrown with plants which served as the first area in the original game, Norfair, a lava world, Maridia, an underwater area, Wrecked Ship, which is a crashed frigate, and finally Tourian, Mother Brain's new lair. Most of these settings would be repeated in later games (Metroid Prime for example copies all of them).

Gameplay is smooth and responsive. Samus handles well and can shoot diagonally now, which was pretty much needed since the first Metroid. Amazingly enough, all the upgrades and stuff go to different buttons and button combinations, and it all fits on the controller. You can also turn off certain upgrades if you prefer to play without certain ones. Samus can now also run instead of walk, which also greatly improves the gameplay and is necessary in some puzzles.

The difficulty's not too high - Some of the bosses are nasty, but overall, it's not that hard compared to the previous 2 games. Any average gamer should be able to complete the game quite easily.

The music is one of the top factors in this game. From the eerie, almost silent music that plays in Crateria at the beginning of the game, when you land on Zebes and there's not a single living thing to be seen, to the slightly more action-oriented theme that plays only moments later when there's suddenly Space Pirates around, to the boss theme (Which is to be reused in Super Smash Bros. Brawl!) to the now legendary Metroid opening and ending themes, this game's soundtrack is absolutely stunning and must be heard. One of the SNES's finest.

The graphics are also very, very nice. Each sprite is greatly detailed, and all locations have neat stuff in the background and foreground. At one point, for example, there are bugs of some sort feasting on the dead body of a soldier - When you approach, all of them skitter away.

Super Metroid is one of the greatest SNES games ever made. And not only that, it's probably also the best Metroid game ever made (The only one that even comes close is Metroid Prime, if you ask me!). If you've never played a classic (Non-Prime) Metroid game before, Super Metroid is the one to start with. Don't miss this one - You'll be sorry!

5/5

Average reader rating: 4.83 (230 ratings)

Please login to rate this game.