Retro Review: Super Metroid (VC)

A series pinnacle.

 Super Metroid was one of many classics to grace the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) back in 1994. Often hailed as one of the 16-bit era's best titles, Super Metroid is considered among the best in Nintendo's sci-fi Metroid series, only to be rivaled by Metroid Prime. The game later saw a re-release through Nintendo's digital "Virtual Console" lineup of legacy games to play on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. Samus Aran's mission to rescue the last surviving Metroid on the Space Pirate homeland planet Zebes is still interesting and still entertains, but how does it hold up by today's standards?


STORY- Taking place after the events of Metroid II: Return of Samus (also known as Samus Returns), famed bounty hunter Samus Aran delivers the last surviving Metroid specimen to the a space colony for reaserch of the deadly species. However, things take a turn for the worse when the Space Pirates, headed by Samus' nemesis Ridley, steals the Metroid and destroys the station. It's now up to Samus to rescue the Metroid specimen while putting a stop to the Space Pirates' plane once again. The story's pretty straightforward for an SNES game at the time and does its job of summing the events of past games to get new players up to speed. While later games delve deeper into Samus' origins, one still has to admire Super Metroid's focus of atmosphere above everything else.

It's business as

usual for Samus.

GAMEPLAY- Super Metroid is a 2D side-scroller with emphasis on action and exploration. Samus starts out relatively light-equipped and must work her way through Zebes, looking for upgrades and fighting bosses. The majority of the game has Samus navigating between open-ended corridors looking for various ways to proceed. She has a variety of actions such as jumping, dashing, and even turning into her signature morph ball. Hidden in walls and behind locked doors are upgrades Samus can use to help her further progress.

Gameplay's faced-paced 

and engaging.

 Some of these include X-ray vision, which shows her hidden passages and nodes, a grapple beam that allows her to latch on to specific nodes, power bombs which emit huge waves of energy, and so on. Additionally, there are also energy tanks and ammo expansions scattered through the many areas of Zebes. Some are in plain sight while others are deliberately in tough places, encouraging you to explore every nook and cranny of an area.


 When entering a new area, it's advised to look for map station as they'll view the entire map of said area and highlight points of interest. There are also save station between areas and nearby boss doors to record your current progress. Speaking of bosses, Samus will fights lots of them starting with the straightforward Kraid, to the infuriating Phantoon, all the way to their leader, Ridley. I liked the boss fights as they require you to quickly memorize their patterns and strike them down, just make sure you've found an abundant supply of weapon expansions should things take too long.

The bigger they are...

 Super Metroid has three endings, each based on the time taken to beat the game. The best one tasks you with beating the game under three hours, a huge undertaking, but isn't worth much aside a few poses made by Samus at the end credits screen.

PRESENTATION- Super Metroid has aged significantly well over the past years mainly due to its timeless sprite-based visuals. The backgrounds are mostly bleak-looking and reflect the atmospheric premise the game's striving for. The color usage in many areas is commendable, as areas such as Norfair and Brinstar are distinctive and vibrant. However, by far the best aspect of the presentation is the soundtrack. Super Metroid is filled with many memorable tracks and is easily among the very best to come out of Nintendo's silver console. 

Super Metroid has aged

significantly well.

OVERALL- Many years later, Super Metroid remains a timeless classic. Fun and addictive gameplay, chilling atmosphere, and an outstanding soundtrack are among the reasons why Super Metroid continues to be loved to this day. Throw in high-replay value and you'll be playing it for many years to come. Action and 2D platformer fans should definitely check Super Metroid if they haven't played it yet, as it's easily one of Nintendo's greatest titles ever made.