So there are these games out there called Metroidvanias. A subgenre that emphasizes exploration staggered by character upgrades or items strewn throughout the world, they’re pretty great games. And with such a wide variety of titles in the genre now that it’s easy to forget about the games that make up the namesake. One of these titles is Super Metroid. This game came out in 1994 for the Super Nintendo and, for a title that didn’t actually perform that well financially, old people still can’t stop talking about the thing. The game is hailed as a classic of the 16-bit era and constantly thrown around in conversations about the best game ever made. Which is all well and good, but does the game hold up nowadays for people who weren’t around for the invention of fire? Let’s find out.
In Super Metroid, you play as Samus Aran from the Super Smash Bros. franchise. This game takes place directly after the events of Metroid 2. If you haven’t played that game, no worries, neither did anyone else. To get everyone up to speed, Super Metroid recaps that game’s ending right at the beginning. You recovered a tiny newborn Metroid, one of the most well-known creatures from the series and also, hey, the namesake of the whole frigging thing. Leaping forward to this game’s events, you hand it over to space scientists. They hope to study it, try to harness its power for the good of humanity, find out if you can stick your dick in it, the basics. But then, space pirates raid the laboratory, steal the baby Metroid, and take off. You chase these pirates to the planet of Zebes and start your hunt for the baby Metroid. It’s pretty simple stuff but it doesn’t aim for Shakespeare anyway. Like many games of its time, the story here is just an excuse for gameplay to happen.
Run-and-Gun Girl
Gameplay in Super Metroid sees you engaging in side-scrolling, shooty-bang-bang, exploration action. Just looking at Samus in her tanky armor, you would probably think she’s pretty stiff in her movements. Well if you thought that, then the joke’s on you but only kind of. Samus feels pretty fluid in motion, being able to run freely and jump surprisingly high. Movement, in general, is a joy in this game. The stiffness in Super Metroid’s controls comes from when it’s time to shoot. You can aim your blasts straight ahead, directly above you, or at forty-five-degree angles upwards or downwards. Though this system mostly works, there are cracks that pop up sporadically throughout the game. Super Metroid starts to strain when you need to perform actions with more precision than the game allows you. Swooping, airborne enemies provide either a harsh challenge or a headache, depending on your general disposition. Boss battles especially can turn into a slug-fest, since the majority of them are flying enemies that take and dole out a lot of punishment. None of this is a deal-breaker but it’s hard to not feel like some battles are less reliant on skill and more reliant on numbers.
Samus is known for her vast array of weaponry and special maneuvers. And in this regard, Super Metroid does not disappoint. You’ll gain access to a whole swath of beams, bombs, and various other upgrades. Aside from just being fun to use, all of your upgrades are multi-purpose. The missiles are used frequently for opening colored doors. They also dispatch enemies quicker and more efficiently than the regular beam. The freeze beam can freeze your enemies, allowing for easier kills. But if you don’t finish them off, feel free to use their frozen bodies to jump to out-of-the-way areas. And once you finally grab the iconic screw attack, have fun with what are essentially toggleable invincibility frames. Super Metroid absolutely nails the glee that comes from gradual improvement. By the time you finish the game, you’ll be passing through the corridors of Zebes in a fundamentally different way than you did at the start of your adventure. Previously terrifying enemies will be only a slight annoyance. You’ll fly and superdash your way through hordes of obstacles. The world will be something that bends to your will, not the other way around.
Just Some Crabs In The Space Grass
The crowning achievement of Super Metroid is Zebes. More specifically, Zebes and the progression throughout it. If you don’t know anything about this game, then you’re lying, clearly, but I’ll indulge your farce nonetheless. Super Metroid takes place on one sprawling, interconnected map littered with sub-areas and different biomes. You’re thrown onto this planet with no clear guide and are left to just wander until you beat the game. While this might sound imposing, the game does in fact subtly guide you. Just not in the way of flashing waypoints or NPC instructions. You’ll constantly be running into areas that aren’t accessible to you, whether that be via a colored door that requires a specific weapon to open or a small passage that you can’t fit through. Running into these obstacles oftentimes isn’t frustrating since there’s always another path close by to go down. Super Metroid ends up discretely funneling you down different avenues while you learn the ropes and get a lay of the land. When the game opens up later on and lets you fully explore and discover the next path at your own pace, you’ve already been prepped for the road ahead. This sort of organic game flow is the secret sauce that fuels Super Metroid. And beyond that, this is the lifeblood of the entire Metroidvania genre.
As acclaimed as the world is, it does have its flaws. See, while Super Metroid does lightly signpost where you should go, it’s incredibly easy to get lost all the same. When the game finally opens up and lets you go wherever you want, there are enough choices to drown in. It’s easy to find yourself running through the entire map again just to find the next hidden seam of progression. Doors aren’t represented on your map, which is a shame because opening them requires backtracking after attaining a specific item. The environments are unique-looking, sure, but not even the prettiest vistas are going to make you remember that there was an orange door in the lower leftmost of Norfair. And that ends up being the most aggravating part of this wild progression-goose chase. In most cases, these pace-breaking paths weren’t especially hidden away. In general, my main stumbling points were just banal doors. It turns out, I just neglected to double-back on them during my numerous tours around Zebes. If I’m being completely fair though, this doesn’t hurt the overall experience severely and players who are more spacially aware will have a huge leg up. If you ever find yourself stumped for progression, there’s usually a deceptively easy way forward out there. You probably just need to look around more carefully for either a key or a lock. Mostly. Look, just remember to Power Bomb the tube.
Who Put This Here?
What makes this world so rich though is the sheer amount of goodies hidden away in every nook and cranny. During your time on Zebes, you’ll find a small handful of energy tanks and missile upgrades. Some of them are directly in your path. But that’s just the sampler course. The vast majority of upgrades hide between the countless nooks and crannies on Zebes. Finding them requires a keen eye but sometimes that won’t be enough on its own. These upgrades oftentimes require specific items and weapons to access and will usually need to be backtracked to later on. Sometimes you find even more substantial upgrades, giving you improved beams or even a scanner vision that can reveal hidden blocks. These secrets add even more to the already impressive pedigree of Super Metroid’s world. Because no matter where you go, you’ll almost always be rewarded with a little goodie hidden away.
Super Metroid is a game that was made to be played over and over again. From the aforementioned secrets to the completionist aspect of seeing every part of the map, the game gives you plenty of incentive to start up another playthrough. On your first run through Zebes, you’re virtually guaranteed to not experience everything the game has to offer. There are even hidden mechanics like wall-jumping and boost-jumping that have the capacity to crack the game open. They can be pretty tough to pull off, but they can give you access to places and items much earlier than intended. My first run ended at six hours and three minutes. During it, I only collected a little over half of the available upgrades, missing dozens of tanks, missiles, and an additional beam upgrade. I left some areas of the map unexplored because they were optional and I didn’t come back with the appropriate tools to gain access. The relatively short amount of time it takes to complete Super Metroid coupled with how jam-packed it is with content made a second-playthrough almost a no-brainer.
The Sights And Sounds Of Space
There’s something especially charming about detailed sprite-work from the 16-bit era. And in this regard, Super Metroid has charm in spades. When you look at the original Metroid, it’s rough. The environments and creatures barely read as anything cohesive and are pretty boring to look at and just suck, pretty much. Super Metroid took those concepts and translated them into something artistic and expressive. The world of Zebes is beautiful in a very gloomy and dismal way. The flora and fauna on display are highly detailed while still retaining the exaggerated cartoon sci-fi aesthetic the Metroid series would go on to become known for. The inhabitants of Zebes all seem organic and care was taken to show how they all fit into the ecosystem of Zebes. The planet is divided up into segments that all have a unique identity as well. From the magma pillars of Norfair to the ruined electronics of the Wrecked Ship, the world of Super Metroid is incredibly diverse. Whereas the original fell short of its massive ambition, Super Metroid can meet the idea of a space epic fully without compromising.
While we’re all being so positive, let’s talk about the music. Super Metroid’s music is a masterclass on minimalism. The compositions on display shine through while not overloading you with auditory gunk. Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano managed to combine catchy melody lines with ambiance and stark emptiness to great effect. Synths and droning notes ebb to the front of the mix before disappearing yet again. Percussive claps shuffle in and out in tune with the dominant basslines on most tracks. Super Metroid’s music creates an oppressive atmosphere, heightening the fact that you’re all alone on this alien planet. The soundtrack helps to create a palpable aura of loneliness and the world of Zebes wouldn’t be half as impressive without it.
Chozo Noodle Soup For The Soul
Super Metroid is one of those games that you just have to try. Not every aspect holds up nowadays, but the experience of the world and the flow of gameplay is something that everyone should experience. There are many games that took this formula and expanded upon it but it’s still worth seeing the strong foundation the rest of the Metroidvania genre was built up from. For a contemporary player, I believe the biggest hurdle will be the hands-off approach to guiding the player in the right direction. But if you can buy into Super Metroid’s world and approach it with a desire to explore, there’s a tremendous experience ahead of you.
Regardless of if you’re interested or not, you should at the very least give this game a try. You can pick up the SNES cart here. If that’s too much for you, it’s also included as part of Nintendo’s online service for the Switch. Really, there are quite a few ways to get this game. But baring emulation, they’re all going to be digitally through Nintendo’s online services.