The folks at Gametrailers are currently doing a five part retrospective on one of my favorite series of all time: Metroid. The first installment, which came out last week is an overview of the original NES Metroid and its Game Boy successor, Metroid 2.
Metroid 2, as a game, never really left much of an impression on me. The limited color palette of the old handheld combined with the title's linear game play wasn't sufficient enough to capture the magic that the original Metroid had provided.
The first Metroid, though, was a game experience that will forever be emblazoned in my memory. Not just for the fact that it was one of the best games ever made for the NES, but because this game, more than any other on the system, swallowed the minds of those who played it.
Metroid memories continue after the jump.
Unlike other games, Metroid had no levels; there wasn't a scoring system, and nothing but the lack of correct power-ups could keep you from exploring wherever, and whenever, you wanted to.
Like many kids at the time, my classmates and I had become completely absorbed by the role of Samus Aran: Bounty Hunter. Countless hours were spent searching the deep crevices of Zebes for hidden missile packs, energy tanks, and power-ups. Reams of graphing paper had been donated to our cause in an effort to map out every one of the game's secrets, us never realizing that the games biggest secret was to be found in its ending.
I’m aware that everyone now knows that Samus is a female, but this wasn’t always common gamer knowledge. Back then, the fans of the game (who, like myself, were mostly 13 year old boys) were so convinced that the tough, agile, and wickedly cool bounty hunter that they were playing as was a guy; that the revelation of Samus’ true gender was met with shock and disbelief.
“No way! Samus is a girl?” Could be heard in every lunchroom across the United States for quite some time, but that revelation, as it turned out, was just the tip of the iceberg. The real secret of Metroid was what the player had to do to unlock this gender-exposing ending.
After months of searching, mapping, and a whole lot of dying, the amount of playtime my friends and I had put into beating Metroid was immense. Then, all of a sudden, we find out that to get the good ending (the one in which Samus fully removes her armor), we had to be able to beat the game in less than two hours. Two hours?!
The game had been timing us.
Without our knowledge, without any indication, whatsoever, we learned that we hadn’t been playing Metroid; Metroid had been playing us. Secretly counting away on an unmarked clock every second we spent searching for Mother Brain. For that, Metroid quietly judged our progress and rewarded our efficiency with hidden endings. This, my friends, was new.
In an era where games mostly consisted of high scores and saving princesses, it was Metroid’s new and unique game play innovations that set it apart from the crowd. Never before had there been a gaming experience so absorbing, that it left an undeniable stamp on the psyche of young gamers everywhere.
A stamp that can still be seen in the eyes of older gamers when they think back to how Metroid slowly, sneakily, and irreparably changed the way they saw video games forever.
In all seriousness though, I preferred the second game in the series to the first, maybe because it was the first game in the series I had ligitimately finished (without cheating). I remember the final battle against the Queen Meroid as one of the most intense moments of my gaming career.
Super Metroid, in my opinion is the pinnacle of the series. It's mood and claustrophobic atmosphere still havent been matched, even by more recent entries in the franchise. The music, still to this day, blows me away. I recall reaching the Red Soil (Brinstar) area and being stunned by how well the somber, mysterious tunes served to put one in the boots of Samus, deep in the bowels of an alien world.
How can you say that Metroid is supposed to run in 2D when Metroid Prime is one of the greatest games of the least 10 years? MP was an incredible game, and kept the great track record Nintendo had in bringing its franchises to 3D.
Never got into the original Metroid. Probably had something to do with the fact that I was not quite two years old when it came out. I can certainly appriciate it though. And I do remember, when I was five, watching my older brother run through it. The part at the end where you had to escape after beating Mother Brain was the most intense thing I had ever seen. Did play Zero mission, though. Does that count? :) I also never got into the second one. T'was a bit too dull for me.
No, Super Metroid was my first hands-on Metroid experience. It came out when I was... nine I think, and even though I had no intention of beating it at that age, I had this unspoken competition going with my brothers where we would find powerups and not tell eachother where we got 'em from. The only one I ever found on my own was the Spazer Beam near the entrance to the red soil in Brinstar. They were so pissed.
Since then, I've been old enough to buy my own games, and buy I did. metroid is the only series that I actively collect. I own both NES versions, Metroid II, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Zero Mission, Prime 1 & 2, Pinball and Hunters... all in the original box!
Aside from Super, the two Primes are definitely my favorites. Can't wait for Prime 3!!!
I loved all of the Metroids, but was skeptical when I heard Metroid was going to be a FPS on the Game Cube. I love Metroid Prime, but I'd like to see the series evolve into more of a 3rd-person shooter that felt like the originals. Or hell, I'd REALLY like to see a wicked side-scroller on the Wii or DS in the future. Also, the music throughout the series has always been incredible. i'll never forget the intro music for the original Metroid title screen...brilliant!
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Contest:
1:07 PM on 08.03.2007
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Funny how this appears on the same day I posted my Metroid Metal blog!
Super Metroid, in my opinion is the pinnacle of the series. It's mood and claustrophobic atmosphere still havent been matched, even by more recent entries in the franchise. The music, still to this day, blows me away. I recall reaching the Red Soil (Brinstar) area and being stunned by how well the somber, mysterious tunes served to put one in the boots of Samus, deep in the bowels of an alien world.
No but really, I never really understood Metroid until I watched these videos. Good Stuff
No, Super Metroid was my first hands-on Metroid experience. It came out when I was... nine I think, and even though I had no intention of beating it at that age, I had this unspoken competition going with my brothers where we would find powerups and not tell eachother where we got 'em from. The only one I ever found on my own was the Spazer Beam near the entrance to the red soil in Brinstar. They were so pissed.
Since then, I've been old enough to buy my own games, and buy I did. metroid is the only series that I actively collect. I own both NES versions, Metroid II, Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Zero Mission, Prime 1 & 2, Pinball and Hunters... all in the original box!
Aside from Super, the two Primes are definitely my favorites. Can't wait for Prime 3!!!