Super Metroid is a true classic of video games. It is acclaimed as one of the best games of all time, and to my surprise, I didn't start playing it until 26 years after its release. After enjoying playing Metroid Fusion for Gameboy Advance, I wanted more, so I turned to Super Metroid from SNES.
The story begins when Samus visits Zebes again. After defeating the space pirates in the first video game of this series, leaving the last larvae alive for experiments and exterminating all the Metroid of her home planet SR-388. Samus Aran was in charge of transporting the larva to the Ceres Space Colony, under the strict supervision of the Galactic Federation.
Ridley, chief of the Space Pirates, attacks the station and kidnaps the Metroid brood, the larva, to flee with it to the planet Zebes. The villains have rebuilt the subway facilities, and Samus must return to the place where everything began to put an end to the Pirates, and to Mother Brain, their leader. And, this time, forever.
Super Metroid has a mechanic of action and adventure in 2D focused on exploration and collecting. The later games that would adopt this style of game would be known as "Metroidvania" games, a homonym based on the popular Metroid and Castlevania franchises of the genre, in which its development is based on something very simple: backtracking. That is, constantly retracing our own steps. As we advance, we gain new skills that allow us to go further and access previously inaccessible areas.
From the beginning of the game, the only weapon we have is the blister. Due to the limits of the base load, you quickly realize that there are not many places you can visit. A moderate exploration allows you to quickly obtain the Morphball and the Missiles, standard items of the franchise, which expands the areas you can explore. This is the basic formula for the rest of the game, exploring rooms that you can reach until you find an item that allows you to explore rooms that you couldn't before. Fortunately, Super Metroid includes a map, unlike the first two entries in the franchise, to further help you know where you've explored and where you haven't.
The difficulty is really well adjusted, and, even if we don't know what we're doing, we'll be able to go ahead and wipe out everything in our path. All help is minimal in such a hostile world, so if we bother to explore enough, we can make Samus have an overwhelming firepower soon after starting the adventure.
Speaking of combat, basically anything that moves is hostile, and is perfectly capable of finishing with us. It's not necessary to kill every bug we see, since they reappear when we return to the same room, but it is something minimally intelligent if what we want is to survive. Nor can we forget the fights against the final bosses, whose mechanics are not usually excessively complex, although they will test our ability with the command, as well as our capacity of exploration: greater firepower and greater maximum health are equivalent to a greater probability of survival.
The graphic section of Super Metroid is perfect for adorning a Super Nintendo. Sprite work, diverse environments and big bosses are just some of the achievements of Super Metroid. The action is easy to follow thanks to the smooth and fluid animations. Literally no animation is lost in the intense scenes.
Super Metroid has incredible sound design. From the introductory video with baby Metroid squeaking and seeing the human bodies around it, the terrifying music sets the stage for what's to come. Each area of the game has its own haunting melodies that really make you feel alone and vulnerable. Each encounter with the boss also has its own vivid tones to reflect the urgency of the struggle. The creatures, the bosses and Samus have "screams" when they are damaged, which increases the sensation of battle. Weapons and bombs also have their distinctive place among the other sounds. Super Metroid is literally an example of perfect sound design.
Super Metroid will never become tedious. Instead it will make you want to play more, and will encourage and incite you to explore more in the depths of the planet Zebes. Mainly for the great component of exploration that has the game, the superb and extraordinarily oppressive atmosphere that has no comparison even today, which owes much of its charm to the brutal soundtrack, and the wide variety of enemies and situations.
If you're new to Metroid, have played all the games, or just miss Super Metroid, spend a little time this week playing it. Even 26 years after the release, Super Metroid is as relevant today as it was in 1994 and, let's be honest, it's probably better than most games today.
That's all for now, we'll see you in another post.
Sources:
from a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator.