For the fifth year in a row, Shinesparkers readers have voted for their favorite Metroid game. This year, we did things differently. After four years of conducting the poll on Google Forms, we switched to StrawPoll and made this a ranked choice vote for the first time. Readers had the ability to rank their top five favorite Metroid games in order, assigning five points to their top choice, with the overall winner ultimately decided by a single point. 311 votes were cast for 16 Metroid games, from the original Metroid all the way to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which we finally included this year! We also allowed you to vote for AM2R for the first time.
Enough keeping you waiting. *drum roll* Here are the results!
Please note – Metroid Prime Trilogy and Metroid Prime Remastered were not included as separate games since they are a port and remaster, respectively, rather than new experiences.
16th – Metroid Prime Pinball (Nintendo DS, 2005) – 5 points
Metroid Prime Pinball came in last this year with five votes, while it was jointly tied with the original Metroid in 2025. Perhaps its spinoff nature, or the fact that it’s never been ported outside of the Nintendo DS, have hurt its chances compared to the rest of the series.
15th – Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Nintendo 3DS, 2016) – 11 points
Metroid Prime: Federation Force was jointly tied with Metroid Prime Hunters at number ten last year with five votes each. With ranked choice, Federation Force fell to the penultimate position on the list. This entry suffered from poor timing and remains one of the Metroid franchise’s least popular installments. If you look past the controversy, there’s still something to enjoy in this experience.
14th – Metroid: Other M (Nintendo Wii, 2010) – 18 points
Metroid: Other M received seven votes in last year’s poll and now falls to third last on the list with 18 points. The first Metroid game to give Samus a voice, it introduced us to her commanding officer Adam Malkovich in the flesh and established melee combat in gameplay, which has continued in 2D Metroid installments ever since.
13th – Metroid Prime Hunters (Nintendo DS, 2006) – 31 points
Metroid Prime Hunters was jointly tied with Federation Force at ten last year with five votes each. Hunters remains popular with first-person shooter enthusiasts, although online multiplayer is no longer possible through official means. Hunters expanded the Metroid universe to include more bounty hunters, most importantly Sylux.
12th – Metroid (Nintendo Famicom Disk System, 1986) – 51 points
Metroid’s result had remained consistent between 2023 and 2025, only receiving one vote. With ranked choice, it rises to 12th place with 51 points. Although it may not be as popular on its own today, Metroid remains a significant game for its time, especially with its groundbreaking reveal that Samus was a woman.
11th – Metroid II: Return of Samus (Nintendo Game Boy, 1991) – 62 points
Metroid II: Return of Samus received only two votes in 2025, but 62 points in this year’s poll. It introduced numerous upgrades to the Metroid franchise that are now considered staples of the series, established Samus’s iconic Varia Suit, and ended with Samus sparing the baby Metroid, a moving moment for a normally stoic warrior.
10th – Metroid: Samus Returns (Nintendo 3DS, 2017) – 91 points
Metroid: Samus Returns, the remake of Return of Samus, received six votes in last year’s poll and placed 9th, so it is in roughly the same position this time with 91 points, more than its predecessor. Samus Returns marked the triumphant return of 2-D Metroid after 13 years, and Metroid generally after Other M in 2010. MercurySteam’s work on this reimagining was brilliant enough that they were entrusted to finally realize Metroid Dread.
9th – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, 2025) – 102 points
This year, we were finally able to include Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as a choice in the poll! Released at the end of 2025, Beyond took eight years to develop after production was moved to Retro Studios from the original developer. It expanded on Sylux’s story, reintroduced Metroid Prime to a new generation of gamers, and became the best looking Metroid game of all time. It will be interesting to see how it ranks on this poll in the years to come.
8th – Another Metroid 2 Remake/AM2R (PC, 2016) – 168 points
AM2R, the unofficial Metroid II remake led by DoctorM64, remains popular with Metroid fans and we decided to include it in our poll for the first time. It ranked above the official remake, Samus Returns, and the original Metroid II with 168 points! It’s a testament to the quality of the work of DoctorM64 and the many developers who were a part of the project.
7th – Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii, 2007) – 200 points
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption received 18 votes in last year’s poll, and while it earned a significantly higher amount of points, it has once again ranked seventh overall! This game concluded the original Metroid Prime trilogy and the Phazon Saga, introducing motion controls and Hypermode while setting up a new story arc with its secret ending.
6th – Metroid Zero Mission (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2004) – 349 points
Placing 6th for the third year in a row is Metroid: Zero Mission! Last year it received 30 votes, and this year it received 349 points, proving that this remake of the original Metroid is still popular. If you haven’t had the chance to discover it yet, and you have the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online, you can discover what you’ve been missing out on for all these years.
5th – Metroid Fusion (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2002) – 435 points
Metroid Fusion is the fifth favorite Metroid game in this poll for the fifth year in a row! It got 48 votes last year, and with ranked choice it got 435 votes. Along with Zero Mission, new generations of gamers can play Fusion via the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online.
4th – Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Nintendo GameCube, 2004) – 548 points
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has charted fourth for the second year in a row. It got 85 votes last year and 548 points in this poll. It remains very popular as the first sequel to Metroid Prime, with appreciation for its dark, brooding atmosphere and gameplay only increasing as more than 20 years have passed.
3rd – Super Metroid (Super Nintendo, 1994) – 736 points
This year, Super Metroid fell to third with 736 points, after charting second last year with 103 votes. It is still considered to be one of the best Metroid titles, and among the greatest games ever made, influencing every subsequent installment and other franchises like Castlevania and Hollow Knight.
2nd – Metroid Dread (Nintendo Switch, 2021) – 809 points
Metroid Dread, which won the poll from 2022-2024 and fell to second last year, remains in second place this time around by the skin of its teeth. Planned for the DS era and stalled due to technical limitations, it was leaked in an official magazine and became the subject of rumors for 15 years before it was finally made and released. The long wait proved to be worth it, as Dread has become one of the most popular Metroid games in the community.
1st – Metroid Prime (Nintendo GameCube, 2002) – 810 points
Metroid Prime is the winner of the annual poll for the second year in a row! This time, with ranked choice voting, it won over Metroid Dread by a single point, an incredible outcome! It received an HD remaster on Nintendo Switch in 2023, which introduced it to new generations of gamers who had the chance to discover this modern classic.
A huge thank you as always to everyone who voted in this year’s poll. Like we always tell you: If your favorite Metroid game didn’t win, or if it didn’t rank the way you thought it would, please don’t be discouraged. This poll isn’t the final say on what is and isn’t the greatest Metroid title. Every single Metroid game made is a miracle, and each one should be celebrated equally.