Super Metroid 30th Anniversary

The game that started it all. Not the entire Metroid franchise, obviously, but the gameplay, atmosphere and tone of the series as we know it. This game spawned an entire genre, paving the path for all Metroid installments to follow, and many games in other series I’ve come to enjoy. I first played Super Metroid through its Masterpiece demo in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Not content with the three minutes it allows you to play the game, I saved up and bought a copy on the Wii’s Virtual Console. From there, I was hooked. I’ve played it many more times since, most recently with Darren on Switch Online, which adds a de facto co-op mode that swaps control of the game between two people

Super Metroid is still by far one of, if not the best, Metroid games. It’s 30 years old now and still holds up to this day. Aside from the game itself, I’ve also enjoyed its marketing material over the years. The Super Metroid comics in Nintendo Power magazine were a humorous spin on the story that introduced characters who later became canon through the 2003 origin manga published in Magazine Z. We even did an audio drama based on a scene in the comic. We were also fortunate enough to speak to the director of the game’s beloved live-action Japanese commercial, Yasuo Kanemaki.

Metroid entered its first near-decade-long hiatus after Super Metroid, which was originally intended to be its conclusion. Thankfully, it was not, and the franchise has been expanded significantly in the 30 years since, but even if it was the last, it would have been an incredible conclusion. If you have not yet played it, what are you waiting for? It’s time to discover what you’ve been missing out on for 30 years…

Super Metroid was one of the first games of the series I’d ever played, thanks to that demo featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on Wii which made me play the whole thing later on. This game is one of the most influential titles in gaming history, to the point that it still has a strong influence on the industry nowadays. This can be seen in critically acclaimed indie games such as Hollow Knight or Ori, and even massive AAA productions like the latest God of War games.

Super Metroid has an unmatched world and ambience that was made possible by the technology of its time. I don’t believe modern games have managed to capture that same vibe yet (Housemarque’s Returnal being one of the closest)! I remember how mesmerizing places like Maridia or Crateria felt the first time I explored them years ago. The way the entire world is so well interconnected felt really fantastic, a feeling I only found again in the very first Dark Souls game, which has a similar world design philosophy. 30 years later, I am still amazed by how well crafted this game is, often wondering how it was even possible for a game to be this ahead of its time!

Super Metroid has always been a legendary game to me. As a child I had endless intrigue for the game. It was regarded as the best game ever, and it looked so fun. I would watch and rewatch speedruns many times over, wishing I would experience the game myself one day. Metroid Fusion was my entry to this franchise, and the next Metroid games I got were Prime Hunters and Prime 3, though Super Metroid would always linger on my mind.

Despite being interested in the game forever, I didn’t get to give it a chance until in 2015, back when I got myself a Wii U. I knew pretty much the entire map already at that point, though I was certain I was in for a ride, and I was! With my prior interest in speedruns, I really looked forward to learning some of the tricks. I believe I learned the Mockball technique on my first playthrough, and I will never forget how it felt pulling it off for the first time. I also got used to the Wall Jump mechanic rather early, but aside from those I was playing the game normally. I say “normally”, though I didn’t learn the intended route until many years later.

To this day, I still play the game a lot. It’s addicting. It’s a playground where I feel like I can do anything I want. While it has a defined linear trek, you can disregard it and choose where you want to go, but only if you know how. And although Super Metroid isn’t the only game with multiple routes, no other Metroid game has route divergences as big as it. If you truly wanted to, you could defeat the main bosses in any order, and the way you traverse the map would always differ depending on that choice.

Speaking of the bosses, they are really fun to fight! They are simple on the surface, but there’s a lot of depth to them if you want to fight them efficiently. Phantoon for instance require the use of the Doppler effect so that you can fire missiles faster than it can vanish. Some bosses have multiple opening strategies as if the game was chess, and because you’re on their turf, you have to constantly position and reposition yourself, making the boss battles feel like a dance as well.

If Metroid Dread is smooth and fluid, Super Metroid is snappy and kinetic. It doesn’t have Samus slide under blocks or mantle ledges. It’s not a game where Samus makes tiny adjustments as she goes. Instead, it’s a game where I must do all the work, and to me that is a big part of the fun. Super Metroid has by far the most amount of actions per minute. It’s the Super Smash Bros. Melee of Metroid, and I love every input of it.

As someone younger than Super Metroid, I still recognise the impact it had on the series. While it was the Prime trilogy that brought me into the fandom – and remains my favourite to this day – I felt the urge to discover the older entries in the series as well. With no access to a Virtual Console and without the funds to buy one, I got my classic Metroid fix using emulation.

It’s surprising how much the atmosphere of the Prime trilogy matches that of Super Metroid, and I remember recognising as much when I first played the 2D classic. What surprised me more, however, was the ease with which the player could bend the rules and skip ahead: on my first playthrough and with a little Wall Jump lesson from the Etecoons, I got the Wave Beam long before finding the Grapple Beam intended to get me there. It’s not difficult to see how a game like this would have encouraged people to push the limits in a speedrun.

I must admit I rarely replay Super Metroid, and I have barely dipped my toes into the vast ocean of lovingly made ROM hacks by this dedicated community. Personally, there are other entries in the franchise I prefer. That aside, it’s clear to see that this title holds a special place in so many hearts, and though it’s been a while since I’ve last taken the time to return to Zebes myself, it’s always a pleasure to watch a speedrunner tear through in forty minutes and change.

When I first played Super Metroid, I dreaded its dark depths. This was my first Metroid game, at the age of 15, about a decade ago at the time of writing. I was enthralled with how wonderfully modern it felt despite releasing years before I was even born. I was likely introduced to Samus through Smash Bros., but what ultimately drew me to the game was the promise of spelunking. My favourite game at the time was (and still largely is) Little King’s Story, and in that game, the feeling of venturing into the mysterious unknown hooked me from start to finish. You start in the safety of a Castle, with a throne to save on and a bed to heal up, and only once you are ready do you leave the borders of your comfy hamlet into the dangerous unknown. You could explore the perilous wilderness for an hour before finding another sign of human life. I would often go for a little exploration session, but retreat back to the Castle to over-cautiously save and rest in a repeating state of paranoia, before exploring again, a little further than the previous time. Chipping away – That was how I made progress in a seemingly scary world.

Super Metroid seemed to function rather the same. Samus’s Gunship can not only save, but also refill all health and ammunition. Furthermore, its landing site on the surface of Zebes is a wide open, enemy-free space, marking it as the only safe haven on a planet that has long lost any semblance of civilisation. So, without even meaning to, I made this parallel – Zebes is to be explored cautiously, and I can always return to the ship. I would discover, however, that the game had other ideas. It all changed when I fell down the red pit of Brinstar’s depths. There was no way back up. I couldn’t quickly turn back to conclude a session of exploring. I was stuck here, in the depths of the planet, far from the safety of the ship. Red Brinstar’s theme was one I’d heard on YouTube before while studying, and had stuck with me, even though I had no context for the piece at the time. Hearing this previously disconnected tune singing so hauntingly from within the caverns it was written for, it all fell into place. Even now, listening to it, I can close my eyes and remember that very first time I discovered this hollow. I was truly terrified. I remember telling my grandad about the experience, and the next time he saw me playing the game, he asked, “Are you still stuck in the depths, then?”

And I was. This brilliant moment of quietness and helplessness forced me, as Samus, to build myself up within the mantle of the planet, Norfair, even encountering the monster from that one stage in Smash Bros. Melee. “Brinstar Depths” now made a lot of sense. Eventually, as all Super Metroid players do, I gathered the items needed and climbed all the way up the shaft to the surface and emerged, quite shockingly, right next to the ship! The beauty of Euclidean map design notwithstanding, the most striking outcome of this experience was just how… safe I felt again. The area was as calm as ever, with the rainstorm gone and a new, victorious theme in its place. I saved, I restocked, I breathed, and as I sensed the tension leave me and felt in control for the first time for hours playing this game, I thought… “Okay, but… where do I go next?” To this day, when I think of Super Metroid, this moment is the first thing that comes to mind.

My first experience of Super Metroid was when I went to my local Gamestation store in 2004, and talked about Metroid. They asked me if I had Super Metroid, and I responded with “What’s Super Metroid?” The person behind the counter LAUGHED at me, went into the back, brought out a used copy of Super Metroid, and told me that I NEEDED to play this game. I handed over the £5.99 he wanted for it, and took it home with me.

My first interaction with Super Metroid was a positive one, but frustration struck when I came to the “N00b Bridge” and couldn’t get across it. I put the game aside for TWO YEARS before I finally picked it up again, and then I realised that the game had a dash button. Some Metroid fan I was…

Aside from that, Super Metroid became one of my favourite video games. Its atmosphere, soundtrack, and characters were memorable and exciting. I loved it, and I am not surprised it continues to be adored by fans like myself a whole thirty years after its initial release. Happy birthday Super Metroid!