Super Metroid
Super Metroid | |
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Single-player |
Super Metroid
Following the established gameplay model of its predecessors, Super Metroid focuses on exploration, with the player searching for power-ups used to reach previously inaccessible areas. It introduced new concepts to the series, such as the inventory screen, an
Super Metroid received acclaim, with praise for its atmosphere, gameplay, music and graphics. It is often cited as one of the
Gameplay
Super Metroid is a
Throughout the course of the game, the player can acquire power-ups that enhance Samus's armor and weaponry, as well as grant her special abilities, allowing them to gain access to areas that were previously inaccessible.[3] The Morph Ball[c] allows Samus to curl into a ball and roll into tight places; while in this form, she can plant bombs once a Bomb power-up is acquired. The Spring Ball adds the ability to jump while in Morph Ball form.[5]: 10–11 The Speed Booster can be used to run at high speeds and crash into barriers and enemies.[6] The Hi-Jump Boots allow for a higher jump, and the Space Jump allows Samus to jump in midair.[4]: 24 The Grapple Beam can be used to swing across open areas.[6] The X-ray Scope is used to see items and passages through hidden walls and other surfaces.[5]: 12
The
Plot
Metroid | |||
Story chronology | |||
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Main series in bold, remakes in parentheses | |||
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[9][10] | |||
After defeating four
Samus fights
Development
![Portrait of Yoshio Sakamoto, making a public speech.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Yoshio_Sakamoto_-_Game_Developers_Conference_2010_-_Day_3_%282%29_cropped.jpg/170px-Yoshio_Sakamoto_-_Game_Developers_Conference_2010_-_Day_3_%282%29_cropped.jpg)
Super Metroid was developed by
Super Metroid was released almost a decade after the original Metroid. Sakamoto said: "We wanted to wait until a true action game was needed. [...] And also to set the stage for the reappearance of Samus Aran".[15] It took half a year for Nintendo to approve the project, and two further years to develop.[15]
The developers' primary goal was to make a "good action game". It is the first Metroid game to let Samus fire in all directions while moving.
Shortly before the game's release, the North American Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulating organization, was formed in response to the increasing violence in games such as Mortal Kombat (1992).[19] Asked whether he thought the controversy would cause a backlash for Super Metroid, Sakamoto explained that Samus's purpose is to maintain peace in the galaxy, saying: "It's not violence for the sake of violence".[15] The game was demonstrated at the Winter 1994 Consumer Electronics Show, and was named the best Super NES game at the show by GamePro.[20]
Audio
The
Yamamoto also served as a sound programmer,[23] and wrote a program that sends sound data to the audio chip.[22] He also created sound effects,[23] including those created for an infant Metroid to convey different emotions.[22] The simultaneous roles as a composer, a sound programmer and a sound effect creator gave Yamamoto ideas to produce a distinct Metroid soundtrack "with a sound programmer's ear, with a sound effect creator's ear, and with the approach methodology and theory of a composer". The arrangements and remixes of the game's themes were used in Metroid Prime and its sequels, because Yamamoto wanted to satisfy old Metroid fans, describing it as a "present" for them.[23]
A soundtrack album, Super Metroid: Sound in Action, was published by Sony Records on June 22, 1994. It contains 38 tracks and has a running time of 58:49. It includes the original Metroid soundtrack by Hirokazu Tanaka, and additional tracks arranged by Yoshiyuki Ito and Masumi Ito.[24]
Release
The game was released by Nintendo in Japan on March 19, 1994,[25][26] in North America on April 18,[26] and in Europe on July 28.[26] It was distributed on a 24-megabit cartridge.[27] It was re-released through the Nintendo Power service in Japan on September 30, 1997.[28][29] Super Metroid became available as a Wii Virtual Console game in North America on August 20, 2007,[30][31] in Japan on September 20,[25][32] and in Europe on October 12.[33] In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it is also one of the trial games available in the "Masterpieces" section, which uses Virtual Console technology to emulate older hardware and have time constraints.[34] The game was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console in May 2013, initially available during the trial campaign for a cheaper price before reverting to its regular price the next month.[35] The New Nintendo 3DS-specific Virtual Console also received the release in April 2016.[36] In September 2017, Nintendo released the Super NES Classic Edition, which included Super Metroid among its games.[37] Super Metroid and other Super NES games were added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service in September 2019.[38]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Nintendo Life | 10/10[54] |
Nintendo Power | 4.425/5[53] |
Official Nintendo Magazine | 92/100[56] |
Player One | 94/100[55] |
Super Play | 92%[57] |
Total! | 94%[58] |
Video Games (DE) | 80%[59] |
Games World | 94/100[60] |
Super Action | 93%[61] |
Super Gamer | 95/100[62] |
Super Metroid was one of the highest rated games on
Edge criticized the graphics and short length, but praised Super Metroid as "intensely playable" and "full of memorable moments".[43] IGN called Super Metroid's Virtual Console version a "must-own", commenting that although the game was released nine months after the Wii launched, they felt that it was worth the wait. For players who have never played Super Metroid, IGN claims that they owe themselves as gamers to "finally find out about what you've been missing all these years".[49] In his review for GameSpot, Frank Provo found it "absolutely astonishing that Nintendo let 13 years go by before making Super Metroid readily available again", but considered the most important thing was that players "can now play this masterpiece without having to track down the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge or fumble with legally questionable emulators". Despite admitting that the Virtual Console version was essentially "nothing more than a no-frills, emulated version of a 13-year-old SNES game" that was no longer cutting-edge, he was still pleased with it and reiterated his belief that Super Metroid is "one of the best 2D action adventure games ever produced".[47]
Sales
In Japan, Super Metroid was the ninth-best-selling
Accolades
Super Metroid received several awards and honors.
Legacy
Super Metroid is often regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.
As Super Metroid gives players awards based on how long it took them to complete the game, and because its open-ended structure lends well to
Several
Sequels
Nintendo did not release another Metroid game for eight years, as the series had not matched the success of the
Fans eagerly awaited a Metroid game for the
In late 2002, Nintendo released
After a long development period, a fifth 2D game and sequel to Fusion, Metroid Dread, was released in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch to critical acclaim and developed by Metroid: Samus Returns developer MercurySteam.[107]
References
Notes
- ^ Japanese: スーパーメトロイド, Hepburn: Sūpā Metoroido
- ^ The opening cutscene alternatively refers to the game as Metroid 3.[1]
- ^ The game refers to the item as the "Morphing Ball".
- ^ The magazine's 1997 listing of the best games of all time gave it the slightly more modest title of 6th best game of all time.[71]
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External links
- Official Nintendo Japan Super Metroid website (in Japanese)
- Super Metroid at MobyGames