An engrossing atmosphere, smooth gameplay and stellar presentation make Super Metroid a cIassic.
Pros:
+A living world to explore
+Smooth and simple controls
+Plenty of variety in design of both the world and the enemies
+Fantastic visuals and sound design
+Lots of secrets to be uncovered
Cons:
-Getting lost is way too common
-Platforming sections can be imprecise
Samus Aran, hero of the Metroid series, has become one of the most endearing and brave characters in gaming history. Her initial debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES) garnered much praise for its incredible freedom and sense of alienation from the human world. Super Metroid takes the formula created at that point, and then polishes it to an incredible sheen; so much so that the game doesn't even feel at all dated, and to this day remains a superb gaming experience for any gamer out there.
The game picks off where the second installment in the series (Metroid II: Return of Samus on the Gameboy) left off. Samus had found an infant of the metroid species (the titular creatures of the series) which began to see her as its mother, clinging onto it wherever she went. She decided to give the infant to the Ceres Space Colony where it would be tested and researched. Not much time passes, however, until Samus receives a distress call from the colony. When she arrives on the scene, she finds the scientists slumped down, dead from some unknown attack. Shortly thereafter, she meets her arch-nemesis Ridley who steals the infant metroid and goes to the planet Zebes. Samus follows it and thus begins her journey to get to the bottom of Ridley's plans, and saving the metroid at the same time.
The story is well-told when it needs to be, but it acts more like a conduit for the gameplay itself. The design and world itself is in accordance to the atmosphere the story creates. You're on an alien world, alone with the elements, with just a special Power Suit and her skills as an intergalactic bounty hunter. Zebes is truly an amazing place, filled with secret alcoves, beautiful scenery and varied wildlife. Just exploring the planet is a joy in and of itself, without any boundaries imposed by narrative. You aren't completely free to explore every area without certain equipment, but from the get-go, you have a very impressive area to explore and survey. The inclusion of secret boosts and upgrades also adds a purpose to the exploration, adding another dimension to the game.
Going from place to place is usually a simple task. Super Metroid is a 2D platformer/shooter hybrid, though the latter genre is more accurate. The game does have a number of platforming sections, and these moments are where the controls start to show that ground work is preferable. The jumps are often hard to control, which leads to falling into traps, lava or other harmful obstacles. These are definitely not prevalent, but when they pop up, it is definitely noticeable.
However, in every other aspect, Super Metroid is astounding. You are given a normal beam attack at first which can be aimed in eight separate directions. After that, the game generously drip-feeds you different power-ups such as the ability to roll into a little ball, shoot through walls and even dash at incredible speeds. You are constantly acquiring new abilities and moves, so the game never gets monotonous or stale. New opportunities constantly open up, further amplifying the sense of adventure already present. However, one problem arises from this constant introduction of new elements. You will be granted access to new areas with every upgrade, but this requires you to backtrack to a number of different areas. You're never informed of where that area is, it's sometimes obvious and sometimes uncertain. It creates a feeling of slight frustration when you have to literally trust on luck to find the exact spot where you can proceed. However, much of this backtracking is made irrelevant by just how much fun the exploration is. It does get excessive at times, though, and some sort of information to the next goal would've been ideal.
As previously mentioned, there are also secret items to find on top of all this, often hidden behind breakable walls or concealed by a clever puzzle. These will, for instance, give you more missile ammo or boost your maximum amount of health. Needless to say, this will keep you preoccupied outside of the main quest, thus adding even further to the joy of searching every pixel of Zebes.
The planet doesn't only harbour innocent power-ups, however. Next to every area has some sort of outlandish creature lurking about, such as lethal space pirates or the spiky cacatacs. The enemy variety is fantastic, no world has the same type of enemies and in tandem with the varied environmental design, this gives every area a wonderfully unique styIe.
The visuals greatly amplify this singularity. Super Metroid is pretty much one of the most beautiful Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for future reference) games ever created. First there's the colorful and vibrant visual styIe that bursts out of every aspect of the game. Nothing has been ignored, no shortcuts were made; every detail is rendered perfectly in glorious 16-bit which still looks amazing today. Then there's the little stuff. The way Samus acts out every movement of a standard running gait, how everything from plants to water moves as it would in real life, how fluid every jump is; it's all intricately designed to create something truly special.
Sound design is also stellar. The Metroid series is known for its ambiance, and Super Metroid is no exception to that trend. The brilliant score greatly compliments the atmosphere, adding more mystique to the haunting Zebes. Sound effects are more simple, but they each have their charm, whether it be the whoosh of Samus' jumps or the charge of a strengthened beam attack. Both in regard to the graphics and audio, Super Metroid barely shows that it was released 16 years ago from the writing of this review.
The game will most likely take about 8-14 hours to play through the first time, but if you want to find every single item, it may very well take much longer. Super Metroid also urges you to try and go through the game even faster, granting you a secret ending if you finish under a specific time. There's also always something to see and explore on Zebes, so you'll most likely never get bored at any point in the game, and there's a definite incentive to play through it again at some point.
When it comes to games that simply outdo any of its predecessors, Super Metroid is one of the best examples. Not only is it a landmark in the action-platformer scene, but is on top of that one of the best games to have ever graced the fabled SNES. If you want a game that hasn't aged at all after so many years, Super Metroid comes as a definite recommendation.
Story: 8.9/10.0
Gameplay: 9.3/10.0
Graphics: 9.4/10.0
Sound: 9.2/10.0
Replayability: 9.1/10.0
Final score: 9.3/10.0
-calvinsora