Super Metroid is state of the art for open ended side scrolling.
The story of Super Metoid is not necessarily the main focus of the game. The biggest chunk of the story is given to you with an opening cut-scene and the early moment of gameplay. It starts of following the events of 'Metroid II: Return of Samus' where Samus spared the life of a baby Metroid (who mistook Samus as it's mother) on her last mission, then turned it over to the Galactic Federation for research purposes. Still feeling determined to use the Metroid for their evil schemes; Ridley and the Space Pirates assault the space station and kidnap the young Metroid. Now once again playing the role as intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Arron, it is your mission to get the Metroid back and stop the Space Pirates once and for all. Form here on out the story of the game takes a backseat to all the action until the final boss confrontation of the game (which for non spoilers sake, is worth the whole time and price of admission). This is a good thing too; it makes the player feel like they're shaping the story as he/she goes along.
The first big impression that Super Metroid leaves is the gameplay. It has one of the most solid control schemes felt in side-scroller gaming. There have been some updates brought on installments like Metroid Fusion like using one shoulder button for both types of diagonal shooting, but the scheme for the Super Nintendo is easy to pick up and get used to. Most of the mechanics of jumping and shooting feel natural over time and become second nature to be used. One mechanic that is really hard to use is the wall jump (and It's not even a feature brought up in the manual), but there is a good reason for this. With the wall-jumping mechanic being hard to use it keeps a balance to the game that keeps the puzzles one needs to solve in order. When one has enough diligence to master the wall jump control they are able to skip to areas that are not supposed to be accessed, so this is a feature that experienced gamers can utilize break the game. This isn't a huge determent given the prestige of fast game play. There is the return of fan service rewards in Super Metroid that the first game was known for. These rewards are given for fast times and percentage of items found in the game. This gives a layer of value for the players going for the speed-run style gameplay.
The newest feature added onto Super Metoid is the new upgrades that Samus gets. The newest welcome addition is the charge beam. Much like Mega Man 4, Samus is now able to charge a powerful shoot by holding down the weapon button and releasing it. Another new welcome feature is the X-ray visor. Now secrets in the game that seem like they would have been hard to pinpoint are now made easier with an X-ray visor to uncover secret areas and destructible blocks. The Speed Boost allows Samus to run at a high speed and break through some obstacles, and the Grapple Beam allows her to swing across large crevices. With the new additions, the old additions also make their way back like the Morph Ball and the Screw Attack. The pace in which all these items are given to you is very well balanced and there's never a time where your just left with a set of upgrades before getting new ones. Some might say that the open ended gameplay is hard for a broad audience, since there are a lack of hints it might seem like you'll have to exhaust every possibility before fining the way to the next area. The levels are not designed in a huge arduous way that it will take the player too long to find the next area to move onto, its always apparent what upgrade needs to be used and where.
The graphics in Super Metroid are really a good treat for the eyes. Some might say that the sprite design doesn't show as much flare on the super Nintendo like that of Donkey Kong Country. For what it is, the game took the next big step in the visual department for the Metroid series. The Animation is never jerky and the frame rate stays pretty solid. The color palate used in the entire game is really broad and diverse as the environments of the game. This game is very solid on the visual presentation. The audio presentation is even better. It wasn't common for a game to have good clarity in recorded voices for the 16-bit systems, but Super Metroid pulled it off for the opening cut scene, even if it is only for a couple seconds. The music of this game also just feels like it has legendary status, and the sound effects feel like they're spot on. This game is a top-notch production that Nintendo should be vary proud of.
Lets get one thing clear; Super Metroid is state of the art for open-ended side scrolling. The reputation of this game will be one to be held for years to come, anything close will be considered a flattering imitation. It is a game that keeps a perfect amount of simplicity and shows an enormous amount of depth. The tight control and atmospheric graphics help to keep the player locked in. This is one of those games that will still be talked about for years to come, and it deserves it.
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 9
Sound: 10
Tilt: 9
Value: 10
Score: 9.6