The second best Metroid game. Hell, one of the best side-scrollers ever!
Super Metroid may have the tightest controls of any game to date, thanks to its innovative way of controlling the protagonist, Samus. By pressing left or right on the d-pad, Samus sidescrolls across the screen in the respective direction. What makes the controls so innovative is that by pressing the d-pad up or down or even at 45 degree angles, Samus will look up, crouch, look down at an angle, and even look up at an angle giving total control to the player. By pressing down one more time even, Samus can roll up into a ball for quick maneuvering or for exploration reasons, like rolling through a small crevice. Add this with several clever and devastating weapons (which can be combined to create new weapons), innovative grappling hook mechanics, various forms of armor and defense, and different styles of jumping, the gameplay becomes easily accessible to novices and completely deep to experts as well as creating a new and cohesive way to play sidescrollers and games in general. What makes the whole experience so revolutionary is the pacing and exploration aspects of the game. Super Metroid never misses a beat and always brings new and fun gameplay mechanics to the table at the right time. Exploring for power-ups in secret areas is rewarding and fun, but not mandatory. Thoughs who are diligent enough to find every little secret are especially rewarded, which also adds replay value to the game as there are several different endings. Super Metroid's gameplay is nearly flawless.
The graphics are still the best on the system. Sprites are bright and large, and have a huge array of animation, especially with Samus. Environments are deeply interactive and range from many different and surprising locales. Vistas are elegantly beautiful while caverns are dark, foreboding, and haunting. Equally haunting are the enemies Samus must face during her long and memorable adventure. Bosses are especially creepy and some are so large that they cover up most of the screen. The special effects that come from lava, electricity, beams, and others are well animated and look gorgeous in a 2-D game. The overall art style is original and sets a darker tone from previous entries without completely leaving its origins. Super Metroid looks beautiful.
Sound design is equally crafted with the same finesse that the graphics have. Every grunt and cry from the various creatures feels right for each and every one. Sound effects for the graphical effects add immersiveness as well. The music is written perfectly for each event and locale in mind and loops at the right times.
The story of Samus in Super Metroid is a good one although not as deep as role playing games also found on the system like Super Mario RPG. Another complaint is that there is some minor slowdown when things get hairy and, during this, sprites flash sporadically.
Overall, Super Metroid is the pinnacle of sidescrollers, should not be missed, and to this day is one of the best games ever!