AS NINTENDO’S SCI-FI CLASSIC TURNS 30 WE REVISIT THE PLANET ZEBES AND SPEAK TO DEVELOPERS OF BOTH METROIDVANIAS AND ACTUAL METROID GAMES TO LEARN WHAT MAKES SAMUS ARAN’S 2D ADVENTURE SO SPECIAL
We’ve always found Metroidvania to be an odd term, largely because adventures like Aztec, The Maze Of Galious and Nodes Of Yesod existed long before both Metroid and Castlevania. It was arguably Metroid that helped crystallise the concept for many gamers though and that concept was largely refined and perfected in 1994. The game in question is Super Metroid, Yoshio Sakamoto’s hugely ambitious sequel, which would not only take full advantage of the Super Nintendo’s extra power, but would serve as an end to the story arc that had first begun with the 1987 Famicom Disk release of Metroid and continued with Metroid II: Return Of Samus on Nintendo’s Game Boy. We’d also argue that it’s probably the Metroid game most gamers think of whenever the term Metroidvania comes up.
While it’s well known that the Metroid series was heavily influenced by Ridley Scott’s Alien it could be argued that Super Metroid is perhaps the most cinematic of Samus’ early adventures. “When I first heard the words, ‘The last Metroid is in captivity, the galaxy is at peace,’ it was a huge surprise,” admits Darren Ker win, founder of the popular Metroid website Shinesparkers. “Up until this point, I hadn’t heard much voice acting in a SNES game, and those words spoken by Dan Owsen, made the game’s opening highly memorable.”
Darren’s point about Super Metroid’s cinematic feel is an interesting one, because while it does indeed feature that memorable opening, recalling Samus’ earlier exploits by using text and black-and-white stills, the rest of the story is cleverly told in-game. “On release, it was Super Metroid’s storytelling that really stood out to me,” remembers Derek Yu, creator of the Spelunky games and the Metroidvania Eternal Daughter. “I still find it impressive how much narrative the game is able to convey with such few words – after the brief introduction you rarely lose control of Samus. And the feeling of tension and mystery never lets up until you finally escape from Zebes.”
Super Metroid reviewed extremely well with critics who all made note of its exceptional atmosphere and neat game mechanics. Nintendo Magazine System called it, “A perfectly designed game with negligible flaws,” in its 92% review. Super Play was equally enthused stating, “The game’s singular most remarkable feature is the atmosphere,” with the team’s import review ending with another 92%. In a 5/5 GamePro review Slasher Quan said that “visually Super Metroid sets a wonderfully appropriate and dark mood”, and also praised Super Metroid’s audio saying it was “fairly sombre and subdued, yet really cool at the same time”
