My experience with Super Metroid (30 year anniversary)

My experience with Super Metroid (30 year anniversary)

The day is 25th December 2008, I'd received Super Smash Bros Brawl which wasn't playable initially because my Wii couldn't read Dual Laser discs, so a few months later after sending the console back to Nintendo to get the necessary components to be able to read the game I finally got around to play it. Countless hours were spent on multiplayer and the campaign mode known as the Subspace Emissary, Brawl was polarising to many fans of the Smash Bros. series with many much preferring the faster, kinetic and hyper aggressive combat in Melee its predecessor, but I loved the game all the same. Brawl was full of cool trophies and had huge variety of modes and this was the game that I first found out that Samus was a woman, when I was growing up media had a lot of female characters depicted as being a Damsel like Princess Peach but to see a character like Samus not just show that she was a capable badass in her own way but also that you should never judge a book by it's cover. I thought Samus was a man when I first saw the character so this was a nice subversion to say the least. However one game mode in SSBB in particular that intrigued me was called Masterpieces which featured a compilation of short demos from a variety of retro games from Nintendo, Sega etc. Most of these were my first experience of playing games from the 80's and 90's like F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Mario World and of course Metroid, specifically the game I'm about to gush about, Super Metroid. I briefly played the demo but using a GCN controller to control an old school 2D game was impractical to say the least.

(Not really masterpieces if you only experience them for just 1-2 minutes...😏)

I'd played a Metroid game before which was technically the first time I was exposed to one of many Nintendo mascots, Mario and Zelda I first played on the GBA with Mario Kart: Super Circuit and Zelda Collection on the GCN. The first Metroid game in question that I played was Metroid 2: Return of Samus for the OG GameBoy. It had no instruction manual which made things pretty difficult for 6 year old me, it also didn't help that the game had no map feature considering that the game played like nothing I'd experienced and it was considered to be one the most linear games in the series at the time it came out in 1992 for Europe. Long story short I don't hate the game but I'd rather play the remakes AM2R and Samus Returns for the 3DS. The ending for the game would serve as a tease for the 3rd chapter in the Metroid saga.

(The cover for Metroid 2 always stuck with we when I first saw it when I was 6 years old. Stunning artwork)

After hearing through YouTube videos reviews of the game I had to check out Super Metroid, I purchased and downloaded it from the Wii Shop Channel and after playing a bit of it, I just stopped. So why was that? Well, here's how....

So I started the game and the title screen left me on edge, I was used to the colourful and whimsical title screens like Mario Galaxy and I just wasn't prepared for how different in tone it was. No biggie, I carried on regardless, the prologue with Samus recapping events from the 1st and 2nd game, then I control Samus as I head to a space station called Ceres where an attack had occurred. I entered and the sirens are blazing, there's a kind of blue mist in the areas I run by and then I found the baby Metroid still in its capsule. Soon enough the culprit was revealed to be Ridley, after a brief scuffle he flies off with the Metroid and now the stations self destruct sequence has initiated with 1 minute to evacuate. Managed to do that and then set off in hot pursuit of Ridley which led me to a planet called Zebes. My gunship landed and the planet is a rainy storm with this ominous theme that screams "You shouldn't be here" I delve deeper into the planet finding areas from the first game, the old Tourian and Brinstar, the latter of which had the exact same location of where your first upgrade is obtained, the morph ball. Then this spotlight appeared looking directly at me even when I'm moving. I go to the right and collected 2 missile packs (10 missiles in total) Heading back to the left I take the elevator back up to the surface of Crateria I noticed that as I ascended up there's two statue faces turning to look at me which made me shudder essentially foreshadowing that I wasn't alone anymore and that something or someone had arrived. As soon as I had went through the door on the left where the old Tourian was where Mother Brain was defeated in the first game, the space pirates had arrived and actually making their full debut in a Metroid game as enemies to take down. I was startled but not fearful, yet, I made my back up to the top near the planets surface, then with the morph ball I squeezed down a small gap which eventually led me to a room that had a statue similar to the one that gave me a missile pack, this one gave me bombs to use in morph ball mode, the room however was foggy, a mist that was pretty chilling.to say the least. But then I collected the upgrade went to leave and then... the door shut locking me in the room and then suddenly the statue crumbled and this bird like creature emerged, this fake statue then began to attack me. I panicked and was shocked to say the least, I tried to shoot it down but I wasn't good with the controls and I died, the death animation of Samus's power suit exploding with the sounds of it malfunctioning and Samus screaming sent such a chill down a spine and scared me so much I shut the game off as quickly as possible. I was done I was too terrified to try again.

                                                       (Thanks for scaring me Asshole...)

So several years go by, I had bought a Wii U and then moved on from Nintendo to Sony with the PS4, just forgetting about it. 

Then 2020 happened. 😶

It's a cliché but that year was brutal for me and many people in the world and before anyone mentions that "virus" which caused a tsunami of panic, resulting in numerous countries into lockdown, unable to socialise and only supermarkets/convenience stores were open with strict social distancing measures, that was just the rotten icing on an already revolting cake. I'd been sacked from a job and was diagnosed with Epilepsy. My only means of comfort were playing with my friends online and solo offline.

I then saw an update for a Mario Kart Wii mod (CTGP) which was quite huge (24 players could race each other now) and made me put my Wii U which had been inactive for years. Then I decided to play some games I'd downloaded to the console and of course that included Super Metroid. 7 years of having not beaten or played Super Metroid, I took the plunge, I had another go and finally...I'd completed it via the Wii U virtual console, after that I beat the Wii virtual console version and then something....clicked with me.

I'd beaten the game so was there any reason to play it again? Well I played it again and again, and again.

And again!

It was on my 4th or 5th playthrough where what had stopped me before had finally been long gone, the level design, upgrades, atmosphere, exploration, there was so much to admire about Super Metroid not just as a Metroid game or a SNES game, but just as a video game on its own.

Nintendo, the developer team of R&D1 including Producer Gunpei Yokoi (R.I.P) and Director Yoshio Sakamoto really went to town to make a game that was at the time of it's release the biggest SNES game and highly regarded as not only the best Metroid game, the best SNES game but as a standalone game in general receiving universal acclaim and widely regarded as one the greatest games ever created. How and why though? Well... here go. (SPOILERS COMING UP!)

The games story gives us flashbacks to when Samus took out Mother Brain in Metroid 1 and almost every Metroid on SR388 in Metroid 2. The baby Metroid that had hatched formed a bond with Samus like a child's love for his/her parents, this was pretty big for this series to say the least given that we had been accustomed to Metroids being the apex predators so far and now seeing a Metroid show signs affection was remarkable.

Samus takes the baby Metroid to the Ceres research station where the scientists aboard the facility discover that the creature has potential to be utilized for the good of civilisation in the galaxy. With that bounty seemingly concluded Samus heads out to find a new one....only for her very shortly after leaving to pick up a distress signal from Ceres where she'd just left, it was at the mercy of a space pirates invasion. but from whom though? Samus quickly heads back to find out.

When you arrive back at Ceres, you know the rest since I've already gone in depth with that earlier and the fact that there are dead bodies of the scientists lying on the floor which was kinda graphic for Nintendo (but there's more of that later...) Eventually you find Ridley who flies off with the Metroid and you give chase after leaving the research station which self destructs, at this point when you land on Planet Zebes the games story is conveyed not through dialogue but through the gameplay, visuals, music and atmosphere.

Each area you travel through conveys the story in very atmospheric ways from the optimistic yet a slight feeling of uncertainty in Brinstar's Jungle upper region and then when you descend further into the lower area known as Red Soil Wetland, at this point you've dropped down here with no way back up unless you know how to wall jump using pinpoint timing and aligning with each wall correctly. When you eventually reach the right of where the lift is that takes you to the next area past the glass tunnel, you take that lift if you've never played the game before and it's here where you learn a lot about the next area Upper Norfair, certain areas can be accessed but the sweltering heats drain your health really quickly so before you can even begin to go further into Norfair you need find an upgrade that gives you much higher jumping, enter the high jump boots which do exactly that and as a result the wall on the right can now be opened assuming you already have Super Missiles obtained and now last section of Lower Brinstar is now open for you to explore it.

(Kraid: FE FI FO FUM! I SMELL THE BLOOD OF CHOZO SCUM!)

Before I talk about the areas you travel through in the story, this game makes huge technical strides from Metroid 1 and 2. First thing you notice is that Samus can shoot in 8 directions making for some great aiming in this game, it doesn't quite have the precision with the 360 aiming with the Mercury Steam developed games in the series (Samus Returns 3DS and Metroid Dread) but considering the choppy stiffness of Metroid 2 and especially Metroid that only allowed you to shoot in 3 or 4 directions this is hugely welcome change. You also have as previously stated a wall jump which is really annoying to pull off but once you've mastered it a huge amount of sequence breaking opens up, sequence breaking in a nutshell is when you as a player break the rules of what the game would normally encourage you to collect first and in doing so this can both used to exploit areas, bosses and for people who speedrun this game most importantly save time to make beating the game faster. It's really satisfying not just getting upgrades in the order how you want but the fact Samus can pull these awesome manoeuvres off and the game never really punishes you for how you suit your approach when making your playthrough more interesting, faster and most importantly.....fun.

Do you know what also helps? The soundtrack composed by Kenji Yamamoto, right from the ominous title theme that sets the tone beautifully for how dangerous and terrifying this journey will be, landing on planet Zebes with the stormy sky rumbling with thunder and lightning, the nonchalant sounds of Maridia, the fiery, fury and ferociousness of reaching Ridley's Lair. It was at the time during the early 90's where the video game consoles sound capabilities had come such a long way from the beeps, boops and bips of pre 8 bit games from the 80's and began to really stride the line of sounding like genuine music composed with different styles of genres, the SNES with the sweeping orchestral themes like Final Fantasy 6 and A Link to The Past and the funkier rock with Sega Mega Drive/Genesis with Sonic The Hedgehog and Earthworm Jim to name a few. And with Super Metroid overall, that clearly shows why. 

(Entering the Wrecked Ship is pretty much like the corridors from Alien)

The vast majority of upgrades from the previous 2 games are back again, Morph Ball, Morph Ball Bombs, Missiles, E-Tanks, High Jump Boots, Varia Suit, Spring Ball, Space Jump and the Screwattack. It's the same with beams such as the Spazer Beam, Wave Beam, Ice Beam and Plasma Beam, the only new Beam to start with is the Charge Beam which allows you pull of a more powerful shot. But of course new upgrades have been implemented firstly there's Super Missiles that are basically just way more powerful missiles, I do like these but I'm glad that future games streamlined Missile upgrades so they naturally just get more powerful and you don't have to have separate ammo for them. Then there's the Grappling Beam that basically let's you swing across areas you couldn't previously traverse through, reminds me of the web swinging in Spider-Man or the Grapple that Batman uses. It's decent but if you're accustomed to the wall jump then it's something you won't be using too often. A tool that allows you scan for breakable walls, hidden paths and upgrades hidden in plain sight known as the X-Ray scope is fine I guess but if you've played the game so many times you won't be dying to get this again in a hurry, usually it's one of the last upgrades I collect, that's how much I really don't feel the need to get it unless I'm going for 100% completion. However the best new upgrades by a huge margin go to both the Gravity Suit and Speed Booster, the former giving Samus her iconic purple shoulder pads but also significantly reduce damage sustained from hazards/enemies and most importantly allows her to move in aquatic based environments like the water surrounding the Wrecked Ship and the vast majority of the oceanic area of Maridia, the latter new addition however the Speed Booster is incredible, when running at full speed Samus can smash through hoards of enemies on straight paths which is super satisfying to do, the Speed Booster can also be used in conjunction with a secondary ability called the Shine Spark, by pressing down on the D-Pad when running and glowing at fall speed, Samus stores the energy and then through a weird button combo pressing you can have Samus literally yeet across the screen either horizontally, upwards or diagonally,  it's awkward to pull it off sometimes but when you manage it, it's one of the FUCKING COOLEST things in this entire game. When you collect a new beam you keep it permanently unlike the last the 2 games which in those games once you collected a new beam the one you were carrying at the time gets replaced, as an added bonus the beams can be stacked together or switched off individually to show off different effects.      

                                (Some people struggle with this bridge, I say just run with it..)

Each area has such a meticulous attention to detail, Norfair for example is almost entirely sweltering with heat which is visually shown as the graphics contort slightly to convey heatwaves, the Wrecked Ship is about as close to resembling the dark tunnels inside the Nostromo ship from the 1979 horror sci-fi film classic Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, It has a cold, isolated ,mechanical and desolate feel to it. Also it's rather nerve wracking with the ghosts that randomly spawn when you first enter the ship. To further add to the nervy moments here, everything is offline inside the ship including the only save station, the boss you face here is the reason why this power outage happened, but how? Well besides the ship crashing here you don't really get a clear cut answer but it's fascinating to speculate and theorize about it. 

Upper Maridia reminds me of a beach mixed with coral reefs and sea weed but Lower Maridia is very much the deepest depths of the darkest oceans possible, something that certain parts of Earth itself we human's as a species have yet to discover. That latter part is why I love the water based areas of Metroid in general like Sunken Frigate from Prime and Burenia from Dread for example, not only having a beautiful serene atmosphere coupled with some tranquil music that at times feels like it lulls you into a false sense of security. Maridia however is probably my least favourite area because the of excess backtracking and going through the same rooms a couple of times because of how certain sections are designed just to get a couple of items which can be slightly tedious. You also find a familar face in this creature that looks like a certain King of the Koopas. There's also a digging machine called shacktool that's just infinitely digging sand in this room that leads you to the Spring Ball.

(Water great area this is! 😓)

By the time you reach Ridley's Lair (Lower Norfair) horror, isolation and the use of suspense is now gone. Instead Ridley's Lair is action orientated with some devilish music that returned in both Prime and Samus Returns as the Magmoor Caverns , it has the toughest space pirates to tackle who can dish out some pretty brutal attacks, including a couple of whom that use martial arts and kick you in the face. There's also gold Torizo statue which is tougher than the previous one you faced a while ago in game, but now it dodges every missile you shoot at it and casually catches your super missiles before throwing them back at you. 😂

In order to gain access to the new Tourian, the games final area. You'll need to beat each major boss all 4 of them to do so. There are quite a lot of mini bosses (some I've already mentioned so I'm only talking about the one's I haven't) to face against as well. Spore Spawn is this....plant that moves slowly around, not much to say apart from you collect your first Super Missiles when beaten. Crocomire is quite possibly the most infamous mini boss in the whole game, he approaches towards you and if you retreat too much you get instantly killed by the spikes behind you. If you try to hit his body with anything it won't do any damage, the only way to have....some affect on him is to shoot into Crocomire's mouth which causes him to retreat slightly until eventually you've pushed him towards the edge of the acid below and once he falls in you're treat to the goriest moment in Super Metroid. That acid that Crocomire is submerged in rips his skin off all the while he screams in agony, at that point you think the fight is over until Crocomire reappears as a slight jump scare where that spiked wall was but now he's dead and reduced to a pile of bones.... yikes! and also there's Botwoon, a weird looking dragon snake hybrid who's just....meh, use super missiles on him and he goes down in seconds so easily.

("SHOOTING ME WON'T MAKE ME GIVE YOU BACK YOUR GODDAMN BABY!" Ridley probably..)

After killing Ridley you enter the room behind him only to find that the capsule which contained the baby Metroid is broken, this is a pretty disappointing outcome for the player when you consider every boss you beat gives you a reward, Spore spawn beaten gets you super missiles, you obtain the Varia Suit after killing Kraid, the reward for brutally murdering Crocomire is the Grapple Beam, surviving phantoon means you get the Gravity suit, Draygon the Space Jump and the gold torizo gets you the Screwattack. But narrowly missing out on finding the baby Metroid that time really sucks that you were close, very, very close, but alas, not close enough.

Anyway now with all 4 main bosses beaten, the final area opens, a new Tourian with the familiar obstacles as seen in the first game, pits filled with acid, rinkers that slow you down and appear very frequently much to the annoyance of the player and me because of how much I f***ing hate those things and of course Metroids. Like before the ice beam and missile combo works the best for taking these suckers out.

Once you've negotiated past the gauntlet of many angry Metroids, you enter a few rooms filled with sand and dust while the tension theme plays leaving you on a knife edge as it's always the theme that foreshadows an upcoming boss battle. You meet a few Sidehoppers. The last one and the only one in one room is just casually hopping around doing its thing...

Suddenly, WHAM! A giant fecking Metroid grabs onto the Sidehopper and drains it completely of life, it then follows you and does the same thing and it almost kills you..

But then it just stops with Samus barely alive at a single point of health left. The Metroid realises something isn't right here and then quickly recognises who Samus is, The same woman that has been the closest living person that looked after it on SR3-88  and knowing that now, it flies off crying and guilty for what it has done. However there's no time to feel sad and stop and Samus after a quick recharge enters the heart of Tourian itself where it seems..very familiar. Rinkers a plenty, acid, the barriers that need to be shot down quickly otherwise they heal back to their regular position and of course Mother Brain. Heck everything here starts very deceptive you get through the barriers, avoid the rinkers and fill Mother Brain with all the firepower you have. Soon enough the MB central column collapses and it appears MB has croaked. But she hasn't exploded and you can't leave the room so what's happened here? Has the game broke? Is this how the game ends? Well pretty anti-climactic if you ask m...

JESUS H FUCKING CHRIST, MB pulled out her Uno card and now she has a mechanical body, a beastly domineering size giving her an intimidating presence like Kraid, except Kraid is an absolute wimp compared to this behemoth of an absolute monstrosity that MB is now.

Sohere we are the final battle truly begins as this fucking nightmare inducing music plays and you shoot everything you have at MB. Charged shots, Power Bombs, all of your Missiles, Grapple Beam, Screwattack, X-ray Scope, Hookshot, fire flower, spin dash, a frying pan, master sword, a pencil....okay I rambled a bit but you get the idea. Long story short non of them work at all emphasising how seemingly invincible MB is. But then she rears her head back closes her eyes and then...

(DOGTOR MOTHER-BRAIN-UPUS BLAAAAAAARGH!!)

Well, shit. Laser to the face and now Samus is a sitting duck with nothing left in her, You as the player try to move but she doesn't have the energy to get back up and looks to have given up. MB charges up her attack again to deliver the coup de grâce but then what follows is easily the most dramatic sequence of events in the whole game and goodness me it is an incredible ride of emotions that it puts you through. The BEEEG baby Metroid swoops in to attack MB and drain her until she's a husk, then it descends down on you like a cloud and envelopes you, this time however it begins to fully refill your depleted energy, MB though has other ideas because she's not done or dead yet as she now unleashes a barrage of attacks on the Metroid all the while taking the punishment protecting you until your energy is back to full, the Metroid badly injured moves away then bravely attacks MB again but Samus and you the player can do nothing but watch as the MB delivers the killing blow which destroys the baby. 😭

(Top 10 Saddest Anime Deaths)

But then Samus starts to glow and soon enough you realise why, the Metroid that sacrificed itself for you not only healed you but bestowed you with what MB shot at you earlier. The Hyper Beam. All that heartache and sadness that occurred within a split second has now become rage, power and utter catharsis as you pulverize MB to death with the Hyper Beam and there's nothing more satisfying in this game than exacting your revenge on MB in that manner, if the power of the beam doesn't annihilate her it's the violent jolting of MB's neck that will kill her from the ridiculous amount of whiplash she's enduring. With one final strike MB kicks the bucket and the final boss of Super Metroid has been well and truly defeated.

(Samus killing Mother Brain with the most destructive weapon in existence, Skittles.)

Oh yeah the self destruct countdown has started so no real time to process the whole scenario yet and now you have 3 minutes to get out of there asap. Save the animals first though;

1) Because I'm not a WR speed runner like OatsnGoats.

2) They appear in this games sequel Metroid Fusion so saving them here has to be canon. (Miguel O-Hara would approve)

3) I'm not a heartless Bitch.

So we eventually get back the surface of Zebes and into out gunship and that's it. However the countdown wasn't just for Tourian like Metroid 1 but this time it's for the entire planet.... ooooooof. The planet self destructs like the Death Star and you've made your escape and the game ends. Christ, that adventure was something that sticks with you for a long time.

As an added bonus depending on how quick you beat the game you get 3 different endings. I personally always have had a soft spot for the second ending (3-10 hours) where Samus takes her helmet and gives you a thumbs up with a smile that just says "Well done, good job!" 😊

I still get nervous about the items collected if I've got 100% or not.

Yeah if hasn't been made clear, I fucking love this game. I know that it's easy for people to just judge you for liking something so popular that they themselves find it over hyped, and in some cases from a subjective viewpoint I can see why since I myself don't rate every other highly acclaimed games or media as much as others do. But there are certain things in life that always come with a reputation (either great or infamous) for a reason. Super Metroid fits into that category for me.

This game really broke technical barriers that held the previous entries back and refines everything to create a cohesive, incredibly atmospheric, thrilling, emotional and above all else a game that feels 100% complete from start to end, through beautiful pacing, visual storytelling, conveying the emotions and mood of the story without resorting to exposition (apart from the prologue) and voice acting.

Yes, later games had more refined controls, better in game mechanics and versatile upgrades like Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid Dread. However Super Metroid set the bar for those games as well as others outside of Metroid with a similar gameplay format about as high as you can get. All of that coupled with great upgrades and an epic final boss that is about as climactic as a finale could be and the end result is simply sublime.

I could ramble on, which I already have done too much probably, but as a video game Super Metroid really does earn the title of being Super. If this game was the one that got you into the series well it really was mission accomplished from Nintendo R&D1.

If you haven't played this game already, Well what are you doing? Give it a go, even if you struggle with it early on, keep persisting and you'll feel accomplished by the end.

My personal connection with this game is something that I'll never forget either and I'm glad that I brushed aside the nerves that Super Metroid gave me. I honestly would have felt empty if I never finished it. As cliché as it sounds you only live once and I had to finish it, how long? It didn't matter one way or another I just had to so I wouldn't have regret. It's one of my all time favourite games and that will definitely not change. An all time classic.

Thank you for reading!

Post by AnvilAL :)

SEE YOU NEXT MISSION!

 My BRSTM for Mario Kart Wii playlist;

Start Grid - Mario Kart 64

Mario Circuit theme - Fortune Street

Hog Wild - Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy

Slide theme - Super Mario 64

Metallic Madness (Past) - Sonic CD

Stardust Speedway (Bad Future JP) - Sonic CD

Be Cool, Be Wild and Be Groovy (Ice Cap) - Sonic Adventure

Daisy Theme - Mario Strikers Charged

Animal Crossing (Autumn) - Mario Kart 8

Crisis City - Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)

Rainbow Road - F-Zero X

Twinkle Cart (Twinkle Park) - Sonic Adventure

Windy and Whirly (Emerald Coast) - Sonic Adventure

Athletic Theme (Super Mario World) - Super Smash Bros. Melee

Banshee Boardwalk - Mario Kart 64

Luigi Circuit theme - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Holska (Daytime Stage) - Sonic Unleashed

Makin' Waves, Tell No Tales, Ski Crazed & Hot Coco - Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy

Spagonia Rooftop Run (Daytime Stage) - Sonic Unleashed

Waluigi Pinball Remix - GaMetal

Kalamari Desert - Mario Kart 64

GBA Bowser Castle Remix - GaMetal

Jungle Temple - Majora's Mask

Rude Buster (Deltarune) - Toby Fox

SNES Battle Course 3 - Mario Kart Wii

Press Garden Zone (Act 2) - Sonic Mania

Jungle Boogie - Crash Nitro Kart

Venom fight theme - Spider-Man 3 (PS2)

Winning theme - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Runner up theme - F-Zero X finish

Losing theme - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!