Released in the US on April 18th, 1994, Super Metroid comes as the third entry in the Metroid series and would be heralded by many as one of the greatest games ever made, its influence being felt for generations to come as it helped define a whole new genre that is the Metroidvania. The adventure takes place after the events of Metroid II: Return of Samus for the GameBoy, where Samus has successfully eradicated the Metroid species, other than a lone baby Metroid which she hands off to scientists for further research on the potential benefits for humankind. No sooner than when she leaves the space station does she receive a distress signal that the station is under attack by space pirates. With the notorious Ridley stealing the infant Metroid, Samus takes pursuit and follows them to the nearby planet surface of Zebes. Thus begins the players' new mission to navigate this alien world and put a stop to the rekindling affairs of the space pirates.
One of the notable aspects of Super Metroid is aside from the brief narrated intro (with impressive voice acting for its time), the rest of the game's narrative is presented without any sort of text or dialog. Rather, the story naturally flows through means of world building, gameplay, and inferred context. Players fully immerse themselves in the solitude that Samus faces as she makes discoveries and faces imposing threats. You identify how the world is pieced together and inquire the circumstances that led to locations like a wrecked ship on the planet's surface. Because players are able to self-determine these bits of storytelling through direct means of gameplay, the narrative is made that much stronger and more engrossing to the overall experience.
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| Super Metroid concept art. |
What adds to that sense of engagement and total immersion is the satisfying gameplay loop of exploration and acquiring new upgrades, which in turn open up new means of combat and traversal. And the means in which this game teaches players these mechanics of back-tracking and exploration is done in such a brilliant and elegant manner. The intro of the game starts off on a rather linear and limited scope of navigation until the player receives their first upgrade. Players are then forced to retrace their steps, in which they discover the previously traversed ruined halls are now filled with space pirates. This asserts to the players that backtracking is both necessary and will bring about new discoveries. With this in mind, players then begin to discover and making mental notes of where they can use their new abilities, and where to come back to at a later point. To further help players not get lost or become to overwhelmed as where to go next, the game slyly bars off previous sections at periodic points of the adventure, such as when you get towards the end of the Brinstar zone. This keeps the number of options in which players could explore at any moment to a reasonable and reassuring feeling to be handled. Once players get so far into the game though and the developers are confident that the mechanics can be sufficiently handled by the players now, the whole world of Zebes is suddenly realized to be accessible. This shift in power and freedom beautifully changes the tone of the game from what was a chase to a hunt, as players now must pry apart every inch of this planet to uncovering the cowering remaining bosses and retrieve the stolen Metroid.
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| Watch yourself Ridley. Samus is coming to find you. |
Since the release of Super Metroid, the series has had its shares of long gaps between entries. But through all these long waits, this classic has only grown in appreciation and acclaim. Few games match the refined balance of immersive gameplay and narrative storytelling that Super Metroid has achieved here. So if you're anxiously awaiting the latest adventure of Samus Aran in the upcoming Metroid Prime 4, why not revisit this SNES masterpiece and remind yourself where it all started.
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