RETROSPECTIVE
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This month we take a look back over the Metroid series Being one of Nintendo’s pioneer franchises alongside the platforming perfection of Super Mario and the sublime fantasy adventure that was Zelda, Metroid supplied the Nintendo gamer with a healthy dose of sci-fi alien blasting. Where it is simple as shooting everything in sight, Metroid would likely have been lost under a pile of Contras and Megamans, and so it’s in its design, rather than its raw gameplay, that made Metroid stand out from the crowd. Created by Gunpei Yokoi, Metroid was first introduced to Japanese Famicom owners in 1986 before migrating west over the next two years. The game starred Samus Aran, a character that looked like any old generic sci-fi militia, and it was a genuine shock to gamers when it was revealed at the end of the game that Samus was actually a young female. Metroid’s concept is simple, drop the player onto an alien planet with one key objective, but fill the game world with objects that help the player overcome obstacles that present themselves. Found a small tunnel? Use the morph ball. Blocked by a door that will not open? Blast it with a missile. Confronted with a high ledge? Come back when you can jump higher. Metroid encourages
investigation that reaps rewards, eventually culminating in the completion of your objective. This type of gameplay separated itself from other shooters due to the complex nature of remembering key locations and area layouts on top of the typical enemy and boss strategies, while flowing as a seamless experience rather than a series of levels. Of course as they say, imitation is the best form of flattery and unsurprisingly the template has since been used by other designers, the most notable being the Castlevania title ‘Symphony of the Night’ on PlayStation, and continuing titles in the series on GBA and DS. The earliest games in the franchise each used a side scrolling perspective, but the Prime instalments each managed to bring new innovations to the franchise, including a first-person perspective, whilst still managing to follow the design set down by the original adventure. The first game in the Metroid series, simply titled “Metroid”, saw Samus tackle Space Pirates inhabiting planet Zebes, whose intentions were to use the Metroid species as a means of conquering the galaxy. The Metroids are, as this game revealed, evil jellyfish-like creatures that have a nasty habit of attaching themselves to living things and sucking the life right out of them. Fortunately for
us, some ice and a missile (or five) easily make short work of them. The classic adventure introduced the non linear design of Metroid as well as introducing players to some series staples such as the power beam, morph ball and missiles, alongside villains such as Ridley (the big flying lizard who seems to attain metal body parts all too often) and a menagerie of creatures that would be recycled in sequels to come. The second game, “Metroid II: Return of Samus”, saw Samus shrink onto the Game Boy and heading out to planet SR388 on a mission to eradicate all Metroids. Metroid II was seen by many as the worst in the franchise, perhaps due to the more linear game design (by killing enough Metroids, lava on the planet lowered and allowed progress). Despite this, Metroid II offered solid blasting with a similar flair for exploration expressed in the original game, as well as introducing a number of other upgrades that would return in later games; the spider ball, space jump and screw attack. Following on from this was the seminal “Super Metroid”, what many believe to be the pinnacle of the series. The last Metroid game made under the watchful eye of Gunpei Yokoi before his tragic death, Super Metroid was bigger, better
THE STORY SO FAR Metroid: Samus scuppers the space pirates’ plans on planet Zebes. Metroid Prime: Samus flies to Tallon IV on a distress call but finds the dangerous energy source Phazon and plenty more pirates to kill. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes: Samus investigates Aether and reverses the effects of Phazon on the planet. Metroid II Return of Samus: Samus attacks SR388 destroying all the Metroids, but takes away a baby for analysis. Super Metroid: The intrepid hunter finds herself once again on Zebes foiling the pirates’ plans. Metroid Fusion: Samus takes on the X parasite, the natural prey of the Metroid at large on SR388 after Samus wiped out the Metroid species.