25 Gaming Experiences You Must Have Before You Die - Part IX: Super Motherfuckin' Metroid

Super Motherfuckin' Metroid (SNES, 1994)

Why You Should Play It

What can be said about Super Metroid that hasn't already been said a thousand times?
No other game in history has received such unanimous praise. It represents Nintendo, already an incredible developer and electronics phenom that could do no wrong in the 80s and early 90s, at their most creative and daring. It is a game from which no legitimate flaw can be isolated or extracted. Its haunting atmosphere, enchanting soundtrack, intense boss encounters, and unforgettable moments have left indelible marks on nearly every gamer that's experienced them. It is, quite simply, the culmination of everything good and right in the world of video games, and it holds up to any standard regardless of how far games advance either as storytelling mediums or devices for entertainment.

The first ingredient of Super Metroid's success is that no one really saw it coming. Unlike Super Mario World or A Link to the Past, as amazing as those games were, Super Metroid wasn't just a bigger, prettier version of the games that preceded it. While still built on the skeleton of its NES ancestor (figuratively and literally), Super Metroid goes far beyond anything you would normally envision in a sequel. Connecting the dots between Mario Bros. and Mario World (or even Yoshi's Island) isn't terribly difficult. But for Super Metroid, it almost feels like there's an entire series of games between it and the the comparatively crude 1986 blockbuster, when in reality, there's just one odd but lovable handheld release in between.

The second ingredient is the fact that Super Metroid showcases a quality games didn't really have or hadn't yet fully developed in the 8-bit era: the power of atmosphere. Super Metroid is a dark game. It could very well be the darkest game Nintendo's ever produced from within its own house. But more so than this, it's the way Super Metroid achieves its darkness that makes it so impressive. It achieves it not with blood, dark, mature or macabre imagery or themes. Rather, it suggests darkness. It radiates it from some primal, unknown source deep within its core. It does this so well that for it to have had those more commonplace conventions often associated with being “dark” would've made it a parody of itself. There's this inexplicable tension involved in playing Super Metroid. There's something foreboding about every step taken deeper into its labyrinth. Part of this is because the game is built entirely out of secrets. You can't go more than a minute or two through Zebes without having to unearth some hidden passage under an odd-looking block or false wall. This inherently charges much of the game with a sense that you're not supposed to be there. The rest comes from an almost infinite number of decisions made about timing, color, detail, musical cues, and probably things done subliminally that affect gamers in ways that aren't even clear. What is clear is that no game does what Super Metroid does as consistently from its title screen to its end credits as well or with as much intensity as it does. And that's all I can say about it, because saying anything else about it would undermine the experience of actually playing it, so get to work.

Potential Barriers

Don't be ridiculous.

Current Availability

Super Metroid is available on the SNES and via Wii's Virtual Console, so your options for acquiring it are fairly rigid. That said, whatever means necessary.

If You Really Dig It

While no one can ever really match Super Metroid at what it does, many have tried, and some have even done fairly admirably at it. Here are a few titles you should seek out if you want more atmospherically absorbing treks down labyrinthine corridors.

Turrican series

Manfred Trenz isn't one of the more well-known names in game design, but he should be. Trenz is often considered father of this, one of gaming's most uncelebrated sagas: Turrican. Turrican is like a version of Metroid that's not quite content with completely sacrificing the frantic pace of a full-blown run 'n' gun shooter. Thus, Turrican gives you the best of both worlds, providing plenty of intense combat while still satisfying the same urge for exploration that Metroid hoists aloft. Turrican has mostly called the Amiga and Commodore 64 home, but various different ports and reworkings of the first few games are available across the more popular platforms of the mid-90s, and the last entry, Super Turrican 2, calls the SNES home exclusively.

Demon's Crest (SNES, 1994)

Spawned from the light-hearted and silly Ghosts 'n Goblins series, Demon's Crest is what happens when you take a dead IP and reinvent it. Demon's Crest follows the story of Firebrand/Red Arremer, one of the recurring villains from Ghosts 'n Goblins who got his own game series on the Game Boy and NES called Gargoyle's Quest. But Demon's Crest stands alone as a far more mature and macabre product with far more complexity. Thought broken into stages, Demon's Crest still shares a lot in common with Metroid, with much of its world inaccessible until you gain the abilities of Firebrand's multiple transformations. Demon's Crest also sufficiently mimics Metroid's brooding atmosphere and attention to detail, and all in all, it's one of the greatest and under-appreciated games on the SNES.

Metroid on GBA

Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance, 2002)

Metroid: Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance, 2004)

There are many things about Metroid Fusion that irk me. The handholding and hints that take away some of the mystery at the core of the Metroid experience, the spoon-fed plot, the overdone and often ugly color palette. But underneath the outer layer of minor annoyances, it's still a tried and true Metroid experience. Zero Mission, on the other hand, is nearly perfect--a grand recreation of the original Metroid that stands as one of the GBA's crowning achievements alongside the Castlevania trilogy.

Cave Story (PC, 2004)

Cave Story is one of the more honorific nods to Metroid that cropped up over the years. Metroid's influence holds sway particularly in the indie community, which showcases a great number of excellent Metroid clones. But Cave Story is undoubtedly the best. The same sense of personality is infused into every pixel, except rather than brooding or melancholy, Cave Story is quite adorable. Cave Story's undeniable charm has allowed it to leave the confines of freeware and it is now available on a number of platforms including the Wii, PSP, and a 3D remake on the 3DS is forthcoming.

Shadow Complex (XBox Live Arcade, 2009)

Shadow Complex is the most pure and unadulterated homage to Super Metroid I've ever seen, a true testament to Super Metroid's endurance considering that Shadow Complex is a fairly new game. Taking the framework of Super Metroid and packaging it in a contemporary (though somewhat bland) aesthetic, Shadow Complex marries old and new in one highly entertaining experience that everyone with a 360 should enjoy.