Metroid is a sidescrolling action-adventure featuring one of the most famous female leads in gaming. Featuring a heroine in Metroid was unusual during an almost all male dominated scene back in the mid-80's. However, it wasn't painstakingly obvious from the beginning. Gamers had to play through the entire game before learning the true identity of Samus Aran.
Our story starts from the absolute beginning of the Metroid timeline. Space Pirates have captured Metroids with the intentions of utilizing their energy draining qualities to create powerful bio-weapons. Space Pirates are soon discovered to be basing their operations on the Planet Zebes and after a failed Galactic Federation invasion, bounty hunter Samus Aran is tasked with the infiltrating the planet alone to find and confront the Space Pirates’ leader, Mother Brain.
Throughout your adventure you will journey all over the Planet Zebes. Samus can shoot enemies with her Arm Cannon and utilize a variety of other items to navigate the planet and defeat her foes. You will absolutely need items to access different parts of Zebes, and in fact it will force you to backtrack through familiar sections to move the game forward. Navigating Zebes can be difficult as there is no in-game map (familiar surroundings making matters worse).
Other than those complaints, Metroid is extremely fun to play. Besides shooting down every enemy you come across and discovering new items, you will also encounter a variety of secret areas. Finding these secrets is rewarding as you will ultimately increase your health and missile capacities. Secrets and well hidden upgrades have become a staple for the series.
Controlling Samus is a mixed barrel. While the controls themselves are easy to pick up and learn, it's actually the lack of maneuvering from Samus that makes things difficult. She is unable to shoot in all directions which makes taking out enemies a little harder. Her jumps take a little practice to get the hang of things and at times can feel awkward. Luckily, these are things that are improved upon in future entries. If you don't mind the limited and stiff movement of Samus then you will have no issues beating the game.
Metroid is a decent looking NES game, but lacks variety in a few areas. Its sprites and animations are pretty good for the NES considering its power (or lack thereof). Enemy design stands out amongst everything else in the game, especially the devastating Metroid. With that being said, I do think that Metroid is lacking a little in area design. Most areas in the game look the same, save for a different color scheme. This not only makes it confusing and difficult to travel around Zebes, but it can be tad boring. Newcomers will likely opt to follow a map online to beat the game.
One thing that works to Metroid’s advantage is the lack of a background. A completely black setting really helps create the level of anxiety one would feel if they were the only living human on the planet. Helping create this anxiety and isolation feeling is credited mostly to the game’s brilliant soundtrack. Not only does it hold classic Metroid themes and sounds, but it also contains some of the most horrifying themes that will without a shadow of doubt send shivers down your spine. Just the fact that composers could create such an atmospheric quality with so little is simply amazing.
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| 3/5 D-Pads: Overall, Metroid is a very unique and original experience. While there have been attempts to recreate its magic, there really aren't any games match its quality. It can be hard at times due to a frustrating map and even in the gameplay itself; however, Metroid is the prime example of creating a believable atmosphere. Its soundtrack and persistent Metroid enemy will haunt you at every turn. Fans of the series will definitely want to check out its roots (if they haven’t already); other gamers may be put off a little by its sheer difficulty. I do encourage you all to try the game, because once you get used to the gameplay it can be a very rewarding experience. |
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