30 Years of Metroid

Growing Up with Samus

Metroid was the first video game I played on a home console. I remember it was a sultry summer afternoon when I sat down in front of the television and booted up the game on my NES. The Metroid logo blazed onto the screen and the iconic theme music played it’s haunting melody. A sudden peal of thunder rumbled overhead as though some higher power was heralding the beginning of an epic journey. I was about to experience one of those magic gaming moments that Nintendo seem to have a unique talent for creating.

I have no doubt that many players around the world have had similar reactions to their favorite games. I’ve played hundreds of titles over the years but memories of joining Samus on her perilous adventures are still among my most cherished. With Metroid celebrating it’s 30th anniversary, now seems like a good opportunity to look back on the much loved series and some of the ways it influenced the gaming experience we all enjoy today.

maxresdefault1986 was the year Nintendo released Metroid in Japan on their Famicom system. Developed in an attempt to meld the platforming action of Super Mario Bros. and the open exploration of Zelda, Metroid utilized many unique gameplay elements that would go on to become mainstays of the action-adventure genre. A detailed variety of environments to traverse coupled with an innovative form of game progression that required players to scour every corner of the map to find items needed to advance, gave gamers an original gaming experience. In many ways, Metroid represented a risky experiment for Nintendo in that it’s eerie soundtrack and dark, somber aesthetic were a big departure from the vibrant visuals and cheerful, “beep-boop” audio of past games like Mario and Donkey Kong.

Super-MetroidGarnering much critical praise, Metroid was successful enough to warrant a sequel imaginatively named Metroid II: Return of Samus which released on Game Boy in 1991. However, it wasn’t until 1994 that the company had the technology to produce a true successor to the original game and Super Metroid was released to widespread positive acclaim. If Metroid formed the building blocks of the series, then Super Metroid refined them to an almost perfect degree. Considered by many to be one of the greatest games ever made, Super Metroid is still cited as inspiration for modern classics including Ori and the Blind Forest and Axiom Verge.

metroid-prime-phendrana-driftsDespite the success of Super Metroid, Nintendo made fans wait eight years to rejoin Samus on her intergalactic adventures. Then in 2002, for the first time, they handed development of a Metroid project to a studio outside Japan and Metroid Prime was born. Translating the Metroid formula into first person had many worried but all fears were forgotten when the game was seen in motion. It retained the claustrophobic ambience and sense of isolation that characterize the series and went on to become one of the best selling titles on GameCube. It spawned two sequels in Echoes and Corruption on GameCube and Wii respectively.

While the move to 3D heralded a new era for the franchise, fans were begging for an old school 2D Metroid game in the vein of the original. Nintendo did not disappoint and released a duo of titles in the early 2000’s. Metroid Fusion and Metroid: Zero Mission featured classic 2D gameplay and were some of the most popular games on the Game Boy Advance. Interestingly, Zero Mission was actually designed as a remake of the the first Metroid game with enhanced graphics and tighter controls. Two additional titles came out during this period, the multiplayer-centric Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime Pinball. Both took the series in new directions but many felt they lacked the basic elements that made Metroid such a resonant experience.

2389639-6344806515-04-meThe last entry in the Metroid saga is Other M developed in 2010 by Team Ninja, most widely known for producing the Ninja Gaiden games. Other M introduced melee combat to the series for the first time and featured extensive cut scenes portraying Samus as an anime style character. It received generally favorable reviews but is considered to be one of the weakest of the Metroid titles to date.

So where does Nintendo take Metroid from here? At E3 this year, news broke that the company was ready to announce a new title in the series. Metroid Prime: Federation Force was shown for the first time and features four player co-op first person shooter style action where gamers take the role of a Galactic Federation Marine. Following it’s unveiling, reaction to the game was overwhelmingly negative to say the least. Criticism was aimed at Nintendo for slapping the Metroid name on a generic sci-fi shooter in an effort to sell more copies. Fans even went so far as to create a petition on Change.Org calling for the game to be cancelled. Does Federation Force have the look and feel that characterize the Metroid series? Does it deserve the Metroid name? Take a look at the trailer and decide for yourself.

Personally, I’ve been a little disappointed by Nintendo and their treatment of Metroid over recent years. Having grown up with Samus relishing each adventure as it was released, it makes me sad to see the direction in which it is heading. There aren’t many game figures that can maintain fan attention over 30 years the way Samus and Metroid have. While the upcoming Federation Force is not a bad looking title by any means, it is clearly not a Metroid game in the traditional sense. Perhaps someday Nintendo will listen to the fans and give us the Metroid epic we all wish for in the style of the classic titles of the past. Until that day, I will keep listening for that thunder rumbling in the distance, waiting for that next magic Nintendo moment.

Happy 30th Birthday Samus!