A "LMX" Review
Its 1994 the Super Nintendo’s greatest game was released this game is Super Metroid. I will review it now in honor of Metroid Prime 3 launching down-under tomorrow morning at 9am. So let us skip the crap and dive into a review of one of the greatest games to grace our home consoles.
In the days of Super Mario World and A Link To The Past, who would have thought a seldom-visited franchise would be the one who topped them. Bringing the entire planet of Zebes to life in brilliant, colourful graphics for its time. Not one of the areas presented to us in this game was bland in any way; quite simply it is some of Nintendo’s greatest pieces of works. Two stand out areas are Norfair and Maridia, ironically both contrasting areas. One is set in the fiery depths of Zebes, and the other can only be truly explored after destroying a glass walkway to journey into the mysterious aquatic depths.
To describe the sort of atmosphere the visuals create I shall refer to Samus’ first moments on her second trip to Zebes. Upon exiting her gunship she is met by a seemingly dead planet. Mist fills the air inside and outside rain pelts down on her as she moves around. And it isn’t until you complete your first task (which I won’t spoil in case you haven’t played the game… its pretty easy) and then suddenly everything is bought to life, rooms are now full of enemies, traps have appeared. And suddenly Samus isn’t alone, but she also has no allies. And the SNES quality visuals truly create an atmosphere very unique to this masterpiece of a game.
Return to Planet Zebes.
Every 2D Action/Adventure game after Super Metroid should no doubt take a bow to this game, because without it who knows what would have become of your precious genre. Whether you are deep in Tourian doing the typical Ice Beam to Missile combo on swarms of massive Metroids or using Samus’ Grappling Hook across a pit of spikes to collect a hidden Missile Expansion which seems like its not really worth it you won’t find yourself getting bored anytime soon. Every aspect of the gameplay just works so well, and you’ll constantly find yourself turning back on your first play through. For example, heading through Norfair and encountering an Orange Door, no Power Bombs? Well then you’ll have to turn yourself around and look elsewhere.
Collecting all the Missiles, Power Bombs and Super Missiles that Samus can carry is not essential to the game but it’s definitely a very enjoyable and challenging extra thing to take upon yourself.
My only complaint about the gameplay is the lack of one of Samus’ coolest upgrades, the Spider Ball. I’m not quite sure why it was dropped from the game, as it would have added even more exploration to the game. But again, its not a major issue, just a minor complaint. The learning curve in this game is just right, chances are if you find yourself struggling against enemies then you’re missing some power-ups.
Not much can be said about the controls for this game, as they are so simple and easy that any gamer can pick the game up and play to their heart’s content. But the few things that can be said about the controls are positive points (as with most of this game). They respond well and just seem made for the SNES control (the Classic Controller is also pretty Super Metroid friendly as well, which is something I honestly didn’t expect).
The only time I’d miss jumps or wall jumps is because of my own clumsy timing or I’d slip up. If you’re focused and on time then the controls will not let you down.
Samus and Mother Brain face off again.
Enter the soundtrack; one could be forgiven for not being able to recall Metroid music straight away, as it isn’t as well known as the Zelda and Mario music. But that’s not too say that it isn’t quality. It is because the music (much like the Metroid franchise) is very underrated, so therefore its very rare that it is probably listened to (in comparison to Mario and Zelda). The music in Super Metroid suits the atmosphere just as well as the visual presentation does, in fact you might say that this game is the perfect example of music, visuals and gameplay all come together as one for the ultimate game experience (only close competition is Ocarina of Time).
The boiling Norfair has a musical number which sounds somewhat industrial and volcanic at the same time, which suits the environment perfectly and the mysterious ambience provided by Maridia’s theme is equally suited to the exploration of one of the darker but at the same time mysterious areas of the game where fish will be your number one threat and unless you have the Gravity Suit you won’t be going anywhere fast.
Samus’ missiles being fired off, her Power Bomb’s being set off, or just plain jumping around. All of the sound effects in the game are finely tuned and as perfect as a Super Nintendo game could be. Obviously I don’t mean this in the sense that if you were to shoot Samus’ power beam that it would sound like it was made by Mattel but for its time period it was pretty good. Every sound effect remains true enough to the classic Metroid signature sounds as well, which is a nice little touch. That’s right, even the item/upgrade collection fanfare remains the same in this game. And I love it.
Aiming for a good completion rate? Your screen should look like this then.
As is typical with Metroid games, you have a lot of options when you actually manage to finish this game. Most well weathered Metroid veterans can finish it in less than two hours to get the special endings (the record for beating this game is roughly thirty-five minutes… I dare you to beat that) or you can come in as a Metroid newbie and work your way through it slowly and then try for speed runs. Really the choice is yours, I would recommend taking your time the first time though, because doing a speed run first up wouldn’t be recommended unless you’ve looked up maps and memorised the entire layout of Zebes already. If you have done this then goddamn am I impressed.
You will have a lot of options. You can try and finish it the fastest regardless of the completion percentage or you can try and finish it as fast as possible with a 100% completion rate to see what you are given. The choice is yours, but I always have a bittersweet moment when I see the infamous “See you next mission screen.” Why you ask? Because the way Metroid games are made, a lot of the time we will see a massive gap between them and this game is no different. In fact if we were to go back to 1994 and have just finished Super Metroid then you’d be waiting another eight or so years before the franchise was revived by Retro in the Prime trilogy.
God bless you Retro.
Oh my Kraid, what big spikes you have!
So overall what would I say about this game? If you haven’t played then you are quite simply missing out on one a quintessential gaming experience that you will be seen as lesser of a gamer for not having. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who has played Super Metroid. They will heavily recommend it to anyone and be very confused and dumbfounded if you say you haven’t/never want to play the game. Its that good.
Nintendo created a real gem here. And tomorrow morning I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the final instalment of the Prime trilogy. Some say it is the best Metroid game, others say it falls short (even if only slightly) well tomorrow I’ll begin my journey to knowing the truth.
Expect my review in about a week or two, until then sit down and close the curtains. Curl up with your Nintendo Wii and play some Super Metroid. You will be a better person for it.
See you next mission.
Showdown in the depths of Norfair.
Pros
+A worthy successor in the Metroid franchise.
+Speed runs. Nuff’ said
+Amazing soundtrack and sound effects
+Lots of bosses littered throughout the game to slow down your progress
+Samus is still as badass as ever
Cons
-I had to stop playing to write this review.
-No Spider Ball.
The scores.
Story: 8.5/10
-Samus responds to a distress signal and comes to try and rescue the last remaining Metroid larvae but Ridley beats her to it, from there the story gets better.
Visuals: 9.5/10
-Superb visuals for its time and some of the very best ever produced on the SNES. Norfair looks hot, Maridia looks wet, Tourian looks like a b*tch.
Gameplay: 9.5/10
-Newer action/adventure games, take a bow to the game you owe everything to.
Controls: 9/10
-Were great with the SNES control. Is still great with the Classic Controller.
Audio: 9.5/10
-It was released on CD for a reason. It is simply that good, everything suits.
Replay Value: 9.5/10
-Typical Metroid, but still gold. Newbies will finish it in several hours, but it can be finished again and again, quicker and quicker.
Overall: 9.5/10
-The best Metroid game to date. The best SNES game to date. And this gamer’s favourite game of all time.
Review by LemonManX
