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I want the full image of that, and on a poster
Essentially, the bulk of the story is given right at the beginning of the game, and explains the story of the previous 2 Metroid games (which didn't really have any in-game story).
On the planet Zebes, space pirates were breeding a creature to attack galactic civilization. This creature was known as a Metroid. Samus was sent in to stop them, and succeeded in killing all the metroids as well as the leader of the Space Pirates: the Mother Brain.
In a later mission, Samus was sent to the home planet of the Metroids, SR388, to destroy the last remnants of them. After killing all of them, she finds a metroid larva. The baby metroid hatches, and thinks of Samus as it's mother.
Samus delivers the last metroid to a research station known as Ceres. It is here they find out that the powers of the metroid can be harnessed for good use.
Samus leaves the station, and soon after recieves a distress call that the Ceres station is under attack.
The game starts here.
Ceres
Once on Ceres, you go thru to find that the tank holding the metroid is broken and empty, a few dead bodies scattered near it. With further exploration you find a capsule containing the metroid, but a large flying beast flys off with it after a fight. Ceres self destructs, and Samus pilots her ship off after the creature, which leads her to the space pirate colony, Zebes.
There is no more dialogue for the rest of the game, any story you are given is only from the events that occur in the game. This makes the experience really immersive, as you aren't force-fed as to what you need to do next, or where to go. You're free to explore and find out what needs to be done yourself, alone the entire game.
Something later Metroid games fail at, always telling you where you HAVE to go next.
The gameplay is where the game really shines.
The game is a sidescrolling shooter. But it is nowhere near as simple as just going from one side of the screen to the other to clear a level. You are in a massive world, there are no "levels," everything is split up into different zones. Killing a boss doesn't even count as clearing an zone, one zone you can't even explore until you've killed the nearby boss. You will backtrack often, but it will always be to find something new. And as you progress certain areas become a breeze to run through.
More areas open up as you find more items. The Morph Ball, which allows you to curl up into a ball and roll thru small holes, or the Space Jump, allowing you to jump an infinite amount of times into the air. As you play it's good to remember where items like these can be used, so you can go back and find even more secrets. When you get a new item, the game tells you how to use it, and gives a nearby puzzle to solve with the use of the acquired item. More advanced techniques will not be taught to you, and you'll have to figure them out on your own, such as shinesparking or the crystal flash. Knowledge of more advanced techniques will help you find more upgrades, but having 100% items isn't necessary for beating the game.
Samus finds a new toy
You feel like such a badass every time you get a new item or weapon. As you continue through the game, you will find upgrades to your beam gun, which can all be stacked, making it stronger every time you get an upgrade. It's good to note that your beam gun has infinite ammo, even when you upgrade it. The ice beam freezes enemies, allowing you to stand on them, and the wave beam shoots thru walls and other objects. Other weapons are available as well, such as missiles, or the power bomb (it's so fun to explode everything on the screen.) Certain enemies are easier to kill with certain weapons, or possibly may only be killed with one weapon.
There is a massive variety of enemies in this game. Several are just stronger, reskinned versions of other enemies, but that still doesn't take away from just how many different ones you'll find. Some enemies are easily predictable, with a patter, making them easy to kill or avoid. Other enemies are very offensive, and take strategy to kill without taking too much damage. In one room, there are very tiny platforms to jump across to the other side, several enemies are flying at you all at once to knock you off. Underneath the platforms and on the cielings is an enemy that will hold you in for a while and damage you, meaning you have to jump very carefully, while killing the flying enemies before they get to you. Every room has a different combination of enemies, with different strategies to either kill them or run past them.
Each zone in the game has a main boss, but there are SEVERAL mini bosses in this game. One boss, a giant wrecking ball shaped plant, has you constantly dodging around the room. You can only damage it when it opens up, but while it's closed it swings around the cramped room, droppping deadly spores on you. So you have to dodge the plant AND the spores, and quickly shoot it when it opens up. Every boss has somewhat of a damage meter. They get darker in color the closer they are to dying, but they get a lot faster as you do more damage, making them progressively harder to kill. It get's really intense when you're dodging stuff frantically, trying to damage the boss even more.
Phantoon. In my opinion the hardest boss in the game
Everything in this game is beautifully designed. Nothing is bland, and all the enemies and such look like they do in concept art, an amazing feat for an SNES game. All the rooms look different, with maybe one or two similarities in nearby rooms. This makes every area memorable, the heavy plant growth in Brinstar, or the massive water caverns of Maridia. Later games in the series have a slightly more cartoonish feel to the graphics. Super Metroid has a gritty, realistic look to it. As realistic as you can get space aliens to look on an SNES anyways. As I said earlier, you feel like a badass when you get new weapons and such. This isn't only because they make you stronger, but the visual effect of using them makes it feel AND look badass.
The sounds in this game make it even more immersive than it already is. Each area has different music, which always fits the area it's playing. The songs are brief and loop whil you're in the room, but definitely does not get repetitive. I'm whistling one of the tunes I remember while I type this
, and it's been a long while since I've played the game. Enemies make such believable sounds in this game as well. You can tell when certain monsters are in pain as you attack them, as well as getting their own attack noises. Firing a missle or charging up your beam is always a satisfying sound too, especially in the middle of combat.-----
Overall, this game is a must play. It's always on lists of "best games ever" and such, and for very good reason. Some people may be turned off by the fact that the game doesn't tell you where to go, but I think it adds challenge, fun, and massive amounts of depth to this great game.
Score: 10/10
Realized i didn't include a picture of a metroid >.<
Edited by The Colonel, 06 August 2009 - 10:26 PM.
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