Super Metroid

This fantastic Snes gem is widely and very justifiably regarded as one of the very best early generation console games of all time and I for one still love it, it surpassed its predecessor in every possible way and even today the non-linear exploration which really above everything else is the central aspect, as well as the atmospheric focus on isolation makes it just as spine-tingling and fun a game as it ever was. You actually feel like you're on your own on an alien planet as you encounter the endless hordes of subterranean alien monsters to blast into oblivion. I love how daunting they made the boss battles, none more so than big 'ol Kraid! He might've seemed like an impossible scaly mountain coming right at you, but he was a pushover compared to some of the other guys! The battle against Ridley is a heck of a lot easier if you have the Plasma Beam, and that nifty trick you can do with the Grappling Beam to win an easy victory against Draygon was such an awesome touch! The world feels so huge, and all the different music scores set up the moods in all the different areas so perfectly. How satisfying it is just to progress and discover the many upgrades, both necessary and hidden. It's a game that rewards your curiosity, and you can just search throughout every nook and cranny of Zebes until the cows come home, and I guarantee that there'll still be something you've missed somewhere... In this one part, behind a room with a missile upgrade, there's a secret room, and then another secret room behind that one! You have to retread a lot but it never gets monotonous, and it never feels unfairly difficult to get through, or that it's going on for too long. Some of it requires extreme patience, with the sand in the watery realm of Maridia being an especially aggravating pain-in-the-ass to slog through, and good luck mastering that goddamn Wall Jump!!! Both engrossing as well as hauntingly beautiful to look at and listen to, even today it doesn't feel all that dated, which is pretty impressive when you realise it's over twenty years old now. It's a certified classic that's very worthy of its reputation, so charge that beam, customise that suit, and roll your way to an explosive victory you'll remember forever! "The galaxy...is at peace."

Super Metroid is one of the most excellent Super Nintendo adventures of my time. I mean the game was executed so well, that I was amazed when I first played it (a few years after the game was released). I can tell you, it shows wonderful potential of gaming to the limit. It's creative, thought provoking, and fun. Shigeru Miyamoto is the Steven Spielberg of video games. While Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear) is the Akira Kurosawa of video games.

Being the third in the Metroid series, "Super Metroid" takes everything that was ever great from the first two "Metroid" and "Metroid II: The Return of Samus" and makes everything better. The game plays the same as the previous two (side scroller) with Samus Aran returning the Metroid Home World to eliminate her past enemies. Again Samus has to locate various weapons such as the ice beam, missiles, bombs, high jump boots, energy tanks along with new weapons; super missiles and bombs, grappling beam and x-ray scanner. Super Metroid uses some of the same maps from the original Metroid which are now deserted and has an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. Accompanying the beautiful graphics is a great soundtrack reminiscent of the music from the series. I'd like to add more to this attempt at a review, but I fear that I might give too much away for those who have yet to play this game.

This game is excellent, especially when dealing with two dimensional Super Nintendo gaming.

You control Samus Aran, who has been on two previous missions. She encountered Metroids in both, and now the last Metroid has been captured by Ridley. You must fight your way through incredible caverns.

The graphics are stunning for Super Nintendo, possibly some of the best. The music is also excellent (who can forget the chilling voices in the second, final section of Norfair?). The battles are intense. The gameplay is extremely easy to control. The storyline and plot are both deep and interesting. Not only does this game mix great gaming with great music, it also adds in puzzles, freaky enemies, and unique sound effects that all add to the gameplay, allowing you to immerse yourself in the world of planet Zebes.

Also, for a Super Nintendo game, this one is huge. There's Brinstar, Norfair, Maridia, the Wrecked Ship, even Tourian. You even see the previous location of the Mother Brain in Brinstar as you make your way through the caverns, which helps the consistency of the games alive. Nothing is altered to make the storyline contradict itself.

The previous games were pretty good, but this one is obviously the best. It is an excellent thriller, action/adventure, puzzle game that will interest anyone.

Aside from the perfect graphics, music (despite low-quality samples), gameplay, controls and the terrific, gigantic and ingenious level layouts, Super Metroid was also a thrilling video game experience like very few others. I can count in my fingers the number of games in all these years that were truly capable of putting me in the shoes of the protagonist: Super Metroid, Metal Gear Solid, Zelda:OoT, Shadow of Colossus, Metroid Prime 3.

Super Metroid did just that: put me in the shoes of a space bounty hunter battling bazillions of aliens while exploring the deepest recesses of creepy alien environments in search of the last Metroid. The real world simply vanishes and you are just there. It didn't even need first-person view to do just that, like in the Metroid Prime series. It is that mindblowing, specially in its heyday: it was like witnessing Star Wars back in the 1970's.