Metroid(1986). The first Metroid game and only one to appear on the NES.
Imagine that it is the year 1986. Nintendo had finally managed to break through the market with Super Mario Brothers the previous year, and it looked to be an uphill climb in greatness for the system. The NES was becoming a household name, and Nintendo was sure to release many more classics which would define the system. Metroid was one of these.
Of all the spectacular 2D platform adventure games to be released throughout the last 20 years or so, such as the masterpieces Super Metroid, Castlevania Symphony Of The Night, Rygar, the GBA Castlevanias, Clash At Demonhead, and others, all of them owe their design to the popular original Metroid. While Super Mario Brothers technically invented the 2D action platform genre, and Zelda was a milestone for adventure gaming, up until Metroid there were no games that merged the two genres together. To put it simply, Metroid showed us a large sidescrolling environment with no "levels" so to speak, and combined it with items to collect and upgrade your character. For its day this was unheard of.
Now I will go through the Positives, the Negatives, and the other Negatives that I consider to be overblown about Metroid...
THE POSITIVES:
-WELL DESIGNED GAME LAYOUT. Each area that you traverse is filled with lots of pathways, secrets, enemies, and powerups for you to collect. One thing I'm very impressed with for the game back in its day is that it's designed to prevent you from accessing certain areas without the aid of another ability/weapon. It also leaves you to think of ways to bypass some of these obstacles before you have these abilities. Very clever, Nintendo.
-VERY DIVERSE ARRAY OF WEAPONS AND ABILITIES. For weapons, you've got the long beam, ice beam, and wave beam, which isn't a whole lot compared to other games, but enough to suit you for this adventure. Your abilities range from a hi jump, to a morph ball, to a protection suit, and to a damaging screw jump attack. Good enough for exploring the inner sanctums of Planet Zebes.
-GOOD RANGE OF ENEMIES. While they tend to repeat themselves in different areas of the game, they do come in a variety of types. Most of them are very challenging, some are enough to make you pull your hair out, and others can be avoided altogether.
-GREAT DIFFICULTY. This game is not an easy one, and its steep uphill learning curve will be loved and hated by many.
THE NEGATIVES
-THE ICEBEAM ACQUIRING LATER ON BECOMES FLAWED. What I mean is that every weapon you acquire replaces the one before it, and because of that, once you have your most powerful weapon, the wave beam, you'll be in trouble when you reach the final lair. You need the icebeam again when approaching the end of the game. Some may get frustrated with this aspect.
-YOU CAN'T DUCK AND SHOOT! It becomes really annoying early in the game when you don't have the bomb yet and you need to shoot those spikey creatures on the ground and you can't.
-THE BOSSES ARE TOO EASY. Well, Mother Brain is a bit tough because of all the stuff shooting at you, but Kraid and Ridley are both a bit disappointing because all you have to do is come close to both of them and just let loose with the missles.
Now I'll address the Negatives that people have about the game that I think are just hot air:
-THE GRAPHICS ARE OLD. People often say this about the game, but honestly, can you expect anything more from a game that came out in 1986? It works for the time. Though some of the environments can get a little bland in places, it's not that bad.
-NO SAVE GAME FEATURE. Again, keep in mind that the year is 1986, and the only game that would've already had this feature is Zelda, which may or may not have come out before this game. The passwords can be tedious, but they save everything.
-VERY LITTLE STORY. Once again, 1986. See a common theme here? If you think about it, the original Zelda really didn't have any bigger of a story to it either but nobody complained there. Same thing with Super Metroid. Plus, let's not forget how adding an in-depth story into the gameplay killed the freedom and pacing of Metroid Fusion.
-NO MAP FEATURE. While having a map would help, the game isn't really all that intricate compared to Super Metroid, so by not having the map, the challenge factor bumps up and makes the game FEEL larger.
Overall, Metroid is a flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless. If you feel like divulging in a historical yet essential classic of the NES, then Metroid should fill the gap nicely. This game already comes as a bonus to both Metroid Prime and Zero Mission, so you might as well save money and play those. While Zero Mission may be a better rendition of the original game, no one can deny the classic sensibilities of this NES shooter. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Other recommendations:
-Any other sidescrolling Metroid title (Fusion, Super Metroid, Zero Mission, Metroid 2)
-Any NES Mega Man game
-Castlevania Symphony of the Night (PS1) and any of its GBA contemporaries (Circle, Harmony, Aria)
-Rygar (NES)
-Clash At Demonhead (NES)
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JUSTIN BAILEY
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