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| Title Screen |
Welcome to Random Retro Reviews, where this time I will be doing Metroid for the NES. The reason i am doing instead of my usual scheduled review is simply because, in between writing my reviews and playing my current game, I enjoy playing retro games, such as those on the Nintendo Virtual Console. These will not be as long as my previous reviews and they will be posted randomly, as stated by the title. Now let's get to the review. Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems and was released in Japan in August 1986, North America in August 1987, and Europe in January 1988 on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
Visuals
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| Samus acquiring a missle upgrade |
Metroid had very limited visuals. Being on an 8-bit console gave it a restricted color palate, and limited ability to design. Though I felt Samus Aran, the protagonist, had a strange walking sprite, I know it wasn't the developer's fault. This also applied to the enemies, which some times just looked like a mess of pixels. As for the environment, I can say that it was pretty good. As I replayed through this classic, I could truly see what the developers were going for and I say they succeeded. The area gave plenty of designs to the ground beneath you, the walls about you, and every pit of acid or lava you find. This, though not much, could easily give you that feeling of exploration, and this along with the simple black background made for an amazing world to explore. This gave the player just a sense of isolation, seeing nothing but the edges of the top and bottom of the screen. This darkness made you feel like you are truly exploring a dark cavern.
Music
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| Samus Aran |
The music was also mediocre but it definitely did the job. The Brinstar theme (which plays in a majority of the game), in contrast to the feeling of the game, was generally adventurous, giving you a sense of power as you platformed from one edge of the map to the next, in search of power-ups. As for other music such as the Norfair theme, it just gave an ambiance that easily fit the isolated feeling as well as a sense of danger. Other themes such the item room music, simply seemed as though they did not fit.
Gameplay
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| Gameplay in Norfair |
This is where the game got a lot more interesting. It is a mix between a platformer and a shooter, very similar to Kid Icarus: Angel Land Story. The biggest and most obvious difference was that Metroid was an open-world platformer, in which the world was enormous. The platforming was usually a lot of vertical climbs, with few horizontal platforming. While you explore the planet Zebes, you can explore almost the entire map, in which you will find power ups that will help you fight enemies and reach new areas. Some of the power ups vary from a "Maru Mari" or morph ball, which allows Samus to curl up into an armored ball and roll under obstacles, the long beam which allows Samus to shoot beams across the entire screen, ice beam which freezes enemies, allowing you to use them as platforms, high jump boots which permit you to jump even higher distances, and many more power-ups. Along with power-ups, you can find many useful items such as energy tanks, which give you 100 more units of energy, or health, and missile upgrades which allows Samus to carry 5 more missiles per upgrade.
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| Gameplay in Tourian |
Story
The story of Metroid is completely absent in all of the gameplay. The closest to having a story in the game is on the title screen after a few seconds of inactivity. That doesn't mean Metroid doesn't have a story. The story was presented in the instruction manual. To avoid making this section excessively long, I will try to provide a quick synopsis. The game takes place in 20X5, where some space pirates stole a life-form known simply as metroids to their headquarters to multiply them and destroy the galaxy. The Galactic Federation, a congress of planets, sent Samus Aran, the most feared bounty hunter, to the planet Zebes to locate and destroy the metroids before it was too late.
Overview
Metroid was honest a great game and one with the biggest shocker for those who played it when it first came out. Even in the instruction booklet, the secret that Samus Aran was a girl was kept secret until the end of the game. Though it doesn't seem like it, it was one of the best kept secrets back in the day. I know this is definitely not for everyone. Many people instantly get turned off by the simplicity and the lack of instructions or any other driving force. Those who have time and patience to explore Zebes in it's entirety will very much enjoy platforming, finding all the secret items, and even trying to unlock all the endings. Metroid was one of the few games at the time that had multiple endings. This did not affect the story in any way, simply the ending screen. If the player beat the game in over 10 hours, Samus will be with her back turned. If beat between 5-10 hours, Samus will look at you with her hand in the air. If beat within 3-5 hour, Samus's female head is revealed to come out of her armor. If beat within 1-3 hours, she would be in a leotard, showing her full female body. And finally if beat in under an hour, Samus would be in a bikini, which truly made your teenagers in that time try very hard to get this challenge completed.
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| Samus Aran's final ending outfit |
I rate this a 7.0 out of 10
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