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Discussion 30 years ago, Super Metroid released

Mekanos

Mekanos

300 Years Of Gyudon
Pronouns
he/they
...in Japan! But hey, good enough for a thread.

I first played this game nearly 20 years after release and still considered it a masterpiece. Ahead of its time in so many ways and revolutionized Metroid and Metroid-like games as we know them today. The spritework and atmosphere is also unmatched in the 16 bit realm when it comes to horror and dread. One of those legendary games where every element comes together seamlessly, but special shout out to the soundtrack as well:



How do you feel about Super Metroid, three decades on?
 
Mekanos said:
How do you feel about Super Metroid, three decades on?
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I played it for the first time when the SNES mini came out and I remember thinking "yeah, this is pretty good I guess"

Then I replayed it about 2 or 3 years ago on Switch and now I think it's one of the greatest games ever made

Kinda thinking I'm about due to give it a third playthrough, be interesting to see where I land on it these days
 
One of the GOATS for sure. One of the most influential games of all time. Personally, I always felt it was a bit too easy, especially coming off of M1 and M2. But the ways it expanded upon the existing Metroid formula and the search action genre can't be overstated. And of course, an absolutely amazing OST.
 
TheSpaceBetween said:
One of the GOATS for sure. One of the most influential games of all time. Personally, I always felt it was a bit too easy, especially coming off of M1 and M2. But the ways it expanded upon the existing Metroid formula and the search action genre can't be overstated. And of course, an absolutely amazing OST.
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It's definitely a much easier game than the first two Metroids, which I see as a symptom of Nintendo moving away from arcade-like design in the NES era to games emphasizing exploration and going for 100% on the SNES. You can see a similar shift with games like Super Mario World and Link To The Past.

Personally though Ridley kicked my ass on my first playthrough. I was way underequipped on Super Missile upgrades. Wasn't an issue on replay though.
 
I first played this several years ago on Wii U VC, and was surprised even back then how well it held up both in terms of mechanics, the platforming, and the overall progression.

I’d like to play it again someday.
 
What a game! Created what is now one of the most popular genres for aspiring game devs but is still the best game in that genre. This is in my opinion the game that makes the best use of the Super Nintendo's "tin can underwater" sound chip as well. Not a surprise that Metroid as a series has been basically remaking this game over and over since its release.

Personally I prefer Metroid and miss that style of game after 30 years of Super Metroid, but Super remains one of my favorite games of all time and it deserves its legacy.
 
truly is a great game. Its definitely a game I will visit again, and again!! Traveling through Meridia for the first time and hearing that fantastic music will always stay in my mind.
 
I get all of the praise for it. It's an amazing game. I do think that it feels a bit...clunky for me at times, if that makes sense. I prefer the more fluid gameplay of Dread and even Fusion, but Super Metroid is still great - it's just probably my fourth favorite Metroid (after Dread, Fusion, and Prime).
 
It's a classic, and deservedly so, but in putting it on a pedestal, a lot of people act as though there hasn't been 30 years of evolution and interation in the genre since then.

I remember that thread from a while back trying to debate whether Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night was more influential. People either defaulted to Super Metroid because it came first, ignored all of the influences on Super Metroid that came before it, or all of the influences that led to SOTN that weren't Metroid. (Much less ignoring everything that came in the decades between Super Metroid and, say, Hollow Knight, as though one were directly responsible for the other.)
 
Super Metroid is still my favorite game of all time. Item switching kind of sucks in retrospect. That’s the only negative thing I can say about the game, and even then, it was fine in the 1990s. I didn’t think about it until I replayed Super Metroid after playing other games in the genre including subsequent Metroid games. Everything else largely holds up.
  1. Simple yet effective story;
    • Still one of the best Nintendo has ever told.
  2. A+ presentation:
    • Graphics are great;
    • Music is great;
    • Controls are great;
    • Ideal difficulty curve/never felt unfair or too easy;
    • Trusts players to figure things out/guides players via landmarks (i.e. the glass tube);
    • Shows with minimal telling (only in the opening really).
  3. Doesn’t overstay its welcome:
    • No padding;
    • As long as it needs to be.
 
Still my favorite game ever.

Going down Crateria's elevator and hearing this music creep in for the first time was a magical moment that solidified the game as an all-timer for me:

 
Cubs017 said:
I get all of the praise for it. It's an amazing game. I do think that it feels a bit...clunky for me at times, if that makes sense. I prefer the more fluid gameplay of Dread and even Fusion, but Super Metroid is still great - it's just probably my fourth favorite Metroid (after Dread, Fusion, and Prime).
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this makes perfect sense. Look, its one of my favorite games, but yea some of the controls can feel off compared to present games. The Wall jump always feels just wrong to me. it has a weird delay to it, and because of it I still find my self falling down some of the huge chasms to this day.
 
Incredible game that has stood the test of time for sure. There's a ton of good Metroidvanias out there and it's awesome to see the genre thrive, but few can hold a candle to SM.
 
metwars said:
this makes perfect sense. Look, its one of my favorite games, but yea some of the controls can feel off compared to present games. The Wall jump always feels just wrong to me. it has a weird delay to it, and because of it I still find my self falling down some of the huge chasms to this day.
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Definitely. I will say that playing on NSO alleviates some of the issues that I have with the game, as I can rewind some of those frustrating missed wall jumps and use save states if I'm really caught between save spots. Some of those are quite far apart, especially if you get lost, compared to the ones in Dread.
 
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Mekanos said:
...in Japan! But hey, good enough for a thread.

I first played this game nearly 20 years after release and still considered it a masterpiece. Ahead of its time in so many ways and revolutionized Metroid and Metroid-like games as we know them today. The spritework and atmosphere is also unmatched in the 16 bit realm when it comes to horror and dread. One of those legendary games where every element comes together seamlessly, but special shout out to the soundtrack as well:



How do you feel about Super Metroid, three decades on?
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I started my first playthrough of Super Metroid like 3 days ago on Switch online unaware of the upcoming anniversary. I started because Metroid Prime is my favorite game of all time.

Im so immersed in the universe. Everything I loved about metroid prime is in super metroid but just in 2d. The crazy immersive atmosphere and music that the game gives you is just EXACTLY what I look for in gaming.

I do find the walljumping a bit annoying. Like I honestly dont think iv seen a more annoying and bad walljumping in a game than super metroid. But thats legit the only bad thing I can find with the game. Im about 6 energy Tanks in, I just got the xray and as soon as I get home today Im gonna go play some more.

I hope when I beat Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion is also somewhat similiar cuz just wow im so in love with it.
 
Oh cool. In a few months, Super Metroid's release date will be closer to JFK's assassination than to the present day.

Super Metroid still has the best level design of any Metroidvania/search-action game.
 
It’s a great game but when I finally played through it for the first time on Switch I couldn’t help but wish it had some of the quality of life updates that future Metroid games like Fusion, Samus Returns, and even Other M have, because it really could use some (especially in regards to the map). I’ll never understand why so many people seem to think the game is absolutely perfect and should never be remade, because there are quite a few rough edges that a remake could smooth out and make the game an even better experience.
 
My second favorite game of all time. I’ve played Super Metroid countless times the last 30 years or so and every time I find something new and cool to appreciate about it. It’s a timeless masterpiece.
 
Played it around 2012 I think? And I loved it. I enjoyed getting lost, finding my way, fighting excellent bosses. A game with so many secrets and fantastic presentation and atmosphere.

Can't really fault its legacy, Metroidvanias are now a huge staple of indie's and with the new Prince of Persia spinoff, big developers too. Not to mention the influence on Igavanias and Fromsoft games.

I replayed it recently and Samus' floaty jumps and no teleports irked me a lot. I was surprised how much QOL from Zero mission and Dread I took for granted. Still holds up reasonably well, especially in its scope and scale.
 
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One of those games that everyone else in the genre could still learn from today.

I love the way the world is laid out. Most people probably never realized that red Brinstar is a crossroads where you're never more than a few rooms away from every area besides Tourian. Or that upper Norfair is entirely composed of loops which all lead you back to the start. Or that the west side of the map with lower Crateria and green Brinstar is a linear tutorial that the game temporarily locks you out of to prevent confusion as soon as it becomes non-linear. Or that you don't need to go back over the whole map at the end of the game to get all the items because they're almost all obtainable with the abilities you would have when you would naturally pass through an area. The map is bigger than a lot of similar games that have fast travel, and it's a masterclass in how to design a Metroidvania that doesn't need it.
 
I absolutely love it, nothing more, nothing less. However, I sometimes think it's a shame that a lot of people nearly exclusively think of Metroid as Super Metroid, although I can of course understand why.

I'm currently replaying Zero Mission and it's just the whole series that's wonderful and incredible really. And this music, in the whole series, is wonderful.
 
Stupid Sexy Flanders said:
I play it at least once a year, so great. Though I think I'll wait for the US 30th anniversary to play again next.
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Here's the twist. After many failed attempts I finally played through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, rolled credits tonight, on SM's 30th birthday. I'm glad I finally completed SotN, but I got the worst ending and only have 64% of the map. I'm confident saying I'm a Metroid fan and not terribly a Castlevania fan.
 
It's a masterpiece.

My basic feelings are that every single part of Super Metroid holds up with maybe two miniscule exceptions. I've mentioned it on the site before, but I've been toying with a fan remaster off and on in the background for years now. At the risk of turning this into a pitch for what I would (and mostly wouldn't) change about it, I'll just say that the only real knocks against Super Metroid in the hand of a modern player are the controls, which pushed the SNES gamepad to the breaking point, and demand contortions that I found nearly painful.

Change up the control scheme just to make swapping to missiles and to make 45 degree aiming more intuitive and the players of Ori/Hollow Knight/Dread would find a game that feels as fresh and amazing now as it did on release. The pixel art is some of the best on the SNES, and doesn't need modification, but retool the levels very slightly to look good in 16:9, and I think it would stand up beside Blasphemous, Axiom Verge, The Messenger, Dead Cells and all the other pixel art retro games in the genre.
 
Tye said:
It’s a great game but when I finally played through it for the first time on Switch I couldn’t help but wish it had some of the quality of life updates that future Metroid games like Fusion, Samus Returns, and even Other M have, because it really could use some (especially in regards to the map). I’ll never understand why so many people seem to think the game is absolutely perfect and should never be remade, because there are quite a few rough edges that a remake could smooth out and make the game an even better experience.
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It's not perfect, particularly compared to modern standards, but Super came up with a lot of stuff that you can do and see in the sequels, and that's where part of the recognition stems from, though I'd say there's no denying that Zero Mission, Fusion and Dread all play miles better.

However, when it comes to sound and mood, Super obliterates every single Metroid game released since, imo. The Super Nintendo sound chip was a miracle potato chip.
 
The opening segment is still one of the best moments in the history of the medium.
 
I really like how the opening sequence establishes Samus as her own character, because it creates an interesting dynamic for the rest of the game that you don't normally get with silent protagonists.

If you play enough video games, you kind of get used to silent protagonists being dumb, dull-eyed mannequins who stand around blankly. In RPGs, they're usually just the member of the ensemble cast that doesn't get a personality. So the overall effect is that they're less "ambiguous" and more "blank".

With Samus, we know she's her own person with feelings about this situation, but because of her suit we don't get to see what they are, and she never speaks during the game itself. It works because it encourages you to imagine her reactions underneath the suit. Something about the impersonal nature of the power suit combined with the knowledge that there is a person underneath makes her a very easy character to inhabit. That "in your own head" aspect meshes well with the isolation.

It's a very small part of the game, like the plot in general, but I think the one action she takes outside of the player's control being standing back up as her theme* begins to play is made more impactful than it would be otherwise by this.

I think highlighting that action was intentional on some level, because future games kept having a big moment like Samus talking back to Adam for the first time in Fusion, which feels modeled after this just like the Omega Metroid fight was obviously modeled after the Mother Brain one.

*The upper Crateria music was originally the track known as Theme of Samus, which is why it plays there. Smash mixed it up with the credits theme, which was a version of the Theme of Super Metroid. This mistake led to it being used for that purpose in actual Metroid games, and the transformation was completed when the Crateria music appeared as "Crateria Surface" on the Samus Returns special edition CD while the Super Metroid opening theme was now "Theme of Samus".
 
Stilt Village said:
I really like how the opening sequence establishes Samus as her own character, because it creates an interesting dynamic for the rest of the game that you don't normally get with silent protagonists.

If you play enough video games, you kind of get used to silent protagonists being dumb, dull-eyed mannequins who stand around blankly. In RPGs, they're usually just the member of the ensemble cast that doesn't get a personality. So the overall effect is that they're less "ambiguous" and more "blank".

With Samus, we know she's her own person with feelings about this situation, but because of her suit we don't get to see what they are, and she never speaks during the game itself. It works because it encourages you to imagine her reactions underneath the suit. Something about the impersonal nature of the power suit combined with the knowledge that there is a person underneath makes her a very easy character to inhabit. That "in your own head" aspect meshes well with the isolation.

It's a very small part of the game, like the plot in general, but I think the one action she takes outside of the player's control being standing back up as her theme* begins to play is made more impactful than it would be otherwise by this.

I think highlighting that action was intentional on some level, because future games kept having a big moment like Samus talking back to Adam for the first time in Fusion, which feels modeled after this just like the Omega Metroid fight was obviously modeled after the Mother Brain one.

*The upper Crateria music was originally the track known as Theme of Samus, which is why it plays there. Smash mixed it up with the credits theme, which was a version of the Theme of Super Metroid. This mistake led to it being used for that purpose in actual Metroid games, and the transformation was completed when the Crateria music appeared as "Crateria Surface" on the Samus Returns special edition CD while the Super Metroid opening theme was now "Theme of Samus".
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This is a great point! It's one of the reasons I've personally had issues with Samus's presentation in the Prime games and in Dread. She's not silent and reserved, she just doesn't have someone to talk to most of the time. And even when she doesn't have someone to talk too she's thinking a lot about the situation.
 
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Stupid Sexy Flanders said:
Here's the twist. After many failed attempts I finally played through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, rolled credits tonight, on SM's 30th birthday. I'm glad I finally completed SotN, but I got the worst ending and only have 64% of the map. I'm confident saying I'm a Metroid fan and not terribly a Castlevania fan.
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Look, I agree that Super Metroid has much better design and gameplay than SotN, but I can't agree that getting the worst ending (i.e., failing on the mid-boss) constitutes completing SotN. That said, the second half (it goes over 200%) of SotN is way worse than the first, so I can't exactly compel you to play on.
 
I think Aria of Sorrow is a much better jumping on point coming from Metroid than SotN is because the Sorrow games are the only ones that primarily lock new areas behind new abilities like a Metroid. (Aria also just has, like, by far the best level design and the best-feeling combat in the series.)
 
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I'll never forget the first time I arrived in Mother Brain's old chamber. Along with the music, this area felt creepy and ominous. The atmosphere was so palpable.

super-metroid-old-tourian.png
 
Stupid Sexy Flanders said:
Here's the twist. After many failed attempts I finally played through Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, rolled credits tonight, on SM's 30th birthday. I'm glad I finally completed SotN, but I got the worst ending and only have 64% of the map. I'm confident saying I'm a Metroid fan and not terribly a Castlevania fan.
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That's not really beating SOTN, as someone else noted.
 
I'm kinda weird in that I'm one of the biggest Metroid fans in the world, yet somehow I've always preferred SotN to Super Metroid. But I can also respect that SotN would not exist if it weren't for Super. Not really a big fan of Aria though.
 
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Síriocaz said:
It's not perfect, particularly compared to modern standards, but Super came up with a lot of stuff that you can do and see in the sequels, and that's where part of the recognition stems from, though I'd say there's no denying that Zero Mission, Fusion and Dread all play miles better.

However, when it comes to sound and mood, Super obliterates every single Metroid game released since, imo. The Super Nintendo sound chip was a miracle potato chip.
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Oh yeah, I definitely understand why it gets the recognition it does. It’s a phenomenal game and much of it holds up great even to this day, like the sound and mood as you said, but I just don’t believe it’s this perfect, untouchable game that shouldn’t ever be remade like a lot of people seem to believe. While I like Super, I honestly enjoyed Fusion, Other M, Samus Returns, and Dread more because they were just better experiences for me due to having more modern game design. Even just fixing how items are handled on the map would be a huge improvement to Super.
 
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