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Fun Club What does a game need to be Metroidvania?

What does a game need to be Metroidvania?

  • Interconnected world

    Votes: 34 75.6%

  • Tools/upgrades/items

    Votes: 35 77.8%

  • Areas gated by the tools/upgrades/items

    Votes: 41 91.1%

  • Platforming

    Votes: 12 26.7%

  • 2D sidescrolling

    Votes: 8 17.8%

  • Combat

    Votes: 11 24.4%

  • Boss fights

    Votes: 10 22.2%

  • A map

    Votes: 16 35.6%

  • Something else (comment)

    Votes: 4 8.9%
  • Total voters
    45
juuso

juuso

Koopa
A couple of days ago, I was reading about a game called Kharon's Crypt, which looked interesting to me. What also caught my eye was that it describes itself as Metroidvania (for example here https://ec.nintendo.com/NZ/en/titles/70010000045341), although it very clearly is not Metroidvania - there is no 2D platforming!

Thus I present to you a poll. Which of the listed features are actually needed for a game to be Metroidvania? Are there features that immediately make a Metroid-like game not Metroidvania? Any hot takes on what games are and are not Metroidvania are also very welcome.
 
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Voted interconnected world, tools/items, area gates and 2D sidescrolling. Wuppo and Yoku's Island Express are two that come to mind that stretch the definition but still fit within these parameters.
 
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It needs two things:
  • Metroid-
  • -vania
Not to get it confused with a Castletroid, that's a completely different game.
 
Yup, needs Metroids or Vanias. Games with neither of those enemies need not apply.

(It's not items used as keys, since that trait defines adventures overall. Progression by backtracking gets closer. The explorable map being an interconnected web of dungeons, not an open world, is the characteristic that seperates this sub-type from the larger genre.)
 
I feel like the only thing it definitively needs is the gating of areas by items, tools, and upgrades, but it needs some of the other elements (not necessarily all of them) in order to be recognized as one. It’s a very flexible genre that expands beyond just Metroid and Castlevania games. The best thing about them generally is the ever growing sense of power and the more intimate relationship you gain with the world as you understand, map, and solve it.
 
That game in the OP looks straight up like GBC Zelda

When you consider that SotN was actually inspired by Zelda, you realize that you can consider a lot of action-adventure games as Metroidvanias because they have new abilities that help you progress. Castlevania really didn’t add much to the genre at all and the only reason why the term exists is because its latest games at the time played like Metroid so it was a pretty evocative term

Therefore, they are all just adventure games really that take from Zelda or Metroid in certain ways. However, I do think that the 2d sidescrolling part needs to be considered or else the genre would be way too broad. Lately, there have been way too many games that are defined as Metroidvanias for a selling point but in reality they don’t really scratch that itch. There’s a bunch of 2D indie games that are just Zelda (or action RPG/Souls) but people will say Metroidvania because that’s the trendy term. As for 3D games, you could say that they are more rare on that aspect but I don’t think it’s that true, it’s really not that uncommon for a game to give you new abilities. Like, I’ve seen people say that Ys VIII was part Metroidvania but that’s really overselling that game quite a lot. So if you start propping up random 3D games that include new abilities that help you progress that kind of dilutes the term, because how many of those actually have a structure like Metroid Prime or even Zelda.

Even on the 2D sidescrolling side you have games like Shantae which is just sidescrolling Zelda but they will be labeled as Metroidvanias for lack of a better term, or Blasphemous which is just 2D Souls. When you have Super Metroid’s map people won’t ask much questions on that aspect really. Even then, I think it’s still fair to include 2D sidescrolling despite that some games will still be mislabeled because you do have some people that prefer Castlevania to Metroid, so when they think about the genre they don’t really consider the aspects that define Metroid (interconnected world, ability gating). Therefore, while all games under this umbrella won’t necessairly scratch the same itches they are still clearly cut from the same cloth, including 3D and isometric games would make it way too broad
 
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It's like hardcore porn: you know it when you see it. There is no list of conditions you could come up with that would be both necessary and sufficient.

I know that's a cop out, but game genres are like music genres. What actually matters is what other bands a band is listening to/what other games the developers have played. That means every game is a hybrid. Obviously Hollow Knight is a riff on Symphony of the Night and Dark Souls, but maybe also Maddy Thorson's Untitled Story. And you couldn't have Dark Souls without Zelda and Wizardry, and despite Igarashi's denials it's hard to imagine Symphony of the Night without Super Metroid and blah blah blah. You end up with a loose lineage, and at certain branching points you get games that you might as well call Metroidvanias.

Just kidding. It's only a Metroidvania if there are multicolored doors.
 
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It needs to share the qualities of Metroid and Symphony of the Night-style Castlevanias and be a 2D platformer. A Zelda game doesn't suddenly become a Metroidvania if the dungeons are interconnected, c'mon.

One thing that should probably be on the poll is XP/Levelling. Some weirdos insist that that's the distinction between a Metroidvania (Castlevania in the style of Metroid) and a 'Metroid-like'. This is the kind of clarification that only confuses the issue and makes it all seem even more redundant and confusing so I hate it though.
 
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I voted for the first 3.
I think a Metroidvania needs to be designed around exploration and unlocking the way forward through new tools/upgrades. Those tools/upgrades should have repercusion on how the player plays the game, not just a key that opens a door and only takes space in an inventory. For me, the most defining factor is that the world must feel like a puzzle that you uncover and solve as you progress through the game.
A good Metroidvania should also factor this in to make backtracking feel interesting, like providing alternate faster routes by using your new powers through rooms that you've already visited.
 
This is an endless and interesting debate.

I'll add that I don't think the game needs to be 2D. The Metroid Prime games are Metroidvanias, as far as I am concerned.
 
I really like the 'exploraction' genre name I've seen the past few years. I'm used to Metroidvania and I like saying it because it adds to our subculture in a charming way but I think in a way it's a bit gatekeep-y. So I hope we can pick a more universally understandable name for the genre over time.
 
Voted for the first three, like most folks. The options below those are less essential factors, and will vary, depending on the game.
juuso said:
Metroid Prime is not Metroidvania
Click to expand...
It factually is, though.
xghost777 said:
I feel like the only thing it definitively needs is the gating of areas by items, tools, and upgrades, but it needs some of the other elements (not necessarily all of them) in order to be recognized as one. It’s a very flexible genre that expands beyond just Metroid and Castlevania games. The best thing about them generally is the ever growing sense of power and the more intimate relationship you gain with the world as you understand, map, and solve it.
Click to expand...
Thoughtful response! 🙏 🙌 I think this is a solid way of putting it.
 
Banjo-Tooie is a metroidvania


(honestly maybe not quite but I kind of feel like its core feels like that type of game more than the comparison to Super Mario 64)
 
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Shantae and the Pirate's Curse doesn't have an interconnected world. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror doesn't have permanent upgrades/items/tools. Metroid doesn't have a map. Toki Tori 2 doesn't have combat.

There are no rules.
 
According to the 3 most voted options of this pool Xenoblade 2 and 3 are Metroidvania.
 
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I'd say, in order of importance: (1) platforming and movement being the main focus, (2) interconnected world (3) flexible non-linear progression.

The 'flexible' part is mainly important when distinguishing between 'pure' metroidvanias (Super Metroid), borderline cases (Cave Story), and games with open progression, but none of the other traits of the genre (Resident Evil).
 
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Yoshifan31 said:
That game in the OP looks straight up like GBC Zelda

When you consider that SotN was actually inspired by Zelda, you realize that you can consider a lot of action-adventure games as Metroidvanias because they have new abilities that help you progress. Castlevania really didn’t add much to the genre at all and the only reason why the term exists is because its latest games at the time played like Metroid so it was a pretty evocative term

Therefore, they are all just adventure games really that take from Zelda or Metroid in certain ways. However, I do think that the 2d sidescrolling part needs to be considered or else the genre would be way too broad. Lately, there have been way too many games that are defined as Metroidvanias for a selling point but in reality they don’t really scratch that itch. There’s a bunch of 2D indie games that are just Zelda (or action RPG/Souls) but people will say Metroidvania because that’s the trendy term. As for 3D games, you could say that they are more rare on that aspect but I don’t think it’s that true, it’s really not that uncommon for a game to give you new abilities. Like, I’ve seen people say that Ys VIII was part Metroidvania but that’s really overselling that game quite a lot. So if you start propping up random 3D games that include new abilities that help you progress that kind of dilutes the term because how many of those have a structure like Metroid Prime or even Zelda.

Even on the 2D sidescrolling side you have games like Shantae which is just sidescrolling Zelda but they will be labeled as Metroidvanias for lack of a better term, or Blasphemous which is just 2D Souls. When you have Super Metroid’s map people won’t ask much questions on that aspect really. Even then, I think it’s still fair to include 2D sidescrolling despite that some games will still be mislabeled because you do have some people that prefer Castlevania to Metroid, so when they think about the genre they don’t really consider the aspects that define Metroid (interconnected world, ability gating). Therefore, while all games under this umbrella won’t necessairly scratch the same itches they are still clearly cut from the same cloth, including 3D and isometric games would make it way too broad
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I agree with this response and I'm glad somebody agrees with me on this. I rarely see people question the genre Metroidvania really (which is fair because at this point it is a well known genre that won't disappear anytime soon) but so often I think "if this is 'Metroidania', A Link to the Past is as well" which, to me is a little silly.
If I understand correctly the naming came up because Symphony of the Night was very similar to Super Metroid in particular with the exploration and losing your powers in the beginning. So people started calling the new kind of Castlevania games Metroidvania. It has since shifted to mean "like Super Metroid and Symphony of the night".

I personally dislike the term metroidvania and think it limits people in discussing games and could even negatively affect developers, subconsciously not allowing themselves complete creative freedom because they have Metroid and Castlevania in mind the whole way through. I think similarly about calling games Souls-likes but that's not even tangentially related to this thread anymore hehe
 
I prefer the term "Search Action".

Metroid is the pinnacle of the search action genere just like Zelda is the pinnacle of the "Action Adventure" genere, thats why people use the term "Metroidvania" or "Zelda Like" for many games.
 
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It needs to be Metroid-like. The Castlevania part is honestly entirely optional.
 
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For me, these games have interconnected world's, upgradeable tools, gated access based on those tools, and platforming. The platforming element is what really separates Metroidvanias from Zelda-likes and a number of similar games.

In Zelda, you might move across platforms to solve puzzles or find secrets, but in Metroidvanias the platforming is how you progress the story.
 
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I want to see a crossover. Samus has to hunt down Dracula because he's combining metroids with all his minions. Vamproids. Samus isn't sure how to go about her quest, so she teams with (insert any castlevania hero here). Co-op metroidvania. And the game would be called, Metroidvania.

I'll work for cheap Nintendo. Just let me give you game ideas.
 
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This is subjective of course but here are things that must be in a game for me to call it Metroidvania:

—large interconnected world
—acquire items/abilities to access previously blocked areas
—combat of some form

I guess that’s it. I really like these games having a leveling up system and the more RPG aspects the better (loot, skill trees, stats etc). The big thing is the eotld. If it’s 1 huge map you can traverse and go back to anywhere to access stuff you couldn’t earlier, that’s 95% of a Metroidvania to me :)
 
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I feel like there should be a term for games encompassing Metroidvanias and Soulsbornes that have the "interconnected world of hallways and chambers", whether they use the item/puzzle-gating of Metroidvanias or the beefgating of Soulsbornes.

Interconnected worlds IMO seems to imply both "hallways and chambers" and open worlds.
 
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