Metroid

"READ this! The TRUTH about this AMAZING game!"

Ignore all the reviews from video game newbies. They want a bunch of shiny cinemas and no gameplay value.

This game is extremely claustrophobic. Metroid II is also pretty suffocating, as are parts of Super Metroid. However, the original is BY FAR the most creepy and constricting game in the series. You really get that sense of plunging further and further into spelunking hell.

This is a "real" game. It is challenging but entirely fair. New games are for the mainstream public; they are very easy, they treat you like a baby. Games like Metroid require actual skill and effort.

This is one of the top 10 greatest games of all time. This game has a magical quality, you get into the "rhythm" of the exploration, perfectly places jumps, and precision shooting. It's got those timeless play mechanics that make it fun no matter how old it is.

It's difficult right off the bat until you know what you're doing, but that was true even when the game was new, and even I was put off the first time I played it. I quickly realized the error of my ways. This game a superlative masterpiece.

The graphics are first-generation NES, and this is probably the best looking of the first gen NES titles. The enemies, bosses, tiles and chozo statues are all nicely detailed. The background is simple solid black. Nothing special, but this game isn't about graphics. The solid black actually works in this game because it suggests dark, looming claustrophobic caverns. What make sthe graphics memorable is the CREATIVITY in the design, which cannot be denied.

Some newbies whine about the lack of a map... I can only conclude that they lack brain cells, because I and millions of others were able to find our way through by memory as grade school kids. I think people these days must have attention problems from watching so much TV.

Getting lost is HALF THE FUN of this game! I love Super Metroid too, but lets face it, the map made the game absurdly easy.

The bomb mechanics are the true star of Metroid... and none of the other Metroid really capitalize on it like the original. This game is all about bombing your way through endless secret passages, bombing up into cracks, bombing from platform to platform, etc. In the newer games, they SHOW you where to bomb... in this game, you have to be alert for things that are "out of place", or walls that seem like they just do not belong, or simple dead-ends that make no sense. There is usually a way to bomb through.

The bomb puzzles are really neat and sorely missed in the two sequels. For example, at one point you are confronted by a seemingly unpassable barrier. The tricks is to go way back to the airlock, bomb the ground, roll into the tunnel, and just roll past the entire room! At other times, you have to ride tunnels ABOVE rooms. You can even bomb in unlikely places like item rooms.

This game is wonderfully sadistic. There are often multiple ways to get to and away from the miniboss rooms, and they go so far as to include a "fake" of Kraid. I remember tons of people thinking they had "beaten" Kraid, only to find it was a fake all along... then they had to find the real one in his demonic pit.

THE MUSIC!

Even people who do not care for this game admit that it has a superb soundtrack. A true classic, some of these themes belong in the stars with Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, etc. It has a few rousing march themes, but what really sticks in the mind are the minimalist and spine-shivering eerie themes as you descend into the depths. People have thrown the words "GENIUS" at Hip tanaka's famed score, and with good reason, they are very inspired. They also do a great job with the NES's limited sound system, even today Kraid's lair theme sounds impressive with it's echoing bouncing tune and deep square bass.

The item room music really generates atmosphere. The whole soundtrack is really impressive stuff. From a compositional standpoint, none of the sequels are even close to as good. Sadly, the Zero Mission remake bastardized many of the tunes for the worse. They are already perfect, and the new versions miss the point at times.

What game these days would have the guts to use the psychotic bubbling dissonant 3-note riff of the mother brain battle? They would instead use some crappy techno made by some no-talent phony. Hip Tanaka is the real deal, his other game soundtracks (Kid Icarus, Dr. Mario, Super Mario Land)have all been exceptionally high quality, but Metroid takes the cake.

A timeless game. People expecting a generic multi-billion dollar 3D shooter will not be impressed, but many others never fail to get sucked into the thick atmosphere and superb play mechanics of this gem.

If you agree, drop me a line!

Maybe someday, we will see the true sequel to Super Metroid. By that I mean a game twice as big, twice as awesome, more puzzles, more everything.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/07