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The game that defined open-ended exploration; a true classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In 1986, METROID forever changed the face of video gaming. A richly atmospheric title, METROID offered a darker, grainier side to the bright images and sunshine gaming that were at that time populating Nintendo. (To this day Nintendo still specialises in that `sunshine gaming,' with more titles for little kids than adults, but that's rather beside the point). SUPER MARIO BROTHERS, the 8-Bit's flagship title, was colourful, woefully short, and a fun jaunt to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser. SUPER MARIO BROTHERS displayed a mastery of excellent level design, but it did not take long to beat. The rest of the video games at that time, san ZELDA and KID ICARUS, were also of a relative simple nature.

Enter Samus Aran. This was a game that offered unprecedented depth of play, was dark and grisly, and had great, mood setting music, and long, twisting corridors that led you deep into the Space Pirates' lair. An incredibly large game for the time, comparable only to THE LEGEND OF ZELDA and KID ICARUS of the first generation Nintendo titles, you could wander around for hours, exploring and gaining access to new areas with new items. I tend to think of KID ICARUS (why didn't this become a franchise???) and METROID as brothers, and ZELDA and METROID as first cousins. While ZELDA offers a very innovative, opened-ended (for the time) overworld experience with fantasy elements, METROID does the same type of innovation for side-scrollers, with a map just as expansive (though in a different format) as ZELDA. Which brings me to the actual game play of METROID.

Metroid operates as one long map broke off into sections. There is no level progressions like Mario. But the game does contain you too certain areas that only opens up after you had receive new items. These items are cleverly hidden throughout the game's map, and just when you think you've come to a dead end, suddenly you bomb the floor and a whole new area opens before you. And the game isn't too kind when it set you down in that opening area of Brinstar. Equipped with only 30 energy units, Samus has to be tough to survive. Energy is scarce and can be time-consuming to collect. (Compare obtaining life in METROID to SUPER METROID; in SUPER METROID there's all sorts of energy). The energy being so hard to collect, and the ungodly complex password system, do flaw the game, but we have to remember this is a first gen NES title, so you have to cut it some slack.

Now would be a good time to talk about METROID's glitch. Much like the negative world in SUPER MARIO BROTHERS, METROID has one of the most famous glitches in the video gaming world. Called the Secret Worlds, you use a wall jumping technique that enables you to get to "new areas" of the game that are otherwise unreachable. Thought to be a secret, an intentional programming easter egg, these Secret Worlds, while still fun to search for, are not intentional. They are glitches. Search the Internet to find out all about these secret areas.

After transversing Brinstar and Norfair, getting new items, then Samus has to fight through the two bosses' hideouts and put them down before the final confrontation: Mother Brain. My favorite old school enemy, Mother Brain is a proven nemesis, much harder to beat than the laughably pathetic Bowser or even the more challenging Gannon. On top of that, once you beat her you have to get out of Tourian within a certain time limit (admittedly, it's more than enough time to get out). Even though Mother Brain's tough, we video gamers led Samus to victory countless times because of the stupendous game play and the compelling story. Once Mother Brain is dead and we get Samus out of Tourian, then the real payoff is unleashed. Samus is a WOMAN! And if you beat the game under certain time limits, you get different endings. During the days of rescuing damsels in distresses with a Brooklyn plumber or a green-clad boy, Samus's gender is very revolutionary, which brings me to the story aspect of METROID, which is currently under attack by ZERO MISSION.

METROID's best features are successfully combines rich story-telling (for the NES) with innovative gameplay. This isn't a kid's game like Mario. This is a classic science fiction story, heavily influenced by Ridley Scott's ALIEN. Metroid is a story of a Space Federation fighting for its very survival against the fearsome Mother Brain and its two subordinates, Ridley and Kraid, who had stolen the Metroids and had their own devious designs for them. I have a sneaking suspicion that the boss Ridley was named after Sigourney Weaver's character and Ridley Scott. Gunpei Yokoi, executive produce of METROID (and also one of the chief developers of the original Game Boy), said that while ALIEN was never specifically discussed during Metroid's development, it cast a heavy shadow over METROID. That same dark terror, about never knowing what was around the next corner and how you were hoping, against all odds, that Ridley in ALIEN and Samus in the game would come out on top, forever cemented both tales in the imaginations of their prospective audiences.

Because of the gameplay and atmospheric story, Samus Aran has become a classic video game icon. Thankfully, after many long years the METROID franchise has become alive again with new releases. But for those who want to relive the Samus's first glory, then this game would hold you enthralled. This is truly a classic game.

P. S. Unfortunately, do to the realitive simplicity of the NES version of events, Nintendo has saw fit to introduce a radical remake of the game on METROID: ZERO MISSION, enlarging it and changing around events. While I enjoyed ZM, I felt it much to linear and went against what made the original so great to begin with: open-ended exploration. See my METROID: ZERO MISSION review for more details.

Classic Metroid!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is one of my favorite games!

It takes you in as you take the role of Samus Aran to destroy the Mother Brain and destroy the Metroids. The glitches can make it better or worse (secret worlds best, freeze worse).

The only problem I have is that after I got it (after months of searching), it kept popping up in pawn shops and used video game stores!

Good grand game for its time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

OK, I'm a little sick of my peers (ages 13-19) giving old skool games low ratings because they aren't up to "todays" standards or because they're "too old" to be fun anymore. I'm a 16 year old gamer and actually prefer old-skool myself. I think it's time we start reviewing a product for what it really IS rahter than how old it is.

For its time, Metroid was a milestone in video gaming. One of the largest games when it was released that wasn't quite so linear. The game doesn't have a completely set path for you to take. You're supposed to get around by exploring the game and finding abilities. It is possible to find nearly every ability before you even fight your first boss. This was also one of the first games to use the "Password" system. There were probably a a few before this.

Also, what I like most about this game (and what the games these days need) is that its HARD! Should you play this game you'll be stunned at some of its difficult feets. Some things you must do to get abilities are amazingly hard, but well worth it.

For 8-bit graphics these are amazing and some of the best on the NES I've seen. This is by far one of the best NES games you could ever get. The game is also HUGE that you MUST explore. If (when?) you die you always get a password displayed. Depending on what area you're in will depend on where you start. For the NES using this system was a bit different at the time.

Metroid is a milestone among games. Not to mention it had one of the most shocking moments in videogame history (that when I played, I myself was a bit shocked at the time), that being that Samus is a woman. Sure nowadays its no big deal but when Metroid came out all the big heroes in games were male characters back in this time. So while today it isn't shocking to see, back then it was.

Overall, you'd have to be crazy not to be able to enjoy this game. Unless of course you're like most of my friends who could care less about the gameplay and more about the graphics.

Overall

The good
+Old Skool fun for everybody
+Extremely fun
+Redefined Exploration (for me anyway)
+A good challenge
+Great Audio and Graphics for the NES

The Bad
-If I could think of one right now I'd tell you...umm...Samus can't aim diagnally or duck? No that really isn't anything bad considering most games in that time you couldn't aim diagnolly. So I guess there's nothing bad I could say about this game. Except that some of the glitches the NES cartridge tends to have sometimes.
-The other con...its too bad that compared to today it won't get what it deserves anymore. It's so much better than Metroid Prime is (though even I have to admit I like Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion a bit more than this one)

One of the greatest NES games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have had this game since before i was born, well at least my brother has. anyway, this game is so cool, you play as bounty hunter Samus Aran and you have to defeat 3 bosses, but it is kind of hard, i still play it, and i can't beat it! i use the code and get to the end, but its just really chalenging, but you will not like this games if your one of those people who can't realize that the game they are playing [is not good] because of the rich graphics, well what i'm trying to say is that some games no-one would give them a chance if it werent for the awesome graphics, but i like games with and without good graphics, thats what everyone should do.

Unique, inspiring, a masterpiece...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I first played Metroid when I was about 4 or 5, very young. I saw my parents playing it, and I had to play it of course. I think the thing that took my breath away the most was the idea of being able to play in one huge world and gain abilites by finding items. The difficulty was very high, so I had plenty reason to come back for more, as well. The GBA version of Metroid is much easier, in my opinion, due to the fact that you don't need to imput the passwords over and over again. That is the only flaw in this game: the passwords are confusing as heck. It uses lower and upper case letters, as well as a plethora of numbers and punctuation marks, so it is easy to write down something and get confused later on ( zeros look like o's...). Anyway, next to Super Metroid this is probably the greatest video game ever made, and expresses what a good video game is all about: Using your brain power to achieve something that is not only complicated, but fun. This is an open-ended game which is one huge level. Unlike Contra, Adventure Island and all those classic NES games, Metroid was one huge level which was intertwined and allowed the player to interract with the environment (ex: shooting a creature with the ice beam, then blowing a few blocks away above your head to reveal a hidden passage). It's hard to express how fun this game was, and still is.

Graphics- 10/10 When it cam out, the graphics were top of the line and the environments look pretty awesome, especially the Norfair, Ridley, and Kraid environments. The backrounds are in many different textures and colors. Some environemts are downright creepy (the purple orbs in Norfair, and the purple drooping rock-esque things on the ceiling for example, or the big structures of the alien heads on the walls before you enter Kraids and Ridleys lairs, also the creepy structure before you fight Kraid and Ridley.), while others just fit in perfectly with the enemies and music themes. Each of the enemies has an interesting designs, and for its time the bosses were pretty cool.

Music- 10/10 The Brinstar theme has got to be the catchiest and most memorable music theme out of any video game...ever. The other themes are great as well, especially the Kraid, Norfair, and Ridley themes. The music is quite atmospheric and sets the tone for the exploration quite perfectly, making it not only fun to explore, but pleasing to the ears as well. Music plays a big role in this game.

Controls- 10/10 For its time, Metroid played extremely smooth, and Samus controlled great. It was one of, if not the first game to allow you to aim upward, making it a lot better. Sure you can duck down or aim diagnolly.. but this was NES, not Playstation 2, remember?

Gameplay- 100/10 One hundred out of ten. This game took the idea of gameplay which was created by titles such as Super Mario Bros and just blew it away. There are countless items and powerups to collect, each uniquely hidden and well worth it. Metroid was the first game to really utilize exploration, unlike other games which were purely level-to-level. Sure, sometimes things are hidden in a ridiculous manor compared to games these days (having to blow away some random block to unveal the next room), but I think this only made the game more unique and durable. I mean, having to search for new rooms was not only thrilling, but it really made it feel like you were Samus embarking on a bounty hunter mission against the aliens of Zebes. Gameplay is absolutely flawless.

Overall-10/10 This is probably the greatest NES game ever made, and I think everyone (kids or adults) should play this game, for it is not only brain-teasing, but is also quite fun. If you can look past its dated graphics and what-not, you will see that for its time everything was great, and to me it still looks as good as it did before. I cannot recommend this any more.

A 2D masterpiece.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I remember being bored of Super Mario Bros. because it was too juvenile and decided to pick up Metroid. The game went down in history as one of the only original NES games where you could save your progress(the other 2 that I know with a password option are Kid Icarus and The Legend Of Zelda).The graphics look really fuzzy by today's standards but back then they were jawdropping. The music was also a great highlight and the challenges and maze like platform structures added an extra sense of depth. One of the fondest childhood memories Ive had was playing this game.

quite possibly the greatest game ever made

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

aaah, the good old 8-bit euphoria.... I miss the time when games were so simply entertaining. This game was my favorite amongst them next to Castlevania, and still is. I actually know the the source code to this game (it was required for a programming class, but it was the most fun i ever had doing a school project).

The Metroid series is very unqie in a lot of ways. It was one of the first games to played on entirely one level. However, that one level is so enormous, that it won't even cross your mind. So don't let the one level thing fool you - Metroid games are long and take several hours to beat as long as you don't cheat. The game is so filled with secret passages and little programming glitches that it'll keep you busy for weeks even after you've completed the main game! One fun thing to do is to look around for the Secret Worlds, which are actually programming glitches that duplicate the area you're already in and warp it.

One time my brother's friend tried to play the game, gloating about how how simple and cheesy it was. He boasted that he could beat it in less than an hour simply because it was 8-bit. Oh, how ignorant he proved to be when he got downwinded in less than a minute. The game is DAMN HARD, even today.

I recommend this to everyone - period. Anybody can find something to enjoy from this masterpiece. I particularly recommend that younger kids who didn't have the privilege of growing up with 8-bit as my generation did take a chance with it. Pretty graphics aren't everything - in fact, they're virtually nothing. This is gaming at its best!

The First Great Adventure Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When I was little I played this game, but couldn't get anywhere on it. At the time I hated it, because of I felt so lost while playing it.

Recently I went back and played it again after playing through Super Metroid, and needless to say I did a lot better, and I have much better appreciation for this game. I'll explain in depth why it's good.

It was one of the first games on the NES, and the first adventure game on it. Before Metroid there had only been a few adventure games, and most of them were fairly simple. Metroid has all sorts of hidden passages and power-ups for you to explore with Samus (your character). It may only have 5 areas, but since you don't have a mapping system, it might take you awhile to beat it. There are 3 different weapon power-ups, and one of them is essential to beating the game. There are other powerups that enhance things like jumping. There is also a suit which reduces damage. There are only 3 bosses in this game, and to get to the final boss you have to beat the first two. If you beat the game fast enough you'll be in for one of gaming's biggest suprises, but I won't spoil it for you. Once you beat it, you can the play through with some of your power ups and if you got the best ending, you will look different(that's all I'll say).

The music in this game was very well composed and is considered some of the best ever for an NES game. The quality isn't too great but this was made in 1986. The graphics aren't very good, but again this is from 1986.

Overall this is game isn't quite as good as Super Metroid or Castlevania SOTN, but that's understandable. If you like adventures you should give it a try. I give it a 4.5 rating(rounds up to 5).

The Lord of ALL the games!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a cool game one of a kind for the NES. -sigh- such a game such a game. basically the plot is this. you samus aran (is it a girl or boy? YOULL JUST HAVE TO FIND OUT HAHAHAHAHAHAHA) well im guessing all you party poopers all ready know and if you see a picture of her you should have the brains to figure out a boy cant really or shouldnt have teh body of samus. unless there like richard simons or somthing but even thats weird for him. HA but you have to INFILTATE the highly secured meca meta beta ALFA base of the space pirates. Well acticually you dont even really see a pirate for a while. Just the stupid little creatures that seem to cause no problem for the base and just so happen to have it in for you. (curse them) then you go though and fight the of the oh so evil bosses ridley and kraid (the obise lizard of lard and everything else) and then go into tourain DUM DUM DUUUUUM. and face the metroids and then SHREIK THE GOEY EWWY MOTHER BRAIN!! then you escape and fly away and OH IF YOU GET A GOOD TIME WOAH HO YOU GET TO SEE WHATS REALLY BEHIND THE MASK.... JIM CARRY (that was stupid you idiot phil) well all in all this gaem is really good and even if my review seem sto be mroe "pun intended" WHICH ITS NOT its really a good game and i highly recremend it ta ta for now (stupid tiger everythings so stupid)

Metroid

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Metroid is one of the best adventure games out there. Its almost impossible to explore everything it is so big. There are also alot of great powerups and items to find and use. This game is a landmark. I think that it is the best and most original adventure game ever to come out second to The Legend of Zelda. Super Metroid is much more refined (which is why most people prefer it), but I prefer this game because I remember how amazing it was when it first came out. Super Metroid is just more of the same.

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