No wonder how this game bred a brand new genre and set high standarts from the very beginning.

I'm very impressed by the sheer creativity of its mechanics and map design. There are so many different stuff to discover in the most random places. I used X-ray almost everywhere I go but I still missed a lot of that random shit. The game forces you to think out of the box in order to get those sweet perks. For a SNES game, it's astounding.

Mechanics are also pretty tight and fairly responsive. However, they require some mastery, sometimes more than I can chew, to be precise. As a guy who sucks at platforming, I had a hard time doing the wall jumps and space jumps. Figuring out their timings were rough. I finished the game and I still can't do them consistently but I'm sure it can be done. I've seen some playthroughs, Samus looks like a god in the hands of great players.

I also like the visual style. It feels both colorful and dreadful at the same time. It gives you the feeling of isolation but also it is a feast for your eyes. Delicious.

In short, this game is a substantial accomplishment in its era. The size of this freaking game is 3 MB but it offers so much for you to play with. I could give it even a higher score if its platforming aged more gracefully. I had some difficulties and struggling with the core mechanics can be frustrating.

PS: Shout out to the composer, this soundtrack sounds really sick. Omnious and badass at the same time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ieYLHc1fQ&ab_channel=7GamerMinutes%2B%3AVideoGameMusic

When trying to write out thoughts on a video game, it is very easy to talk about the negatives, since usually, those are specific things that directly subtract from the gameplay experience. However, I find it quite difficult to explain in detail just what makes a game GOOD. Super Metroid is a perfect video game in my personal opinion. Everything that this game does is perfect. Ridley stole the baby Metroid and fled to Zebes. Samus Aran explores Zebes in hopes to find Ridley and save the baby Metroid. Along her way, she explores the different environments for powers and upgrades to assist in her goal. She must face Kraid, Phantoon, and Draygon, before making her way to Ridley's hideout. Once she destroys Ridley, she finds out that the baby Metroid is gone. From here, she goes to Tourian, only to find out that the baby Metroid has grown up, and that Mother Brain has been revived. She has one last epic battle with the Mother Brain, assisted by the now grown up Metroid, before escaping the planet seconds before its destruction. This is a pretty simple story, but WOW. This game takes all of the good elements from the previous two installments, combines it with its own genius ideas, and creates one of the best games of all time. This in essence is the perfect Metroid. The explorable environments are the perfect mix of both that feeling of being completely lost and wanting to explore every last corner, and yet, rarely will you ever get truly lost. The design here is just so exact and perfect for what a Metroid game needs. The powers/upgrades you find are perfectly spaced out and hidden in such clever and unique ways so that you find them at the perfect times. The bosses you fight have such fun patterns to learn, and all pose a different, yet consistent and satisfying challenge that fills you with excitement as you eventually defeat them. The Super Nintendo graphics and soundfonts also perfect set the themes of this games areas whether it be Brinstar, which looks and sounds full of life and growth, to an area like Maridia, which could not seem more alien and dead. Never more has a game filled me with such wonder and interest and excitement more than this game has. AND ALL OF THAT, coming from the year 1994. Every single specific minute detail of this game is 100% perfect. It does not stop here either. This games influence reaches far and wide across the gaming landscape. Even if this subgenre of game has been dubbed "Metroidvania," even the "vania" part of this title, representing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, was directly influenced by Super Metroid. This is literally everything you could ask for a video game to do. It seriously does not get better than this. I recommend anyone at all who likes video games, to throw this on completely blind, and let your self get completely lost in its wonder. What a game!

Another game I would have gone absolutely bananas over if I played it as a kid but sadly didn't until I was a teenager with a SNES emulator. May still be the high point for the series, although Metroid Dread was a strong contender (I like the Prime games but prefer Metroid side-scrolling). The controls feel phenomenal, the slow power creep is so satisfying, and the bosses absolutely rule. Exploring Zebes is such a blast, and much like A Link the The Past it's an insane step up from the first two games in the series.

It’s 1996… 4 year old me can barely even play Super Mario World to a competent level, never mind a deep, complex game like Super Metroid. 1 or 2 hours was enough to get me to a point where I didn’t know where to go, so I would drop it.

Returning to this game nearly 30 years later, and I know see why it is considered a revolutionary masterpiece.

Stacking it up against games of the time and nothing comes close to how it looks, plays and feels.

The opening atmosphere, the game does an excellent job of making the player feel lonely and creating a desolate world. And the atmosphere through the game is top notch.

The sound. The shooting of the beam, the jumping and spinning sound, the music, the alarm sounds. Everything is on point and feeds the atmosphere, similar to the first Alien film.

The gameplay and power ups. Again, revolutionary for its time. Traversing the world is so much fun when you start to unlock some of the power ups.

The story. I had the benefit of having played Metroid: Zero Mission before this, so knew a little bit about what was going on. A simple story but a very effective one.

The outrageous, amazing ending. I loved it. So unexpected and exciting.

I couldn’t give it a rest. Super Metroid is one of those games where you just have to keep playing and want to find out what’s around the next corner. I didn’t even think about any other game whilst playing this.

I just can’t give it a 10. Mainly due to the confusion and the time it took me to figure out where to go at the end. This game does not hold your hand. And I know this is meant to add to the mystery of the world building and is meant to make the player carve his own path. But I just wish it gave you even a slight hint of what to do next. Near the end, when the paths become much more complicated, I felt a little frustrated at times. But it was satisfying when I did manage to carve a path. A minor gripe.

Overall, I’m so glad I have now experience this game in full. And I know see why people consider it a masterpiece.

I give Super Metroid a perfect 10 out of 10!

Super Metroid is just such a great milestone for gaming. It's timeless, and almost UNIVERSALLY agreed to be the best Metroid game. It has inspired so many games like it, booming the metroidvania genre. I love Super Metroid, and it's been 30 years without aging bad, I know it'll go another 30 the same way.

I don't know what new I can input to the conversation about this classic, but I know for a fact that it is a staple in not only the SNES era, but the history of gaming as a whole.