After 10 years, i finally conquer a childhood demon of mine. I played Super Metroid as a kid and i got stuck early on because my dumb dumb kid brain didn't figure out that enemies dropped items so i just assumed that i got softlocked and never went back to it.....until now.
Super Metroid is a great game. I don't have any experience with other Metroid games so i don't know how this compares to the rest of the series but this is a damn good first impression. The gameplay is simple yet engaging thanks to the perfect controls (unless it's Space Jumping, then it can be a bit of a pain) and although backtracking is a staple of the Metroidvania genre, it never felt like it was tedious. The maps essentially get smaller the more powerups you get and i like this, because you'll be revisiting areas a few times. Keeping it from feeling tedious in a game without skip travel was a good decision on Nintendo's part.
However, perhaps because this was the 90s but Super Metroid has some dumb cryptic shit in it. Breaking the tube in Maridia with the Power Bomb (no indication that this would work) and that wall in Lower Norfair that is not visible with the x-ray genuinely had me question how the fuck anybody was supposed to figure this out. I know part of the appeal of Metroidvanias is exploring and don't get me wrong, i love exploring in games (when it's done right) but i think there's a difference between exploring and just finding out by pure chance.
Now the biggest conflict i have with this game is the music. See, on one hand, the music fits this game perfectly. Exploring a hostile planet by yourself, not knowing what dangers await? Yeah, music fits. And yet, the music for this game is actually pretty unmemorable. Samus' theme, Vs Ridley, Brinstar Overgrown and Lower Norfair are like the only memorable songs in this game. The rest of the soundtrack works but i don't know, i feel like i've already forgotten the songs.
Super Metroid is a fantastic game. I could do without the cryptic-ness and i do wish the soundtrack was more memorable but as i said earlier, this game was a damn good first impression to someone who had never played a Metroid game before.
Super Metroid is a great game. I don't have any experience with other Metroid games so i don't know how this compares to the rest of the series but this is a damn good first impression. The gameplay is simple yet engaging thanks to the perfect controls (unless it's Space Jumping, then it can be a bit of a pain) and although backtracking is a staple of the Metroidvania genre, it never felt like it was tedious. The maps essentially get smaller the more powerups you get and i like this, because you'll be revisiting areas a few times. Keeping it from feeling tedious in a game without skip travel was a good decision on Nintendo's part.
However, perhaps because this was the 90s but Super Metroid has some dumb cryptic shit in it. Breaking the tube in Maridia with the Power Bomb (no indication that this would work) and that wall in Lower Norfair that is not visible with the x-ray genuinely had me question how the fuck anybody was supposed to figure this out. I know part of the appeal of Metroidvanias is exploring and don't get me wrong, i love exploring in games (when it's done right) but i think there's a difference between exploring and just finding out by pure chance.
Now the biggest conflict i have with this game is the music. See, on one hand, the music fits this game perfectly. Exploring a hostile planet by yourself, not knowing what dangers await? Yeah, music fits. And yet, the music for this game is actually pretty unmemorable. Samus' theme, Vs Ridley, Brinstar Overgrown and Lower Norfair are like the only memorable songs in this game. The rest of the soundtrack works but i don't know, i feel like i've already forgotten the songs.
Super Metroid is a fantastic game. I could do without the cryptic-ness and i do wish the soundtrack was more memorable but as i said earlier, this game was a damn good first impression to someone who had never played a Metroid game before.