(Used a map, used save-states due to lack of a save system.)
I respect this game to a high degree for how revolutionary it was to the point of pioneering an entire genre. The sense of exploration, solving the very map itself, earning every upgrade you get your hands on, etc. the specific flavor a metroidvania has is just something you can’t really get anywhere else. However, unfortunately that does not mean I would recommend this game to everybody.
Metroid has no built-in map. I personally don’t really consider this too huge of an issue since in the modern age, since if you have the means to play Metroid you probably also have the means to find a fan made map online. But I imagine it was a pain back in the day. What is more of a navigational dilemma is that Metroid tends to reuse room layouts. This makes its frustratingly easy to get lost since you don’t have a good sense of where you even are on the map.
Combat can be iffy since you can’t crouch to hit lower targets or shoot down while jumping. in fairness this was an overlying problem with most games of the period, but that doesn’t make it less frustrating.
Arguably the defining feature of any Metroid game is the upgrades, and this was a pretty good start. The ice beam probably being my favorite of the bunch since it lets you freeze enemies and use them as platforms which is a very creative idea and fun to do. The wave beam makes it possible to hit lower enemies since you can’t crouch which is an imperfect solution but better than nothing.
You encounter only 3 bosses on your adventure and all of them are bad. Ridley and Kraid are both bullet spongy slogs but by far the worst one is Mother Brain. Mother Brain is effectively immobile the whole fight and has the security systems do all the fight for her, so its pretty much just desperately praying you don’t get hit by one of the billion projectiles coming at you while also needing to focus on damaging Mother Brain. I consider this to be the lowest point of the game.
That’s pretty much all I have to say on the gameplay. But sadly, the problems don’t end here. Metroid has a large number of technical issues that vary in how they affect the player.
Samus sometime shows up on the other side of the screen when going through doors and at one point there was an inaccessible door behind some wall tiles that I am pretty sure was not supposed to be there as it was not on the map I used. These are ultimately harmless glitches but there are much more invasive ones. Enemies being able to get cheap hits on you when going through a door and enemy's getting cheap hits on you as soon as you enter a door is obnoxious. But the worst offender is the lag. Pretty much any time there are more than 4 enemies on screen at one the game starts lagging into a slideshow.
As for the presentation, it’s great. especially for the NES. Metroid goes for a pseudo horror setting that feels less so scary, more so eerie and lonely. Which serves a secondary purpose as it makes the sense of progression feels even more noticeable, the quiet isolated early game smoothly transitions into late game where you are practically flying around killing most enemies before they can even make themselves a threat. This sense of progression would be improved drastically in later entries, but it is none the less impressive here. The music is nothing to scoff at either. All around very good with the most memorable track for me being the title screen music. It sets the eerie, isolated tone from the very beginning.
So, all in all: I think to really enjoy Metroid, you need to have an appreciation for what it did at the time and how much it means to the industry, while also being able to enjoy games of its era and put up with how cryptic, unfair and buggy it can be. Otherwise, your experience will probably be middling at best.
Even if i am a much bigger fan of later entries to both the series and genre, i still respect the hell out of Metroid.
I respect this game to a high degree for how revolutionary it was to the point of pioneering an entire genre. The sense of exploration, solving the very map itself, earning every upgrade you get your hands on, etc. the specific flavor a metroidvania has is just something you can’t really get anywhere else. However, unfortunately that does not mean I would recommend this game to everybody.
Metroid has no built-in map. I personally don’t really consider this too huge of an issue since in the modern age, since if you have the means to play Metroid you probably also have the means to find a fan made map online. But I imagine it was a pain back in the day. What is more of a navigational dilemma is that Metroid tends to reuse room layouts. This makes its frustratingly easy to get lost since you don’t have a good sense of where you even are on the map.
Combat can be iffy since you can’t crouch to hit lower targets or shoot down while jumping. in fairness this was an overlying problem with most games of the period, but that doesn’t make it less frustrating.
Arguably the defining feature of any Metroid game is the upgrades, and this was a pretty good start. The ice beam probably being my favorite of the bunch since it lets you freeze enemies and use them as platforms which is a very creative idea and fun to do. The wave beam makes it possible to hit lower enemies since you can’t crouch which is an imperfect solution but better than nothing.
You encounter only 3 bosses on your adventure and all of them are bad. Ridley and Kraid are both bullet spongy slogs but by far the worst one is Mother Brain. Mother Brain is effectively immobile the whole fight and has the security systems do all the fight for her, so its pretty much just desperately praying you don’t get hit by one of the billion projectiles coming at you while also needing to focus on damaging Mother Brain. I consider this to be the lowest point of the game.
That’s pretty much all I have to say on the gameplay. But sadly, the problems don’t end here. Metroid has a large number of technical issues that vary in how they affect the player.
Samus sometime shows up on the other side of the screen when going through doors and at one point there was an inaccessible door behind some wall tiles that I am pretty sure was not supposed to be there as it was not on the map I used. These are ultimately harmless glitches but there are much more invasive ones. Enemies being able to get cheap hits on you when going through a door and enemy's getting cheap hits on you as soon as you enter a door is obnoxious. But the worst offender is the lag. Pretty much any time there are more than 4 enemies on screen at one the game starts lagging into a slideshow.
As for the presentation, it’s great. especially for the NES. Metroid goes for a pseudo horror setting that feels less so scary, more so eerie and lonely. Which serves a secondary purpose as it makes the sense of progression feels even more noticeable, the quiet isolated early game smoothly transitions into late game where you are practically flying around killing most enemies before they can even make themselves a threat. This sense of progression would be improved drastically in later entries, but it is none the less impressive here. The music is nothing to scoff at either. All around very good with the most memorable track for me being the title screen music. It sets the eerie, isolated tone from the very beginning.
So, all in all: I think to really enjoy Metroid, you need to have an appreciation for what it did at the time and how much it means to the industry, while also being able to enjoy games of its era and put up with how cryptic, unfair and buggy it can be. Otherwise, your experience will probably be middling at best.
Even if i am a much bigger fan of later entries to both the series and genre, i still respect the hell out of Metroid.