The game that single-handedly defined a genre. In the timeline of the Metroid series, it strikes the perfect balance between labyrinthine terror and action-packed adventure. It's a nearly perfect game.

It's honestly impressive how well Retro was able to convert the Metroid structure into a 3D, first-person environment. That change is so fundamental that they had to transform the discrete elements and overall tone of the earlier games rather than adapt them. Miraculously, the spirit is absolutely maintained.

Everything dies, baby, that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies someday comes back.

Much like Zero Mission, it's a far more action-packed game than the original. It still has remnants of the eerie world, but it takes far more inspiration from Super Metroid and it's successors. That leads to a very fun, and very cool fan game.

This game gets a bad rap, but it really is a solid entry. It's far more linear, yes, but it's plenty of fun. Feels a lot more like Metroid 2, in that respect, actually. It's cool to have a Metroid set entirely on a spaceship, rather than an alien world. It also does horror really, really well.

A very fun game that is actually a very bad remake. While the original is a dreamy, spooky exploration of the depths, Zero Mission is a fast, flashy cruise. It's a blast, but it's not from the past.

Sure, it's aged poorly, it's punishing in a pretty unsatisfying way, and I'm not sure I "like" it, but there's something fascinating about the inscrutable labyrinth of the original game. The feeling of being truly LOST on an alien planet is conveyed best in the series debut.

Often forgotten, Metroid 2 is actually more influential than people give it credit for, and much better than many probably remember. A much more linear experience, it's dense new ideas and atmosphere.

This is a pretty weird entry in the series. It's structured more like a traditional action shooter a lot of the time. It's by no means bad, and the action can be dope, but it's a very different and weaker beast.

This game actually owns bones, but it's lower on the list because it's more of a spin-off than a proper Metroid entry.

Everyone forgets this game exists, but not me. I never do.