Loved Metroid since Prime's release but somehow didn't get around to Super until 2021. Was astonished by how well it holds up, even for a new player today. Untouchable masterclass in game design.
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Super Metroid turns 30 years old today. What are your fondest memories of the game?
- Thread starter ReyVGM
- Start date
I was well into adulthood by the time I played this, and I still thought it was a masterpiece. Like I had played indies and things that I knew were metroid-like, but there was this definite moment of revelation when playing. This is the blueprint. No wonder people became obsessed.
I still remember getting paranoid walking by Crocomire's bones, specially since they seemed to move slightly when walking by (might have just been part of my imagination though )
Super Metroid is probably one of my earliest gaming memories. I was maybe 5 years old and my family went over to a friends house down the street and while the grown ups were talking they let me play their SNES and Super Metroid was in the console and I remember starting at the ship and being absolutely TERRIFIED to leave the zone lol. A good 5 years later I'd come back to it and beat it. 10/10 game.
Best memory from my first playthrough: blowing up the glass
Worst memory from my first playthrough: getting "stuck" in Brinstar because I was too dumb to consistently pull off the wall jump, a move I have hated ever since and avoid using.
Worst memory from my first playthrough: getting "stuck" in Brinstar because I was too dumb to consistently pull off the wall jump, a move I have hated ever since and avoid using.
My main memory of the game is that the map isn't good enough. I got kind of far, and had a bunch of stuff I was trying to remember. Then I didn't play it for a week or two, didn't remember all the places that I needed to go back to, and just never bothered continuing
I remember my older brother bringing the game home that year and watching him play. The atmosphere freaked me out so much when you first visit Zebes and everything is just quiet, nothing going on. Then taking the elevator down even further in the dark, getting the morph ball and everything. Got super scared when you go back up the elevator and space pirates are everywhere and the music kicks in. It really reminded me of Aliens at the time. I was sort of afraid to play it on my own for awhile because it creeped me out. A lot of the ambient sound effects were really well done.
This game had been out for about a year when I biked to our local video store and rented it for the weekend. I was 12 and we had moved from the farm to town, but our new house wasn't ready, so I played in the comfort of a Winnebago camper van parked on our driveway. Absolutely magical experience; I knew bits and pieces (like the glass tunnel explosion) but I got to relax and dig in at my own pace. When I completed it for the first time I was incredibly proud, and told everyone who'd listen.
All these years later and I still complete it at least once annually. It's my favourite game of all time.
(I'd also welcome an attempt at a remake! I think my favorite remakes remind me of how it felt to play the game for the first time, and I'd be fine if someday someone took a stab at it.)
All these years later and I still complete it at least once annually. It's my favourite game of all time.
(I'd also welcome an attempt at a remake! I think my favorite remakes remind me of how it felt to play the game for the first time, and I'd be fine if someday someone took a stab at it.)
So glad to see this game getting love, especially from people that discovered it later on.
One of my fondest memories is hiding behind the couch when I was 4 watching my bro play this game. He was about 15 years older than and was fighting crocomire. He almost had him over the edge but was quickly running out of ammo. At one point he picked up a super missile and didn't realize it. I yelled out "super missile!!!!", which allowed him to finish him off once and for all. I felt like I really helped him defeat crocomire
The game always had a special place in my heart but I never really played it around launch. It was a bit too intimidating for me at 4 years old. I finally played it myself when I was about 12/13 via emulator. It set and still maintains the bar for what I consider to be a great game to this day. One of the all time GOATs. Perfect blend of everything I love about gaming.
One of my fondest memories is hiding behind the couch when I was 4 watching my bro play this game. He was about 15 years older than and was fighting crocomire. He almost had him over the edge but was quickly running out of ammo. At one point he picked up a super missile and didn't realize it. I yelled out "super missile!!!!", which allowed him to finish him off once and for all. I felt like I really helped him defeat crocomire
The game always had a special place in my heart but I never really played it around launch. It was a bit too intimidating for me at 4 years old. I finally played it myself when I was about 12/13 via emulator. It set and still maintains the bar for what I consider to be a great game to this day. One of the all time GOATs. Perfect blend of everything I love about gaming.
I'll never forget the first time I completed it, it was around summer time and I had to be 6-7 a year or two after the game had come out. I got to lower norfair, went out to dinner with my grandma at a really fancy restaurant, came home and blasted through lower norfair, ridley, tourian, and mother brain in one sitting. This single memory is probably the whole reason why I love the game and have such a strong fondness for it. It's the game I've played the most, completed the most times, and would be the only game I need for the rest of time. Easily my goat, my perfect game.
I played it after Metroid Prime was announced, because I had never the opportunity to play any Metroid game, and I was curious what all the fuzz was about. Back then people were pretty mad about Prime being a FPS, if I've learned anything is that people are always mad at Nintendo for something lol
The game blew my mind, I was so glad I didn't use a guide, everything was awesome and I instantly fell in love with the whole series. Without the nostalgia I could see Prime working as a FPS, but people were pretty upset back then. Metroid Prime ending up being awesome wasn't that shocking to me of course.
The game blew my mind, I was so glad I didn't use a guide, everything was awesome and I instantly fell in love with the whole series. Without the nostalgia I could see Prime working as a FPS, but people were pretty upset back then. Metroid Prime ending up being awesome wasn't that shocking to me of course.
My first memory is seeing my cousin playing it around 1994-1995. It took me years to really get into Super Metroid myself, although I did eventually play through Super Metroid. It is my favourite in the series, and I count it among the top three essential Super Nintendo games (along with Super Mario World and Zelda: A Link to the Past), even though there are maybe ten or so SNES games I like more than Super Metroid. It's an incredibly well designed game.
The level of detailed control the game gives you. Nothing has come remotely close to it. I loved the game before, but learning speed tech made me appreciate how much quality went into the fundamental design of how the world operates and how Samus moves.
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The only thing that comes close to Super Metroid is ... Metroid Dread. It's like magic.
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The only thing that comes close to Super Metroid is ... Metroid Dread. It's like magic.
Learning there was a run button from the level design. And then finding out shipwreck leads back to the surface. Knowing this level design existed back in mid 90s blew my mind in 2010s. Only Metroidvania games I played before this were Prime Trilogy and I think Guacamelee and Steam Dig World 1 which were great games too. But after getting back to the surface after spending hours underneath made me really appreciate how tight the world is in Super even after playing a few modern metroidvania games.
Compared to playing Symphony of the Night in 2020s for the first time after Hollow Knight, Symphony's world map definitely feels more dated than Super. Which maybe unfair since Super map design is essentially a timeless classic now.
Now that I think about it Symphony's level design feels like an inspiration to Souls with their sometime confusing paths.
Compared to playing Symphony of the Night in 2020s for the first time after Hollow Knight, Symphony's world map definitely feels more dated than Super. Which maybe unfair since Super map design is essentially a timeless classic now.
Now that I think about it Symphony's level design feels like an inspiration to Souls with their sometime confusing paths.
I remember seeing the demo that plays if you leave the main menu idle for a bit and it shows Samus recharging her health in some energy ball (Crystal Flash), my friends and I were determined to find out how to do it. Such a cool little hidden thing.
Super Metroid stands in a really weird spot for me honestly. I only played it once like 5-8 years ago and never again. Still I think it is a top10 of all times for me. I remember vividly how I once just decided to play metroid games and then played Zero:Mission on my iphone 6+ (and beat it).
Decided to play Super metroid after that, because Samus Returns wasn't out yet.
Boot up the game and suddenly in my Head I saw an image where like me beeing a little kid, sitting in my room, everything dark and sitting in front on my crt tv and playing this game. Which is incredibly weird, because I only had a playstation as a kid and am too young for a snes. No other game to this day had me felt like this.
Also one of the best title screens of all time.
Decided to play Super metroid after that, because Samus Returns wasn't out yet.
Boot up the game and suddenly in my Head I saw an image where like me beeing a little kid, sitting in my room, everything dark and sitting in front on my crt tv and playing this game. Which is incredibly weird, because I only had a playstation as a kid and am too young for a snes. No other game to this day had me felt like this.
Also one of the best title screens of all time.
I first fully played through the game on my friend's borrowed Wii. She was moving, so I stayed up very late into the night to finish the game before returning the Wii the next day. It was probably 2 in the morning when I beat Mother Brain and escaped the planet. There was something really satisfying about playing the game into the early hours of the morning, knowing I was on a pretty strict timeline.
I was an early teenager when I played this back in the 90s. I want to say around the summer of 95. I was at the mall with my mom and we stopped at Babbages. For whatever reason she was extra generous and said I could get a game that day. This was a surprise since it wasn't a birthday or Christmas or anything. Of course I wasn't going to pass that offer up. I was a teen boy in the early to mid-90s so I was all up in the Mortal Kombat-esque, more gore is better mindset and so looking at the row of SNES games, I didn't see anything that I really wanted or didn't have already. My mom was getting impatient and said we needed to leave, so I made a hasty decision seeing Super Metroid and saying to myself "I recognize that word" (though never having played the original nor Metroid 2 at that point) and grabbing a copy.
I remember poking around a bit, not really getting the game. I remember feeling like I needed to "complete" a level before moving on, and feeling like I was stuck or I did something wrong when I went from Brinstar to say Norfair and feeling like I was out of place.
The game really connected with me after a few instances; one was after finding the charge beam, and just being on a "I'm going to bomb everything" and finding the passage beneath. That sense of discovery was just awesome. The second was with the Dachora, and learning how to shine spark. I got pissed and almost reset the game when I fell down the pit, but then once I figured out what the game was trying to show me, I was in.
The game is in a really special place for me. Completing it took me probably most of that summer, but it was by far the most accomplished and fulfilled I had ever felt playing a game up to that point.
I remember poking around a bit, not really getting the game. I remember feeling like I needed to "complete" a level before moving on, and feeling like I was stuck or I did something wrong when I went from Brinstar to say Norfair and feeling like I was out of place.
The game really connected with me after a few instances; one was after finding the charge beam, and just being on a "I'm going to bomb everything" and finding the passage beneath. That sense of discovery was just awesome. The second was with the Dachora, and learning how to shine spark. I got pissed and almost reset the game when I fell down the pit, but then once I figured out what the game was trying to show me, I was in.
The game is in a really special place for me. Completing it took me probably most of that summer, but it was by far the most accomplished and fulfilled I had ever felt playing a game up to that point.
Loved it then, love it now. My only complaint is how difficult it is to wall jump. I realize it's not necessary to beat the game, but if it's going to be included as part of Samus' moveset, at least make it simple enough to perform.
Thanks for posting these. Always interesting to see what people were saying back then.Loved this game then, and now. Incredible.
EGM and GamePro reviews
Game Players magazine interview and review:
"You'll want to play through it again and again even after you've beaten it" No lies detected.
Same! Dozens of hours.Almost perfect game, but for some tech hiccups and floatiness. Oh, and this part:
I spent hours trying to advance the game before I figured out what you had to do.
I rented this game back when grocery stores did video game rentals. I kept replaying it and not returning the game for so long, that they eventually told me they would waive all late fees if I just brought that game back that day. I had my mom drive me to the store and that's how I got a 30ish day super Metroid rental for the cost of a 3 day rental.
Honestly Metroidvanias should be called Metroid-likes unless they're actual Castlevania games.Super Metroid's real legacy:
Same here, I really enjoy reading what was printed back then.
Here's EDGE magazine's review:
My favorite part was when Samus shot that one alien, and then took off her helmet and said, "I'm the METROID now."
The whole ending segment still hits me deep.
It's sprites but this was so cool and moving and scary.
View: https://youtu.be/tVUYyVfydqY
This song is so 90s in the best of ways. What a mood.
This is still such a great title and intro sequence. It really sets up such a spooky vibe, the alien noises, and the musical cues as it "types up" "M E T R O I D 3".
View: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7zxkkMJ96D/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I drew this a few years back but I still like it (I love this game a lot if ya cant tell)
Just wanted to say how stunning your art is, thank you for sharing!
Don't have much to add to the thread. I actually came to Super Metroid after Prime had hit. Incredible game, but one that would have definitely hit different had I played it when I was still in single digits.
Super Metroid's real legacy:
I have never heard of The Mummy and Aliens infestation, are there any good? they seem like a weird choice to put on the meme... specially with other more popular titles like Shadow Complex or Cave Story...
Me too! I think I played in in 2007 when it was released alongside or before Metroid Prime 3. I think the game was about 15 years old then, but my word did it hold up. Absolutely stunning, from start to end.
OP
OP
The Mummy and Aliens Infestation are both from WayForward and are fantastic.
The Mummy is on modern consoles, but Aliens is stuck on the DS.
My favorite part in the game is when you are in final area of the game and you see all of the Space Pirate corpses and the Giant Metroid comes out of nowhere and starts to drain you. It was one my most terrifying moments in gaming in the sense you were completely powerless and could do nothing.
Also beating the Mother Brain pod and thinking that was the end of the fight and then it's full body just rises from the ground with that music. It was just a hype moment for me. I never read anything about the game. My first experience was a blind playthrough, so all of these moments were completely fresh with no outside interference, no guide book, no internet. It was truly awesome and because of that Super Metroid remains as one of my favorite games on the SNES.
Also beating the Mother Brain pod and thinking that was the end of the fight and then it's full body just rises from the ground with that music. It was just a hype moment for me. I never read anything about the game. My first experience was a blind playthrough, so all of these moments were completely fresh with no outside interference, no guide book, no internet. It was truly awesome and because of that Super Metroid remains as one of my favorite games on the SNES.
yeah I was going to post this, one of my fondest gaming memories as a kid.
You're me. These 2 are neck to neck in my favorite game ever, but as of now, Super Metroid is the GOAT for me.
The sense of discovery was like nothing I have ever experienced since. So much to learn and discover in a game with barely any text. Every time I found my way to a new area, it was pure magic.
I remember getting stuck for hours, which isn't very fun. But, that feeling of finally figuring out what the fuck you are supposed to be doing is so satisfying.
I remember getting stuck for hours, which isn't very fun. But, that feeling of finally figuring out what the fuck you are supposed to be doing is so satisfying.
The first time I ever saw an emulator in action was my friend playing Super Metroid on his computer. I was just completely blown away that we could do that. I never had a SNES and it changed everything. The game itself is amazing and I still prefer 2D Metroid to 3D.