super nintendo chronological essay

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Super Metroid

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Super Metroid

Smetroidbox.jpg

North American boxart.

Developer(s) Nintendo R&D1

Intelligent Systems

Publisher(s) Nintendo

Director(s) Yoshio Sakamoto

Designer(s) Makoto Kano

Artist(s) Hirofumi Matsuoka

Masahiko Mashimo

Hiroyuki KimuraToru Osawa

Writer(s) Yoshio Sakamoto[1]

Composer(s) Kenji Yamamoto

Minako Hamano

Series Metroid

Platform(s) SNES, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U)

Release date(s) SNES

JP March 19, 1994

NA April 18, 1994PAL July 28, 1994

Virtual Console

Wii

NA August 20, 2007

JP September 20, 2007

PAL October 12, 2007

KO April 26, 2008

Wii U

WW May 15, 2013[2]

Genre(s) Action-adventure

Platform-adventure


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Mode(s) Single-player

Super Metroid (Sp Metoroido?) is an action-adventure sc i-fi

video game and the third game in the Metroid series; the introduction

alternatively refers to the game as Metroid 3. It was designed by Nintendo

Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published

by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console.

The game was released in Japan on March 19, 1994, in North America on Apr il 18,

1994, and in Europe and Australia on July 28, 1994. It became available as a

Virtual Console title for the Wii console in 2007, and for the Wii U in 2013.

Super Metroid was directed and writ ten by Yoshio Sakamoto, and produced by

Makoto Kano with Gunpei Yokoi serving as general manager. The game's story

follows bounty hunter Samus Aran as she attempts to retrieve a stolen Metroid

from the Space Pirates.

Due to i ts detailed and colorfu l graphics, cinematic elements and progressive,

dist inctive gameplay the game received universal acclaim, being considered

today as one of the greatest v ideo games of all time and earning an aggregated

score of 96 percent from Game Rankings, making i t the website's ninth highest-

rated game. Electronic Gaming Monthly named i t the Game of the Month for May

1994, gave it an Editor's Choice Award, awarded it as the Best Act ion Game of

1994, and named it the Best Game of All Time in 2003. In 2007, IGN ranked Super

Metroid seventh in i ts l ist o f Top 100 Games of All Time. Despite a highly posit ive

critical reaction, the game sold poorly in Japan, but fared better in North America

and Europe. Nevertheless, due to the game's cr itical success, Nintendo p laced i t

on their Player's Choice marketing label.

Contents

1 Gameplay

2 Plot

3 Development

3.1 Release

4 Reception

4.1 Awards and accolades

5 References

6 External l inks

Gameplay


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A person in a powered exoskeleton uses a grappling beam to swing across.

Samus uses a grapple beam to reach inaccessible areas in Norfair. The figures

and icons on the top of the screen indicate her energy, stock of weapons and a

gridded mini-map of her current location.

See also: Gameplay of the Metroid series

Super Metroid is an action-platform game[3] which primarily takes place on the

fict ional planet Zebes, which is a large, open-ended wor ld with areas connected

by doors and elevators.[4] The player contro ls Samus Aran as she searches the

planet for a Metro id that was stolen by Ridley, the leader of the Space Pirates.[5]

Along the way, the player col lects power-ups that enhance Samus' armor and

weaponry, as well as grant her special abilities such as the Space Jump, which

allows her to jump infinite times to cover great distances. These abilities allow

Samus to access areas that were previously inaccessible.[6]

The game introduces several new concepts to the series. Among them are the

ability to enable and disable weapons and abilities in an inventory screen,[7] and

a Moon Walk ability, named after the popular dance move of the same name,

which allows Samus to walk backwards while firing or charging her weapon.[8]

The game also features the ability to combine Samus' weapon beams.[9] In

addition, the save system from Metroid II: Return of Samus returns in Super

Metroid, which allows the player to save and restart the game at any o f the save

poin ts scattered around the planet, instead of the original title's complex and

reverse engineerable password system.[10] The player can also save the game at

Samus' gunship, which fully recharges her health and ammunition as well.[11]Plot

Metroid series

fictional chronology

Metroid (Zero Mission)

Metroid Prime

Hunters

Echoes

Corruption

Return of Samus

Super Metroid

Other M

Fusion


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Chronologically, Super Metroid takes place immediately after the events of

Metroid II: Return of Samus, and begins w ith a narrative by bounty hunter Samus

Aran. Samus describes how a Metro id larva hatched from an egg and immediately

impr inted upon her, believing her to be its mother. She brought the larva to Ceres

Space Colony, where scientists learned that they could harness its power. Just

after she left the colony, she received a distress call and returned to find the

scientists dead and the larva stolen. The game begins as she follows the leader of

the Space Pirates, Ridley, to the planet Zebes, where she searches for the stolen

larva in a network of caves.[5][12]

Along the way, Samus defeats four of the Space Pirate bosses, including Ridley,

and arrives in Tourian, the heart of the Space Pirate base. There, she encounters

the Metroid larva, which has now grown to an enormous size. It attacks Samus

and nearly drains all of her energy before it realizes who she is , and then departs.

Samus recharges her energy and confronts Mother Brain, the biomechanicalcreature that controls the base's systems. Mother Brain nearly ki lls Samus, but is

then attacked by the Metroid larva, which drains it of its energy and transfers it

back to Samus. Mother Brain recovers and destroys the Metroid in retaliation, but

is in turn destroyed by Samus with an extremely powerful weapon created from

the energy given to her by the Metroid. Afterward, a planet-wide self-destruct

sequence begins, which Samus narrowly escapes.[12]

Development

Super Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1[13] with a staff of 15 people

managed by Gunpei Yokoi. The game was directed and wri tten by YoshioSakamoto, and produced by Makoto Kano, with music composed by Kenji

Yamamoto and Minako Hamano.[1][14][15][16] The game, which was released

almost a decade after the original Metroid game, took half a year to gain approval

for the initial idea, and actual development of the game took two more years to

complete. When asked why the game took so long to make, Sakamoto responded,

"We wanted to wait until a true action game was needed. [...] And also to set the

stage for the reappearance of Samus Aran." The music uses 16-bit versions o f

music from previous games, and previously visited areas reappear. Previously

seen areas were added to Super Metroid to add a sense of familiarity that would

satisfy players of previous Metroid games.[14]

The developers' primary goal was to make the game a "good action game". They

wanted the game to have a large map, but found i t dif ficu lt to organize the amount

of graphic data involved. Coming up with several ideas, the developers decided

to break the game up in to many mini-adventures. New weapons are introduced to


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the Metroid series in Super Metroid, including the Grapple Beam, used to latch a

laser beam onto the ceiling. The game is the first in the series to let Samus f ire in

all directions while moving,[14] and it i s among the first open world games to

offer the player a mapping facili ty. The feature shows the outlines of rooms,

locations of important rooms, and dots for special items.[13] Shortly before the

game's release, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulating

organization, was formed in response to the increasing violence found in games

such as 1992's Mortal Kombat.[17] When asked whether he thought that recent

game violence controversy would cause any negative backlash for Super Metroid ,

Sakamoto stated, "We don't think there's too much v iolence in the game." Using

Samus as an example, he explained that her purpose is to maintain peace in the

galaxy, claiming, "It's not violence for the sake of vio lence." [14]

The game was demonstrated at the Winter 1994 Consumer Electronics Show, and

was named the best SNES game at the show by GamePro.[18]Release

Super Metroid was released by Nintendo in Japan on March 19, 1994, in North

America on Apr il 18, 1994, and in Europe on July 28, 1994.[19] It became available

for download over the Nintendo Power flash memory cartridge in Japan on

September 30, 1997.[19] It was later released as a Virtual Console ti tle for the Wii

in North America on August 20, 2007, in Japan on September 20, 2007, and in

Europe on October 12, 2007.[19] In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Metroid is

also one of the trial games available in the "Masterpieces" section, which uses

Virtual Console technology to emulate older hardware and have timeconstraints.[20] Super Metroid w as released for a Wii U's Virtual Console on May

15, 2013.[21] It was available during the Wii U Virtual Console trial campaign for a

cheaper price, and it was reverted to its regular price on June 13, 2013.[2] Users

who own the Wii Virtual Console version of the game will be able to get the Wii U

Virtual Console version for a reduced price.[22]

Reception

[hide]Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator Score

GameRankings 95.50%[3]

Review scores

Publication Score

Electronic Gaming Monthly 9 of 10[23]

GameSpot 8.5 of 10[24]

IGN 9.5 of 10[25]


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Nintendo Power 4.425[26]

Game Players 97%[27]

Super Play 92%[28]

Super Metroid was met with widespread cri tical acclaim, receiving an aggregated

score of 95.50% percent from Game Rankings, making it the website's 7th

highest-rated game.[3] When the game launched in Japan, GamesRadar's Andy

Robinson noted that it was released "at the wrong place, at the wrong time".

Struggling against more commercially popular games, such as Donkey Kong

Country in 1994, along with the launch o f the PlayStation and Sega Saturn video

game consoles, Super Metroid sold poorly in Japan.[15] With the help of strong

marketing from Nintendo, Super Metroid sold better in North America and

Europe,[15] and a year after its release, Nintendo placed it on their Player's

Choice marketing label due to its criti cal success.[29] However, since none of the

games in the Metroid series up to that point had enjoyed the level of success thatthe Mario and The Legend of Zelda franchises had, Nintendo did not make

another Metroid game until eight years later, wi th the release of Metroid Prime

(GameCube) and Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance) in 2002.[15]

Chris Slate of the Game Players video game magazine thoroughly enjoyed Super

Metroid, claiming that it " easily l ives up to everyone's high expectations" . He was

satisfied with how Nintendo mixed complex gameplay with " state-of-the-art"

graphics and sound. Slate found the newly added auto-mapping feature

something that players really needed, saying that it was the only feature in Super

Metroid that the original Metroid should have had. Concluding his review, Slatestated, "Action fans can't afford to miss Super Metroid. [...] You'll want to play

through again and again even after you've beaten it ."[27] Nintendo Power

mentioned that the game "may well be the best action adventure game ever",

calling i t the "wave of the future". They praised the game's graphics, sound, and

controls, whi le their only negative comment was, "Even 100 megabits of Metroid

wouldn't be enough." [26] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave Super Metroid their

"Game of the Month" award, comparing it favorably to the original Metroid and

applauding the graphics, the many weapons and items available, and the

music.[23] GamePro crit icized that the contro ls are often awkward or difficult and

that many of the power-ups are either li fted from other SNES games or simple

upgrades of other power-ups in the game, but praised the game's massive size

along with the auto-mapping feature, saying it "makes a potentially frustrating

game accessible to a far wider audience."[30] GamesRadar was pleased with the

game's "phenomenal" soundtrack, complimenting it as "one of the best

videogame scores of all time".[15]


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The former British video game publication Super Play, which had three editors

review the game, also enjoyed i t. The magazine's Zy Nicholson noted that the

game was better than his favorite game, Mega Man X, describing Super Metroid

as "more of an experience than a game". Comparing the game to the 1986 film

Aliens, Nicholson felt that the game was best experienced w hen played in the

dark with the volume turned up. He found the game so compulsive that he was

tempted to play "without eating or sleeping" . The publication's Tony Mott named

the game's atmosphere its best aspect, calling the game a mix of Turrican (1990),

Aliens, Exile (1989), and Nodes of Yesod (1985). Appreciating the game's

controls, Mott applauded Nintendo's ability to create a refined gameplay. He

concluded his review by calling Super Metroid "undoubtedly the best game I've

played this year so far" , predicting that anyone who plays the game would be

"playing a game destined for classic status" . The third reviewer, James Leach,

agreed with Nicholson and Mott that Super Metroid was what Mega Man X shouldhave been. Concluding his review, Leach wrote that Super Metroid contained

everyth ing he looked for in a video game: "playability, hidden tricks, powerful

weapons and steamingly evil baddies" . After summarizing the reviews, the

magazine's verdict was, "We all love this game. Super Metroid is absolutely

marvelous and you should own it."[28]

IGN called Super Metroid's Virtual Console version a "must-own", commenting

that although the game was released nine months after the Wii launched, they felt

that it was worth the wait. For players who have never played Super Metroid, IGN

claims that they owe themselves as gamers to " finally f ind out about what you'vebeen missing all these years".[25] In his review for GameSpot, Frank Provo found

it " absolutely astonishing that Nintendo let 13 years go by before making Super

Metroid readily available again" , but considered the most important th ing was

that players " can now play this masterpiece wi thout having to track down the

orig inal Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge or fumble with legally

questionable emulators" . Despite admit ting that the Virtual Console version was

essentially "noth ing more than a no-fril ls, emulated version of a 13-year-old SNES

game" that was no longer cutt ing-edge, he was still pleased with i t and reiterated

his belief that Super Metroid is " one of the best 2D action adventure games ever

produced".[24]

Super Metroid has had a lasting effect on the video game industry. Starting with

1997's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the Castlevania series of video

games borrows the backtracking and weapon upgrading elements from Super

Metroid, leading to the term "Metroidvania".[31] Because Super Metroid gave


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players awards based on how long i t took them to complete the game, it has

become a popular choice for speedruns, a style of p lay in which the player

intends to complete the game as quickly as possible for the purpose of

competition.[32]

Awards and accolades

Super Metroid received several awards and honors. Electronic Gaming Month ly

named it Game of the Month for May 1994, gave it an Editors' Choice award,[23]

awarded it as the Best Act ion Game of 1994,[33] and named it the Best Game of

All Time in 2003.[34] In IGN's yearly Top 100 Games of All Time l is ts, Super

Metroid was ranked 3rd (2003),[35] 10th (2005),[36] 4th (2006),[37] and 7th

(2007).[38] GamePro l isted Super Metroid as one of the 15 Retro Games for the

Wii You Must Play.[39] Super Metroid was placed 1st on GamesRadar's list of the

Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time, beating out Chrono Trigger (2nd) and

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (3rd).[40] Super Metroid was also namedthe best Super Nintendo game of all time by ScrewAttack, beating out The Legend

of Zelda: A Link to the Past (2nd) and Final Fantasy VI (3rd).[41] Classic Game

Room's CGR Undertow series named Super Metroid the best Super NES game of

all time as well, beating out The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (2nd) and

Super Mario World (3rd).[42] Nintendo Power named Super Metro id the best game

in the Metroid series, beating out Metroid Prime (2nd) and Metroid: Zero Mission

(3rd).[43]

References

"

" .

(in

Japanese). Ape, Inc.; Nintendo Co., Ltd. pp. 9095. ISBN 4-09-102474-2.

Green, Andy (2013-01-26). "Nintendo Reveals Specific Dates For Wii U Virtual

Console Trial Campaign" . Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2013-02-03.

"Super Metroid - SNES". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

Super Metroid instruction booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc. Apri l 18, 1994. pp.

1819. SNS-RI-USA.


25. SNS-RI-USA.


2025. SNS-RI-USA.

Super Metroid instruction booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc. Apri l 18, 1994. p.

14. SNS-RI-USA.


11. SNS-RI-USA.


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Super Metroid instruction booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc. April 18, 1994. p.

23. SNS-RI-USA.


16. SNS-RI-USA.


18. SNS-RI-USA.

The Metro id Retrospective Video Game, Part 2 (Flash video). GameTrailers.

2007-06-06. Retrieved 2012-12-06.

Harris, John (2007-09-26). "Game Design Essentials: 20 Open World Games" .

Gamasutra. Retrieved 2009-01-09.

"Everything you always wanted to know about Samus" . Game Players 7 (5): 18

20. May 1994.

Robinson, Andy (2007-10-23). "The History of Metroid" . GamesRadar. Retrieved

2011-03-19.

Aversa, Ji ll ian (2007-10-23). "Game music of the day: Super Metroid" .GamesRadar. Retr ieved 2011-03-19.

"A History of Video Game Controversy" . GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

"CES Showstoppers". GamePro (57) (IDG). April 1994. pp. 7481.

"Super Metroid release data" . GameFAQs. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2014-05-

19.

Sakurai, Masahiro (2008-01-25). "Masterpieces" . Smash Bros. Dojo!!. Retrieved

2013-04-17.

"Wii U Virtual Console: Super Metroid" . Nintendo of America. Retrieved 2014-

05-19.

Goldfarb, Andrew (2013-01-23). "Wii U Virtual Console, OS UpgradesAnnounced". IGN. Retrieved 2013-01-23.

"Review Crew: Super Metroid". Electronic Gaming Monthly (60) (EGM Media,

LLC). July 1994. p. 28.

Provo, Frank (2007-08-27). "Super Metroid Review" . GameSpot. Arch ived f rom

the original on 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2009-02-15.

Thomas, Lucas M. (2007-08-20). "Super Metroid Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-

02-15.

"Super Metroid" . Nintendo Power (60): 102. May 1994.

"Everything you always wanted to know about Samus". Game Players 7 (5): 30.

May 1994.

"Super Metroid" . Super Play (20): 3738. June 1994.

Rodriguez, Steven (2007-08-21). "Virtual Console Recommendations: Virtual

Console Mondays: August 20, 2007" . Nintendo World Report . Retrieved 2009-01-

05.

"ProReview: Super Metroid". GamePro (59) (IDG). June 1994. p. 56-57.


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Parish, Jeremy (2005-10-03). "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Nintendo DS)".

1UP. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

Totilo, Stephen (2005-06-14). "For Some Gamers, Merely Finishing A Game Isn't

Enough". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

"Buyer's Guide". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 1995.

"Top 100 Games of All Time" . Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2003. Archived from

the original on 2003-06-11. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

" IGN's Top 100 Games of Al l Time" . IGN. 2003. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

" IGN's Top 100 Games" . IGN. 2005. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

"The Top 100 Games Ever" . IGN. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

"IGN Top 100 Games 2007". IGN. 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

Mike, Major (2006-07-11). "15 Retro Games for the Wii You Must Play".

GamePro. Archived from the original on 2008-10-16. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

GamesRadar staff (2012-04-17). "Best Super Nintendo games of all time".

GamesRadar. Retr ieved 2013-01-16.Craig Skistimas (2011-08-15). "Top 20 SNES Games" . ScrewAttack. Retrieved

2013-01-31.

Classic Game Room's Derek and Kevin (September 10, 2011). "CGRundertow

Top 20 SNES Games Part Four". Classic Game Room. Retrieved February 5, 2013.

Nintendo Power staff (October 2010). "Ultimate Metroid". Nintendo Power 259:

73.

External links

Official Nintendo Japan Super Metroid website (Japanese)Super Metroid at MobyGames

Super Metroid at GameFAQs

Super Metro id at Metro id Database

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