(Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the September 2003 Pirate Issue of GameCola, back when GameCola was published in a monthly online magazine format.)
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
Before Tallon IV…
Before Phazon mutated the lands…
Before the evil Empire…wait! What am I talking about?!?
Stormtroopers Space Pirates ravaged the universe…
There was only one who could stand in their way…
His name…
Samus Aran.
Hey wait a minute! Samus is a girl! You didn’t know that? You better play some of the older Metroids, and get a clue before someone knows your little naive ignorant ass out cold.
Okay, so the Space Pirate/GameCola Pirate Issue connection is kind of weak, but let’s face it…Super Metroid rocks, and the word “pirate” is in it, so…bite me. Anyway, the game pits you against the infamous Mother Brain and her legion of Space Pirate warriors. The basic back-story is that you, Samus Aran, having recently returned from a mission on SR388, have entrusted the last remaining Metroid to the hands of a scientific research station. Shortly after departing the station, a distress beacon is set off and you return to the station to investigate. Ridley, the dragon-like Space Pirate leader, has stolen the Metroid and set the station for self-destruct. A short battle and a timed escape find you following Ridley down to Planet Zebes, and to the start of a grand adventure.
Super Metroid throws you into a basic side-scrolling adventure, not too unlike Mega Man. You have your basic left, right, up, down maneuvering capabilities, one of your arms is a sweet beam-cannon-
type-thing, and you reside in a stylish suit of metal power armor. Forget all that, Metroid is WAY cooler. Throughout the course of your adventure you will find missiles, power bombs, and a variety of different beam weapons to suit your needs. Besides the small armory at your disposal, you also find power-ups capable of turning you into a small ball, a grappling beam, upgrades to your power suit, and a visor upgrade that lets you see through walls and hidden passages.
The game is fairly non-linear, as you have the freedom to go anywhere you please, provided you have the means of getting there. In other words, in order to reach that platform, you need the High-Jump Boots. To open this door, you need to have acquired the Power Bomb. This gives you an idea of what you need in order to progress on your quest. Collecting the power-ups and battling myriad alien creatures that stand in your path provide for some very entertaining…entertainment. The entire game can be completed in less than three hours, which would give you the so-called “best” ending (a picture of a skimpily clad Samus), but can be played through a couple times and still be enjoyable.
The audio and visual aspects of the game aren’t nearly as good as say, Metroid Prime. Then again, you are comparing Super Nintendo to GameCube—not a fair fight. The music does add to the atmosphere of the game. I can remember the music and sound effects in the crashed spaceship being very creepy and scary for a young gamer such as myself. The visuals in the game are so-so. There are some interesting beam graphics, and such things for weapons. The best-looking graphics are the bosses. These, along with the final battle with Mother Brain, show off the power of the Super Nintendo. By today’s standards it isn’t much, but whatever. It’s still a good game. I don’t care what you say.
