Super Metroid


 * This article is about the game. For the article about the Nintendo Power comic series, see Super Metroid (Nintendo Power Comic Series). For the manga, see Super Metroid (manga). For the mutated Metroid, see Super Metroid(Species).

Super Metroid (スーパーメトロイド, Sūpā Metoroido) was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo for the SNES in 1994. Super Metroid is the third installment in the Metroid series. With its 24-megabit cartridge size, it was the largest game available for the console at the time of its release. Like most 2D Metroid games, the world has a non-linear design and features many hidden areas, making exploration a central concept of the game. It is considered one of the greatest games in the video game industry and one of the most popular games in the Metroid series. Super Metroid was released on the Wii's Virtual Console on August 20, 2007.

Plot
After exterminating the Metroids on SR388 in Metroid II: Return of Samus, Samus Aran brings the infant Metroid to the Ceres Space Colony. There, scientists conduct research on the Metroid and learn that the powers of Metroids could be harnessed for the benefit of mankind. Leaving the Metroid in their care, Samus leaves Ceres in search of a new bounty to hunt. However, shortly after leaving, Samus picks up a distress call from Ceres and returns to investigate. As Samus explores the space colony, she finds the power is out and eventually finds bodies lying about the room that contained the Metroid. She continues investigating and meets Ridley once again — holding the container with the Metroid inside in his claws. Samus and Ridley fight, though Ridley flies out of the station. At the same time, a countdown begins, showing Samus has 60 seconds before the station explodes. Samus quickly returns to her gunship and flies to the nearby Zebes in pursuit of Ridley.

The Space Pirate base that was destroyed in the first Metroid game has now been rebuilt. It should be noted that a whole section of Crateria, the first section of Zebes, looks like Tourian from the Metroid (dubbed Old Tourian), with Mother Brain's old control chamber. Samus sets out to locate the infant Metroid and prevent the Space Pirates from gaining use of its powers. As in the previous games, Samus is forced to delve into the planet through its many caverns to hunt down the Space Pirates. This time, however, Samus can only enter Tourian by destroying four bosses: Kraid, the giant lizard whose base makes up a large part of Brinstar; Phantoon, an entity that controls the destroyed Wrecked Ship and reroutes its power supply to Mother Brain; Draygon, a crustacean monster that occupies a submerged pirate lab in Maridia; and Ridley himself, who controls Norfair and his lair.

After defeating all four of the bosses, and finding Mochtroids, unsuccessful clones of Metroids, Samus battles her way through Tourian, encountering newly bred Metroids. After passing through several corridors filled with Metroids, she encounters a Metroid larger than the rest. Before she attack it, the giant Metroid drains 99.9% of her life force. However, it seems to recognize Samus; it appears that this huge Metroid is the infant taken from SR388. According to the Nintendo Power Player's Guide, the huge Metroid is named "Super Metroid".

After the Metroid departs, Samus recovers her energy and confronts Mother Brain. After Samus destroys the creature's stasis tank and inflicts enough damage, Mother Brain attaches itself to a giant mechanical body and the battle begins again. During the battle, Mother Brain uses a massive burst of energy from its eye, nearly destroying Samus. Samus finds herself unable to move while Mother Brain charges up to finish her off. Before the final blow can be inflicted, however, Super Metroid suddenly attacks Mother Brain, draining its energy until it appears dead. The Metroid then attaches itself to Samus and begins feeding its energy to her. However, Mother Brain soon recovers and begins firing upon the hatchling, weakening it until it lifts off of Samus. A final shot destroys the hatchling, leaving its remains to fall upon Samus. Pulsating with energy from Mother Brain, Samus now possesses the almighty Hyper Beam. With it, she easily destroys Mother Brain, who falls to the floor and turns to dust. This in turn triggers a self-destruct sequence, giving Samus three minutes to escape through the emergency evacuation shaft of the original base. Along the way, Samus rescues several Etecoons and a Dachora and makes it to her gunship just in time and takes off, watching the planet explode in a flash of light.

Gameplay
Super Metroid's gameplay is very similar to the other Metroid games in the series, though it is better known for its non-linearity. Due to this, Super Metroid is often used for speed runs.

Powerups/Suit upgrades
The use of weapons and other suit upgrades in Super Metroid is twofold: to defeat enemies and to overcome obstacles found in the environment.


 * Energy Tanks : Energy tanks can be collected throughout Zebes to increase Samus' maximum life total. There are also four reserve tanks, which hold up to 400 backup life points, to be used upon depletion of the main life energy.


 * Beams: Samus's arm cannon, like the rest of her Power Suit, is highly modular and upgradable. Her starting weapon is the Power Beam, which is relatively weak and useless against later enemies and most bosses. There are five upgrades, each of which increases the abilities of the Power Beam by combining with the previous upgrades:
 * Charge Beam: Acquired in Brinstar. This beam allows Samus to charge up a stronger than normal beam shot.
 * Ice Beam: Acquired in Norfair. The Ice Beam is capable of freezing enemies, allowing Samus to walk on them. This beam is necessary for defeating Metroids.
 * Wave Beam: Acquired in Norfair. The Wave Beam is capable of passing through walls.
 * Spazer Beam: Acquired in Brinstar. Shoots 3 parallel yellow needle shaped shots. Cannot be equipped at the same time as the Plasma Beam.
 * Plasma Beam: Acquired in Maridia. A green, needle shaped shot that can pass through enemies, capable of hitting multiple enemies at a time.
 * Hyper Beam: Acquired at the end of the game, during the fight with Mother Brain. It is the most powerful beam, though cannot be charged.


 * Suits : At the beginning of the game, Samus' Power Suit is yellow and offers no environmental protection. Each of the following suit modifications also reduce damage sustained by Samus.
 * Varia Suit: Acquired in Brinstar, this upgrade to the Power Suit allows Samus to withstand the extreme temperatures of Norfair and changes the suit to an orange color.
 * Gravity Suit: Acquired in the Wrecked Ship, this upgrade to the Power Suit allows Samus to run and jump in water like normal.


 * Miscellaneous :
 * Morph Ball: This powerup, acquired in Brinstar, makes its return from the original Metroid. It allows Samus to roll into a ball in order to go through small passageways and to deploy bombs.
 * Bombs: When in Morph Ball mode, Samus' Power Suit can deploy two types of bombs. Ordinary bombs are primarily used for destroying obstacles that block Samus's path. These bombs can be used to defeat enemies, but are usually not very effective for that purpose.
 * Spring Ball: Acquired in Maridia, this powerup allows Samus to jump while in Morph Ball mode.
 * Screw Attack: The Screw Attack is a jumping technique that transforms Samus's somersault jump into a whirling sawblade of energy.


 * Boots : These upgrades deal with Samus' running and jumping abilities.
 * High Jump Boots: Acquired in Norfair, these boots nearly double Samus' vertical leap.
 * Space Jump: Acquired in Maridia, these boots allow Samus to repeatedly somersault in mid-air.
 * Speed Booster: Acquired in Norfair, the Speed Booster allows Samus to accelerate to extremely high speeds while running.


 * Other items :
 * Missiles: Missles are used to open locked doors and to defeat enemies that are invulnerable to regular beams.
 * Super Missiles: Super Missiles are similar to ordinary missiles but carry three times the power against most enemies and five against Metroids. They are capable of opening doors that missiles cannot, and there are many enemies that cannot be destroyed with any other weapon in Samus's arsenal. The impact of a Super Missile can dislodge enemies crawling on walls and ceilings.
 * Power Bombs: Power bombs destroy all regular enemies and bomb-destructible obstacles on the screen. There are some blocks and doors that can only be cleared with Power Bombs.
 * X-Ray Scope: The X-Ray Scope, found in Brinstar, allows Samus to see hidden passageways and the weaknesses of blocks.
 * Grapple Beam: The Grappling Beam, acquired in Norfair, allows Samus to swing from certain blocks and airborne enemies on an arc of electricity. The Grappling Beam, while apparently powerless, can actually be used to defeat a number of enemies, especially in Maridia. Draygon can be defeated using it and a special technique.

Areas

 * Ceres Space Colony
 * Ceres Space Colony is where the game begins and the scene of the discovery that the Metroids could be used for the good of mankind.


 * Crateria
 * The surface area of planet Zebes. The surface of the planet is plagued by acid rain, thus the living creatures are mostly found below surface level.


 * Brinstar
 * The jungle area of Zebes, teeming with life. The area of Brinstar explored in this game is mostly different from that of the original mission. Kraid's Lair is located in this area.


 * Norfair
 * It lies deep below the surface and thus requires that its visitors carry sufficient protection from the incredible heat. Ancient Chozo ruins can be found in the deepest parts of lower Norfair, where Ridley's Lair can be found.


 * Wrecked Ship
 * A long time ago, astronauts belonging to an ancient civilization crashed on Zebes. This is what remains of their space ship. The ghost Phantoon has shut down the Wrecked Ship, making most of it inaccessible at first. Due to the location of the Space Pirate Mothership in Metroid: Zero Mission, fans have speculated that it is intended to be the Wrecked Ship depicted in Super Metroid. However, Zero Mission director Yoshio Sakamoto has dismissed this possibility, saying that the two ships are separate - during Zero Mission the player passes through an area that appears to be outside the Super Metroid wrecked ship in Crateria, whilst the Mother Ship has not yet landed.


 * Maridia
 * The water world of Zebes. Most of Maridia occupies territory that was once part of Brinstar. The area contains an aquatic Pirate laboratory where they have bred a mostly unsuccessful Metroid clone called the Mochtroid. The giant crustacean creature Draygon is the guardian of this area.


 * Tourian
 * The control center of the Zebesian Space Pirates and Mother Brain. The location has shifted to a more secure area since Metroid.

Bosses

 * Kraid
 * Kraid was a boss in the original NES game, along with Ridley. He is considerably larger than before, taking up the space of two vertical screens. Although many players speculated that Kraid somehow grew since the first game, Metroid: Zero Mission has since retconned Kraid to have a consistent size between games. Outside Kraid's chamber, a seemingly fresh human corpse is found, of whom the identity has never been revealed.


 * Phantoon
 * Phantoon is a ghostly flying skull who taps into Mother Brain's brainwaves and feeds off the Wrecked Ship's energy supply. Unlike most bosses which are fought at or near the end of a level, Phantoon must be defeated before the rest of the Wrecked Ship area may be explored.


 * Draygon
 * Draygon is an enormous sea creature that resides in Maridia. Its hard armor-like shell provides her with a great amount of defensive strength and is guarded by several wall-mounted cannons.


 * Ridley
 * Ridley, the monster whom Samus fought in the original NES game, makes his comeback as one of the hardest bosses in the game. He is responsible for the bloodbath at Ceres Space Station and the kidnapping of the infant Metroid.


 * Mother Brain
 * The final boss, this entity is a disembodied brain in a tank protected by deadly Rinka laser rings, automated defense cannons, and self-regenerating organic life support conduits.

Mini-bosses

 * Torizo
 * The Torizo appears to be a simple Chozo statue which possesses the Morph Ball Bomb, until Samus takes the item from it. A Chozo-like creature then bursts out of the statue and attacks using its claws and energy waves.


 * Spore Spawn
 * The Spore Spawn is a native inhabitant of the subterranean jungles of Brinstar. It consists of an entire room of plant biomatter connected to a large, head-like pod which can swing about the room. Spores are constantly released from the ceiling of the room during the battle.


 * Crocomire
 * This denizen of Norfair is a red, thick-skinned beast with eight eyes which can tolerate even the hottest temperatures. It is massive, and its primary mode of attack consists of rushing toward Samus in an attempt to push her back into a spiked wall. Just prior to its death, it jumps at Samus for one final attack as a skeleton, but the attempt is in vain as it simply collapses into a pile of bones.


 * Botwoon
 * Botwoon is a serpent-like creature with a crocodile's head. Its main attack simply consists of rushing between the various burrows in its chamber in wide arcs. It will occasionally reveal only its head from one of the burrows and will shoot energy beams at Samus.


 * Gold Torizo
 * A much more difficult incarnation of the Torizo fought in lower Norfair. It guards the Screw Attack.

Friends
Not all inhabitants of Zebes are hostile towards Samus. In Brinstar, Samus may also encounter the following helpful creatures:


 * Etecoons
 * A wall-jumping trio of small, four-limbed creatures that demonstrate the difficult wall-jumping technique with considerable ease. They are encountered in an area that can only be exited through the use of wall-jumping, bomb-jumping, or space jumping. These creatures are green in Super Metroid, but appear blue in Metroid Fusion and other artwork.


 * Dachora
 * A green alien that resembles an ostrich. The Dachora demonstrates the Shinespark technique, which is required to escape from the area in which it is found. It has a nest with an egg in Super Metroid, which is later a hatched baby in Metroid Fusion.

After defeating Mother Brain and starting the self-destruction of Zebes, you may choose to save these friendly creatures. A flashing metal door appears in Crateria, the one that originally led you to acquire the Morph Ball Bomb. In this chamber the creatures appear to be trapped. Samus can destroy the opposite facing wall so that the aliens may escape. This causes a slight change in the ending cutscene, in which a flash of light can be seen escaping from the planet. This ending is canon, as the creatures show up alive and well in Metroid Fusion.

Reception
At the time of its release, Super Metroid was universally praised. To this day, it remains one of the most popular and critically lauded games not only for the SNES, but in all of gaming history. It has sold 1.4 million units (780,000 in Japan and 460,000 in North America), becoming a Player's Choice. It frequently appears in "best games of all time" lists; Electronic Gaming Monthly has named Super Metroid the best game of all time, and IGN ranked it the third best game of all time in its 2003 "top 100" list, and fourth best game of all time in its most recent 2006 list, with the motivation:

Hailed as one of the best 2D adventures ever, Nintendo's sci-fi epic still provides one of the most thought out and intriguing gameplay experiences around. Ranging from extensive platform challenges to gigantic boss battles to a comprehensive power-up system, Super Metroid has attained a divine place in the hearts of longtime gamers. Certainly, it stands as something players and developers can idolize for years to come.

Swedish game publication Super PLAY ranked Super Metroid number 6 in the "top 100" list its March 2003 issue, commenting on its atmosphere: The graphics and sound form a wonderful symbiosis, creating an almost tangible atmosphere. Concerning the looks, there is no individual part that sticks out; the game maintains an even, stable, and thoroughly crafted graphical style. The music mostly consists of reserved, dark and mystical melodies that lurk in the background. After a while they consume you, fully immersing you in the Samus role. And the role is indeed an exciting one to play. The pure joy of exploration is on top and constantly makes you thirst for more.

In a Metroid feature in its December 2002 issue, Super PLAY also noted the game's care to detail:

Super Metroid remains one of the most well made adventures ever produced. Every detail, from the echoing ice shafts to the statue that shifts color to illustrate which of the game's four bosses have been defeated, is indicative of an almost manic dedication among the developers at R&D1.

Legacy
Super Metroid served as a formula for subsequent 2D games in the Metroid series, as it refined and provided a definitive version of concepts introduced in the first two Metroid games.

The two-dimensional Castlevania games beginning with Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on the PlayStation/Sega Saturn and continuing on the Game Boy Advance and DS borrow elements from Super Metroid, such as the "retraversal" style of gameplay involving items that give new abilities to access new areas, as well as the style of map. This has led to the creation of the terms "Castleroid" and "Metroidvania" when describing similar action-adventure games.

Speedrunning
Super Metroid's open-ended gameplay style has made it a popular choice for speed runs. Due to the non-forced storyline and optional powerups, many players compete to see who can complete the game fastest, or with the fewest items, or both. This has caused Super Metroid to be a major contributor to the speedrun phenomenon, and one of the most popular games for both assisted and unassisted speedruns. Most speed runs are available from the Internet Archive.

Tricks

 * Early super missiles

Records

 * Best time: 0:32 by Satoru 'Hotarubi' Suzuki
 * Best 100% time: 0:55 by Red Scarlet
 * NBMB: 72% by Red Scarlet
 * Tool-assisted, 100%: 0:47 by Jecy
 * Tool-assisted, speed: 0:27 by T.S.
 * Low %: 14% in 1:18 by Smokey
 * Glitchless 100%: 1:05 by Smokey
 * Tool-assisted, low %: 14% in 0:35 by T.S.

Older runs

 * 100% in 0:56 by Smokey
 * 100% in 0:58 by Smokey
 * 100% in 1:00 by Red Scarlet