Super Metroid

Super Metroid is in many ways an excellent game, but i find it outdated in a lot of ways, and i tend to prefer many of the modern metroidvanias to it. This is really the TLDR of my review, so you can kill me on a fire right now.

One thing that the game does excellent is atmosphere. It feels like an Aliens game in everything but the main character. You have visuals with lots of dark colours like blues, purples and greens that really drive the feeling of you being in an mysterious, dangerous and unknown universe. The pixel art is sublime, and i think its probably the best of the 16 bit era. The music is another one of the reason why the atmosphere is so damn good. Instead of being catchy and upbeat like the other SNES action games of the era, this one is much more laidback. The main theme is the obvious exception with the intense synth beats, the rest of the tracks are much more subversive. They give a sense of impending danger and weirdness that fits like a glove with the visuals and narrative of the game.

Now the reason why i am not in love with this game is the gameplay. It is a metroidvania so the map is huge and you will be transversing it back and forth in order to arquire new power ups that will let you reach further into the game. I love the concept of metroidvanias, and many of my favourite games are metroidvanias. The map layout in here is pretty well designed, but i do tend to get stuck in sections for a long time. What i dont like about the gameplay is the core mechanics such as jumping and shooting. They feel really clunky and make the game much more frustrating than it should be. Boss battles in particular showcase how stuff like hitboxes and the controls of the game leave a lot to be desired. For a game thats all about exploring and transversing the map, it is a very major flaw that its not enjoyable to move and jump around in this game. I think thats really the main reason why i have not been able to finish this game despite trying to a couple of times. I can get through the inicial hours but once the novelty is gone and the game starts to get more challenging i drop the willpower to go on.

I understand completly the Super Metroid is a great game, and even perhaps the favourite game for some people out there. For me though, its just not quite there.

if you think this game has bad controls you might have arthrosis

As everyone points out, the controls are a bit clunky and can be occasionally frustrating. Combat is also pretty shallow and that makes the boss fights not as memorable as they could have been.

Other than these shortcomings, that I think can be forgiven in light of the age of the game, Super Metroid is incredible. The atmosphere and art direction, the exploration (which I'd argue is the most important aspect of the gamplay), the level design, are all amazing for 2023, I can only imagine what it must have felt like in 1994.

Also, and this is obviously a bit up in the air, I think the game just has an aura to it that is hard to match. Part of it is its reputation obviously, but to me it just feels like an important game, somehow. Highly recommended, still.

Simplesmente fundou o gênero que une plataforma com exploração de mapa, o fazendo de forma virtualmente perfeita. Não há qualquer deslize considerável em Super Metroid.

Mas pra mim, o ponto mais importante deste jogo e a cola que liga tudo é a sua atmosfera. Um jogo verdadeiramente opressivo, incorpora em vídeo game a clássica frase de Alien: "No espaço, ninguém pode ouvir você gritar."

I respect Super Metroid's considerable influence on the medium, but I don't think it holds up well as a game looked at without nostalgia glasses.

The first problem I have is a serious one for an action platformer: it just doesn't feel great to play. The controls are clunky, it tries to do too much with the SNES's buttons, combat and Samus's movement through the environment don't feel very slick or satisfying or refined.

The other problem is that this game comes from the old school of game design where you wring playtime out of obscurity and backtracking. I've tried playing it without a guide and I inevitably reach a point where I get bored out of my mind trying to figure out where I need to go, because some critical progression path is hidden and unmarked somewhere in its labyrinthine, samey-looking world. Speaking of obscurity, I didn't even realize the wall-jumping mechanic existed for my first few guide-free attempts at playing this game, since it neglects to inform you and it's tricky enough to execute that you probably won't do it accidentally. Maybe it's in the paper manual.

It is creditably atmospheric for a Super Nintendo game, but it can only do so much with the hardware. 30+ years down the road, I'd much rather play one of the games it inspired.

If ever there was a game that actually deserved the Super moniker that would adorn every other SNES cart under the sun, it is this. Super Metroid improves and perfects upon everything the original lacked and it is by far the most fun 1st party platformer (sans. Kirby Super Star [星のカービィ スーパーデラックス] and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island [スーパーマリオ ヨッシーアイランド]) for the system. While the only real complaint I have is the rehashing of the first games story (Samus must return to Zebes to destroy the resurrected "mother Brain" and her pirate lackeys who wish to return to the galaxy with a cloned army of Metroids, after you spare the life of the last metroid embryo from Return of Samus.) Samus's movement and abilities really give you that sense of power fantasy, which aides in the ever expanded world map of the planet itself.