189-488: Metroid is a series of nonlinear science fiction action games published by Nintendo , featuring side-scrolling , metroidvania , and first-person shooter elements. The player character and protagonist of the series is Samus Aran , a space-faring bounty hunter who battles Space Pirates and a species called the Metroid . Key: = Does Not Appear Samus Aran ( サムス・アラン , Samusu Aran )
378-541: A Metroid game for the Nintendo 64, as they were not confident they could create a worthwhile successor to Super Metroid . Samus appeared in the Nintendo 64 fighting game Super Smash Bros. (1999). In 2000, the Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited the new Nintendo subsidiary Retro Studios in Austin, Texas . He did not like any of the projects they had in development, but spent time playing Action Adventure ,
567-646: A Metroid manga series was published in Kodansha 's Monthly Magazine Z beginning in November 2003, and ran for 16 chapters which were later collected into two Tankōbon volumes. The series chronicled Samus' life up through the events of the original game, and went on to influence the plots of subsequent games in the franchise. Also in Japan, Comic Bom Bom published a three-volume manga starring Samus, Metroid: Samus and Joey . In 2003, two producers optioned
756-560: A high-definition remaster of Metroid Prime for the Switch. It was developed by Retro Studios with assistance from developers including Iron Galaxy Studios . In June 2017, at E3 , Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 for the Switch. While not confirmed by Nintendo, Eurogamer reported that Prime 4 was being developed by Bandai Namco Studios . Unsatisfied with the progress, Nintendo announced in January 2019 that it had restarted
945-614: A "present" for them. A soundtrack album, Super Metroid: Sound in Action , was published by Sony Records on June 22, 1994. It contains 38 tracks and has a running time of 58:49. It includes the original Metroid soundtrack by Hirokazu Tanaka , and additional tracks arranged by Yoshiyuki Ito and Masumi Ito. The game was released by Nintendo in Japan on March 19, 1994, in North America on April 18, and in Europe on July 28. It
1134-694: A Game of the Month for May 1994, gave it an Editors' Choice award, awarded it as the Best Action Game of 1994, and named it the best game of all time in 2003. IGN ranked Super Metroid 3rd (2003), 10th (2005) and 7th (2007) in its top 100 games of all time lists. Likewise, IGN readers ranked the game 11th in its top 99 games of all-time list in 2005, and 4th in its top 100 games in 2006. Richard George of IGN also ranked Super Metroid 3rd in its top 100 SNES games, crediting its "flawless action, impeccable level design, out-of-this-world atmosphere,
1323-564: A Hornoad, before it is defeated by Samus, but its Core-X escapes, preventing Samus from absorbing it. As Samus attempts to escape the station, she is injured by a surviving Metroid in its Omega state. The SA-X reappears and ironically ends up saving Samus' life when it attempts to destroy the Omega Metroid. The SA-X is defeated by the Metroid, allowing Samus to absorb SA-X's Core-X, which includes Samus' Ice Beam, and gives her Fusion Suit
1512-548: A Metroid that resembles something similar to the Baby Metroid, but it immediately attacks her only to be saved by Adam Malkovich. The Metroids ( メトロイド ) are floating, predatory jellyfish -like organisms with tripartite nuclei . They are capable of siphoning an undetectable life energy from any life form, generally causing Samus's health to rapidly decrease. Created by the Chozo as a type of bioweapon in order to combat
1701-697: A black-colored doppelgänger of Samus. Metroid Prime was formed when a Phazon meteor known as a Leviathan impacted on Tallon IV, released its living core, and enticed and fused with a Metroid unfortunate enough to cross its path. It caused severe damage to the Chozo colony before the Artifact Temple was built to contain Metroid Prime inside the impact crater of the Leviathan. According to the NTSC version of Metroid Prime , Space Pirate miners discovered
1890-578: A bounty hunter, while facing the forces of Ridley and Mother Brain . In the original Metroid , Samus travels to the planet Zebes to stop the Space Pirates from using the Metroids to create biological weapons. She defeats the cybernetic lifeform Mother Brain, as well as Ridley and his fellow Space Pirate leader, Kraid. The Metroid Prime series is set between Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus , and chronicles Samus' conflicts with
2079-485: A composer, a sound programmer and a sound effect creator gave Yamamoto ideas to produce a distinct Metroid soundtrack "with a sound programmer's ear, with a sound effect creator's ear, and with the approach methodology and theory of a composer". The arrangements and remixes of the game's themes were used in Metroid Prime and its sequels, because Yamamoto wanted to satisfy old Metroid fans, describing it as
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#17327880543432268-550: A disagreement with her commanding officer, Adam Malkovich in the events of Metroid: Other M . The Galactic Federation's troopers also use powered armor, and their technology usually bears multiple versions of their symbol, a stylized cross-shape. Troopers are also given a basic repeating assault weapon, and in Metroid Prime 3 , some are equipped with the Phazon Enhancement Device. The Metroid larva
2457-609: A fellowship of enlightened races that once existed between the Chozo, the Luminoth and two other species known as the Reptilicus and the Ylla. While the former three have been expounded on in the series, the Ylla are only mentioned in this piece of lore and have yet to be seen. The Chozo were also responsible for raising Samus, infusing her with their DNA and creating her Power Suit, and for the creation and breeding of Metroids to combat
2646-553: A fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate , sharing a moveset similar to Samus. A number of locations from the Metroid franchise have appeared in Super Smash Bros. games as battle stages. Samus has appeared in other Nintendo games such as Super Mario RPG , the NES version of Tetris , Tetris DS , Galactic Pinball , Kirby Super Star , Kirby's Dream Land 3 and WarioWare . A Metroid-lookalike enemy, called
2835-569: A fighter's side if they manage to knock him out. Due to demand from fans, Ridley was made a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . Kraid also appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a stage hazard in Brinstar Depths and unlockable trophy. Various other characters such as Metroids, Mother Brain and Dark Samus appear as either trophies or stickers in the Super Smash Bros. series as well. Dark Samus would later debut as
3024-531: A game to equal Super Metroid . In late 2002, Nintendo released Metroid Fusion , a 2D sequel developed for the Game Boy Advance by Nintendo R&D1, and Metroid Prime , a first-person game developed for the GameCube by American developer Retro Studios , and the first Metroid game to use 3D graphics . Both Fusion and Prime garnered acclaim, with Prime winning several Game of
3213-466: A hiatus, Metroid Fusion (2002) and Metroid: Zero Mission (2004) were released for the Game Boy Advance . The first 3D Metroid game, Metroid Prime (2002), was developed by Retro Studios for the GameCube and received acclaim. It was followed by Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) and the Wii game Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007). Metroid: Other M (2010), developed by Team Ninja for
3402-484: A higher jump, and the Space Jump allows Samus to jump in midair. The Grapple Beam can be used to swing across open areas. The X-ray Scope is used to see items and passages through hidden walls and other surfaces. The heads-up display shows Samus's health , the supply mode for Reserve Tanks, icons that represent weapons, and a map display showing her location and its surroundings. The inventory screen allows
3591-511: A major antagonist in the series. The Chozo created it as a councilor, and as a means to "accelerate their plan to link the galaxy into one unified society". During the Space Pirate invasion of Zebes , it saw the Space Pirates as a "perfect force capable of restoring true order to the universe", and successfully established itself as one of their leaders. At the same time, Mother Brain attempted to persuade Samus to be an ally in order to "build
3780-491: A malignant, radioactive substance named Phazon. In Metroid Prime , Samus travels to Tallon IV to stop the Space Pirates from exploiting a Phazon-infused meteor that has poisoned the local ecosystem. After battling a cybernetically enhanced Ridley and clearing out the Space Pirate presence on the planet, Samus purges the Phazon from Tallon IV by defeating the titular enemy, a Phazon-infected Metroid. Metroid Prime: Hunters , which
3969-587: A minigame based on the series called "Metroid Blast". A Samus amiibo figure can be used to unlock a Mii costume based on her appearance in Mario Kart 8 and a Samus costume in Super Mario Maker . In 2020, Nintendo and Epic Games began negotiations to include Samus in Fortnite as a skin. The plans for this first came to light publicly when internal Epic documents were released as part of
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#17327880543434158-468: A more mission-based structure that gives more guidance to the player. The team's next GBA project was Zero Mission (2004), a remake of the original Metroid . Both GBA games received acclaim. A Nintendo restructure merged R&D1 with R&D2 in 2003, shortly ahead of the release of Zero Mission . A 2D Metroid game for the Nintendo DS , Metroid Dread , was in development around 2006, but
4347-450: A new age for the universe" by claiming that because it built the power suit that Samus wears, she is indebted to Mother Brain. Mother Brain is depicted as a large brain with cybernetic spikes and a single eye, usually contained in a glass tube which Samus must break in order to injure it. In Super Metroid , Mother Brain also rises from the floor and reveals a grotesque body after her tank is destroyed. Samus seemingly destroys Mother Brain in
4536-525: A planned storyline for Metroid Prime 4 would focus on Sylux and Samus. Sylux later appeared in the announcement trailer for the game with the new title Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in June 2024. One of Samus' rivals in Metroid Prime Hunters , he is a frequent enemy. He was born in an attempt to create the perfect soldier, and as a consequence is unpredictable and dangerous. He seeks to prove he
4725-477: A scientific research station in the planet's orbit, assimilating and imitating many creatures being studied on board. Samus is infected by one but is saved using a vaccine made from the baby Metroid's cells. She discovers that the Federation has been cloning Metroids in secret, and sets the space station on a collision with SR388 to destroy the X parasites. Metroid Dread continues where Fusion left off, with
4914-470: A score that made players feel like they were encountering a "living creature" and had no distinction between music and sound effects. The only time the main Metroid theme was heard was after Mother Brain is defeated; this is intended to give the player a catharsis . At all other times, no melodies are present in the game. The composer of Super Metroid , Kenji Yamamoto , came up with some themes by humming to himself while riding his motorcycle to work. He
5103-549: A sense of familiarity. Shortly before the game's release, the North American Entertainment Software Rating Board , a self-regulating organization, was formed in response to the increasing violence in games such as Mortal Kombat (1992). Asked whether he thought the controversy would cause a backlash for Super Metroid , Sakamoto explained that Samus's purpose is to maintain peace in the galaxy, saying: "It's not violence for
5292-413: A similar set of moves to Samus, being labeled as an Echo Fighter. IGN listed Dark Samus as the 88th best video game villain. The Ing horde is a race of powerful and intelligent dark creatures that appears primarily in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes . They are capable of possessing anything mechanical, organic, artificial, dead, or alive (including the eponymous Metroids, which the X Parasites can't due to
5481-413: A third-person science-fiction action game with a female protagonist. Miyamoto tasked Retro with developing a Metroid game for the new Nintendo console, the GameCube . The team terminated Action Adventure and moved to Metroid . Metroid Prime , the first 3D Metroid game, released in 2002, moved the nonlinear structure of Super Metroid to a first-person perspective . Nintendo stressed that it
5670-473: A totally badass heroine and an enormous overworld to explore". GamesRadar named Super Metroid the best SNES game of all time, while Nintendo Power named it the best game in the Metroid series, beating out Metroid Prime and Metroid: Zero Mission . GamePro listed Super Metroid as one of the fifteen must-play retro games on the Wii . Game Informer placed the game 29th on their top 100 games of all time in 2001. In 2018, Complex listed
5859-599: A true action game, and set the stage for Samus' reappearance. Super Metroid received acclaim, with praise for its atmosphere, gameplay, music and graphics. It is often cited as one of the greatest video games of all time . The game sold well and shipped 1.42 million copies worldwide by late 2003. Alongside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , Super Metroid is credited for establishing the " Metroidvania " genre, inspiring numerous indie games and developers. It also became popular among players for speedrunning . Super Metroid
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6048-421: Is "more of an experience than a game", likening it to watching a late-night movie due to the cinematic structure and atmospheric graphics and sounds. He found the game so compulsive that he was tempted to play "without eating or sleeping". Super Play critic Tony Mott cited the atmosphere as its best aspect, and described it as a mixture of Aliens , Turrican , Exile , and Nodes of Yesod . Mott applauded
6237-413: Is "one of the best 2D action adventure games ever produced". In Japan, Super Metroid was the ninth-best-selling video game of 1994 , with 531,000 copies sold that year. In North America, despite receiving critical acclaim, Rus McLaughlin of IGN said that Super Metroid arrived at a time when the lifecycle of SNES platform was coming to an end. Robinson similarly noted that, in a series tradition,
6426-410: Is "truly alien" and that they "pose an immediate and real danger" when they appear. Hardcore Gaming 101 called their design "iconic", and praised their first appearance in the original Metroid , saying that it was "a moment of shock and terror almost unlike anything in any other NES game", especially if the player did not know how to beat them. Mother Brain ( マザーブレイン ) is a recurring game boss and
6615-476: Is Judicator which can freeze opponents on their tracks with a charged shot. A bounty hunter and the last survivor of the silicon-based Diamont race and one of Samus' rivals in Metroid Prime Hunters . He searches for answers about the fate and location of his race and after receiving the message of the ultimate power, he travels to the Alimbic Cluster to use the said power for the same purpose. His weapon
6804-465: Is Magmaul which can fire molten projectiles that will splash lava after explosion. A feared member of the Kriken Empire and one of Samus' rivals in Metroid Prime Hunters . He searches for other planets for his people to invade and wishes to use the ultimate power in the Alimbic Cluster to make himself and his people stronger. His weapon is Imperialist, a precise sniping gun. A Space Pirate who
6993-484: Is a bounty hunter and the protagonist of the series. Her homeworld was attacked by the Space Pirates, and her parents were murdered by their leader Ridley when she was young, which led to her being taken in by the Chozo, who saved her life and raised her to become a warrior. She wears a futuristic suit with weaponry and movement in mind, allowing ease of movement while having decent armor and blaster cannons (and other weapons, such as missiles, unlocked early in most games). It
7182-815: Is a gravity-controlling, monster cyborg originally created by the Galactic Federation's secret bio-weapons project. In Other M , Samus encountered the Nightmare for the first time in her life while on her journey to Sector Zero on the Bottle Ship. The creature fights Samus twice; once when she tries to enter Sector Zero, and again when she tries to exit the same sector. In Fusion , an X parasite infects and revives Nightmare contained in Sector 5-ARC. It escapes and destroys ARC's data room. Samus confronts Nightmare-X, defeating and absorbing its Core-X, obtaining
7371-417: Is a member of the Galactic Federation military. The actions of Samus and Adam's heroic sacrifice put an end to their bio-weapons research on the Bottle Ship, but their secret bio-weapons research and Metroid breeding program continues on the B.S.L. research station until it is overrun by the X parasites. In Fusion , Samus discovers the continued bio-weapons research and learns that they foolishly plan to capture
7560-525: Is a powerful, malevolent being that crashed in the Alimbic Cluster a millennia ago. In Metroid Prime Hunters , the lore mentions that it came by a comet and struck the planet Alinos, thus shattering the Alimbic Utopia. The creature copied the cellular structure of the Alimbics, physically mimicking them and their weapons, and destroyed their civilization. In a final attempt to stop Gorea's rampage,
7749-469: Is also likely the reason Samus is able to survive on other planets. Samus also appears in the Super Smash Bros. series as a playable character. The Chozo are a mysterious, birdlike species that are featured throughout the Metroid series. The origins and age of the Chozo race and civilization are unknown. They were once spread across several planets in the Metroid universe, with their home planet being ZDR. Lore entries in Metroid Prime suggest that
Characters of the Metroid series - Misplaced Pages Continue
7938-436: Is chronologically the last Metroid of its race following the events of Metroid II: Return of Samus and its remake Metroid: Samus Returns . At the beginning of Super Metroid , Samus describes how a Metroid larva hatched from an egg and immediately imprinted 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
8127-483: Is depleted. The game also features an automap to help players navigate the different areas of the game. Additionally, the player can use the map computer found in each part of the planet to reveal unexplored areas. To save their progress, the player must find and use one of the save stations scattered around the planet. The game can also be saved at Samus's gunship , which fully recharges her health and ammunition as well. Super Metroid has three endings based on
8316-463: Is destroyed during the climax of Super Metroid , but a group within the Galactic Federation itself resurrects the Space Pirates, along with Ridley and the Metroids, to be used as bio-weapons, explaining their continued presence in Other M and Fusion . Series director Yoshio Sakamoto stated that the Space Pirates that invaded Zebes took "Zebesian" as a general name for themselves after the conquest of
8505-429: Is directly responsible for the invasion of Samus' home planet and the death of her parents and is the franchise's most frequently recurring villain, though he doesn't typically act as the primary antagonist in individual games. Kraid ( クレイド , Kureido ) is a gigantic lizard-like beast and as a member of the Space Pirate's High Command. His most prominent feature is his grotesquely oversized belly. First appearing in
8694-404: Is encased with a silver battlesuit with an arm cannon similar to Samus', albeit with a more bulkier design. His suit gives him access to many abilities that Samus has such as Shinespark and Aeion abilities, as well as unique abilities and techniques. He indirectly played a role in the plot of most other titles, as he was responsible for the initial dispersal of Metroids and X Parasites from SR388. He
8883-516: Is implied to be a member or operative for the group. Additionally, an unnamed GF colonel who orders MB's destruction and attempts to force Samus to handover Madeline Bergman using the fact she is an outsider to force her to comply is implied to either work for or a top ranking member of the group and may have been the one responsible for sending the Deleter to eliminate Adam and his team before they could uncover and expose their bio-weapons research as he
9072-487: Is not explicitly stated, the Deleter was in fact James Pierce, the squad's communications expert. The presence of Samus derails James' mission, though he does manage to kill several members of Adam's squad before he himself was found dead in the Bioweapons Research Center: it can be surmised that he tried to eliminate MB, but failed. An unnamed scientist who cleans the Metroid and Ridley's DNA off Samus
9261-445: Is notable for its non-linear progression and solitary exploration format where the player only controls Samus Aran , with few or no other characters to interact with. The player gains items and power-ups for Samus's cybernetic suit primarily through exploration, and occasionally by defeating alien creatures through real-time combat with the suit's arm cannon. Many such upgrades enable further avenues of exploration. A recurring upgrade
9450-412: Is often named among the best video game bosses. The original Metroid has been described as boosted by its "eerie" music, adding a "sense of mystery and exploration" to the game by making the game "moody and atmospheric". IGN praised the well-timed music that helped add suspense. GameSpot described Super Metroid as better than the original "in literally every conceivable way", Metroid Fusion
9639-634: Is responsible for authorizing the use of Samus' weapons, with the exceptions of the Seeker Missile and the Diffusion Beam, which are found instead, and the Gravity Feature, which Samus activates herself while leaving Sector Zero. He is generally cool and collected even when under fire, but some of this is temporarily lost when he sees Ridley on the control room monitor. He was nonetheless able to outwit James when he suddenly appears in
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#17327880543439828-459: Is shown to be a part of a spacefaring sovereignty known as the Galactic Federation. Other races are both a part of the Federation as well as close allies, the most prolific being the Chozo, an avian species possessing advanced technology and skills in bioengineering. The mutual nemesis of the Federation and the Chozo are the Space Pirates, a villainous interstellar cabal comprising multiple alien races of disreputable nature that all refuse to abide to
10017-690: Is the Morph Ball, which allows Samus to curl into a ball, roll into tight places and plant bombs. The classic series consists of 2D side-scrollers , while the Metroid Prime series uses a first-person perspective , and first-person shooter mechanics. The 2010 Other M made use of a third person shooter format. The original Metroid was influenced by two other major Nintendo franchises: Mario , from which it borrowed extensive areas of platform jumping, and The Legend of Zelda , from which it borrowed non-linear exploration. Metroid differed in its atmosphere of solitude and foreboding. Metroid
10206-485: Is the best Hunter by attaining the ultimate power in the Alimbic Cluster. His special weapon is the Volt Driver, which shoots bolts of lightning that disrupt Samus' visor should they strike her. A bounty hunter of the proud and reclusive Vhozon race and one of Samus' rivals in Metroid Prime Hunters . He seeks the ultimate power in the Alimbic Cluster in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. His weapon
10395-571: Is the third installment in the Metroid series, following the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran , who travels to planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid creature stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley . Following the established gameplay model of its predecessors, Super Metroid focuses on exploration, with
10584-409: Is too similar to its predecessor . Super Metroid is often regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time. Jeremy Parish of USgamer remarked that Super Metroid is a "game you can return to time and again and always come away with some fresh insight or observation". Andrew Webster of Ars Technica found the game's atmosphere impressive, and noted that the developers had perfected
10773-446: Is unconnected to the Phazon storyline, sees Samus respond to a distress call to the Alimbic Cluster. Other bounty hunters respond to the call, and after conflicting amongst themselves, they all ultimately band together to fight against a creature named Gorea. In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , Samus explores the planet Aether, which is suffering from a Phazon outbreak. The Phazon has split the world into "light" and "dark" dimensions, leading to
10962-538: The Epic Games v. Apple case in 2021. Other characters from the batch in the document such as Kratos and Master Chief were added to the game in late 2020, but Samus was not. In 2024, former Epic creative director Donald Mustard revealed that Nintendo had requested Nintendo Switch exclusivity for the Samus skin, which was against Epic's policy of maintaining feature parity for Fortnite across all platforms, and so
11151-579: The Super Smash Bros. series. Additional media includes soundtracks, comic books, and manga. Along with the 1997 Konami game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , the early Metroid games defined the Metroidvania subgenre, inspiring other games with continuous, explorable side-scrolling levels. Samus was one of the first prominent female video game characters. The Metroid series contains gameplay elements from shooter, platformer , adventure, survival and sometimes first person games. The series
11340-637: The Family Computer Disk System , was developed by Nintendo's Research & Development 1 (R&D1) and released in Japan on August 6, 1986. It was published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in August 1987 in North America and on January 15, 1988, in Europe. It was directed by Satoru Okada . Metroid was designed to be a shooting game that combined the platform jumping of Super Mario Bros. with
11529-470: The Metroid universe. Metroid II: Return of Samus was released for the Game Boy in 1991 in North America and in 1992 in Japan and Europe. Metroid II also further established Samus ' visual design, with the bulky Varia Suit upgrade and different arm cannons. As R&D1 were committed to making another game, Nintendo brought in Intelligent Systems to develop Super Metroid for
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#173278805434311718-455: The Nintendo 3DS handheld before Nintendo asked them to develop Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon instead. In 2016, Nintendo released Metroid Prime: Federation Force , a multiplayer game for the 3DS developed by Next Level. It received criticism for its multiplayer focus and frivolous tone. A remake of Metroid II , Metroid: Samus Returns , was developed by MercurySteam and released for
11907-513: The Nintendo 64 (N64). According to Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto , Nintendo did not develop a Metroid game for the N64 as they "couldn't come out with any concrete ideas". Sakamoto said he could not imagine how the N64 controller could be used to control Samus. Nintendo approached another company to make an N64 Metroid , but the offer was declined because the developers thought they could not make
12096-639: The Nintendo Switch Online subscription service in September 2019. Super Metroid was one of the highest rated games on review aggregator GameRankings . Chris Slate of the Game Players video game magazine thoroughly enjoyed Super Metroid , claiming that it "easily lives up to everyone's high expectations". He was satisfied with how Nintendo mixed "smooth", "complex" gameplay, with "state-of-the-art" graphics and sound. Slate found
12285-631: The Space Pirates . Samus escapes from the colony during a self-destruct sequence and follows Ridley to the planet Zebes. She searches the planet for the Metroid and finds that the Pirates have rebuilt their base there. After defeating four bosses including Ridley in various regions of Zebes, Samus enters Tourian, the heart of the Pirates' base, and fights several Metroids that have somehow reproduced. A single Metroid that has grown to enormous size attacks and nearly destroys Samus, but relents at
12474-494: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Development began in late 1991. Released in 1994, Super Metroid drastically expanded the Metroid formula, with numerous new power-ups and a richer story. It received acclaim and is considered one of the best SNES games. It was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto , character designer for the first Metroid ; Sakamoto has directed or produced most of
12663-424: The Wii U game Nintendo Land (2012), which had a mixed reception. Using the Wii U GamePad , the player controls Samus's gunship, while up to four players with Wii Remotes and Nunchuks control Mii characters on foot, wearing Varia Suits. Miyamoto said this reflected his ideas for future Metroid games. In 2014, a former artist from Next Level Games said that Next Level had built a Metroid prototype for
12852-439: The programming . The opening was narrated by Dan Owsen , a Nintendo of America employee. Super Metroid was released almost a decade after the original Metroid . Sakamoto said: "We wanted to wait until a true action game was needed. [...] And also to set the stage for the reappearance of Samus Aran". It took half a year for Nintendo to approve the project, and two further years to develop. The developers' primary goal
13041-399: The 2D Metroid games since. After Super Metroid , Nintendo released no new Metroid games for eight years. They considered developing a Metroid game for its next console, the Nintendo 64 , but could not generate firm ideas. Sakamoto said he could not imagine how the Nintendo 64 controller could be used to move Samus. An unidentified company declined an offer from Nintendo to develop
13230-607: The 3DS in September 2017. It retained the gameplay of the original and added 3D graphics and gameplay features such as melee combat. MercurySteam's next project was Metroid Dread for the Nintendo Switch , a realization of the cancelled Nintendo DS project from the late 2000s. Released in October 2021, it had sold more than 2.9 million copies worldwide by May 2022, making it the best-selling Metroid game. In February 2023, Nintendo released Metroid Prime Remastered ,
13419-538: The Artifact Temple. After Samus gets all of the artifacts, she is able to enter the impact crater and fight Metroid Prime. After its defeat, the creature takes Samus' Phazon Suit to reconstruct itself into a body similar to hers, resulting in the being referred to as "Dark Samus". In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , Dark Samus arrives in Aether while chasing the planet's Phazon. Shortly after, Samus arrives and encounters Dark Samus many times, eventually defeating her as Dark Aether
13608-490: The Blind Forest (2014), Hollow Knight (2017), and Chasm (2018). Metroid is therefore among a handful of game series to have genres named after them, along with Dark Souls ( Soulslike ) and Rogue ( Roguelike ). In 2016, AM2R , a fan-made remake of Metroid II was released. Nintendo issued takedown notices to halt its distribution, citing the potential damage to its intellectual property. AM2R
13797-409: The Bottle Ship, a derelict scientific research station, with a Galactic Federation platoon led by her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. They team up against many bioweapons created by a Federation science group, including clones of creatures Samus faced on Zebes like Ridley and the Metroids. A revived Mother Brain, now occupying a humanoid body supplied to her by the Federation, takes control of
13986-485: The Chozo Soldiers, are all X, and Raven Beak himself is infected by an X after being defeated by Samus. The detonation of ZDR at the game's finale presumably marks their extinction. Raven Beak is the leader of the Chozo warrior tribe called Mawkin and the main antagonist of Metroid Dread . He is ruthless and calculating warrior, possesing superior intelligence and strength compared to other Mawkins. Raven Beak
14175-490: The Chozo is explored, revealing they are split into two tribes: the peaceful Thoha , who left their warrior traditions behind to become scientists, and the Mawkin , who retained a warrior culture. The Thoha initially colonized SR388 and encountered the X parasites, genetically engineering the Metroids to serve as their predators. For this reason, the Metroids are calm in the presence of Thoha genes and hostile towards Mawkin. While
14364-584: The Chozo specifically engineering the Metroids to hunt the X), and originated when a Leviathan from Phaaze impacted the planet Aether and created Dark Aether, a trans-dimensional duplicate of the planet. The Luminoth, the inhabitants of Aether, fight against the Ing over the Light of Aether, the planet's power source, for decades, in spite of disadvantages, and the Ing appear to be on the verge of victory, until Samus Aran enters
14553-474: The Control Room. Samus and Adam are shown to have had a very close relationship: Samus does not explicitly mention it herself, but he sees her as a daughter as she saw him as a father. It was this that drove him to first detach his ship and a space liner with three thousand passengers on board from a repair ship with his brother on board in the past, and enter Sector Zero of the Bottle Ship in Samus' place in
14742-469: The Federation dispatching a squadron of advanced automatons known as E.M.M.I. to investigate the planet ZDR, where X parasites have been sighted. Samus is sent to the planet herself after contact is lost, coming into conflict with the X and a Chozo war criminal named Raven Beak, stopping both from invading the rest of the galaxy. The central figures in the production and development of the Metroid series are Satoru Okada , who directed Metroid and created
14931-456: The Federation planned to breed Metroids and other creatures, like the Zebesians, to be used as bio-weapons, employing various methods to keep their activities a secret from the rest of galactic society. In Other M , they are revealed to have used genetic remnants of the baby Metroid obtained off Samus' powersuit after her mission on Zebes to genetically engineer a new breed of Metroid immune to
15120-404: The Galactic Federation's rule. They are led by the dragon -like warlord Ridley , and plot to develop weapons of mass destruction from hazardous life forms and materials to destroy the Federation and secure galactic dominance. The eponymous Metroids are a species of predatory, jellyfish -like organisms that feed on an undetectable life energy found in all living creatures. Biological weapons,
15309-438: The Galactic Federation, and rogue members of the Chozo race, to weaponize the Metroids and the subsequent conflicts they cause. Metroid follows the adventures of the bounty hunter Samus Aran , who battles the Space Pirates and the Metroids. Samus was raised by the Chozo after her parents were killed by a Space Pirate raid led by Ridley. She serves in the military of the Galactic Federation before departing and beginning work as
15498-644: The Gravity Suit upgrade. The X Parasite is a unique parasite witnessed in Metroid Fusion , Metroid: Samus Returns , Metroid Dread and the Metroid manga. They are the main antagonists of Fusion . The appearance of an X Parasite is simple: a basketball-sized, floating gelatinous life form. The structure of their bodies allow them to slip through the tiniest crevices of any organism or synthetic surface; their soft form also allows projectiles to harmlessly pass through them. Additionally, they have
15687-941: The Komayto, appears in Kid Icarus for the NES; the characters allude to the similarities between the two in Kid Icarus: Uprising . In Dead or Alive: Dimensions , a fighting game developed by Team Ninja for the 3DS, one stage is a replica of the arena in which Samus fights Ridley in Metroid: Other M and features both as non-playable characters. When asked why Samus is not playable in Dimensions , Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi said in an interview that "it would be better to let her focus on her job rather than kicking everyone's butt in [ Dead or Alive: Dimensions ]". The Wii U launch game Nintendo Land has
15876-582: The Leviathans of four planets, she goes to Phaaze, where she finally defeats Dark Samus, who then merges itself with the Aurora Unit 313 in a last-ditch effort to defeat Samus. After the Aurora Unit is destroyed, Phaaze explodes, and all Phazon in the galaxy is rendered inert. Dark Samus appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as an Assist Trophy and an alternate costume for Samus. She also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with
16065-501: The Marines under the Federation colonel's orders. A hostile group known as Space Pirates ( スペースパイレーツ , Supēsu Pairētsu ) , or Zebesians ( ゼーベス星人 , Zēbesu Seijin ) , serve as the antagonists of the Metroid series. They are a group of "interstellar nomads" resembling humanoid reptiles , insects , or crustaceans who plunder colonies and ships and exist in an insect-like hive society. Considering their appearance throughout
16254-500: The Metroid, but upon death, the Metroid gives Samus the Hyper Beam, a powerful weapon strong enough to kill Mother Brain. Samus escapes Zebes as it self-destructs. Super Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1 with a staff of 15 managed by Gunpei Yokoi . It was written and directed by Yoshio Sakamoto , and produced by Makoto Kano . Intelligent Systems , who co-developed the original Metroid with R&D1, handled
16443-399: The Metroid, which was secretly being bred on the B.S.L. station. SA-X attacks Sector 0 to destroy the Metroids, inadvertently initiating the Sector's self-destruct mechanism, which Samus escapes. Adam then reveals to Samus that due to their ability to asexually reproduce there are more SA-X aboard the station. Eventually, Adam discloses the Federation's plans to send a team to capture SA-X and
16632-424: The Metroids and attempts to unleash them upon the Federation, but is stopped by Samus at the cost of Adam's life. Afterward, Samus encounters and kills the ethereal entity Phantoon and sets the Bottle Ship to self-destruct. In Metroid Fusion , Samus accompanies a team of scientists to SR388, where she has her first encounter with the X parasites when the species reappears in the absence of the Metroids. The X overruns
16821-415: The Metroids were engineered by the Chozo to eradicate a parasitic, shapeshifting virus known as the "X" that threatened their civilization. While the Metroids succeeded in stopping the X, they became a danger to the Chozo themselves when they developed the ability to evolve into different and far deadlier forms. Most of the games center around the efforts of various organizations, including the Space Pirates,
17010-484: The Mother Brain. Samus avenges its death by destroying Mother Brain with an extremely powerful weapon given to her by the Metroid. After a planet-wide self-destruction, Samus mourns the death of the Metroid. In Metroid: Other M , the Baby Metroid is mentioned in the opening cutscene as it serves as a reminder for Samus' loss of loved ones in her life. Later in the game, on Bottle Ship's Sector Zero, she encounters
17199-465: The NES. Yamamoto decided that rich and expressive sounds, such as a female chorus, would be required to portray the setting realistically. He composed the main theme by humming while riding his motorcycle from work. Yamamoto also served as a sound programmer, and wrote a program that sends sound data to the audio chip. He also created sound effects , including those created for an infant Metroid to convey different emotions. The simultaneous roles as
17388-448: The Night . Samus Aran was recognized by Guinness World Records as "enduringly popular" and as the "first playable human female character in a mainstream video game", although Toby Masuyo ("Kissy") from Namco 's Alien Sector predates her by one year. Ridley was the second-most requested Nintendo character by IGN and number one by the fans to be added as a playable character to the Super Smash Bros. series and Mother Brain
17577-463: The Security Robot B.O.X. and Samus' Power Suit. After being infected by the X, Samus' infected Power Suit components were surgically removed and sent to B.S.L. station, but this allowed the X to mimic Samus and her Power Suit, creating another doppelgänger of Samus called SA-X , who is implied to have used a Power Bomb to escape the infected Power Suit components containment unit, thus allowing
17766-415: The Space Pirates in an attempt to destroy the renegade Mother Brain. The Galactic Federation ( 銀河連邦 , Ginga Renpō ) is the governing body of the galaxy formed by an alliance of alien species and often contracts Samus with difficult missions to complete, which typically make up the majority of the games. Samus trained in the Federation's military before becoming a bounty hunter, leaving some time after
17955-532: The Space Pirates, and Kraid , a recurring boss. The organization also includes a winged, mantis -like species, the Ki Hunters. The Space Pirates are interested in Metroid research, especially in using Metroids for energy generation, as soldiers, and for experimentation – their Phazon experiments produced all the Metroid variants seen in the Prime games with the exception of Metroid Prime itself. The organization
18144-534: The Thoha feared both species, the leader of the Mawkin, Raven Beak , saw potential in the Metroids, and ordered the killing of all but one Thoha ( Quiet Robe ) so they would not obstruct his plans. However, one Mawkin soldier was infected with an X while returning to ZDR and a pandemic broke out, leaving Raven Beak and Quiet Robe the only known living Chozo when Metroid Dread takes place. Since they are both killed during
18333-572: The Wii in the compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy . In 2005, Nintendo released Metroid Prime Pinball , a pinball spin-off for the DS developed by Fuse Games . Metroid Prime Hunters , a multiplayer game developed by Nintendo Software Technology , was released for the DS in 2006. A new 3D Metroid game, Metroid: Other M , developed with the Japanese studio Team Ninja and directed by Sakamoto,
18522-446: The Wii, received weaker reviews. After another hiatus, MercurySteam developed a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus , Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) for the handheld Nintendo 3DS , followed by Metroid Dread (2021) for the Nintendo Switch . Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is scheduled for 2025. As of September 2012, the Metroid series had sold over 17.44 million copies. It has been represented in other Nintendo media, including
18711-541: The X Parasites. While in the Japanese versions of the games, the beings are only ever identified by the generic term chōjin-zoku ( 鳥人族 , lit. "bird-folk race" ) , a misunderstanding during the localization process led to the mistaken adoption of the descriptor chōzō ( 鳥像 , "bird statue" ) , rendered "Chozo", in the English versions instead. In Super Metroid , some of the Chozo statues would rise up and attack Samus; these bosses are called Torizo , substituting
18900-525: The X parasites and the SA-X for the bio-weapons research, and crashes the station into the planet SR388 with the help of her ship's AI, which was based on Adam Malkovich. It is also believed that they are also responsible for the creation of the power suit, weapons, and ship stolen by the Federation-hating bounty hunter Sylux from Metroid Prime Hunters . The Nightmare ( ナイトメア , Naitomea )
19089-422: The X parasites for research. While trying to convince him of the insanity of the Federation's plan, Samus is able to restore the computer's original personality of Adam Malkovich, who then advises Samus on how to destroy the station and the X by crashing it into SR388. This leads Samus to confront the SA-X which, after being weakened, transforms into a misshapen monster that is an amalgamation of Samus' power suit and
19278-471: The X to spread and infect countless creatures throughout the B.S.L. (the exception being the Etecoons and Dachora). SA-X mimicked Samus at her most powerful, proving to be a dangerous foe for the weakened Samus, and passed on some of Samus' Power Suit abilities to Core-X. SA-X also gained Samus' Ice Beam and Metroid hunting knowledge, making SA-X the only X capable of taking on the X parasites natural predator,
19467-503: The Year awards. Metroid Prime received three spin-offs, 2009 compilation Metroid Prime: Trilogy , containing Prime , its 2004 sequel Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , and 2007 Wii sequel Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , and an upcoming fourth sequel . In 2010, Metroid: Other M was released, taking place between Super Metroid and Fusion . After a long development period, a fifth 2D game and sequel to Fusion , Metroid Dread ,
19656-536: The ability to split into smaller colonies via asexual reproduction. X are capable of infecting other organisms and mimicking their prey's DNA and memories. They do this by infecting the organism's nervous system where they then start reproducing at an exponential rate, killing the host creature in the process. Once that is accomplished, the X absorb the DNA of their host and are then able to use it to mimic their prey perfectly. X can also mimic biomechanical technology such as
19845-447: The aspect on solitude, a concept introduced in the first Metroid game. Game Informer writer Joe Juba cited the game's ending as "one of the most memorable and empowering moments in gaming history". In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine called the game "challenging, deep and undeniably epic", placing it 24th on a list of the greatest Nintendo games. As Super Metroid gives players awards based on how long it took them to complete
20034-402: The baby Metroid is reenacted in an FMV cutscene, and the main antagonist, MB, is an android housing an AI cloned from Mother Brain's genetic material from Samus' suit. MB , nicknamed Melissa Bergman ( メリッサ・バーグマン , Merissa Bāguman ) by her adoptive mother Dr. Madeline Bergman, was created by the scientists of the Bottle Ship as a copy of the original Mother Brain , whose genetic material
20223-408: The battle, it is revealed that Gorea's formless matter comes from a shapeless gas, and can therefore undergo several different forms in battle. Bounty hunters appear in Metroid Prime Hunters and seek the ultimate power for themselves while unaware it is a hoax by Gorea. Sylux is one of the bounty hunters in Metroid Prime Hunters . He is Samus' rival and is the most personal one with her out of all
20412-593: The best game ever. All the Metroid games released by 2005 were included in a Nintendo Power top 200 Nintendo games list, Prime in the IGN top 100, Metroid , Super Metroid , Prime and Echoes in a list by GameFAQs users; Metroid and Super Metroid in Game Informer ' s list; and Prime and Super Metroid in Edge ' s list. The series has influenced games including Castlevania: Symphony of
20601-716: The best games for SNES platform. Edge criticized the graphics and short length, but praised Super Metroid as "intensely playable" and "full of memorable moments". 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 find out about what you've been missing all these years". 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
20790-554: The both of them. In Metroid Fusion , it is revealed that the Navigation Computer of the ship is Adam Malkovich's consciousness in computer form. This computer consciousness returns in Metroid Dread , albeit impersonated for most of the game by Raven Beak. Metroid Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo . The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran , who protects
20979-498: The character was never included. A Metroid animated series was considered for the Super Mario Bros. Power Hour , a cancelled animation block that would have aired in the 1980s. Concept art was produced for the series, which notably featured a male incarnation of Samus. Power Hour never moved forward in the intended format, instead being replaced by The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! which aired in 1989. Mother Brain
21168-461: The colony, she received a distress call and returned to find the scientists dead, and the larva stolen. The search for the Baby Metroid is the source of conflict in the story. When encountered by Samus, the Baby Metroid attacks Samus and nearly drains all her energy. During the final battle against Mother Brain, the Baby Metroid comes to Samus' aid by recharging her energy, but is destroyed by
21357-464: The controls as often awkward or difficult and said that many of the power-ups are either lifted from other Super NES games or simple upgrades of other power-ups in the game, but praised the game's massive size along with the auto-mapping feature. Andy Robinson of GamesRadar was pleased with the game's "phenomenal" soundtrack, complimenting it as "one of the best videogame scores of all time". Super Play critic Zy Nicholson said that Super Metroid
21546-551: The course of the game, the player can acquire power-ups that enhance Samus's armor and weaponry, as well as grant her special abilities, allowing them to gain access to areas that were previously inaccessible. The Morph Ball allows Samus to curl into a ball and roll into tight places; while in this form, she can plant bombs once a Bomb power-up is acquired. The Spring Ball adds the ability to jump while in Morph Ball form. The Speed Booster can be used to run at high speeds and crash into barriers and enemies. The Hi-Jump Boots allow for
21735-436: The creature and takes the remaining planetary energy, putting an end to Dark Aether and the Ing horde for good. During her escape from the destabilizing Dark Aether, Samus is confronted by Dark Samus, who she barely defeats, and then a group of Ing attempting to stop her from escaping, which she narrowly escapes from using a light portal previously hidden behind a wall of Phazon. The Ing then perish along with Dark Aether. Gorea
21924-560: The creature, eventually dubbing it "Metroid Prime" after containing it with security units and drones brought to their laboratories to perform experiments. Metroid Prime broke free and managed to assimilate several weapons and defense systems from fallen security units before going back to the impact crater. However, the PAL and Trilogy versions deny this, with the Pirate Logs only stating the Pirates picked up life signals coming from within
22113-430: The development under Retro Studios, the developer of the previous Metroid Prime games. In June 2024, Nintendo revealed a trailer and the title Metroid Prime 4: Beyond , with a release year of 2025. Metroid ranked the 70th top game (collectively) by Next Generation in 1996 and the 6th in 1999, and as the eighth best game franchise by IGN in 2008. In 2001, Electronic Gaming Monthly named Super Metroid
22302-497: The discovery of the Galactic Federation's initial military purposes for her caused her to have a meltdown, which inadvertently led to the remaining Mother Brain DNA within her corrupting and controlling her software, and she forced the Bottle Ship on a collision course. Melissa was confronted by both Samus and Madeline after her Queen Metroid had been killed. Despite their attempts to persuade her not to become violent, she did not listen and tried to kill them both, only to get shot down by
22491-470: The effect of cold temperatures. However, this project was foiled by the accidental cloning of Ridley and the rebellion of MB, the Mother Brain-like android created to control the Metroids. This leads to the interference of Adam Malkovich's team of soldiers and Samus, but one of their operatives called "The Deleter" by Samus, infiltrates Adam's squad to remove any evidence of the project. While it
22680-499: The following week. Along with the 1997 Konami game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , the early Metroid games defined a subgenre known as Metroidvania . Tom Happ, developer of the 2015 Metroidvania game Axiom Verge , defined Metroidvania games as side-scrolling adventures with continuous maps, rather than discrete levels , that require the player to collect items and backtrack. Other notable Metroidvania games include Cave Story (2004), Shadow Complex (2009), Ori and
22869-412: The former's impersonation of ADAM), but actually speak the fictional Chozo language; both are voiced by Spanish voice actors. Samus' former commanding officer in the Galactic Federation army. He only appears in person in Metroid: Other M , but plays a major role in the events of that game. At first, he does not accept Samus' assistance, but lets up after she defeats a hostile on the bridge. After this, he
23058-505: The galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Metroid creatures. Metroid combines the platforming of Super Mario Bros. and the exploration of The Legend of Zelda with a science fiction setting and an emphasis on nonlinear gameplay . Most Metroid games are side-scrolling , while the 3D games use a first-person perspective . Players battle hostile alien enemies and obtain power-ups as they progress through
23247-457: The game "may well be the best action adventure game ever", calling it the "wave of the future", and they praised the game's graphics, sound, and controls. 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. Each of the four reviewers gave it scores of nine out of ten. GamePro criticized
23436-428: The game 3rd on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time". They opined that Super Metroid is "tour de force from Nintendo" and described the gameplay as perfect. In 1995, Total! rated the game 17th on its "Top 100 SNES Games". In 1995, Flux magazine listed Super Metroid 62nd in their "Top 100 Video Games". They praised the game for its challenging gameplay and haunting atmosphere, although they felt that it
23625-558: The game was released at wrong place and time. With the help of strong marketing from Nintendo, Super Metroid sold well in North America, topping the Super NES sales chart in May 1994 . A year after its release, Nintendo placed it on their Player's Choice marketing label. By late 2003, the game had shipped 1.42 million copies worldwide. Super Metroid received several awards and honors. Electronic Gaming Monthly named Super Metroid
23814-413: The game world. The series is known for its isolated atmosphere, featuring few non-player characters . The first Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Metroid II: Return of Samus was released for the handheld Game Boy in 1991. Super Metroid (1994), released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , received acclaim. After
24003-526: The game's mechanics with altered game mechanics, graphical overhauls, and new stories. Nintendo did not release another Metroid game for eight years, as the series had not matched the success of the Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises. Yokoi left Nintendo in August 1996, amid the failure of the Virtual Boy , and died in a car accident in October 1997. Fans eagerly awaited a Metroid game for
24192-601: The game, and because its open-ended structure lends well to sequence breaking , it has become a popular choice for speedrunning , a style of play in which the player intends to complete the game as quickly as possible. Super Metroid , alongside Konami 's 1997 game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , is also credited for establishing the " Metroidvania " genre. It was cited as an influence on other Metroidvania games, including Shadow Complex and Axiom Verge . Several ROM hacks for Super Metroid were released by fans, which added new features that are not included in
24381-466: The game, the Chozo are believed to be extinct as of Dread . In the Metroid manga series, which is a prequel to the original game, two Chozo who had a hand in Samus's origins were introduced as Old Bird and Gray Voice . When Samus lost her family to the Space Pirates, they took her under their wings and raised her to become the galactic savior she is today, and Gray Voice was one of the Chozo who donated his DNA to Samus. Gray Voice later feigned joining
24570-485: The hardware was not suitable for the project. Dread was ultimately revived in 2021 for the Nintendo Switch . In 2004, Nintendo also released Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , which sees Samus switching between parallel light and dark worlds and introduced more difficulty. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , released for the Wii in 2007, added motion controls and has Samus exploring separate planets, with more emphasis on shooting action. The Prime games were rereleased for
24759-410: The hopes of having her bond in a more organic way with the Metroids, mimicking Samus' mother-son-like relationship with the "baby". As MB gained emotions of her own just like the original Mother Brain once did, the scientists decided to reprogram her AI, something Madeline was initially opposed to but ultimately accepted when faced with the dangers of keeping her active. Madeline rejecting her safety and
24948-439: The increased RAM in the Wii , allowing for higher-quality audio samples. Kenji Yamamoto, who composed the music for Super Metroid and the Prime trilogy, copied the musical design of the original Metroid in Metroid Prime 3 , by keeping the music and themes dark and scary until the very end, when uplifting music is played during the credits. The Metroid franchise takes place in a science fiction setting where humanity
25137-451: The last Metroid to the Ceres space colony for scientific study. Investigation of the specimen, a larva , reveals that its energy-producing abilities could actually be harnessed for the good of civilization. Shortly after leaving, Samus receives a distress call alerting her to return to the colony immediately. She finds the scientists dead, and the Metroid larva stolen by Ridley , leader of
25326-497: The last moment. It is the larva that was stolen from Ceres; because Samus was present at its hatching on SR388, the Metroid has imprinted on Samus, recognizing her as its "mother". Samus fights Mother Brain , a biomechanical creature that controls the Zebes systems. Mother Brain overpowers Samus and again she is nearly killed, but the Metroid intervenes, crippling Mother Brain and healing Samus. Mother Brain rises again and kills
25515-538: The last of their race focused their telepathic energy to confine Gorea into a "Seal Sphere", which they placed in a starship called the Oubliette . The ship was launched into a dimensional rift called the Infinity Void, to be released only when eight keys called "Octoliths" were assembled. In the game, Gorea sends a telepathic message of an ultimate power to lure unsuspecting victims as a plan to be free. During
25704-462: The level Zebes, and in Super Smash Bros. Melee both as an unlockable trophy and in the game's opening, where he is fighting Samus at Ceres Space Station. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl , Ridley appears as a boss character in both normal and Meta Ridley forms. Ridley's clone from Metroid: Other M appears as a boss on the Pyroshpere stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U , where he will join
25893-585: The more dangerous X Parasites , they are one of the primary plot points in the Metroid games as Samus either fights them or tries to prevent the Space Pirates or Galactic Federation from harnessing their powers for evil. Metroid II: Return of Samus and the remake Metroid: Samus Returns established a five-stage life cycle in which those Metroids native to their home planet SR388 go through two stages of ecdysis followed by two stages of mutation , thus maturing through five previously unknown forms: Alpha Metroid, Gamma Metroid, Zeta Metroid, Omega Metroid, and
26082-525: The most important thing was that players "can now play this masterpiece without having to track down the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge or fumble with legally questionable emulators". Despite admitting that the Virtual Console version was essentially "nothing more than a no-frills, emulated version of a 13-year-old SNES game" that was no longer cutting-edge, he was still pleased with it and reiterated his belief that Super Metroid
26271-472: The native Japanese word tori ("bird") for the usual, Chinese-derived chō . In the late game of Metroid Prime Chozo ghosts appear and attack Samus. Although originally allies, the Chozo became maddened by the Phazon corruption of their planet, and could no longer distinguish friend from foe. In Metroid Zero Mission , Samus is able to enter the Chozo Ruins. In Metroid Dread , the social structure of
26460-503: 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. Slate said that action fans will not miss Super Metroid , but also remarked that due to the large space available to explore and numerous secrets, the players will have to play through several times even after they have beaten it. Nintendo Power mentioned that
26649-470: The non-linear exploration of The Legend of Zelda and a darker aesthetic. The name of the game is a portmanteau of the words "metro" (as in rapid transit ) and android, and was meant to allude to the mainly underground setting of the first game as well as its robot-like protagonist. Halfway through development of the original Metroid , one of the staff said to his fellow developers "Hey, wouldn't that be kind of cool if it turned out that this person inside
26838-518: The only game in which players do not control Samus, sees Samus mind-controlled by Space Pirates; the Federation Force, an elite squadron of marines equipped with powerful exosuits, battles to rescue her and destroy the Space Pirates. In Metroid II , the Galactic Federation calls for the extermination of the Metroid species and contracts Samus to travel to the species' homeworld, SR388, to carry out their extinction. She succeeds in wiping out
27027-403: The original Metroid , but again confronts it in Super Metroid . It was revealed in Metroid Prime 3 that the Galactic Federation had constructed biomechanical supercomputers called Auroras, and that there were plans for a "Future Aurora Complex", which appears to be the Mother Brain depicted in Super Metroid . In the first cutscene for Metroid: Other M , the scene of Mother Brain destroying
27216-492: The original Metroid , he is the first part of the mini-boss duo along with Ridley. In Super Metroid he appears in his giant form, two screens tall and almost a screen wide. Metroid: Zero Mission retconned his size and appearance, showing he did not grow between games. He was also slated to appear in Metroid Prime as a boss in the Phazon Mines, with a metal dome covering his head and blue Phazon veins on his belly, but
27405-423: The original game. Super Metroid: Redesign , created by "drewseph" in 2006, features new items, expanded areas and modified physics. In 2011, a Japanese hacker named "SB" released a ROM hack titled Metroid: Super Zero Mission , which intends to combine elements from Super Metroid and Metroid: Zero Mission . Later hacks, such as Hyper Metroid by "RealRed" and Super Junkoid by "P. Yoshi", further expand on
27594-409: The other hunters, due to association with the Galactic Federation, which he harbors a great hatred towards for unexplained reasons. In the 100% ending's post-credit scene of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , Sylux chases Samus in his ship. Sylux also appears (presumed via silhouette) in a post-credits scene of Metroid Prime: Federation Force . According to Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe,
27783-544: The picture when she comes to Aether, looking for a missing Galactic Federation squad. Samus assists the Luminoth in their war, recovering the lost energy, and ultimately enters the Sky Temple, where she confronts the Emperor Ing, the Ing horde's leader and the main antagonist of the game. Despite the Emperor Ing being powerful thanks to the last of Dark Aether's planetary energy and great amounts of Phazon, Samus defeats
27972-463: The planet for a Metroid that has been stolen by Ridley , the leader of the Space Pirates . Samus can run, jump, crouch, and fire a weapon in eight directions; she can also perform other actions, such as wall jumping —jumping from one wall to another in rapid succession to reach higher areas. The "Moon Walk" ability, named after the popular dance move of the same name , allows Samus to walk backwards while firing or charging her weapon. Throughout
28161-611: The planet's Metroid population, but saves a single hatchling Metroid that bonds to her and delivers it to the Ceres research station for study. In Super Metroid , Ridley steals the hatchling and takes it to Zebes, where the Space Pirates are attempting to clone the Metroids. After killing Ridley, Samus herself is nearly killed by the revived Mother Brain, but is rescued by the now grown Metroid which sacrifices itself. Samus destroys Mother Brain in retaliation and escapes as Zebes explodes, exterminating her old enemies for good. In Metroid: Other M , set after Super Metroid , Samus investigates
28350-557: The planet, comparing it to people who referred themselves as " Americans " when they emigrated to the United States . Ridley ( リドリー ) is the archenemy of Samus Aran , an intelligent and sadistic dragon -like entity that despite being killed multiple times by her, is always revived by the Space Pirates (or accidentally by the Galactic Federation in Metroid: Other M ) using cloning or robotics. Other than Samus and
28539-548: The planets hit was the Pirate Homeworld, in order to turn the rest of the Space Pirates into followers of Dark Samus. In an attack to the Galactic Federation vessel G.F.S. Valhalla, Dark Samus steals a supercomputer , the Aurora Unit 313, which is used to implant a computer virus into the Galactic Federation's network of Aurora Units, crippling it. Shortly after, Dark Samus leads an attack on Norion, corrupting Samus and other bounty hunters with Phazon. After Samus destroys
28728-418: The player searching for power-ups used to reach previously inaccessible areas. It introduced new concepts to the series, such as the inventory screen, an automap , and the ability to fire in all directions. The development staff from previous Metroid games—including Yoshio Sakamoto , Makoto Kano and Gunpei Yokoi —returned to develop Super Metroid over the course of two years. The developers wanted to make
28917-508: The player to enable and disable weapons and abilities. While the beam weapons can be combined, the Spazer and Plasma beams cannot be used simultaneously. At the game's end, Samus obtains the Hyper Beam, a powerful weapon generated by the energy given to her by the "super Metroid", the matured version of the larval creature that she seeks over the course of the game. The backup units called Reserve Tanks can be used automatically when Samus's health
29106-418: The present: both of these actions were taken for the greater good, and for the good of Samus herself. Upon entering Sector Zero, he activates the laboratory's self-destruct protocol, sacrificing himself. While Samus vows not to grieve his death, she also vows not to forget him, and gives him a thumbs up sign instead of a thumbs down, indicating that she knows what he would have wanted: for her to live her life for
29295-476: The race may have traveled to a higher plane of being as opposed to dying out. The sage -like Chozo were extremely advanced in technology, and took pride in their elaborate statuary . They also exchanged knowledge with other species, including the Luminoth of Aether, the Reptilicus of Bryyo, and the Elysians of Elysia (robots which the Chozo themselves built). Lore found in Metroid Prime 3 specifically mentions
29484-430: The refined controls, and called Super Metroid "undoubtedly the best game I've played this year so far" and "a game destined for classic status". James Leach agreed with Nicholson and Mott that Super Metroid was what Mega Man X should have been, containing "everything I look for: playability, hidden tricks, powerful weapons and steamingly evil baddies". All three reviewers in their verdict called Super Metroid one of
29673-579: The rights to create a live-action film based on Metroid , but the rights expired. The director John Woo acquired the rights a few years later, and his studio Lion Rock Productions was to produce and release the film before 2006. The writers included David Greenwalt , who had worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel , and Grimm . According to the producer Brad Froxhoven, the film would have explored Samus' origin story ; she would be "an exceptionally talented, but also flawed character who
29862-479: The rise of the evil Ing race. While liberating Aether from the Ing, Samus encounters Dark Samus, a revitalized Metroid Prime that has partially copied her physical appearance. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , Samus and three other bounty hunters are recruited by the Federation to stop Dark Samus from infecting the galaxy with Phazon. While fighting to avoid being slowly corrupted by Phazon herself, Samus eradicates Phazon and her double. Metroid Prime: Federation Force ,
30051-524: The sake of violence". The game was demonstrated at the Winter 1994 Consumer Electronics Show , and was named the best Super NES game at the show by GamePro . The music for Super Metroid was composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, and uses 16-bit versions of music from previous games. The Super NES's sound hardware allowed the playback of samples simultaneously on eight channels, as opposed to three PSG channels and one noise channel of
30240-501: The same coloration as her Power Suit. These enhancements allow Samus to defeat the Omega Metroid and escape the B.S.L., which then crashes into SR388, destroying both and therefore killing all the X Parasites aboard the station and on the planet. The final X Parasites are contained in Elun on the planet ZDR, and midway through Metroid Dread are released by Raven Beak to hinder Samus. The bosses Escue, Golzuna, Experiment No. Z-57, as well as
30429-645: The series had sold over 17.44 million copies worldwide. Sales of Metroid games in Japan have typically been lower than in the United States. In its debut week in Japan, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption sold 32,388 units, ranking it behind Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan! , Super Smash Bros. Brawl , Wii Fit , and Gundam Musou Special . Metroid: Other M was the third-bestselling video game in Japan during its week of release with 45,398 copies sold, ranking it behind Wii Party and Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village . It sold an additional 11,239 copies
30618-409: The series, especially the Prime series, they could be considered arthropod-like reptiles. A single Pirate may have many biological differences from the other individuals of their species, most likely because of their willingness to perform self-experimentation and mutation. Important leaders include Ridley , the Space Pirate commander, Mother Brain , the bio-mechanical defense of Zebes controlled by
30807-486: The series; Yoshio Sakamoto , who was a character designer for the first game and has directed or supervised most of the sequels; Gunpei Yokoi , who headed the R&;D1 division and produced the first two games; Makoto Kano , who wrote the scenario for Metroid , co-designed the second game, and produced the third; and Hiroji Kiyotake , who designed characters for the original. The original Metroid , an action game for
30996-494: The spread of the X among his Chozo army ruined his plans. However, once he learned that Samus had absorbed Metroid DNA during the events of Metroid Fusion , he changed his plan to capture and obtain her DNA instead. When the Galactic Federation sends E.M.M.I. units to ZDR to investigate signs of X Parasites, he hijacks them by ordering Quiet Robe to commandeer them, planning to exploit their ability to harvest genetic information. When Samus arrives on ZDR, Raven Beak fights her, gaining
31185-423: The stage. Metroid Prime and its later form Dark Samus is the main antagonist of the Prime subseries. It is a strange, black-carapaced, red-eyed creature with a humanoid face within its shell and the ability to control and horribly mutate anything it attaches to. Metroid Prime appears in Metroid Prime as the final boss, and after its defeat, reforms itself by stealing Samus' Phazon Suit to become Dark Samus,
31374-453: The suit was a woman?", and the idea was accepted. Ridley Scott 's 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien was described by Sakamoto as a "huge influence" after the world of the first Metroid had been created. In recognition of this, an antagonist was given the name Ridley , after director Ridley Scott . The development staff were also influenced by the work of the film's creature designer H. R. Giger , finding his style to be fitting for
31563-482: The time taken to complete the game, which determine whether Samus poses with or without her suit. The best ending is achieved when the game is completed under three hours. Additionally, an optional task alters the game's end slightly. If the player chooses to rescue the Dachora and the Etecoons, friendly creatures encountered by Samus in the game, they are shown leaving the planet in the distance. Samus Aran brings
31752-471: The titular Metroids, Ridley is the only character that has appeared consistently throughout most of the games in the series (the exceptions being Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy , Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for the GameCube , Metroid Prime Hunters for the Nintendo DS , Metroid Prime: Federation Force for the Nintendo 3DS , and Metroid Dread for the Nintendo Switch). He
31941-501: The uncommon Queen Metroid (the latter as the primary antagonist of the game). They are frequently shown to be vulnerable to ice-based weaponry such as the Ice Beam and freeze guns. These weapons can freeze most Metroids instantly, and often all it takes to finish them off after this is a strong impact such as one from a missile. Game Informer called the Metroid their favorite alien race in video gaming, praising how their appearance
32130-403: The upper hand even at her full power, but when her Metroid abilities initially manifest themselves, he leaves her alone, sparing her. He tracks her progress through ZDR, masquerading as Adam Malkovich, and sets the E.M.M.I upon her. When she arrives at his fortress he expresses his disappointment in her refusal to submit to him, drops the guise of Adam, and engages her in combat. He once again gains
32319-432: The upper hand, but her Metroid DNA fully awakens and she is able to easily defeat him. On the brink of death, he is infected with an X Parasite, turning into Raven Beak X , a massive monster resembling Kraid who was previously killed and absorbed, with a radially symmetrical mouth that contains his head. This form is destroyed by Samus using her Metroid abilities. Raven Beak and Quiet Robe do not speak English (not counting
32508-412: Was a high-ranking member of the Mawkin, and donated his DNA to infuse into Samus, technically making them biologically related. When the Thoha intended to destroy the planet to eliminate the threat of the Metroids and X, Raven Beak ordered their extermination, with the exception of Quiet Robe, as he needed a pawn to use to control the Metroids. He intended to create a Metroid army and conquer the galaxy, but
32697-445: Was also one of the first video games to feature an exploration to the left as well as the right, and backtracking to already explored areas to search for secret items and paths. Since the late 1990s, the term " Metroidvania " has been applied to this format. The Metroid series has been noted and praised for its unique style of video game music . Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka , composer of the original Metroid , has said he wanted to make
32886-547: Was asked to compose the music for Metroid Prime to reinforce the series continuity. Metroid Prime ' s Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound was mixed by a member of Dolby . Developers from Retro Studios noted how the 6 MB memory budget for all sound effects of a level in Metroid Prime was crucial in producing a quality soundtrack, as each sound had to be of high quality to be included. Yamamoto used heavy drums, piano, voiced chants, clangs of pipes, and electric guitar. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption took advantage of
33075-435: Was called the best sound design on the GameCube . The sound effects were also noted for a high degree of accuracy and blending with the soundtrack. On the popular video game music site OverClocked ReMix , Super Metroid is the tenth-most remixed video game, while the first Metroid video game was twenty-fifth. Each Metroid game, excluding spin-offs and remakes, has sold more than one million copies. By September 2012,
33264-403: Was destroyed, but a post-credits scene shows Dark Samus reforming herself in deep space. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption shows a team of Space Pirates returned to Aether to pick up Phazon, and eventually found Dark Samus, who killed a third of the Pirates and brainwashed the rest to be their leader. After discovering Phaaze, Dark Samus begins her mission to spread Phazon across the universe - one of
33453-572: Was distributed on a 24- megabit cartridge . It was re-released through the Nintendo Power service in Japan on September 30, 1997. Super Metroid became available as a Wii Virtual Console game in North America on August 20, 2007, in Japan on September 20, and in Europe on October 12. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl , it is also one of the trial games available in the "Masterpieces" section, which uses Virtual Console technology to emulate older hardware and have time constraints. The game
33642-409: Was followed in 2002 by Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime . It has been re-released on several Nintendo consoles and services. Super Metroid is a 2D side-scrolling action-adventure game , which primarily takes place on the fictional planet Zebes from the original game—a large, open-ended world with areas connected by doors and elevators. The player controls Samus Aran as she searches
33831-474: Was harvested from Samus' Power Suit following Mother Brain's death in Super Metroid , in order to control the Metroids and the Zebesians, an offshoot form of Space Pirates, that were being mass-produced in Sector Zero of said starship. Originally, MB was only a computer software, but due to its inability to interact personally with the Metroids, the scientists decided to give her an artificial human body in
34020-627: Was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console in May 2013, initially available during the trial campaign for a cheaper price before reverting to its regular price the next month. The New Nintendo 3DS -specific Virtual Console also received the release in April 2016. In September 2017, Nintendo released the Super NES Classic Edition , which included Super Metroid among its games. Super Metroid and other Super NES games were added to
34209-404: Was looking for redemption ... We wanted to see her struggle, to be humbled, and to be forced to rise up against crazy odds. And of course we wanted to see the cool weapons in all of their glory". Super Metroid Super Metroid is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . It
34398-569: Was nominated for the Game Awards 2016 , but was removed as it had not been cleared by Nintendo for inclusion. Samus is a playable character in all five Super Smash Bros. games. Games from Super Smash Bros. Brawl onward also feature Zero Suit Samus, a version of the heroine using the blue form-fitting suit seen in Zero Mission and the Prime series. Ridley makes cameos in Super Smash Bros. , where he can be seen flying through
34587-428: Was not a first-person shooter but a "first-person adventure". Metroid Prime received acclaim. It sold 2.84 million copies worldwide and was the best-selling Metroid game until Metroid Dread (2021). In 2002, Nintendo released Metroid Fusion , a 2D game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It was developed by R&D1 and written and directed by Sakamoto. Its gameplay is similar to Super Metroid , but with
34776-549: Was noted for its "understated score" which fit the mood of the adventure and its excellent stereo sound effects, making it an uncommonly good Game Boy Advance sound experience. Metroid Prime was considered one of the best games ever made upon its release, winning Game of the Year from various publications and websites. IGN called the aural experience with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes "mesmerizing". Music from Metroid has been frequently re-released as part of "best of" video game music releases. Metroid Prime ' s soundtrack
34965-497: Was released for Wii in 2010. It featured a third-person perspective and placed a greater focus on story and action. Other M received weaker reviews, with criticism for its characterization of Samus as timid and emotional and its reduced emphasis on exploration. Polygon described Other M as "such a massive misfire and a flop with fans that it practically killed the series", with the series going on another hiatus for six years. A Metroid minigame , "Metroid Blast", appeared in
35154-557: Was removed due to time constraints. Kraid returns in Metroid Dread after being captured and experimented on by Raven Beak where he is shown as the first and most significant boss of Cataris, a lava filled zone used to heat the rest of the area he is present in, and is the second boss of the overall game. Kraid also makes an appearance in the background of the Brinstar Depths stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate where he periodically slashes and rotates
35343-455: Was severely wounded in a fight against Samus and became a cyborg in order to survive. In Metroid Prime Hunters , he is one of the bounty hunters looking for the ultimate power in the Alimbic Cluster and his weapon of choice is Battlehammer. A small group within the Federation government which is responsible for the events in Metroid: Other M and serves as a behind-the-scenes antagonist in Metroid Fusion . Secretly, this unnamed group within
35532-575: Was the primary villain in the Captain N: The Game Master TV show. Various magazines have published comics and manga based on Metroid , Super Metroid , Metroid Prime , Metroid Prime 2: Echoes , and Metroid: Zero Mission in both the United States and Japan. Samus Aran and other Metroid characters also featured in the Captain N: The Game Master comic books by Valiant Comics . In Japan,
35721-468: Was to make a "good action game". It is the first Metroid game to let Samus fire in all directions while moving. It is also among the first open-world games with a map feature, which shows the outlines of rooms and indicates important locations and items. The team wanted to create a large map, but found it difficult to organize the amount of graphic data involved, and so broke it into smaller parts. Areas from previous Metroid games were included to create
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