Metroid (1987)

I never played this back in the day, though I did play Metroid 2 on the gameboy. It's honestly impressive how much they get right with this first entry. Atmosphere, non-linear exploration, iconic enemies. Tight controls. Progression. It's by no means perfect. Progression is often quiet obtuse and the lack of a map makes navigation very challenging. Especially with how many secrets are in this game. Sometimes even essential paths forwards are hidden behind destructible walls that you can only tell are destructible by having an irrational hate of all walls and floors, like with the first Zelda game.

Nintendo really was in their A game when it game to tutorializing their early games. The first screen here is brilliant and economical. You can go either left or right. If you go right, you will be stuck. There's a wall, with a small gap/tunnel you can't fit through. You back track and go the other direction (left) and you find the first upgrade. The morph ball. Now you can progress. This communicates to you that you need to explore and upgrades will allow you to progress deeper into the world. That is the key tenets you need to understand to beat the game. Though I think they should have also included a destructible wall given how important finding those becomes.

From there you really are free to meander around. You will encounter things that will block progress. Such as a red colored door you can't open. In the instruction manual, it tells you that these doors need missiles to destroy, the game itself doesn't communicate this to you within the game world. Pity because it took me awhile to realize I could now open these doors.

I did end up using an online map to navigate. I rarely looked up a guide on how to specifically find hidden things, though I did have to just give up a few times. The instruction manual did include a map of the whole game, but unlike the Zelda map, it's really not that useful. Though the instruction manual lays out your objective. Kill the two mini-bosses (while also telling you where they are in the game) and fight Mother Brain. So looking up a map online didn't really feel like cheating since they provided all this essential detail in the instruction manual. Like I said with my earlier review of Zelda 1, instruction manuals are a lost art.

Metroid is a trial and error type of game that does punish you pretty heavily for failure. Making it feel unfair at times. If you die, you start at the beginning of the game with only 30 energy. Even if you have 5 energy tanks, you only have a third of one when you respawn... there are no ways to quickly replenish your energy other than picking up a rare and hidden energy tank... so you have to farm for energy and missiles. That can take 30+ minutes to restore your stock... again this feels like padding. Which wasn't really necessary since the game is already kind of long. There's also no save stations like in Metroid 2 or onward. So you have to quit out with a second controller like in Zelda 1 and get a password to reload your progress. But you spawn with only 30 energy again...

If you can get over the awkwardness of password savings, the extreme punishment of quitting/dying (starting with 30 energy and needing to farm for 30 minutes to replenish), this game has a lot to offer. It's deeply atmospheric that constantly rewards exploration. You start off weak, but by the end game when you have the screw attack and plenty of missiles you will plow through the game and it feels great. The platforming and gameplay do also feel pretty tight. It does suck you can't crouch shoot (you have to use the morph ball bombs to attack enemies or have the wave beam) or shoot at angles, but overall the game is balanced around this and it still feels good. it sucks you can't swap between different beams. While there were limited controller buttons, Megan Man and Zelda 2 got around this by having you select abilities on the pause screen. In Metroid, the pause button just pauses the game, no pause menu, so they certainly could have added this.

Still though, with a map at your side, this is something worth playing. I had fun with it even if the last boss kind of sucks to fight.

Metroid est un bon jeu mais sa notoriété a été complètement eclipsé par Super Metroid qui est presque un remake à moitié avoué du jeu. Ce qui va: -La musique est excellente et reste en tête. -L'ambiance pesante, quoique pas très travaillée se fait ressentir. -Le sentiment d'accomplissement est au rendez-vous.

Ce qui ne va pas: -Le level design n 'est pas soigné (certaines salles sont des copiés collés et semblent parfois scotchées les une aux autres pour aucune raison), certains chemins ne mènent à absolument rien. -La difficulté est très mal dosée. en début de jeu vous allez vous faire exploser la gueule et quand vous mourez vous repartez avec très peu de points de vie ce qui va mener à beaucoup de grind.

Outre ces défauts, je le répète, le jeu est bon dans l'ensemble et l'oibtention des divers upgrades permettent de palier à la difficulté.

Preliminary: I almost played the 1987 North American NES version, but turns out there are quite a few differences between the FDS and NES versions. So, in following my usual "rules" for this chronology project, I am playing the August 1986 release to fit properly in the context of games released around it. Fresh after the first Zelda and Dragon Warrior and Mario, but just before the first Castlevania!

Anyway, ah yes the game that I always wanted to enjoy as a kid, but had no idea where to go or what to do and would get excited at first but eventually give up. Then again, that could be said of Dragon Warrior and Zelda 2 when I was a kid ha. Thank goodness for the Internet and my adult mind now. Now that I have a strategywiki to reference, and my adult mind, hopefully I will enjoy it more! Just hoping the controls, mechanics, or gameplay doesn't get in the way like what happened with that Valkyrie game I got all excited for.

Look: 7/10 Kraid's Hideout/area has a cool look. Wasn't impressed for the most part though the organic nature of this place was interesting.

Sound: 7/10 Mostly meh, but great Missile/item/upgrade-retrieval jingle ha. Overall, it's all a bit too bleepy and bloopy for me, and to think, the FDS version is considered to have considerably better quality audio!

Lol! The sound that Ridley makes when you hit him (oh and Kraid too, same sound). Lol! That alarm? sound during the final sequence what in the world. Quite annoying but funny anyway.

Play: 8/10 It took me a minute to get the FDS version properly loaded but I got it! And omg I love the little ball rolly version of you upgrade lol. Sonic-esque, but also just cool-looking and well-done (so far). I like the jump mechanic (at first), a bit unsure about the shooting/aiming mechanics but seems I will quickly get used to it.

Wait, why can't I duck and shoot? Lame. Too many floor-based enemies not to have that... Also, the jumping mechanic was pretty clunky, I like how much the d-pad and jump button can influence the jump itself but it results in some awkward situations and not-jumping situations and not-far-enough jumps etc.

Unsurprisingly, the upgrade/Metroidvania mechanic and exploration factor with a map to reference (without a map, no thanks) are what shine. (And okay, phew, seems my next power-up is the ability to attack in some way while a ball)

Hm weird, I know I collected an Energy Pack but my maximum Energy is still 99. Ohhhh, I assume it just always says 99 as maximum but the blue boxes represent additional energy packs of 99? Also, weird, it seems there is a limit to how many destroyed standable blocks you can have in one room or something? I love love love that the mid-jump movement is, in fact, quite controllable, even if getting used to the quirk of how long to hold the jump button took a while.

Kraid takes way too many hits, sheesh!

Feel: 9/10 Disappointing how many of the "level designs" are essentially repeated throughout the game. And the red-door missle factor got old pretty quickly

Oh shoot, about halfway through the game I remembered there are different endings and they're based on how fast you are >.< I was over here going out of my way to kill extra enemies like there were a Score system, but mostly to collect extra Energy.... even when I was at full :-p (deep in my mind I also sorta justified it by saying I was getting used to the quirky controls).

The mechanic where you kill the 2 mini-bosses then return to statues near the start of the game which represent the mini-bosses, reminds me of Abe's Oddysee. Nice concept with that, though figuring that out as a kid--especially with factors like false lava pools and other NES style secrets---was next to impossible for me :-p

Attachment: 8/10 Oh the quirks of videogames. I love that the Metroid community (like Mario and Zelda etc) figured out all these intricate possibilities, like Wall Jumping and "Hidden Worlds" accessed from it. Basically, unintended extra rooms or areas by manipulating the wall collision masks and whatnot.

Indeed, as I got more and more used to the quirks (inevitable for an early console/microcomputer platformer), I got more and more into the game. Proud to get the Varia Suit without High Jump Boots etc. just Ice Beam. It's that side of the game that I think has made it so endearing and longlasting, and helped define the Metroidvania genre: embracing the quirks of the controls not primarily for the Ghosts n Goblins style frustrations and Mario Lost Levels' outright exploitation of flaws in the mechanics, but rather for the exploration and ability-to-do-things-not-necessarily-intended-until-later.

Omg! The Screw Attack is a gamechanger! That feeling when you go back to Brinstar and have Screw Attack and all the parts that felt difficult there are laughable now. Even with all its frustrations and repeated level designs, I can't deny the addictive nature to this game. I loved following the maps and trying to figure out things on my own, often resorting to looking at the StrategyWiki though ha. Colelcted way more Missile Packs than I probly needed :-p I can't say I loved the gameplay itself, like how I feel about the first couple Zeldas, but there's something so endearing about this classic NES vibe.

At last I'm on to Tourian. Kinda silly you have to shoot the statues, fine with a guide but that would've been a headache without one -- oh early Nintendo secrets. I feel pretty good with the controls, particularly the jump mechanic, thank goodness for Screw Attack, and though I can't call it an absolute favorite, I see how it's on par with Zelda and Mario as a classic.

Holy crap--each Metroid in Tourian takes 5 Missiles? Here goes nothing... If only there were a leveling system so I could come in OP after grinding for hours lol. I was over here thinking the game was relatively forgiving for a Nintendo game, not when it comes to the secrets, but as long as you had a map or a neighbor or a friend who told you where to get Energy Packs, it seemed manageable. But wow, this last area... Oooo, pro-tip: not only does the Ice Beam come very in-handy for this last bit, but also Screw Attack can sort of push away the Metroids!

Like with Zelda, I can only imagine how I'd feel about it without a guide or someone to ask for advice back when it first came out, plus without savestates (like my goodness that last jumping bit, imagine if I didn't make it in time and had to start over...). But as it is, with modern access and savestates and guides, it is an epic classic and deserves its status. Not much difference in the possible endings lol, and all purely based on time. Meh. I wasn't sure if I was going to make the cut, even with the use of a guide and savestates, but it seems I did! (My version seemed to be a bit, uh glitchy at the end ha. It was a fan-translated version of the original Japanese FDS version)

Completion: bikini ending Playtime: I finally got playtime set for certain games at least! 3h 15m (in total, apparently I made it under an hour though in terms of playtime for the game I don't know how)

This is my first Metroid game to play and finish it's entirety on a not so much a one sitting playthrough. Playing the game was both fun and frustrating at the same time with the amount of time you spend back tracking, It become very annoying, but the encounters and acquiring new Items, Power-ups, and discovering secrets makes the game fun to go through from start to finish.

I'm not going to say my experience was bad with the game and I definitely had so much fun playing, but there are a few key-problems with the game that It becomes an abomination experience.

Why are there areas around some levels where you would very much get stuck because you didn't get a certain power-up, and the only way to get out is through the game's technical problems?

How did you make such simple controls appear so hard on most levels? why the game's design feels new yet outdated compared to Zelda, and Castlevania?

What feels like an amazing game, has got some huge flaws to put off new players.

some folks told me to play this game with a guide as the Recommended way to play, and Even with the guide I had my fun, but why are there obstacles for new players who will play this game? I know there's a remake on the GBA and I'd recommend it, but still: how did Nintendo manage to make this game feel outdated the moment it went out?

I didn't get the secret Samus ending, but I think I've had a good time with the game despite all the flaws it had.

I'm a huge fan of the Metroid series, but the first game on the original NES is very hard to revisit these days. One of the three "adventure" titles Nintendo put out in 1986 (1987 in North America), Metroid would be remembered more fondly than Kid Icarus, but never quite hit the levels of popularity of Zelda. It's one of the Nintendo's most adult IPs and never has achieved the numbers of Nintendo's top franchises like Mario, Pokemon, Animal Crossing. However, the game's ambition, challenge, exploration and mood have made it one of the most important games in gaming history. "Metroidvania" became a thing because of this title. That genre has dominated the Indie space for over a decade now.

So why is the original title so hard to revisit? A few things. One, you have no map. Now, sure, in 2022, you can go on numerous websites and find a map to help you out, but back in 1986, that luxury wasn't an option. So figuring out where to go was very, very confusing, and it was super easy to get lost.

Two, the controls are stiff. Samus doesn't move with the grace and fluidity you'd expect of a space warrior like she is, and this makes later parts, where precise jumping is essential, all that more difficult.

Three, the amount of grinding you will have to do in this game can really make it get repetitive at points. At some parts, you will need missiles, but you won't have enough, so you will have to keep beating certain enemies to pickup more missiles, but then you will need energy because you will have an upcoming boss fight, but you can only pick those up from other enemies, so it's a slog of going back and forth, fighting the same guys over and over again to replenish resources. It gets quite monotonous after a while.

Four, instead of a save feature, you have to enter in extremely complex and lengthy passwords. In 1986, maybe that wasn't an issue, but in 2022, it makes the game at times more work than it's worth. In fairness, things like the NES Classic, Switch Online Service and Wii/Wii U Virtual Consoles have save states that help out a little, but this was a huge annoyance in the 80s.

Overall, I think this game is good to play to remember the roots of such an important series, but almost all the successive titles are vastly superior in every way.

I played tis with my dad when i was a kid, about 6-7 years old.

It took us weeks to explore zebes, and it was hard and confusing but we both had so much fun whenever we found a new power up or a new area.

Replayed it now, almost forty years later and i just cant get my nostalgia goggles off. The mysteries of Zebes will always fascinate me. As a kid i remember me and my dad played his for weeks, and as an adult it just took me three sittings to finish it. It was hard, but not hard enough to be frustrating, at least not after you find the screw-attack, the most overpowered weapon in the game.

The exploring is now a confusing enigma, because most areas acctually look the same even though they are not.

I probably wont recommend this to younger gamers, but for me, the nostalgia made it worth a new trip through the game.

Once you finish the game, dont forget to do a playthrough without Samus's armor ;)

Growing up I only had an NES until about 1997. I remember well into the SNES lifecycle, KB Toys still had 2 NES games for sale and my mom let me choose 1. It was between Mega Man 6 and Metroid and I chose Mega Man 6 and never ended up playing Metroid until I went to college and found emulators.

I'm not sure I'd ever gotten more than a few screens into Metroid the few times I'd tried it. I wanted to play this with Dread getting a lot of press. I knew it was a big gap in my gaming history to not have really gotten the full Metroid Experience.

Going in, I planned to use save states but no other spoilers and do the exploration on my own. Very quickly that idea got replaced with the idea of using a map, but not searching for any ways to cheese bosses (Looking at you Shadow Link!). I don't think I would have had fun without save states, but I think if I had wanted to invest the time, drawing a hand written map and exploring to find everything would have been fun, but I'm not sure I would have known when I'd found certain things (Varia suit, jumbing boots).

The screw attack is really the MVP, making previously difficult screens extremely easy.

I went Ridley -> Kraid -> Mother Brain, which I think is the normal order. I found Ridley to be pretty easy with the ice beam and I won first time through. Kraid was way tougher and ended up resorting to spamming bombs as I couldn't get through the defenses. The bullet hell to get to Mother Brain almost made me rage quit, but I eventually got a plan and some good save states as I went through. I only had 3 E tanks going into the end, which meant health was at a premium.

I never really cared for Metroid but with the announcement of Metroid 4, i decided to give this franchise a try.

And i gotta say, this game is TOUGH and the controls really don't help. A lot of grinding and a ruthless final boss made this experience a generally frustrating one.

I did sort of enjoy this game however, can't wait to see what the other Metroid games have in store for me !

(Ps: seriously though, i hope Mother Brain gets brain cancer)

Had a great time with this one. I used a map for most of the game, and a walk through towards the very end. I haven't played many of the "Metroidvania" style of games. There have been a few of these types of games that I've enjoyed in the past, namely the first Castlevania on the GBA, Circle of the Moon.

I didn't find it that difficult mechanically once I knew the pattern of an enemy group and how to get past certain parts. I had a lot of fun learning these parts. It strikes a nice balance between allowing you to progress with your skill alone, and helping you progress by acquiring power ups. There was an area I kept dying in, but I was getting better at it. When I returned there with the higher armored suit I was able to breeze through it, partially because of what I had learned the first time, and partially because of the damage reduction. Dying wasn't super punishing, and you just start at the beginning of an area with 30 Energy. 30 Energy is pretty low, especially towards the end of the game, but I found myself "farming" up health a lot by sitting by a pipe that shot out little alien birds continuously.

If I didn't use a map, I don't think i would have been able to finish this game without getting extremely frustrated. I thought it was easy to get lost since many passages look very similar, even if the enemy patterns are slightly different. Not to mention the secret areas. There are a lot of hidden walls and things that you need to break through in order to progress. I wouldn't have found these if I didn't use the map. I peeked at a walk through when I encountered Kraid and died to him twice, but I ended up disappointed with myself because the recommended strategy was the one that I was starting to use myself. The map definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the game though, and its clear why a good map in the pause screen has become a staple of these kinds of games.

I'll probably play this again at some point. A pleasant surprise.

History:

I never played the NES Metroid game.

Expectations:

So... Hm... I don't, much, actually, care for the Metroid series. There, I said it. I don't think that Super Metroid is the gem of the SNES and I got bored after spend a short amount of time with Metroid Prime. I don't see myself looking at this game much differently. Regardless, I'm going to try to have fun with this one.

Day 1:

While I never much cared for Super Metroid, it's one of my wife's favorite games, so she was pretty excited to watch me start playing this one... Which is exactly how I love playing games I'm bad, with an air of judgment and scoffing behind me...

Truthfully, even I really appreciated hearing the original sounds and scores that would become staple audio cues in future Metroid games, and zipping and shooting around stages felt really fantastic. I had completely forgotten how worried I was that the handling in the game might feel like Kid Icarus. It did not.

That's not to say that the "Metroidiness" of the game was forgotten though. I quickly found myself consulting a map and guide to find key items and where to take them. The whole, exploring giant maps to find the things I need to find the other things has never been my... thing. You only get one life in Metroid, but it's not horrible. You get your password and are sent back to the beginning of the game WITH everything you've accumulated so far. In the hour I playing I managed to make it to the second zone with an upgraded beam and some bombs and missiles before...

And it's bed time.

While I'm not hating the game by any means, I'm not loving it either. It really is just a personal matter as I can definitely see WHY Metroid is as popular as it is. We'll see what tomorrow's progress looks like.

Day 2:

Norfair? More like NO FAIR! Amirite? Guys?

I've noticed over the course of this console that when it comes to games I'm a bit apprehensive about there's often a trend. I'll spend the first day trying to make up my mind about a game and usually end that day leaning towards "do not like". Then I'll sleep on it, or watch a playthrough video, or sometimes something will just click and I'll "get it". Then on day two and after I'll end up seeing the game for what it's worth and love it. Case in point, Bionic Commando.

Alternatively, I'll find myself interested enough to go into day two excited to play... only to find that I like the game now even less than I did previously. Case in point, well, Metroid.

I'm still finding there's fun to be had here, I'm just generally having less of it. Running and jumping and gunning through hallways and platforming up silos can be a blast. Getting cheesed to death by one of those crazy, indestructible moth monsters, or trapped in lava under a platform? Not so much...

As it is I'm stuck in the game's second major zone trying to find... something... boots maybe? I'll make a more aggressive attempt tonight and progress will determine whether or not I give Metroid a 4th day.

Day 3:

After some more strategic platforming I finally made it through that hallway I was stuck on only to find... a dead end! Yep, all that trouble for nothing...

After consulting a map, the upgrades starting coming fast and hard. Energy Tanks, Missile Tanks, Hi Jump Boots and the Ice Beam... Oh and a new suit! Being able to traverse the planet virtually unrestricted actually feels pretty great and it's not long before I found myself prepping for my first boss fight.

Kraid was... not quite what I was expecting after encountering him first in Super Metroid. He goes down fairly easily and then it's off to grab some more items including my Screw Attack and the Wave Beam, both of which feel like major game changers. The fight with Ridley seems to arrive very quickly...

Also... not what I expected to see. Far less menacing and far more cuddly. I couldn't help but laugh as I blasted wave beams into him. Easier boss than Kraid if you're able to attack from the lava, which is what I did.

With no more upgrades to find I check my map and see that the route to Mother Brain is actually quite short and easy.

At this point it's passed Midnight. I didn't expect to be playing this long. I'm actually having fun, but dammit I'm ready for this space adventure to come to an end.

I'm excited, as I embark on the final approach... until I realize I've made a terrible mistake in giving up the Ice Beam: I can't deal with the Metroids! Not only did I give up the Ice Beam, but prior to that I had picked up BOTH instances of it! Devastated, I watch helplessly as the little headcrab sucks away my life and it's game over.

I find myself in a position where my options are either giving up on the game sitting at the final boss's doorstep, or start all over, which I don't want to do. I took down my password and went to bed...

Luckily for me, some Googling revealed that I can go grab the Ice Beam as many times as I need! Faith is restored and Mother Brain's hours are numbered!

Day 4:

Freeze!

So yeah, went back for the Ice Beam and sure enough it was right there! Grabbed it but only filled up half of my health tanks before attempting Mother Brain.

That turned out to be a huge mistake, as the final turret room took me out before I could get passed the second wall. I gave it another go, this time farming up to full health and missiles before going down. This time I had better timing on the Ice Beam against the Metroids and managed to avoid taking any damage before the turret room. About a hundred missiles later I was face to... brain... with the last boss.

The worst part about this "fight" was where I accidentally fell forward and lost nearly all my health between the lava and touching Mother Brain's glass housing.

In the end, at 60% of my final health tank, she went down, and I went up!

I thought I was on the home stretch, but no, that vertical climb had me sweating. At one point I fell all the way back to the floor! Eventually, I reached the top.

WAT! Metroid is a girl?!?!?

Conclusion:

I don't know which is more surprising: The fact that I actually beat Metroid, or the fact that I enjoyed it. I did enjoy it, and it's even a game I could see myself going back and playing at some point. For an early NES game Metroid looked really good, and played incredibly well. The score and sound effect are something that will stay with me for a while as well.

One thing I will say to the game's detriment is that there would have been NO WAY that I would have found half the items in the game without a guide. The secret door and hallways tend to be way too hidden. Sure, some are obvious like running into a large wall at the end of a hallway usually means a bomb tunnel, but without Google I don't think I would have beaten this one.

I can, after playing through this game, definitely see the appeal of Metroid, and how it become such a beloved franchise. At the time there was nothing quite like it. The biggest praise I think I can give this game, is that it's actually made me look forward to playing Super Metroid.

Liked:

- Great looking game for an early NES title.
- Sounds and music were fantastic, appropriate and memorable.
- Running and gunning handled really well, and blasting your way through tricky platforming sections felt rewarding.
- Every new upgrade made traversing Zebes that much more fun.
- All things considered the "large" map was actually fairly manageable, and after a day with the game I didn't really get lost as often.

Disliked:

- Controls, while mostly tight, could sometime get a bit floaty leading to some frustrating patforming.
- Hidden paths were often too hidden.
- Whenever there were more than four sprites on screen the game would lag like Mega Man III.
- Not sure I could have beaten this game without a guide.

Personal Score: