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Remembering Nintendo's excellent sci-fi franchise

2016 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Metroid series. Can you believe it? Perhaps you can remember when it first began, or maybe you jumped in a little later down the line. Whatever the case, Metroid has a wonderful, yet troubled history. It has its fair share of ups and downs, yet the vast majority of its games are simply stellar. There's no better time than right now to look back on this wonderful series, and also hope that it will soon return to true form. So put on those rose-tinted nostalgia glasses, and as always, please share your Metroid memories below. 

Metroid Begins (1986-1994)

Metroid (1986, NES) was inspired heavily by the 1979 movie Alien. This is obvious when you look at the comparisons. The main character of the movie is a female, Ripley, who is the sole survivor of the alien attack. Like Samus, she dons a space suit in order to defeat the dreadful xenomorph. At the end, she barely escapes from the exploding ship, just as Samus barely escapes from the exploding Tourian facility. If certain requirements are met, you will discover that Samus is female and be able to play as her in a skin-tight outfit; similarly, Ripley was in her underwear at the end of the movie. Also, the name of one of the bosses is Ridley, who was named after director Ridley Scott. These similarities are no coincidence as Yoshio Sakamoto has stated, "I think the film Alien had a huge influence on the production of the first Metroid game."

The game itself was astounding for its time. Not only could you play as an awesome space bounty hunter, but you could explore a vast alien homeworld. The entire world was interconnected, and you could access new areas by finding powerful weapons and upgrades. Yoshio Sakamoto was the co-director and designer of the game while Gunpei Yokoi (who would later create the Game Boy) was the producer. While The Legend of Zelda offered exploration, Metroid was the first side-scrolling action game to do this. As a result, it influenced the entire genre. 

In October 1991, Metroid II: The Return of Samus was released for Game Boy. It seems that the team behind Metroid (who also created the Game Boy) wanted Metroid II to be a proof-of-concept for their new handheld. Sadly, this game is the black sheep of the series, as it provided an ambitious, yet very linear adventure. The graphics are quite impressive, giving us a larger and more detailed sprite of Samus, along with other creatures. The game expands on the concepts of the original, but lacks true depth as well as basic fun. If anything, Metroid II is the painful mid-point between the original game and the 16-bit masterpiece which would follow. It's also important for continuing the story and setting up the events of the next game with the baby metroid. 

And now we come to Super Metroid (1994), the high-point of the series. From beginning to end, SM is a flawless game. It has a great story, excellent gameplay, vibrant music, and tons of areas to explore. This is also the first game to provide a map, which was hugely helpful. Each area was unique and intensely atmospheric. The opening alone is creepy and exciting as Samus attempts to retrieve the baby metroid which she saved from the previous game, only to discover that Ridley had already nabbed it. After escaping the exploding space station, the adventure begins to hunt down Ridley and rescue the infant metroid. Of course, the climax is nothing short of spectacular as that same Metroid sacrifices itself to save Samus, who then uses her newfound energy to defeat Mother Brain. It's an epic adventure which wowed gamers on every level, and continues to do so today. SM is also important for inspiring Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which would successfully create a new genre: the Metroidvania. 

Metroid Vanishes (1995-2001)

Unbeknownst to fans, the Metroid series would be dormant for eight long years. The age of 3D gaming exploded in the following years with Sony's Playstation and Nintendo's 64 console. Mario and Zelda made the transition to 3D masterfully, but Nintendo wasn't sure how to make a 3D Metroid title. Should it be in first person or third person view? How would combat work? In an interview with IGN, Shigeru Miyamoto stated, "Even through the entire Nintendo 64 period we were thinking of ways to produce a new Metroid title. We couldn't come up with any concrete ideas or vehicle at that time." 

However, Samus wasn't completely gone during these years. She made appearances in Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) and Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN) as one of the fighters. Fans were excited to finally see her in a 3D game, even if it was just a side-scrolling fighting game. Fans were eagerly awaiting Metroid's return, and the wait would prove to be worth it; Nintendo was making sure to get the right team together to make the very first 3D title. The N64 would come and go without Metroid, but the next generation would see a Metroid renaissance. 

Metroid Returns (2002)

Metroid made its triumphant return in 2002 with the release of two games on the same day! Now that's a comeback! Fans were worried when they heard that the new Metroid game on Gamecube would be a first person shooter. To make things worse, it was being developed by a Western developer, Retro Studios. However, these fears were dashed to pieces when Metroid Prime was released, exceeding expectations in every way. The world of MP was creepy, isolated, yet teeming with alien life. The gameplay was spot-on, offering all of Samus' special weapons and upgrades in a satisfying first person perspective. Even jumping in such a view worked perfectly. As a result, MP received nothing but praise. Retro Studios proved that the Metroid series could not just work in 3D, but could also thrive. 

On the 2D side, we received Metroid Fusion for GBA, which was the spritual successor to Super Metroid. This game also wowed gamers with its bright colors, creepy environments, and an antogonist which looked like Samus. The female bounty hunter received a new blue suit, which was called the Fusion Suit. A few gameplay mechanics were new to the series, such as Samus' ability to grab ledges and climb ladders. The game is more linear than Super Metroid, but still offers hidden items to find. While Metroid Prime was the revolutionary title, Fusion continued the series in its strong 2D adventures. 

Metroid Thrives (2003-2009)

These were the years to be a Metroid fan as the series received plenty of great games, including 2D, 3D, and even spin-off games. The series was back and better than ever. Retro Studios had a strong hold on the 3D titles, while other companies got involved in the other games. Let's examine the games that were released during these prolific years. 

Metroid: Zero Mission (2004, GBA) was a remake of the original Metroid. This is how you make a remake! It's a flawless game, to the point that some say it's even superior to Super Metroid and is the best game on GBA. To make it even better, a special stealth section was added after the game in which you play in Samus' Zero Suit. Put Zero Mission, Super Metroid, and Fusion together, and you have the perfect 2D Metroid trilogy. 

Retro Studios continued its series with Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004, GCN). In this game, Samus must save a dying race from the deadly Ing. This game uses the light world/dark world mechanic and offers a variety of different suits and visors. In addition, we're introduced to the maniacal Dark Samus, an excellent villain. Lastly, MP2 offers a multiplayer mode, which was certainly fun, but has been left behind in nearly the rest of the series. 

The series received its first spin-off game with Metroid Prime Pinball (2005, DS). Developed by Fuse Games, this fun little pinball game followed the storyline of the first Prime and used similar gameply elements. The environments and enemies would be enough to make any fan nostalgic of the instant classic GCN title. 

Another DS Metroid title was Metroid Prime Hunters (2006), which was greatly anticipated by fans for several years. It was developed by Nintendo Software Technology, another Western team, and looked similar to the graphics from the GCN Prime games. The story introduced several new bounty hunters. It had a one player campaign, but the main attraction was the online multiplayer mode. While the game was praised, it isn't looked back on by fans with nearly as much reverence as Metroid Prime or Zero Mission. 

The first two Prime games were Gamecube greats, but Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) was the first to be on the Wii. One of its best features were the new controls, which worked perfectly for an FPS. MP3 expanded the game world to include several different planets which you could travel to via Samus' ship. The game also had voice acting (although Samus was silent), a series first. Dark Samus was the antagonist yet again, and the game had a few throw-backs to older games, including an appearance by Mother Brain. This last game cemented the trilogy as something special and sacred to Metroid fans. 

As if that wasn't enough, the Metroid Prime Trilogy was released in 2009 for Wii. This game contained all three Prime games, but you could play them all with the excellent Wii controls which were used in MP3. This is the definitive way to play these games, and some gamers would even say that they couldn't go back to playing with a GCN controller. It was a smart move to release the trilogy as fans were more than eager to experience these wonderful games for a second time. 

The Game That Killed Metroid (2010)

A new Metroid game was unveiled at E3 2009. Fans were extremely excited when they heard that Team Ninja (the team behind the Ninja Gaiden series) would be heavily involved. The next year, Metroid Other M was released for the Wii. It was much different from the Prime games. You played in a third person perspective using the Wii remote sideways, but you could also switch to a first person view by pointing it at the screen. In addition, Samus could execute awesome ninja-like moves where she would do lethal strikes and counter-attacks. In regards to gameplay, the game is very unique and fun. 

The problem with Other M is the story. It fleshes out Samus' backstory and character with beautiful cutscenes, and these absolutely ruin the character of Samus Aran. She is depicted as a rebellious, whiny, and fearful woman. When Ridley first appears, Samus is afraid because of a past experience. It's also the first game to give Samus a voice, which is a very monotone and boring voice. Also, Samus has all of her weapons at her disposal, but she cannot use them until her commander, Adam Malkovich, authorizes her to do so--which is just stupid. The result of all this: a great game with a pathetic heroine and a dreadful story. 

          This video will show you the ridiculous characterization of Samus in Other M

Fans were irate with this new characterization of Samus. This is quite ironic considering the fact that John Woo almost made a Metroid film in 2006. Why did Nintendo cancel it? Because they were worried that the film would ruin the character of Samus. So Nintendo did it themselves a few years later. Team Ninja is not to blame either because Yoshio Sakamoto was the one who wrote the story for the game. The truth is, Samus is a strong femal character, and one of the pioneers for female game heroes. Due to the negative fan reactions, the Metroid series sunk into a deep sleep. It seemed that Nintendo did not want to attempt another game after so much hate. 

The Future of Metroid

History repeats itself as the Metroid series is dormant yet again. There's no doubt that Nintendo will eventually revive the series considering the fan base, but the question is, when? It seems that Nintendo is trying to distance itself from Other M so gamers will forget it ever happened. But they won't forget, and Other M will remain the black spot on the series forever. It looks like the Wii U will come and go without a proper Metroid game. Hopefully, the next console--the NX--will not suffer the same fate. 

As of right now, Metroid Prime Federation Force is set to be released for the 3DS later this year. The bad news is, this is a Metroid spin-off game focused on online cooperative play and does not even have Samus. The good news is, it's something for Metroid fans, which hints at the fact that the series is not dead. However, fans are once again outraged that all those years of waiting will end with a very unMetroid-like game that feels more like Halo than Metroid. Fans are clamoring for another Super Metroid or Metroid Prime. Only time will tell if Nintendo delivers.