You've just entered the domain of this planet specifically named Zebes, which is known to house creatures known as Metroids. As you look around the scenery of this place you already can tell that it’s not going to be an easy trip to victory, although; that doesn’t mean that you haven’t come prepared for the unexpected now. As before you were sent to investigate/destroy the main source of evil here, you’d already been equipped with a one of a kind power suit which aids you in many ways even some that you haven’t even learned yet. What could possibly be the root of despair that’s apparently located on this planet? Could it really be as dangerous as you were informed? Only one way to find out and that’s for you...Samus Aran to look towards the path of justice in order to prevail among what lays ahead of you!


Graphics: 7 out of 10

If there is one game which I could compare this games graphics to, it would have to be Super Mario Bros on NES. Whereas the graphics aren’t exactly as stunning as other games on the system like Mega Man or even Contra, however it still managed to pull my interest towards the game with its sinister looking theme and (for most of the game) its Aztec type looking scenery. My fondest memory of playing this game has to be when I made it to Kraid for the first time as when I saw him I immediately started laughing because he looked like a really goofy looking Bowser in my opinion, one thing I think they definitely could’ve tried improving was Samus’s Power Suit design since to me it doesn’t even look like a suit if you ask me. Either way I’d give the graphics an average rating meaning a 7 out of 10 for me.


Sound: 7 out of 10

Once again I don’t find the music to be as impressive as other games on the system but I do enjoy the music in this game better compared to its graphics. There are mainly 3 songs that you’ll hear throughout most of your adventure: Brinstar’s Theme which is where you are when you immediately start the game, and in my opinion is a very well fitting theme for the start to your adventure on Zebes with its sort of dark mysterious hero type of theme. The 2 other themes are: Tourian and Norfair, which are the other two main area’s that you’ll be venturing around in order to find and defeat Mother Brain. What’s funny about Tourain’s music to me is that it sounds like tetris music you know, all calm and everything even though this is supposed to be the last path until you reach the final boss. Norfair’s theme sounds the calmest out of all the songs in the game but also the strangest to describe because at least to me it’s a mix of a mysterious sounding with a puzzle game music sounding, I’d say if you’re looking for darker toned music as you would expect from the story in this game then I’d say play Super Metroid on SNES. The sound effects are okay for 1986 standards but they could’ve been much better so all in all I’d say the sound for Metroid earns a 7 out of 10.


Addictiveness: 8 out of 10

Let me state this immediately: “IF YOU STRONGLY DISLIKE PUZZLE/ADVENTURE GAMES COMBINED INTO ONE, DON’T PLAY THIS GAME.” I can’t stress this enough because this game is an even harder level of the certain puzzle aspect found in the Legend of Zelda on NES due to the fact that you have NO map in this game, “are there puzzles which require pushing blocks or defeating certain enemies?” nope but like Zelda you do have to venture around a lot while remembering where you’ve already been however; unlike Zelda as I described you have no way to track where you’ve been unless you hand draw on paper which places have already been checked or look up a map on the computer. Does all of this make it a bad game or a game that’s not worth playing? Absolutely not, in fact for people who enjoy games with a higher level of difficulty than most other games and the difficulty is fair and not cheap then those people will thoroughly enjoy this game. Although if the idea of not having a map has thrown you off course from wanting to play this game I can understand but let me tell you that you’ll be missing out on a lot of the fun that is left to be seen in this game. One of the most well-known reasons that people continue to play this game...over and over again is because of the different endings that you can achieve depending on how fast you can go and beat this game, what are the ending you say? Well you can’t expect me to tell you everything now can you, that would spoil one of the great joys of experiencing this game. Looking at everything I’d say the addictiveness in my opinion earns Metroid an 8 out of 10.


Story: 9 out of 10

You are Samus Aran a name that is seemed to be known by many across the Galaxian Federal Police Force to be one of the best members among the many that work there. Since this person known as Samus was so great the GFPF decided to send Samus to a planet known as Zebeth to destroy the life force of an enemy named Mother Brain. As you arrive on the land and enter the domain of Brinstar you notice deadly creatures walking around known as Metroids, with no time to waste you attack any of the enemies that lurk in your path. Along the way you’ll find power-ups for your suit including new beams and other weapons to help you progress through your adventure on this planet. So what are you doing sitting there behind the screen...the Galaxian Federal Police are expecting on the success of your mission! Mother Brain must be stopped at all costs; Failure was never an option to begin with when you accepted this dangerous mission! They could’ve made the story a little darker in my opinion but hey; you take what you can get right. So Metroid’s story in my books earns a 9 out of 10!


Depth: 7 out of 10

I believe that there are only 3 main areas in the game: Brinstar, Tourain, and finally Norfair as I described in my sound section of this review. It’s kind of hard to say how long it will take you to get through each section since it depends on if you have a good sense of direction or remember which places your character has/hasn’t already been to, so it could take from 15-20 min if you’re good at this game or it could take 45min-1 hour if you’re a beginner at this game and not so great at remembering where you’ve been or if you’re not good at this sort of Mario & Zelda combined type of adventure game. This game also unfortunately doesn’t have any other game modes except for the 1player mode, but there is a secret that will allow you to play the game with a different look which I will touch on right now. If you’re able to beat Metroid in less than 3 hours then you’ll get one of the most iconic endings in video game history, where your bounty hunter character Samus will discard the power suit revealing the player Samus to be a woman! This was a huge shock to many gamers since not many games involved a female hero. Also if you’re able to beat the game in under 2 hours (yeah I know, you need Sonic Speed) then you’ll be able to play through the game again, however this time she won’t be wearing her armor but instead just a dark pink leotard and her arm cannon. Nothing left so say here but give my score which will be a 7 out of 10 for depth.


Difficulty: 9 out of 10

As I’ve stated many times during this review this game at least in my eyes has a higher difficulty level than The Legend of Zelda, especially since there is no map that can be used. Unlike most other games though this game won’t use cheap tricks to kill you, and is completely fair with its level & enemy designs so if you die the fault lies directly upon yourself instead of the game which I appreciate since I know then that it was myself who had made the mistake. Many people that I’m acquainted with dislike Metroid for its level of difficulty but I say give it a chance and if you don’t like it then that’s fine, one complaint I see from a lot of people is that they dislike not being able to shoot in any direction that they want compared to how they would attack in let’s say Contra for instance. I actually like the level of difficulty in this game since I have to think instead of just running right through each area, so I’d say the difficulty earns a 9 out of 10......one final thing before we end this review, if you would like to play a Metroid game where you can shoot in any direction then play Super Metroid on SNES.



The bells on the pendulum have already begun to toll, as your adventure is nearing its ending. As the countdown to the detonation of Zebes has started, will you be able to help Samus return to safe ground in time or will she fall to the same fate as the death of Mother Brain? Only one way to find out and that’s to get your playing hands ready and begin this new-found space adventure. If you can accomplish this feat we will be forever in your debt!
                                                         

                                                                                                                                    Signed – Galaxy Federal Police M510
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                    Also Signed – Sonicthehedgehog57
                                               
                                                                                       Mission Completed!

mohammedroxx3 : The Review is finished and ready to be looked at

Barathemos : I figured you might also want to be summoned.

GenesisJunkie : Don't know why it wouldn't let me summon you with the others, my next review is finished, not sure if you'll like it (it's not one of my favorites that I've written) but here's your summons.

Thanks for the summon, sorry it took me so long to read it. Very good review, it is the perfect length for this kind of game. I won't lie, I don't like this game but like you said I don't like puzzle and adventure games fused together, so I will take your advice and stay away lol. I had no problems with anything you said. I have only played Metroid a few times over the years so I don't know much about the game. I learned quiet a bit about it from your review, so thank you. If you don't mind, would you check out my review I just made?

Don't worry about it man, and I'm glad you enjoyed the review. Sorry but I had to summon you on a different reply because when I tried to summon you with the others it wouldn't allow me to summon you for some reason? I've played Metroid on NES and Metroid Prime 1 & 2 on Gamecube but that's it and I've never actually beaten either one of them. I don't know I didn't really care for this review that I made as I prefer the Sonic 2 review I did earlier this month, and sure I will definitely check out the review you made!

Dang. Thats a pretty long review! But yet its interesting as usual! I don't really like that game but your review of it is amazing. Don't know what else to say but keep it up my friend!

mohammedroxx3 : Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'm not a huge fan of Metroid but I do find it fun to pick up every once in a while so I figured I'd do a review on it.