The Definitive Action-Adventure Game
Written: Dec 05 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Super Metroid is truly gameplay at it's best. One of the best SNES offerings.
Cons: It ends, but you don't want it to!
The Bottom Line: Super Metroid is the best game ever made. Period.
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| Shaunpm60's Full Review: Super Metroid for Super Nintendo |
Estimated Price $10 (if you're lucky)-$30
I'm going to say it here. Super Metroid is flat-out the best game ever made. And I MEAN it. Not just because a magazine said so, or other people and sites said so. But this is my personal opinion. It edges out my other favorites such as Chrono Trigger and Cross, Gran Turismo 1-3, all Mario games, all Mega Man games and the Silent Hill series. Why do I think so much of it? Keep reading.
Super Metroid really has what a lot of other games around this time and currently lack: involving gameplay, high focus on exploration and a great atmoshpere. The only came that really came close to this formula was Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon on the GBA, but Super Metroid gives you a little more freedom. Super Metroid is truly the best 2-D game ever made. Sure, Super Mario Bros. did pave the way for platform gaming, but Super Metroid has more, in terms of the above said items (I won't repeat myslef, it's too tedious).
If you want to know the story behind the Metroid series, I dabbled on the details on my Metroid Fusion review, so you can check that out, if you want (it also makes comparisons between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion). But here's a brief synopsis of Super Metroid: After returning the last Metroid from SR388 to a space station, the station is attacked and the Metroid is stolen, forcing Samus to go back to the planet Zebes for the final time.
The gameplay is truly wonderful. After leaving the space station, you arrive on the planet. From there, you're on your own. You won't be told what to do or where to go, and this is where the exploration begins. While the game guides you to the first few items to get you started (by mainly locking most of the doors, and leaving the important ones open), the game slowly lets you off their leash and off you go. You will get lost and backtrack quite a few times, but luckily the map will show where you have been and where you haven't. Oh, and the secrets will not show up on your map, you'll have to find those yourself.
Speaking of secrets, Super Metroid is full of them. Like I mentioned before, they don't show up on the map. Secrets can range from missles or power bombs in block, to full blown secret passage ways that you would never know of. There's also areas that seem more or less like a trap, such as the Econtoon pit. There's a way out (watch the little guys), which leads to an unmentioned techniqe that does come in handy.
Super Metroid is about three things: exploration, completion and collection. I've already talked about exploration, let's look into the completion. The faster you complete Super Metroid, the better ending you can get. And by better, I mean seeing Samus WITHOUT the spacesuit on and in a baithing suit. I don't think I got a fast enough time to see her face (or maybe I did?), but the faster you go, the more you see. And sorry, no nudity. But it's not about how fast you can beat it, it's also about picking up everything you can. Can you collect 100% of everything? I've come close, but there's that one missile capsule in Maridia I was never able to get.
The graphics are very good, even by today's standards. I think it looks better than the new Metroid Fusion, but everyone has their own opinion. While it's not in pre-rendered 3-D like Donkey Kong Country (which was released 5 months after Super Metroid), it does have very gritty, sci-fi style to it. It's very mature, and not in a blood and gore way. The framerate rarely lags and there are no glitches to speak of.
The sound is fantastic. An excellent, memorable and atmospheric soundtrack sets the score for the entire game. There is nothing disappointing in this area. The sound effects are just as good, and original, not something that's been used before.
The play control is also spot on. Nothing is frustrating in terms of control, and you can customize your configuration (I preffer to have the dash on the R button). The control is very tight and highly resposive.
Super Metroid is the BEST game ever made. So what if it was a 16 bit game? So what if it doesn't have 3-D graphics? So what if it's 8 or 9 years old? People who quibble over these facts are pretty ignorant when it comes to games, and probably think that Halo or Grand Theft Auto Vice City is the best game made. Please, when you play games for as long as I have, you remember the ones that were great, even if it did come from a 16 bit system. Ask any gamer over 20, and they probably won't tell you that the latest "hot" game (I loathe that term) is the best game made. They'll probably tell you a game that was released over a decade ago, and maybe even this game. Super Metroid has stood the test of time, and if you call yourself a "gamer" (another term I loathe), you have to play this, or already have played this game.
This has been a Reality Check and I am through!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Shaunpm60
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Member: Shaun McCracken
Location: California
Reviews written: 213
Trusted by: 14 members
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