GAME OF THE MONTH COLLECTION!
SUPER METROID
(Nintendo, Spring 1994)

This is the third game of the Metroid series but despite the lack of sequels in so many years to the games they still receive a good cult following and Super Metroid is still one of favourite Super Nintendo games out there. Remember there are 700 games available for this system alone. Super Metroid is a awesome 24meg (the first ever 24meg game for SNES) game that plays a lot the original Metroid on NES rather than the sequel Metroid II, but this action/adventure game has more weapons, more moves, and far better looks. Can the Metroids and humans get along or are we doomed to have these life sucking creatures leave a path of destruction?

The revenge of the Mother Brain
After the events in Metroid II, Samus found a baby Metroid after destroying the queen from the Metroid home world. Instead of killing the Metroid, Samus gave the life sucking creature to the scientists at a space station to study their unusual behaviour. After Samus left the station it was attacked and nearly destroyed by her old enemy Ridley. You watch helplessly has giant dragon like Ridley then steals the baby Metroid back to Zebes. It's your mission to help bounty hunter Samus Aran hunt down the alien threat by destroying the 4 guardians plus the all new Mother Brain, and then capture back the baby Metriod from the dangerous planet Zebes.

Planet Zebes is also the same world of the original Metroid for the NES plus a lot of the terrain and aliens should be familiar to players of the popular original. Even some of the items from the first mission are in the same places as before, like the infamous morphing ball power up is at the same location just as she left it. Samus needs to gather all the items and power ups she can find because as she unlocks new areas of the giant map and as you get deeper into the planet, the enemies become more dangerous and the pitfalls are more deadly.

Everything isn't the quite the same as the old game though because there are several new features to point out in Super Metroid too. First there are loads of new locations in the on the planet like the old abandoned star ship, the living plant zones, and the underwater worlds, plus they are filled with new and lethal aliens, some friendly but most hostel. Fortunately for our brave action star here is that she has all new tricks and techniques up her sleeve like the ability to fire in 8 directions, run at super speeds, and even duck. You can even customize your controls any time you start up a game to find the set up that best suits any player. Zebes also has tons of power ups just laying around from a ancient bird-like race waiting for adventurers. Find a new power up like the Nova Bombs and you can now backtrack and open all the Yellow doors you couldn't open before. You can even find a electric grappling gun to swing across pits, just like in the classic game Bionic Commando. Samus can even find and upgrade her weapons to fire Ice, Plasma, and Lasers at the same time to dish out some major gun power, plus she can wear new suits to heighten her defense or protect you from hot areas too. This makes Super Metroid more RPG-like than the other previous games of the series.

The graphics have sure been vastly improved over the 1987 NES Metroid game but it should also be noted that this was made in 1994 so some people will not be impressed as others, especially with the all new 3D Metroid Primes for the Game Cube. Super Metroid now has some backgrounds instead of just plain black void as before but I still think that they are a little weak compared to more advance games SNES like the rendered backdrops of Donkey Kong Country released later that year. The characters are much more detailed than the background in my opinion. Samus's spacesuit has a really awesome glare to it and you have to see the new super Kraig boss (the first guardian you have to kill) that takes up 2 massive screens. You'll even find a dead bounty hunter by Kraig's lair ............. being eaten by the local bugs.

Listen to the music of an alien world
Some fans may be disappointed that there isn't too much classic sound tracks from the first and second games but wait till you hear the new stuff in Super Metroid. The heart pounding music kicks in just as something exciting is about to happen like when Samus finds a group of aliens that suddenly appear and surround her in the wasteland of the Mother Brain. Some stages like the Norfair caverns and the Final fortress don't have a lot of intensity in the background but at least they give the game a dark atmosphere that's perfect for the scenery. The music fits this alien hunting game really well no matter the situation. I also liked the opening speech that uses real voice and the many sound effects like the aliens screaming in pain after being shot were also fitting for the game.

Super Metroid is a amazing action game with lots to see and do but sadly, it will end eventually and that as always been the biggest problem with the console video games is that there are no expansion packs like in those found for certain PC games. That's why people want a sequel so bad but what are fans going to do in the mean time, uh? "It's not fair because a game like Super Metroid deserves it............ are you listening Nintendo?!" This means the replay value is fairly weak after you found all the missiles and seen the endings. Another the problem I have with the game is the three different endings. I don't want to ruin too much but lets just say most of us already know that Samus is a women so why in the world is the endings the same as the NES game despite the cool new music, uh? I also miss the pointless, but still cool option of playing Samus in her swimsuit after you successfully found the complete ending. "You don't get nothing' for finishing Super Metroid after the credits are finished!"

When you are that good, they call you super!
Anyways, Nintendo still did a excellent job with their Super Nintendo game here and I couldn't stop playing it until I did everything there is to do and see. The real fun of Super Metroid is discovering the many secrets hidden throughout the huge planet just by being merely curious, if something looks unusual than try everything to see if you can find something new like a secret item or a new passage way. The reason some people didn't think Metroid II was too good was because it was more linear than the first but don't worry cause Nintendo fixed the problem here. I recommend you play this game without a strategy guide to get the full sensation of the greatness of Super Metroid. This is has to be the late Nintendo Producer Gunpei Yokoi's crowning achievement, it has creepy graphics, excellent music, and easy to use controls. Heck, this game even has Japanese subtitles. If you liked games like CastleVania Symphony of the Night for Playstation then you'll going to like this too. "I only paid 20 bucks for mine!"