Super Metroid is the Aliens(1986)of Video-Games. REAL SCORE:9.6
The original game was inspired by Ridley Scott's Alien & just when Nintendo began developing it(the first game)the sequel to Alien came out 1986.
Super Metroid is similar with James Cameron's Aliens in many ways.
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When Samus arrives on Zebes,she finds a quiet place,apparently deserted,like a ghost planet.The atmosphere is thick,full of suspense & it's raining.The music amplifies it,making Super Metroid a real thriller,a very immersive game.The game combines action,adventure,puzzles,exploration.It has a fantastic soundtrack,each & every track beeing a masterpiece.The graphics were mindblowing & still are to me,making Sega Genesis look like junk.The game sold poorly because was released when everybody prepared for the 32-bit era,it had bad luck but nothing keeps it from beeing a timelles classic.
In the game you have to explore deep caverns in the deeps of the planet.Every moment in the game is a sure thrill,no comics,no laughs nothing it keeps you serious all the time.
The game is very rewarding-exploring those caverns means finding weapons & upgrading your character Samus with all sorts of gadgets.In the begining of the game you feel very weak & near the end of the game you feel like you are invincible.You collect missiles,to open the red hatches,doors by firing 5 consecutively.There are also green hatches that you can open them only with the super bomb & Yellow ones that can be opened only with the Power Bomb.When you fight a Boss,you can't leave the room until you kill him.When the hatch/door is grey that means it's sealed,it's impossible to open it.After you kill the boss it begins to flash.You also get the power bomb to destroy walls,to open new paths.You get the space jump,an upgrade that helps you jump normally in water & other mediums,the screw attack,the upgrade that makes Samus like a razor blade when she jumps,killing everything that stands in her away & also granting her the ability to ascend in the air.The morphing ball-transforms you into a ball,her body simply collapses making you a soccer ball that helps you go through tight spaces.The varia suit which helps you go through heated rooms by the lava.The hi-jump boots lets you jump higher;speed booster that makes you run fast like Flash Gordon & also you can do the shinespark,one of the coolest moves in the history of video-games & other great stuff you collect.The mockball,a trick that makes you run faster without the speed booster is a mistery to me because i was never able to execute it.The worst part of the game(if i can say so)is the wall jump,a nightmare to most gamers.Once you get the springball upgrade you don't need to stress yourself anymore with that masochistic move.I say that Samus is Mega Mans brother,lol!Because she looks similar with that other Nintendo character.A similar weapon that these 2 have,can be also seen at Kurt Hectic in MDK.
Here in Super Metroid,you have lots of beams to fire & that can be upgraded including everybodies favorite from the original game,the Ice Beam which is the weapon of choice in this game.
I think that everybody who laughs about this game has nothing to do with video-games,he's just a pseudo-gamer.You have to play it,to finish it to fully understand it.
To get to Mother Brain,which seems that she has been ressurected(i don't know why,maybe because of the metroid larva?)you have to unlock the gateway to Tourian(the place where she does her beauty sleep),a statue simbolizing all the bosses in the game which are:Phantoom,Draygon,Crocomire,Rildley(Ridley Scott,loool!) etc.These creatures offer epic battles with even more epic music.
Through out the game you find some chambers that let you save the game-similar chambers called vita-chambers can also be found in Bioshock.Other stuff that you find is the energy & weapons rachargers & also a map revealer.Your life in the game is symbolised by purple energy tanks,one beeing worth 99 units.You start the game with just one.Your maximum capacity is 14 energy tanks & you can also have 4 auxilliary ones in the supply module that you can visualise at Samus's atatus by pressing START & then RIGHT button-pressing LEFT you see the map.
The title screen of the game,with the big SUPER METROID logo in red & yellow is chilling,you really know that one great epic action-adventure is waiting you.The "cinematics" that follow are the best from SNES.
Some impressive moments that i have in my head are with the Chozo statues.When you pick an item from one a hand of these statues,shortly after comes to live & you have a boss battle.Another moment is when you travel with one of those in the Wrecked Ship i think,i can't remember exactly-it's like an elevator.Anyway,you use normal elevators throughout the whole game when you travel from an area to other & at each area is a different music,atmosphere.When you are in the Magmoor caverns that are filled with lava,listening to that music you can imagine lava,magma in your head.You can think of that even if you don't see the area.When you are at the underwater zone,i don't remember it's name,it's a very relaxing & spooky atmosphere,this duality is fantastic...relaxing & spooky just like the save theme from Resident Evil 1.This area reminds me somehow of the labirynth zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 1 so look how many things & stuff you have just in one are of the game.When you get an electric beam you can swing around in big room having a lot of fun just like in Donkey Kong Country.In the Wrecked Ship area you will encounter tinny thin clumsy robots that are quite sweet but are your enemies.Even more sweet are the little green animals that you discover that "teach" you how to do the wall jump & other stuff.These are the only "warm" things in this cold,claustrophobic place filled with nasty creatures.
The length of the game is betwen "just right"/medium & long which is great,there's no major complain about this game.
In Tourian,where Mother Brain lays,you can see dead creatures that have been consumed by the Metroid which now is mature,all grown up & it attacks you.Mother Brain is protected by some turrets & fire circles.You must break the glass in which her brain head stays to wake her up.This battle & the end of the game are very intense & have become legendary.The music when you fight Mother Brain is scary as hell & you have to get most of the items through out the game to succed.She fires with bombs & a huge laser beam that makes the place look like a disco party but drains a huge amount of energy.When she is about to kill(it's inevitable)surprize,surprize-the Metroid appears & attacks Mother Brain petrfying her, replenishing your energy & giving you the weapon that can destroy the Mother Brain-the Hyper Beam.After that Mother Brain wakes up & destroys the Metroid,a very memorable moment.Samus is taking deep breaths of air,you can see how angry she is.Similar with the final battle of Aliens(1986),when Ellen Ripley is in a cargo robot & she screams at the alien queen calling her b**ch & to leave the girl alone-this is knows as the b**ch fight:) & a similar thing we have here in our game.
When you shoot Mother Brain with that hyper beam,she bounces her brain head making the gameplay very funnny & addictive.When you kill her she turns into dust & the self-destruct sequence begins-OMG!how intense the game is now,you have 3 minutes to leave the planet,just like in Halo-Combat Evolved(2001).Everywhere are explosions & the Ridley theme begins.Everything is exploding,is on fire,the in-game screen shakes.Near the surface you can go through a short path to free some of those cute animals that helped you on your mission...i don't know if they have survived:(
When you reach the surface you get in the ship & the game ends here.Now you can see a cinematic with the planet exploding & the ship with Samus beeing OK...again:just like in the movies Alien & Aliens..man i've mentioned this movie/movies so much,i'm obsessed,lol!
That was one hell of a trip that is still remembered today after 16 years.I consider Super Metroid the greatest game of all time along with Final Fantasy VII & The Legend of Zelda-Ocarina of Time.
It has absolutely no relevance if you rate this game less that 9.5, seriously.
ps:Castlevania-Symphony of the Night is often called Metroidvania...so think about it!