"THE LAST METROID IS IN CAPTIVITY. THE GALAXY IS AT PEACE....." Nuff said.
Super Metroid was first released for the SNES back in March of 1994 and it has been more than 13 years since the re-release. It has been well worth the wait and then some because the game plays, looks and sounds just as great as it did in 1994. Super Metroid was in a league of its own, because this was one of the very few games that had this kind of superb graphics and sound back then.
Just like in the first game for the NES, Metroid, you play as bounty hunter Samus Aran. Samus travels to Planet Zebes to hunt down the last remaining metroid stolen by long-time enemy Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates. Ridley steals the hatchling metroid from Ceres Space Station and Samus goes to retrieve it. When Samus arrives on Zebes, she encounters many different enemies, including mini-bosses and four area bosses.
As you explore different areas and defeat bosses, Samus gains new abilities for her power suit, including suit upgrades that are capable of withstanding intense heat and regular movement in water. In addition to that, she also gains many different weapons including missiles, super missiles, power bombs, and different beam weapons including ice, wave, plasma, etc. If that isn't enough, she can also do things like morph into a ball to get to areas she couldn't get to otherwise, float and destroy anything in her path when she gains the Space Jump and Screw Attack abilities, see things she couldn't normally see with the X-Ray Scope, attach herself to magnetic blocks with the Grappling Beam, and run in blazing speed with the Speed Booster.
There are six different areas to explore on Zebes including the dry vast surface of Crateria, the lush green forest and red soil areas of Brinstar, the dark and watery world of Maridia, the ghostly haunted Wrecked Ship, and the boiling-hot volcanic atmosphere of Norfair. One of my favorite graphical effects in the game is Samus' suit actually glows from time to time in Norfair just to let you know how hot it really is. Most of the areas are gigantic and you'll more than likely explore all the areas for long periods of time. Tourian, the fortress of Mother Brain, is opened up after Samus defeats all four bosses, and that is when the REAL fun begins. Once again, Samus has to contend with metroids like she did in the first game for the NES. If that's not enough, her old enemy Mother Brain is back and she must contend with her again too. You also learn of the story of the hatchling metroid as it plays a key role in the final battle. No matter what area you're exploring, you always feel like you're part of the action because the graphics, music and sound effects consume you.
After Mother Brain is defeated, you have 3:00 to escape Zebes before it explodes. The game keeps track of how many items you collected by percentage and also tracks the time it took you to complete it. Depending on how fast you finished the game, you'll receive different ending sequences. If you beat it in three hours or less, you get the best ending. If you beat it between 3 and 10 hours you get the second best ending and if it takes you longer than that, you get the third best ending.
You could say this game alone was the reason you bought an SNES back then, but you can also say that this game alone is the reason you buy the Wii for the VC, period. If you have never played this game before, this is what you do. Either No. 1, go buy a Super Nintendo and Super Metroid and play it, OR No.2, go buy a Wii and download Super Metroid from the shop channel for $8, you will not regret it. This game deserves nothing less than a perfect score of 10. In fact, a 10 doesn't do this game justice, it is THAT great. You know a game is awesome if we're still talking about it 10 or more years later. Well this game is so awesome we'll be talking about it forever. God bless Nintendo for re-releasing this masterpiece on the VC.