Metroid

In Metroid you are the famous bounty hunter Sammus Aran. You've been hired to deal with the pirate on planet Zebes. The pilots have stolen a mysterious lifeform called a Metroid from the research team on planet SR388.

The challenge factor of this game is extremely high. The bosses are tough, items are well hidden and the Mother Brain and Metroids are lethal. Another item adding to the challenge is a password save system (one password even allows you to play as Sammus without the armor!). Fortunately for you, Sammus is wearing a power suit, a special type of armor that can be easily upgraded with the items you find on Zebes. You have 3 types of weapons, your laser that has several beams: The Regular beam, it's just a laser, The Ice beam (freezes enemy) and Wave beam (shoots shots that go in wave motion). Missiles that do great damage against bosses and open sealed door. Bombs can only be used when you are rolled up into a ball.

The big surprise in the game is no well-kept secret anymore: Sammus is a woman! She has been holding her own in the gaming world longer that Lara Croft of the Tomb Raider series. Not that I'm knocking Lara, it's just that the Metroid series is a really captivating one, despite an overall lack of plot development. The basis of the game is exploration and the action and conquering your foes (a lot easier in the sequels). Players will find themselves searching and exploring the labyrinths for most of the game. Please note however, that the monsters are no wimps, for the most part.

Overall this is a highly challenging and enjoyable game, with good graphics and is just plain fun to play. Be warned though, some parts are very frustrating. I give it a full 10!

Yes, this one came in the iconic gray box that generally featured game play footage. Mario was in a black box, but this one and Kid Icarus I know were in the gray boxes. This one, and Kid Icarus were two of the early games that really had some length to them, The Legend of Zelda as well. Meaning, it took some time to traverse the game and win it. By today's standards, it isn't all that long, but back then it felt like a grand adventure. Of course, a lot of people remember this game for its twist at the end, but these days it is apparently the only twist a company like Disney seems to know how to do...

The story? You are Samus, a bounty hunter who must stop space pirates from releasing Metroid into the universe. A Metroid is a deadly parasitic alien that attaches itself to its host and drains them dry. Granted, maybe the space pirates should have cultivated those indestructible worm things that go back and forth and train them to attack, then they would have an invincible army! Samus must explore the planet in search of armor upgrades and to find the mini bosses that stand in the way of you getting to the head of the operation, The Mother Brain! Though, Ridley and Kraid are no pushovers and getting to them is a chore as their lairs feature particularly tough creatures.

The game play is fairly standard these days as it incorporates a side scrolling world where you can go to higher and lower levels. It features exploration and often times you need to have the correct upgrade to get you to a certain level. You collect missiles and energy tanks to increase your capacity for both and you get freeze beams, high jump shoes and other things to help you get through the world. Fighting can be difficult, but it must be done in order to increase your life energy as you always start out with a small amount when you die and revive. The only way to get more energy is to kill enemies and hope they leave some behind or grab an energy tank which are few and far between.

So, a fun game, I just won it again recently and it holds up alright. I plan on playing the games in order so I think a Game Boy version is after this one. Then the one that is always raved about, Super Metroid. I only played it one time, so I am looking forward to replaying it again and seeing how it holds up. I remember it having really cool music. This one was fun and I managed to get through it, but only able to get her helmet off. I swear, the first time I played this thing I got the full out of armor ending, but I do not think I have gotten it since...

The Metroid series began with this relatively small (the ROM is only 128 kBytes, or 1MBit), but well designed game. It has always been one of my favorite titles, and is one of the greatest influences in my personal efforts to create games of my own. From this title is one of my all time favorite tunes, the music used in Kraid's hideout. I highly recommend this game.

I would, personally, rank this game as my third favorite in the Metroid series, my favorite being Super Metroid and my second favorite being Metroid Prime; I don't like to rate different types of games against each other because they aren't really the same thing, are they?

My all time favorite game. A friend had a working NES system a few years back, and I raved about this game. I got it off Amazon and played it with them. I was not disappointed, and quickly fell back into the patterns, challenges, and fun times I had with this game as a child. I spent many nights playing this growing up, and I think that it is a skill to master a game as difficult as this one. It took me a long time to beat this game, and using the codes do not justify the work and satisfaction that comes along with the start to finish of Metroid. This game is awesome. Pick up an old copy and see. The new versions are pretty cool too, but none of them compare to this gem

I remember having a little notebook with the saves written in it as I slowly worked my way through the game...and then I remember Nintendo Power's reveal and trying over and over again to beat the time it took to see her face, just to do it, which made the game even more playable...especially since at the time it was one of the few with an open world and a really cool sci-fi one at that.

It was just...addictive fun.