Metroid

Platform: NES Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Publisher: Nintendo NA Release date: August, 1987 Genre: Action-Adventure Media: 1-megabit cartridge

Overview/Story:

Metroid is one of those games that over time never stops being entertaining. The player controls a space bounty hunter named Samus Aran in the year 20X5 C.C. as she is on a mission to stop the Space Pirates leader “Mother Brain. The Space Pirates have destroyed all lifeforms on planet SR388 and Samus must stop the Metroids from destroying Planet Zebes. Samus is ranked the best space hunter for the job and is after a big bonus from the Galactic Federation. It is the Federation’s job to make sure that the universe remains peaceful. Although the graphics are about average for a game of its time, the music and gameplay really shine.

Gameplay:

While trying to stop the Mother Brain, Samus must travel through a huge maze of caverns while collecting power-ups and special abilities. There are many enemies along the way that will want to stop Samus from destroying them. There are bosses like Kraid and Ridley that Samus will need to pass in order to destroy all Metroids. There are also hazards along the way that Samus can avoid by finding special power-ups.

Samus starts with just a weak canon shot but by the time the game is completed she has many weapons, bombs, suits and other ways of destroying the enemies. Some areas of the game won’t be accessible until other areas are passed or features are gained. In the end, Samus finds out that she must escape the planet before it self-destructs in a certain amount of time.

The game was released in Japan on the Famicon Disc Drive. Originally the North American Metroid was to have a battery backup system similar to Legend of Zelda’s but after poor sales in Japan, Nintendo decided to use the password system. The password system gives the player a password when Samus gets killed. The player then writes down the password and types it in when they restart the game so they don’t have to start from the very beginning. It was one of the first games to feature such a system. The game designer Gunpei Yokoi also designed Kid Icarus, which is very similar in design and presentation.

Passwords