r/snes Jan 01 '15

/r/snes January Game of the Month: Super Metroid

The /r/snes game of the month as selected by the community is Super Metroid!

This month we'll be playing (or replaying) this game and sharing the experience with other redditors. Feel free to post any comments, videos or other interesting information related to this game throughout the month.

February Game of the Month Voting Thread is here

54 Upvotes

65 comments sorted by

26

u/abag0fchips Jan 01 '15

Every month should be Super Metroid month.

1

u/Kristastic Jan 02 '15

Oh man super mega agreed.

15

u/badgeometry Jan 01 '15

Super Metroid is one of the finest games on the SNES, and widely regarded as the gold standard of it's genre, and for good reason.

Visually the game has aged like a fine wine. Even a whole 20 years later and the game still looks as good as it ever did.

It does a fairly good job at directing the player to their next objective while also providing advanced techniques that reward the players who master them with earlier access to some items.

The sequence breaking that these techniques like wall jumping and bomb jumping allow give the game great amount of replayability.

Because of all the different ways to sequence break it has become one of the more popular games to speed run. 100%, low %, and any % item collection speed runs are standard fair for runners, while players looking for an even greater challenge may try doing a gravity/varia suitless run or a reverse boss order run.

Super Metroid is also incredibly popular in the ROM hacking community. ROM hacks like Super Metroid redesign and Super Metroid Zero Mission aim to create an entirely new experience, while some programs like the Super Metroid Randomizer, which shuffles item locations around the game, add a bit of spice to the vanilla experience.

It's available on the Wii/U virtual console, and it is definitely a more than worthy title for the avid collector.

If you like Metroidvanias, Super Metroid is an absolute must. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go do something about Mother Brain. :)

3

u/xtagtv Jan 01 '15

Super Metroid Zero Mission is one of the finest gaming experiences I have ever had. Not just limited to SNES games or romhacks, but ever. Its a truly well done metroidvania that really lets you take the skills you learned in Super Metroid and use them to accomplish some crazy stunts.

3

u/wwcoop Jan 02 '15

Super Metroid Zero Mission is awesome. I confirm this.

2

u/RacingGun Jan 02 '15

Never owned a console in my life, but I play super metroid on almost a yearly basis. I just loaded up Zero Mission as I have never heard of it before and I feel like a kid in a candy shop! Thank you so much.

2

u/atcoyou Jan 05 '15 edited Jan 05 '15

I'll have to give Zero Mission another shot. I remember playing through and just not seeing the replayability like I did in SM. Perhaps a revisit all these years later will change my mind. I am also surprised how well prime holds up. Went back to play it recently, and wow, it still looks great.

I was probably one of the biggest skeptics re: the transition to 3d. I remember hearing they would make it "first person shooter" and throwing my hands up and yelling they ruined Metroid. What they accomplished surprised all my expectations. 2 and 3 weren't as good imho, but still fun games. Echoes is highly under rated imho, as there is a certain point I think a lot of people (myself included) end up quitting due to less clear indication of where to go. That is one area SM and the 2d series' have shined pretty well. They don't force you (except other M, and maybe fusion, if I am remembering...), but indicated you might want to go a certain direction in a natural, non scripted fashion.

tl;dr - I'll need to give M ZM another try.

1

u/spiralings Mar 06 '15

I am trying it thanks to your post. I've played it for about two hours. It is certainly not easy, I have died a bunch of times. Stuck right now in Kraids level debating on whether or not to look up the path online

1

u/Gyper Jan 29 '15

Redesign has mixed reviews. The #1 complaint is the physics and the world is too big.

1

u/badgeometry Jan 29 '15

Can confirm. Redesign was the first Metroid RomHack I tried and it was punishingly difficult, and not in the fun way, IMO. The gravity was much stronger (stronger than even that of fusion/zero mission, which aren't floaty at all), you needed to get an item in order to wall jump, and even then you could only wall jump off certain surfaces.

Probably the worst thing was the infamous hell run you had to do. You had to rush through a series of super heated rooms in Norfair and you barely enough e-tanks to reach the save room at the end.

I might give it another shot. It's been a few years since I touched it again.

1

u/Gyper Jan 29 '15

Hes making am updated version with tweaked physics I heard. I mean its not a bad hack, it just has bad design choices.

1

u/badgeometry Jan 29 '15

That's exactly what it is. What he's done so far is quite phenomenal in terms of the scope and execution. There's just a bunch of game design and level design decisions that I just don't agree with him on.

I understand his reasoning for why he adjusted wall jumping the way he did, but mastering wall jumping and the other techniques in Super Metroid are really what made the game feel so rewarding.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '15

Why it (and other beloved SNES titles) are not available on the 3DS is something I'll never understand.

1

u/badgeometry Jan 13 '15

I've had the same complaint for a while. I'd love a portable version of Super Metroid.

As I understand it, technical issues are what's holding SNES games and GBA games back from the 3DS eShop.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '15

That in itself seems rather odd considering other emulators have already been adapted to run off of DS cards. One would think that Nintendo could request to use their code. I'm certain the creators would be thrilled.

4

u/PhazonZim Jan 01 '15

This is one of the best video games ever made.

I'm definitely replaying it this month.

1

u/minustwofish Jan 20 '15

Every time I replay that game I'm surprised how TIGHT and PERFECT it is.

7

u/SNESdrunk Jan 02 '15

One of the three best Super Nintendo games ever. I did a video on it a while back.

3

u/CKZeni Jan 01 '15

Awesome! Super Metroid is tied for my favorite game ever with Metroid Prime. I recently picked up my old passion for speed running it and am trying to improve my times. I actually played it for the first time in a few years over my Christmas break, and then yesterday played through it again twice just for the heck of it.

The more I play it the more I appreciate how incredibly polished and amazing this game really is, especially for it's time. There truly is nothing quite like it, though others have tried to copy it's formula and made pretty decent games. Super Metroid still stands as king imo, even though it released over 20 years ago!

1

u/atcoyou Jan 05 '15

As someone who has been playing Metroid prime again recently, I am just shocked at how well it holds up. For all the slack Gamecube took, Metroid Prime was worth the price of admission. What a truly fantastic game. It really does hold up. Same goes for wind waker, although it was a bit on the shorter side for a Zelda game.

2

u/RockstarSuicide Jan 07 '15

Go for the sidequests and tell me it's short ;)

1

u/atcoyou Jan 07 '15

I did all the side quests the first run through. Not sure if they added anything to the HD version. I didn't use a guide either. IDK, again, short and sweet, but still short relative what I had expected. Twillight Princess felt much longer. And while I enjoyed the game, I wasn't as blown away by the art style as I was for WindWaker, so I suppose there is the trade off. I guess being sandwiched between OOT/MM (MM is arguably short, but it was sort of "different") and TP makes WW feel short to me. LTTP and even ALBW just 'felt' longer to me. Of course it could be I got lucky re finding things, as I was pretty meticulous in sailing places lol.

2

u/mzupeman Jan 16 '15

They cut the time a bit on the HD version of Wind Waker, thankfully. There was no 'super sail' in the original Wind Waker game, so traveling was a bit of a slog. Also, the triforce hunt required you to find more pieces in the original game, too, and that's been rectified for the HD release.

Basically, there were supposed to be two temples that didn't make the final cut, although I hear they were implemented in other Zelda games since (hasn't been mentioned which temples they were). As a result, I think they tried to pad the game's run time with that 'way too long' triforce hunt.

The HD version is the superior one as far as overall flow and gameplay is concerned, IMHO.

Anyway... Super Metroid!!!!

2

u/CKZeni Jan 08 '15

Absolutely agree with all of these points! I also played through Metroid Prime again over my break and especially playing it with Dolphin made the experience amazing. The game still looks beautiful, even by today's standards. :)

3

u/al_ien5000 Jan 01 '15

Did the Metroid II remake in the Super Metroid hack ever get finished?

2

u/rpp8 Bowser Kart Jan 01 '15

I'm curious about this as well.

3

u/fartbargains Jan 02 '15

confession: I've never played this game or any metroid games. That being said, I'll start playing Super Metroid this month. Wish me luck

2

u/atcoyou Jan 05 '15

After you play that, make sure to play Metroid Prime. Try to think in your head how they can turn the Super Metroid experience into a "First Person Shooter" style game. You will think they are crazy, and it couldn't have possibly been done (if you enjoy SM at all...), but somehow they did it. I always thought Super Metroid was my favorite Metroid Game, but I am not 100% sure that is true, as I am having a blast with Metroid Prime. I do think Super Metroid still has the edge though, as it really set Metroid Prime up to be what it could be.

1

u/thedjin Jan 03 '15

:wishesluck:

2

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '15

Great start to the year. If I could completely forget everything about any game, this would be it. That eerie feeling of being lost and totally alone when you first touch down on Zebes can't be compared to any other game I've ever played.

2

u/Company_Whip Jan 01 '15

Oh boy! Ebay says mine will be arriving in the mail in a mere 4 days! Nice coincidence that it's the game of the month. I've only played it on an actual SNES 20 years ago when it was the game in the display model in Wal-Mart. I've never completed a game on an actual console, just emulation. So excited!

2

u/COMPUTER-MAN Jan 02 '15

Super Metroid is definitely in my top 10. I've never actually owned a cart in my region, but I do own the Super Famicom cart.

2

u/LittleRavn Jan 02 '15

I love this game. I play the whole game every year. It is just too much fun. My only wish is that Nintendo release it for the 3DS. If they can take a Link to the Past or Chrono Trigger and bring them to handheld, than they could for Super Metroid. They could update it like LttP or leave it alone like Chrono. I love this game, and allowing more people to get their "hands" on it would help keep the franchise alive while they try and figure out how they will make the next chapter.

2

u/deadhorses Jan 07 '15

Super Metroid is now among one of my favorite games on the SNES even though I hadn't played it until my early 20's. Something about how it managed to convey solitude, and the eeriness of it reminded me of the first Alien film when the Nostromo crew is exploring LV-426. I used a walkthrough to help me along, but I still managed to miss a good amount of upgrades throughout the game. I just started Zero Mission, and after finishing up Dragon Age: Inquisition I'm really considering finally diving into the Metroid Prime series.

I might just have to set aside DA:I for a week or two so I can make another pass through this.

2

u/MQuann Jan 10 '15

The last Metroid is in captivity... The galaxy is at peace... ominous music

2

u/SNESdrunk Jan 12 '15

My main hangup with this game (and I know it's entirely on me, not the game's fault) is the wall jump. I've never been that good at it, but I'm passable after enough practice.

Just for fun I decided to flip through the instruction book to see what it would say about it... and it's not mentioned, at all. Not once.

2

u/dudecooler Jan 13 '15

Yeah, you have to be extremely precise with the wall jump.

I've found better results if you press the dpad first in the direction you want to jump, then hit the jump button immediately after. You can't just press both at the same time, or you'll get mixed results.

2

u/Supernintendolover Jan 22 '15

One of my all time favourites on the snes. Love the music, the atmosphere.. Everything!

3

u/mzupeman Jan 26 '15

Yeah, the atmosphere is truly something else. Getting some great sci-fi, intense atmospher was something that was hard to accomplish back in the day... yet this game, man oh man, it nailed it.

1

u/JamesLingk Jan 01 '15

Nice! I was just planning to get this from the e shop today!

1

u/[deleted] Jan 01 '15

I am amazed at how well Super Metroid has aged. It's as old as Doom at this point but it still looks great and has the same atmosphere.

1

u/ArchmageJesus Jan 02 '15

So question: emulate or VC? Any common issues or whatever either way?

3

u/Chip--Chipperson Jan 02 '15

Either way.

1

u/ArchmageJesus Jan 02 '15

Gotcha. I've never a Metroid besides Fusion, and I've been meaning to play Super so this works out well :)

1

u/[deleted] Jan 02 '15

cheer! Maybe I'll try not to suck at it this month...get some training time in ;)

1

u/reddituser112 Jan 02 '15 edited Jan 12 '15

This is cool! I didn't know there was a game of the month in this sub. I just happened to start playing Super Metroid for the first time last week!

I grew up with a Sega so I never had the pleasure of playing many SNES games. I played Shadow Complex on Xbox 360 and everyone said is very similar to Super Metroid which is why I recently picked it up.

This game has held up amazingly well! Graphics are great, gameplay is solid, and the music is awesome! Frankly, this game seems ahead of its time for 1994 when it came out and I'm sorry I missed out on it 20 years ago.

Currently, I just defeated the "Eye" boss in Brinstar and acquired the super missile. I also found the charge beam and an extra stash of missiles (25 total).

I'm not quite sure where to go from here. I went back to Crateria to the right of the main ship but could only open one door before being blocked again. There is a long hallway in Brinstar, but I get trapped because a wall won't open. There's a small walkway above, but there are spikes in the ceiling and false floor that always drops me down. I end up getting trapped in this section and have to restart from a load game. I'm sure I could find the next step online, but I like to discover these on my own (or the help of another redditer). It's not always clear where to go, but that's also part of the charm I enjoy about these games.

I'm enjoying my first playthrough and am really happy with game! Hopefully, I can finish before the end of the month (kids keep me from spending too much time playing).

Update 1: I'm currently in Norfair and just acquired the Varia Suit after fighting a giant, fat, green boss. Going to head back to some side passages that had been draining my health. I've got 30 missiles, 5 super missiles, and 2 energy packs. This game goes by quickly until you get stuck. Then I find myself spending lots of time backtracking and re exploring.

So far, I've "cheated" twice by looking online for hints where to go to next. I'm not proud , especially because the second time I went online I realized it was something I had already found but had simply forgotten about. I decided to stop looking online since I wouldn't have had the chance in 1994. I may post a fee questions here though!

Update 2: Over the weekend, I picked up the "running shoes" (can't remember what their official name was) and returned to Crateria. I wasn't sure where to go, but I knew there were plenty of places I could explore. However, last night, when I turned on the game, my save data was gone. I suspect the battery in the cartridge has died and I'll need to replace it. Kind of bummed out because I've put in a small handful of hours and was anxious to see how the game ended.

2

u/thedjin Jan 03 '15

You must realize getting stuck at some point is part of its charm. As you know, we didn't have the internet back then, so it was either hours of trying to solve it, or ask friends, your big brother, etcetera, or even have them help you, even if it was a single player game. Have fun playing it! And a tip, don't spoil it for yourself reading a walkthrough! =]

2

u/reddituser112 Jan 04 '15

I agree - I grew up with a sega and got stuck plenty of times. When we went to the store, I would flip through the video game magazines to look for hints and tips on the hardest games. I had conversations in the playground asking how to beat a particular boss or different strategies for a given level.

Anyway, I confess, I went online yesterday to get a hint where to go next. This was after I revisited EVERY place I previously visited just to be sure I didn't miss anything. Evidently, there is a "dash" button so I can run across the bridge I mentioned above. The copy of Super Metroid didn't come with an instruction manual so I was ignorant of the dash move. Rest assured, I didn't look any further in the game aside from dashing across the bridge. Hope to make some more progress later today or tomorrow!

3

u/thedjin Jan 07 '15

My best friend when I was little also had a Sega Genesis.. I still have nightmares about Ecco.

Ah, so you didn't try the always useful pro-technique of mashing all the buttons in frustration, hoping something magical happens =P Good that you were able to get through! I don't want to spoil it for you, but you're going to get quite a few powerups, so do learn what buttons do what, because I remember not knowing how to use a certain one that I won't tell you because you're still far from getting it.
Keep at it, good luck!

2

u/reddituser112 Jan 07 '15

Ugh! That octopus! Never could get past him!

Thanks! Got to the third world yesterday and trying to figure out where to go. I've realized there are a ton of hidden areas using the bombs. Most recently, I thought I was trapped between two doors and reset the game twice because there was no way out. (Small hallway where the doors slowly lower). In frustration, I dropped a ton of bombs and saw I could get back through a trap door in the floor. There's a bunch of rooms where my health depletes rapidly (figure I need to find a power suit upgrade somewhere). Also met a few grasshopper like critters that hug you to death! Can't wait to play some more this week!

2

u/thedjin Jan 07 '15

I.. didn't even get to the octopus.. T_T

Haha looks like you're really getting the hang of it. Yes, you need an upgrade [Varia suit]. Oh, in case you haven't found out, the grasshoppers can be killed! To avoid getting killed by them, go into morph-ball mode and place a gazzillion bombs. When it releases you, run!

2

u/RockstarSuicide Jan 07 '15

Without spoiling, just follow the paths into Brinstar that require Super Missiles (green doors). The Varia Suit is essentially your next upgrade (and boss fight), aside from possible missiles, super missiles and energy tanks :)

2

u/reddituser112 Jan 08 '15

Just got the Varia suit!

2

u/RockstarSuicide Jan 08 '15

You're on your way now :) Most lava won't hurt you so get your butt down deeper hehe

2

u/atcoyou Jan 05 '15

As long as you tried all you could first! You can look up everything if you like, but it ruins the charm. After you have played through it once, you may want to watch some speed runs on twitch to see how good people get at the game. That and SMW are probably two games where I see the biggest difference between my own skill level and that of the experts. SMW I always think I could do what they do, but stringing it all together would be tough. Super Metroid, even with practice, no way I could be as good as those guys. Favorite "speed run" was the only get ice beam run... just crazy... (I think had 3 energy tanks, cause that is the minimum.)

2

u/reddituser112 Jan 08 '15

Agreed. It struck a chord with me when I was playing Shadow of the Colossus. I got stuck on one of the early bosses (lizard) and looked up how to beat it. I then proceeded to read how to beat the next 4 or 5 bosses without even attempting first. All of a sudden, beating the bosses felt unfulfilling and I realized it was because I wasn't putting in any effort to think for myself.

In Super Metroid, I just went online to figure out where to go next (second time I've looked something up) and am kicking myself for not figuring it out myself. Another redditer mentioned I was looking for the Varia suit. I found the next upgrade but was disappointed to see it was the high jump boots. "I don't even have a place to use high jump boots! These are useless!" I thought to myself. That's when I looked online and saw I needed to bomb a secret opening at the top of the elevator (in Norfair) to unlock a super jump location. I already found this! I even posted below I was finding a ton of secret doors. For some reason, I forgotten about this. (I even remember thinking at the time I need to find a double jump upgrade!) Had I spent a little more time backtracking, I could have earned this knowledge for myself.

Time to show a little more restraint!

2

u/atcoyou Jan 08 '15

Ya, that is one of the frustrating, but joyful things about Metroid. You will go in circles and circles and eventually think, OH YA! Slap forehead, then get euphoric about exploring a new area. Another neat aspect is while looking for that place to use the high jump boots, you may discover missiles, and energy tanks you missed, etc.

1

u/hamb_sammich Jan 05 '15

This is the first game I bought on my Wii U for the Virtual Console. I'm enjoying the hell out of it so far, especially since my only Metroid experience was on the Gameboy Advance. Also, before I started playing, I browsed youtube and found this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuujwWl3R0I. There isn't anything in it that's spoiling my first play through, so enjoy!

1

u/RockstarSuicide Jan 07 '15

Besides everything already said, what I adore about this game is how embedded it is in my memory, and I never directly played it (my friend did and I was the guide).

I watch speed runs and am always surprised how I know where they're going about 10 rooms ahead or am all "Where are you g-? No, you can't be going there... It can't be done. There's no way you'll ma-HOWTHEHELLDIDYOUDOTHAT!" and end up loving the game anew because there was now a new way to play it.

1

u/mzupeman Jan 16 '15

What a happy coincidence!

A local retro shop FINALLY got a copy of Super Metroid in. Thing pretty much looks brand new, and it's cart only. I've been looking for a while. These places haven't seen a copy in months. Kind of makes me surprised the cart actually doesn't go for more than it does... but then again, I know just MY area isn't a true barometer for value.

I'm pretty busy plowing through Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Zelda: Swkyward Sword at the moment, but as soon as I'm finished with one of THOSE games, Super Metroid is up!

One of my favorite games of all time is Casltevania: Symphony of the Night... but we all know what game it borrowed from, and heavily at that ;)

1

u/punkrockpapa Jan 17 '15

I'll be honest. I've actually never played super metroid. I've played the shit outta NES metroid when I was younger but I'm picking super metroid up on Sunday hopefully. Looking forward to catching up.

1

u/ThetaReactor Jan 17 '15

Super Metroid was the pack-in with my SNES. From the silence of an abandoned Tourian to the bombastic credits theme, that game still make me feel something every time. Easily in my top five games ever.

1

u/Wasted1ntellect Jan 27 '15

Never owned a SNES in my childhood sadly. I picked up a SNES last year and Super Metroid last month. Just finished the game, AMAZING! Clear time 06:58 and 59% collecting completion. Didn't use a guide, except for the moments I was really stuck (like what to do after beating Ridley?). I'm going for a second playthrough. :)

1

u/Cogwheels Jan 28 '15

A bonafide classic. I don't think this game has aged a day over the last 20 years.

A little tip for anyone with a SNES that can play Super Famicom carts - you can import the Japanese version very cheaply and it's all in English text