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Metroid 3: Super Metroid on the SNES
http://www.rarityguide.com/articles/articles/76/1/Metroid-3-Super-Metroid-on-the-SNES/Page1.html
By Douglas Shepard (Editor in Chief, RarityGuide.com)
Published on 02/8/2009
 
Samus returns to hunt the Space Pirates once again who have returned to the planet Zebes with the infamous Mother Brain. A review of one of the best Metroid games.

System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Title: Super Metroid
Publisher: Nintendo
Circa: 1994
Overall Rating:
85 percent

Super Metroid Titlescreen

Intro
Samus Aran quickly went from quiet protagonist of unknown gender to one of the most recognized video game characters in an incredibly short period of time. Many people were thrown off by her being revealed to be a girl, but that was mostly surprise factor. After the NES, she appeared on the Gameboy then here on the SNES. Easily one of my favorite entries in the series, this game deserves mention.

Story
At the end of Metroid 2: The Return of Samus, after Samus killed defeated the Queen Metroid, she encountered an egg that quickly hatched into a Baby Metroid. The Metroid seemed to think Samus was its mother actually. Samus turns the Baby Metroid over to the Federation for study. No sooner does she leave the station does it get attacked. Space Pirates are the culprit, lead by Ridley, who confronts Samus and steals the Metroid hatchling. Giving chase Samus finds herself back on the “dead” world of Zebes. There she finds out Mother Brain has been revived and is behind the plot to replicate the Metroids.

Gameplay
This game offered a lot of things that none of the Metroid games could. It was the first to include multiple items chosen using Select The inclusion of these items made for better item hunting, making it easier to locate various items that could have been very hard to find otherwise. It also was the first game to feature the Speed Booster, giving Samus her now signature Spark-Shine (though it drained Energy to use it in this game alone). This ability allowed for some very tricky placement of items. It also added in the Super Missile and Power Bomb to the inventory as well as the Gravity Suit, X-ray Visor, Charge Beam and many other now staple features of the Metroid series.
Samus also picked up a few new tricks, such as the Wall-jump and the Power Bomb healing method. The Wall-jump is tricky to pull off, but an essential trick for many areas before acquiring the Space-Jump much later in the game. As you jump against a wall in a somersault jump, press away from the wall. Samus will briefly take a different pose, as those she were bracing against the wall. Hit the jump button in this small time frame to launch Samus off the wall, propelling her higher. The second trick is much harder to execute as there are a great number of requirements that need to be met to use at all. Still, if in a pinch for energy without the Sub-tanks (unique to this game alone), it’s wonderful to restore some health when far away from any recharge stations. It also introduced aiming at an angle, something the series sorely needed.
The game is set-up in a way that encourages multiple playthroughs to get the different endings. As different ending times give you access to the different endings, it takes a lot of time and dedication to get the best ending.

Samus in a Save Station

Multiplayer
None

Controls
The manual is highly recommended if its your first time playing through the game as some features are harder to explain. Still, many of the controls offer something new, as Select Lets you cycle through your inventory and X lets you return to Samus’s Arm Cannon instantly. A very good thing to say the least about it.

Graphics
The SNES offered some amazing graphics for its time. While still dominated by 2D games, they offered incredibly advanced graphics that set a whole new standard for the time. Super Metroid is no exception and sets the bar the series. All 2D Metroid games have only built and expanded on what Super Metroid introduced into the series. No one game has since matched it for graphics in the series. Only the advanced techniques really take any time to master and those are easy enough to find a play to practice.

Sound Effects & Music
This is something the game excels in. The music doesn’t wear at you in the least, in fact its very enjoyable. This is one of the games has seen a lot of remixing (check OC Remix for proof) and for good reason. The only sound that could get close to tedious in terms of sound effects is that of the Speed Booster, but it never last long enough to actually annoy.

Obscurity
Well known within the Gamer community.

Summary/Author’s Take
This is, after Seiken Densetsu 3, on my list of top games for the SNES. While a great series in general, this particular game offered a lot for the first time in the series. While there is no additional narrative after the opening sequence, the game’s semi-cinematic sequences are still enough to convey an amazing amount about what’s going on when done. It’s a game that it doesn’t matter how many times you play it, you’ll find ways to improve a great number of things in each different playthrough. Sometimes its just a different power-up and other times it’s a different route to somewhere or best of all improving your time.


Story

90 percent

The fate of the Last Metroid.

Gameplay

86 percent

Manual required, much memorization/mapping.

Multiplayer

N/A

N/A

Controls

92 percent

Smooth, some practice.

Graphics

95 percent

Beautiful and trend setter.

SFX and Music

95 percent

Favorite part, seriously.

Obscurity

40 percent

Well-known by gamers.

Overall

85 percent

A great game worth playing/buying.



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