Plot. Taking place after Metroid II: Return of Samus, the galaxy seems to be in the brink of peace and citizens are secure that under the watchful eye of bounty hunter Samus Aran, there is nothing to fear from the Space Pirates. When Samus Aran escapes from SR388, she encounters a baby Metroid known as the hatchling. She takes it to the Ceres Space Station for the scientists to study. When Samus leaves she picks up a distress signal, discovering that the colony is under attack. When returning to investigate, she encounters Ridley, who has resurrected since their last battle. He steals the hatchling and destroys the colony, and Samus quickly flies following him to her old home, Planet Zebes. So Samus must get the hatchling back, before the resurrected Space Pirate force use the hatchling for their own evil purposes.
Gameplay. Players can vary the controls depending on how they feel comfortable playing with. I usually used the Y for shooting, A for dashing, B for jumping and X for cancelling. L for upper aim and R for lower aim. There are also special control performances such as the Moon Walk, hold down the shooting button and while doing go backwards and you'll see Samus unleash her inner Michael Jackson move. Players can aim and shoot in eight different directions, they can sprint, wall jump and so on. Speed runners use a special Morph Ball technique, known as the Machball, in which players sprint, then timing their landings they morph into a ball where they can go faster than it's normal speed.
Design. Characters in the game were sprite rendered at those times and the 2D action gameplay was priceless. Backgrounds in the game were pretty awesome in Zebes and in the Space Colony. My personal favorite designed level was Ridley's Lair which looked like a half-medieval and half-stone aged level. The Tourian was a very well designed level as well.
History. Metroid began in the summer of 1986 and on that time I was just 2 months old while my brother was already playing the game. The first game was for the Nintendo Entertainment System was very successful, some fans believe that the Alien movie series and the main character Ellen Ripley is what inspired the Metroid series and Samus Aran. An interesting reference is Ridley, named after the director of the first movie Ridley Scott. Metroid II appeared in the early 90's for the Game Boy, and then Super Metroid for the SNES. The series went for a long hiatus, and then came back with a vengeance with Metroid Prime for the Gamecube. Metroid Fusion is what continued the original series after Super Metroid. Metroid Prime had 3 games in the series; Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was released on the Gamecube. Metroid Prime: Hunters and Pinball were released for the Nintendo DS and finally Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was released for the Nintendo Wii, being a great rival to Halo 3 on that same year.
Bad Aspect. What I don't like about this game is that even if you have the Gravity Suit, the acid still damages you, that is something I don't understand even if you walk under the lava. I also hated the Sidehoppers and the Reos, those enemies I hate them from the very pit of my stomach. And there are enemies before Ridley's Lair that spit fire at you and they can't be destroyed, how can they be so invincible? Come on! At least they can be destroyed in Metroid Fusion
Good Aspect. I really loved the Crystal Flash technique, in which is quite a challenge to perform. And also most of the levels such as Brinstar, Crateria, Maridia and Norfair levels were actually very well designed. The Wrecked Ship which in my opinion is the Space Pirate Mothership in Zero Mission looks very short, but sweet in my thoughts. The late Gunpei Yokoi did a great job in designing those bosses as well and Ridley was the hardest yet best designed boss. Good job Gunpei, and R.I.P.
Music. To me the best music is the one with Ridley's Lair, which fit the place and was most intense. The boss battle music themes were wonderfully composed. When it comes to levels as well, the most beautiful yet depressing music theme is the first parts of the Maridia level, which is the water world of Zebes. The creepiest one was the Wrecked Ship theme, especially when the ship was shut down by Phantoon, the boss of the stage.
Overall. Super Metroid is the best of the Metroid series and I strongly recommend the Metroid newbies and veterans to rejoice the memories on an SNES emulator or on the Wii Virtual Console. It's 800 Wii Points and this game in my score gets a 10/10