Super Metroid 1994

Is it still worth playing?

Nintendo's 1994 game for the Super NES, made by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems. Samus Aran travels to the planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley. The planet is one large, open world, from Crateria to Brinstar, Norfair, Maridia, the Wrecked Ship and Tourian, linked by doors and elevators and charted by an automap. Power-ups are what open it up: they upgrade the armour and weapons and reach areas that were out of reach before, so what you find decides where you can go. Among the new ones are the Grapple Beam and the Screw Attack, along with diagonal shooting, and every upgrade fits on the controller's buttons. That structure, alongside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, is credited with establishing the Metroidvania genre. The world is still the reason to go back today, made to be explored from its silent, empty start.