good game, i played on a pc port called metroid planets that fixes some of the big problems with the og like no map, no saves, and respawning with 30hp regardless of how many energy tanks u got. It's cool how such an overlooked game was so fun and breezy when the kinks are ironed out. Should u play this over zero mission? uh prob not, but its still worth playing 100%.
This game has secrets and it has balls. I almost fell off my chair when some random little room hidden behind a bombable square got me the goddamn screw attack when i was expecting a missile tank at most. Its also very vast and feels like enemy territory, with traps and cool stuff. I beat it in just under 3 hours so ya give it an afternoon, what do u have to lose? 3 hours? thats nothing.
This game has secrets and it has balls. I almost fell off my chair when some random little room hidden behind a bombable square got me the goddamn screw attack when i was expecting a missile tank at most. Its also very vast and feels like enemy territory, with traps and cool stuff. I beat it in just under 3 hours so ya give it an afternoon, what do u have to lose? 3 hours? thats nothing.
Shoutout to all the kids from '86 losing their minds over trying to figure out where to go in the game.
Que perro juego de frustrante, muchas partes se ven iguales, toca dar 500 vueltas al mapa para encontrar algo, pensaba pasarlo sin guias ni saves pero se torno muy tedioso por cosas como tener que estar farmeando salud a cada rato y tener que viajar largas distancias con un gran riesgo de perderse y los bichos esos que salen a cada rato, los bichos que salen malposicionados y es imposible pegarles, en fin un tormento, pero a pesar de todo estuvo bueno el juego, no tan bueno como esperaba pero ahi esta. Que bueno que el remake arregla muchos de los problemas
I might be a masochist because i actually really like NEStroid despite it being quite disliked by the community.
I mean yeah it really does not hold up well, but beneath all of the jank, there is some great non-linear exploration focused fun to be had.
I mean yeah it really does not hold up well, but beneath all of the jank, there is some great non-linear exploration focused fun to be had.
The online discourse for this game is baffling. If I'd listened to the current consensus, then I would have avoided all but a handful of NES games, because they're apparently unfun, dated junk.
I decided to give the original Metroid a shot anyway, and I'm floored. This game is spectacular. Some of the music tracks are among the best I've ever heard. The atmosphere is as thick as butter. The world is enormous and labyrinthian. I felt a sense of vertigo uncovering side passage after side passage in areas I'd previously explored, realizing the map was at least double the size than I'd previously thought.
People are playing this game wrong. Don't use a guide, just read the manual. Be frustrated, and learn the game. This isn't a walk in the park. This is an expedition to a hostile alien fortress.
I decided to give the original Metroid a shot anyway, and I'm floored. This game is spectacular. Some of the music tracks are among the best I've ever heard. The atmosphere is as thick as butter. The world is enormous and labyrinthian. I felt a sense of vertigo uncovering side passage after side passage in areas I'd previously explored, realizing the map was at least double the size than I'd previously thought.
People are playing this game wrong. Don't use a guide, just read the manual. Be frustrated, and learn the game. This isn't a walk in the park. This is an expedition to a hostile alien fortress.
Very cool concept that just has aged horribly, I find it very hard to believe someone nowadays can beat this one without a guide/online map, everything just looks too identical. Atmosphere, music and graphics are on point and introducing Samus to the gaming landscape is worth praise alone but it's just a tough sell in 2024
Innovative and ambitious for it's time, just hard for me to go back to, awesome to see where it all started however
5/10
Innovative and ambitious for it's time, just hard for me to go back to, awesome to see where it all started however
5/10
This adventure captures nostalgia with iconic boss battles but suffers from repetitive exploration. It’s a survival horror experience in disguise, lacking maps and resources, yet its cursed charm is undeniable. Though hindered by dated gameplay, its influence on the genre is unmistakable.
Ve buscando un mapa en Google a menos que quieras perder tiempo como un ciego en un laberinto.
También los enemigos pueden salir directamente enfrente tuyo al pasar por una puerta, así que ve preparando tranquilizantes.
También los enemigos pueden salir directamente enfrente tuyo al pasar por una puerta, así que ve preparando tranquilizantes.
this aged like your republican uncle watching fox news
good games don't age.
that's the statement I want gamers to understand because wow this is actually really fucking good! especially for such an early title in the NES' life span. it has everything you expect from a metroidvania, like the non-linear map structure, the power ups you pick up to boost yourself, the exploration, the sequence breaking, the speedrun potential, it's all here and it holds up surprisingly well for being 38 years old.
it is very fun to explore Zebes while looking at the 8 bit sprites and listening to the 30 seconds chiptune songs. sure it is very cryptic but that's not necessarily a bad thing; Metroid is a game that is meant to be replayed and where you're supposed to take notes and potentially make maps on your own, especially with the overall layout of Zebes being given away in the manual. god this is such a cool game with how rough everything is and yet how you're able to see the foundations for how the Metroid series and all those inspired by it use to this very day, both in terms of lore (the manual calls Samus a cyborg lol) and in terms of gameplay. it's simple but efficient. you really feel Samus growing more and more powerful as you acquire more items until you get the screw attack and varia suit and then you basically become invincible. controlling Samus is very intuitive and fun, even if she is a bit too slippery for my taste.
there are two "problems" that only exist because of technical limitations, which is the lack of backgrounds making every room feel extremely similar, and also I can practically hear the console crying whenever more than 5 things come on screen and how much lag it causes. there's also the lack of save station which s understandable cause many games on the NES didn't have
now with how impressive this game is, there are some choices that make it extremely hostile to play, and especially one egregious flaw: Metroid loves to waste your time. there are so many traps and dead ends that are made to waste your time and force you to do unnecessary backtracking. this isn't "aged game design", this is the level designers purposefully being annoying, and that's what keeps Metroid from being something I'll replay often. the lack of a map, very few landmarks and repetitive rooms doesn't help navigation either.
still, Metroid is a great game that I recommend everyone plays, at the very least for historical values. and who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it too.
that's the statement I want gamers to understand because wow this is actually really fucking good! especially for such an early title in the NES' life span. it has everything you expect from a metroidvania, like the non-linear map structure, the power ups you pick up to boost yourself, the exploration, the sequence breaking, the speedrun potential, it's all here and it holds up surprisingly well for being 38 years old.
it is very fun to explore Zebes while looking at the 8 bit sprites and listening to the 30 seconds chiptune songs. sure it is very cryptic but that's not necessarily a bad thing; Metroid is a game that is meant to be replayed and where you're supposed to take notes and potentially make maps on your own, especially with the overall layout of Zebes being given away in the manual. god this is such a cool game with how rough everything is and yet how you're able to see the foundations for how the Metroid series and all those inspired by it use to this very day, both in terms of lore (the manual calls Samus a cyborg lol) and in terms of gameplay. it's simple but efficient. you really feel Samus growing more and more powerful as you acquire more items until you get the screw attack and varia suit and then you basically become invincible. controlling Samus is very intuitive and fun, even if she is a bit too slippery for my taste.
there are two "problems" that only exist because of technical limitations, which is the lack of backgrounds making every room feel extremely similar, and also I can practically hear the console crying whenever more than 5 things come on screen and how much lag it causes. there's also the lack of save station which s understandable cause many games on the NES didn't have
now with how impressive this game is, there are some choices that make it extremely hostile to play, and especially one egregious flaw: Metroid loves to waste your time. there are so many traps and dead ends that are made to waste your time and force you to do unnecessary backtracking. this isn't "aged game design", this is the level designers purposefully being annoying, and that's what keeps Metroid from being something I'll replay often. the lack of a map, very few landmarks and repetitive rooms doesn't help navigation either.
still, Metroid is a great game that I recommend everyone plays, at the very least for historical values. and who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it too.
Samus is a girl
An incredible amount of promise and creativity crammed into a such a janky and poorly aged cartridge. Hundreds of tiny elements would be tweaked with the next home console entry, like aiming, enemy placement, environment, and especially the music. The tracks here are super barren, which suits the setting, but I can't imagine hearing those same droning blorps and whooshes over and over in the eighties. Despite the limited avenues for creative expression, Zebes still feels like a solid take on a subterranean alien world. It's literally bursting at the seams with enemies, which is incredibly annoying for gameplay, but makes sense within the world the game creates. It's with all of that praise in mind that I say that this game is still pretty bullshit from front to back. Incessant backtracking through identical corridors and seemingly endless vertical rooms. Copy pasted enemy placement, moronic decisions like making multiple Ice Beam locations, and the final fight, which, even by bullshit NES standards, is stunningly unfair, and just not satisfying.
Metroid is a game that wants to feel alive, like the cartridge itself is teaming with extraterrestrial creepy crawlies, just waiting to be blown away in that and sick gaming system. That illusion would have to wait though. 8 years to be specific.
Metroid is a game that wants to feel alive, like the cartridge itself is teaming with extraterrestrial creepy crawlies, just waiting to be blown away in that and sick gaming system. That illusion would have to wait though. 8 years to be specific.
Yeah, it's dated to death and hard to get a grip on compared to modern games, but it's hard to be too mad at a game so obviously instrumental in founding a subgenre I love. For a first foray into this kind of game, it's amazing how fully-formed it feels in places, particularly in its hidden power-ups and emphasis on technical precision. Kind of wild to think we had games in the 80s that sought to not only challenge a player this hard but reward them accordingly upon success.
That said, the challenge transcends your run-of-the-mill "hard" pretty egregiously in a few places, particularly the final run in Norad. I figured Mother Brain would be an easy fight considering the ease of the other bosses, but the difficulty spike was frankly jaw-dropping. Contextually, I understand that a vernacular of final boss difficulty hadn't been as thoroughly established, so I both empathize with where the developers were at and am still absolutely infuriated by their design decisions.
Still, the amount of essential gaming history that comes from this game is frankly staggering, and as such I feel immensely grateful for having taken the chance to play it through in full. Not really looking to play this again anytime soon, but the respect I have for this first Metroid and its creators will never fade.
That said, the challenge transcends your run-of-the-mill "hard" pretty egregiously in a few places, particularly the final run in Norad. I figured Mother Brain would be an easy fight considering the ease of the other bosses, but the difficulty spike was frankly jaw-dropping. Contextually, I understand that a vernacular of final boss difficulty hadn't been as thoroughly established, so I both empathize with where the developers were at and am still absolutely infuriated by their design decisions.
Still, the amount of essential gaming history that comes from this game is frankly staggering, and as such I feel immensely grateful for having taken the chance to play it through in full. Not really looking to play this again anytime soon, but the respect I have for this first Metroid and its creators will never fade.
Played on Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online, but didn't make it very far. I made a genuine attempt to give it a chance, but there's several aspects of the original Metroid that make it hard to get into nowadays. I will not be returning to this game.
Game doesn't have a crouch function
Game has a lot of enemies that would require crouching to kill
Game has a lot of enemies that would require crouching to kill
As much nostalgia as I have for this game playing it on the GBA, I can't rate it any higher than this. It set the stage for one of my favorite series, but that's all it is; the foundation. Nothing else on top. No map, no saves (on the American version), no refill spots, no nothing. It still gets bonus points for its openness and its hilarious translation, though.
Joguei só de curiosidade, já que aparece a opção de jogar depois de zerar o Metroid Zero Mission. 10 minutos joguei, e foi horrível kkkkkkkk mesmo decorando mais ou menos o caminho, é agoniante andar tão devagar e não se abaixar mais pra acertar os tiros.
As the first game and one started on a console that was very limited, it still layed the groundworks for the amazing things that were to come, but because of the hardware it was developed on it is impossible to not point out its limits.
Metroid back in the day was something else entirely. It was mysterious, the world felt huge, and finding all the power-ups gave this awesome sense of progression. That ending reveal blew my mind, too! Sure, the graphics are dated now, but the core gameplay holds up remarkably well if you're into that old-school challenge and exploration.
Me rating this higher than Metroid Prime is due simply to personal taste, Metroid Prime is the technically better game by a long shot.
That said be patient and draw a map. It genuinely enhances the experience beyond anything you can imagine. A charming NES game worth anyone’s time.
That said be patient and draw a map. It genuinely enhances the experience beyond anything you can imagine. A charming NES game worth anyone’s time.
thanks nintendo power
First Metroid game.
Relying on a mental map for this is nearly impossible and dare I say, the "wrong" way to play 1986's METROID. Treat this a puzzle game akin to RETURN OF THE OBRA DJINN, that is, create a physical map and mark it as you go along, and this becomes an incredibly engaging experience. I'd honestly recommend newcomers give this and its sequel an honest shot before moving on to SUPER METROID. If you're going to play ZERO MISSION or one of the RETURN OF SAMUS remakes, play those after SUPER, as playing them before will ruin the magic of the SNES classic -- that they perfected the genre with that game, so much that nearly every METROID since has been a remake.
Trying to play this again mostly making me realize I didn't give Metroid II enough credit for improving on this lmao.
I think it sucks, not getting to play this when it was new, cause I can see things like the atmosphere, how enemies being best avoided than fought for a good long while, and getting lost only to finally stumble on the next big upgrade being a big source for letting your imagination run wild. Just the take-away at the end of the day is this game is not very fun, cause it's far from satisfying for a bonk from a super bullet-spongy enemy to take down almost half an energy tank, and dying meaning you have to manually refill all your energy. Slowly and agonizingly.
Worth playing as a time capsule that pioneered a whole genre, and also because it makes me appreciate future 2D Metroids better.
I think it sucks, not getting to play this when it was new, cause I can see things like the atmosphere, how enemies being best avoided than fought for a good long while, and getting lost only to finally stumble on the next big upgrade being a big source for letting your imagination run wild. Just the take-away at the end of the day is this game is not very fun, cause it's far from satisfying for a bonk from a super bullet-spongy enemy to take down almost half an energy tank, and dying meaning you have to manually refill all your energy. Slowly and agonizingly.
Worth playing as a time capsule that pioneered a whole genre, and also because it makes me appreciate future 2D Metroids better.
The original Metroid has not aged too well. The world design is not well thought out and has some serious flaws. The lack of a map sucks. Enemies are nothing special. 1 of three bosses is a challenge while the others can be either cheesed or are just easy. Metroid played a huge part in the Metroidvania genre, but has poor design that hasn't aged well just like most NES games.
Final score: 3/10
Final score: 3/10
There are certainly some great ideas in Metroid's first outing, but it is plagued by poor design choices that lead to a more frustrating experience than a fun one.
Getting the good out of the way, the first Metroid really nailed the sense of exploration and loneliness the series is known for. Stumbling into a new corridor or finding a new area of the map has such a good sense of discovery.
Unfortunately, the levels are not designed in such a way to be easily explored. Recurring layouts can make the exploration a chore as you keep going back to the same places without realizing. You are going to need to use a guide or keep a piece of paper handy to map out where you have been and points of interest you need to return to. This could be forgiven as just a product of it's time (even though the sequel on the Gameboy was able to implement a map feature to completely fix this issue) if it wasn't for the obtuse level design that constantly hides areas you have to reach in order to progress.
Random blocks in the floor, ceiling or wall can be shot to reveal hidden passages and there is nothing to reveal where these passages are. This leads to a lot of backtracking, blasting away at every surface you can see once you realize these hidden passages are there. I wouldn't mind if there was some indication as to where these passages were (such as slightly off color tiles to reveal their location or some hint in the level design that would lead you to believe there is something behind the solid surface) but there isn't. You're left to just blast everything you see.
The other part of the games design that often leads to frustration is the abysmal drop rate of items from enemies. If you are unfortunate enough to die at any part of the game, you'll be forced to grind enemies for upwards of 15 minutes to recover your health and missiles to attempt a challenge again. This was a common part of design in early NES games (the original Mega Man comes to mind), meant to increase the challenge and inflate play time. But getting another 1-2 hours out of a game by forcing players to mindlessly grind enemies is not what I call fun nor engaging gameplay.
The sequel on Gameboy fixes most of the problems found in the original, but unfortunately exploration became a lot more linear and the repeated boss fights make areas feel too samey. It wasn't until Super Metroid that they finally perfected the formula, producing what many consider one of the best games ever made.
Getting the good out of the way, the first Metroid really nailed the sense of exploration and loneliness the series is known for. Stumbling into a new corridor or finding a new area of the map has such a good sense of discovery.
Unfortunately, the levels are not designed in such a way to be easily explored. Recurring layouts can make the exploration a chore as you keep going back to the same places without realizing. You are going to need to use a guide or keep a piece of paper handy to map out where you have been and points of interest you need to return to. This could be forgiven as just a product of it's time (even though the sequel on the Gameboy was able to implement a map feature to completely fix this issue) if it wasn't for the obtuse level design that constantly hides areas you have to reach in order to progress.
Random blocks in the floor, ceiling or wall can be shot to reveal hidden passages and there is nothing to reveal where these passages are. This leads to a lot of backtracking, blasting away at every surface you can see once you realize these hidden passages are there. I wouldn't mind if there was some indication as to where these passages were (such as slightly off color tiles to reveal their location or some hint in the level design that would lead you to believe there is something behind the solid surface) but there isn't. You're left to just blast everything you see.
The other part of the games design that often leads to frustration is the abysmal drop rate of items from enemies. If you are unfortunate enough to die at any part of the game, you'll be forced to grind enemies for upwards of 15 minutes to recover your health and missiles to attempt a challenge again. This was a common part of design in early NES games (the original Mega Man comes to mind), meant to increase the challenge and inflate play time. But getting another 1-2 hours out of a game by forcing players to mindlessly grind enemies is not what I call fun nor engaging gameplay.
The sequel on Gameboy fixes most of the problems found in the original, but unfortunately exploration became a lot more linear and the repeated boss fights make areas feel too samey. It wasn't until Super Metroid that they finally perfected the formula, producing what many consider one of the best games ever made.
I think this game is Castlevania's sci-fi equivalent in terms of impact and there's a reason the term Metroidvania is a portmanteau of the two games. Much like with Vlad's castle, you work your way through the depths of planet Zebes, exploring in a free-form way similar to the original Zelda and Vampire Killer. The music and stark visuals help to highlight the feel of isolation and danger, and even the weapons and item upgrades act as tools to explore further. Just like with Castlevania, I have issues with the precision of the controls which can be frustrating at times, and it doesn't nail the balance between exploration and tedium perfectly, but the achievements here far outweigh the niggles.
Samus really said "lets go to the left first"
My thoughts: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I really want to like this game but it does everything it can to make it so I hate it. WHY DO YOU START FROM 30 HEALTH EVERYTIME YOU DIE, WHERE DO I NEED TO GO, WHY IS THERE NO CROUCH BUTTON. Normally I finish every game I play no matter how boring or difficult. Somehow I can't for this game. I'm havin no fun whatsoever and I think It'd be a waste of time to continue....
BUT
I have still decided to play a Metroid game, I've just decided to move on to Super Metroid and I'm currently loving everything about it and the best thing is I'm getting to appreciate the game more, because it is so much more comfortable to play than this frustrating mess. I never thought I would ever appreciate a crouch button as much as I did but here we are. Also I recognise the surroundings, which is neat.
Therefore: 3/10 for making me appreciate Super Metroid u piece a shit
I really want to like this game but it does everything it can to make it so I hate it. WHY DO YOU START FROM 30 HEALTH EVERYTIME YOU DIE, WHERE DO I NEED TO GO, WHY IS THERE NO CROUCH BUTTON. Normally I finish every game I play no matter how boring or difficult. Somehow I can't for this game. I'm havin no fun whatsoever and I think It'd be a waste of time to continue....
BUT
I have still decided to play a Metroid game, I've just decided to move on to Super Metroid and I'm currently loving everything about it and the best thing is I'm getting to appreciate the game more, because it is so much more comfortable to play than this frustrating mess. I never thought I would ever appreciate a crouch button as much as I did but here we are. Also I recognise the surroundings, which is neat.
Therefore: 3/10 for making me appreciate Super Metroid u piece a shit
Used a few save states (Mother Brain)