Reviews from

in the past


I don't want to be mean to the devs of this patch, or people who actively choose to play it. But as a fan of the original, I dislike nearly all of the changes this hack makes aside from putting doors on the map screen (seriously, I want a patch that does only that).

The original game was tightly designed for those original controls and the unchanged mechanics, and it doesn't need QoL. If you haven't played Super yet, please play the original first.

For some highlights emblematic of what I didn't like:

1. The GBA style controls are actually worse for two reasons: platforming is designed around walk/run, and Samus's arsenal is much larger than in Zero Mission. Having to press L+Down to aim diagonally down sucks more because you aim that way much more in Super's large rooms than you do in Zero Mission. You can't switch missile types/grapple/scan while morphed, which sucks in boss fights when you're evading an attack but need to switch between attack types at the same time (such as in the Draygon fight if you don't use the grapple trick).

And defaulting to run isn't a good idea because you're meant to walk before short jumps to gain tighter control. Jumping full throttle all the time is annoying for small rooms, boss fights, and when trying to use exploits.

Simply, Zero Mission's maps and fights are explicitly designed for these controls so those annoyances don't come up, but they feel clunky in Super which demands the increased control of the original buttons.

2. Distance needed to shinespark without glitches is way lower, to where it's incredibly easy to skip rooms with obstacles like the way to the Wrecked Ship. SM's design is balanced so that you can't break it on your first playthrough without prior knowledge, so that beginners don't get stuck or get to areas before they're supposed to.

This is incredibly important because Super Metroid locks the door behind you only when it's trying to teach you something. (and as a sidenote, if you play Super for the first time I promise you you're not going to get softlocked. Don't reload, you're not stuck).


Example 2 is a microcosm of why I don't like all the other "rebalancing" changes from Redux.

Lastly, the extra GBA heavy physics patch is just an insult to the original. This is the most fanboyish thing I'll say here. Super's floaty controls aren't imprecise and you will get used to them. And personally, they're more immersive in the world of Zebes (which I believe is supposed to make the game feel more alien, despite it being changed in Zero Mission to fit Fusion's engine and the GBA screen). The maps are bigger, so it actively undermines the experience. Anyways, I didn't play with it on, but I mention it because it looks tantalizing to new players who haven't gotten used to the classic control style.

Notes on this playthrough: I played up until Draygon on hard mode. I only didn't finish Draygon because I rushed through and only had 3 e-tanks. I like the inclusion of a hard mode especially since it's optional, it adds a new way to play where you can't rely on tanking hits as much.

The worst metroid, sorry not sorry

I honestly do not enjoy the original Super Metroid that much. It's mostly just the physics and game feel. But this hack, with the optional Heavy Physics patch, brings it more in-line with the later entries in the series.

RP2S

While I still find the game somewhat clunky even with the mod, this made me go from almost disliking Super Metroid, to enjoying it quite a bit.

4.5, en realidad.

Debo confesarlo: soy algo impaciente. Más aún cuando no me dan indicaciones claras. De modo que esa exploración que debió estimular las sesiones de juego, se transformaron en tedio y hastío; pero fue mi culpa.

Una vez asumido ese punto, lo pude disfrutar.
Tiene uno de los pixel-art más acabados que he podido ver, particularmente la misma Samus.

Inmersivo, jugarlo con audífonos fue toda una experiencia.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a perfect game, but Super Metroid comes about as close as you can get for the 16bit era. This romhack further cements that fact.


Uncanny Valley Super Metroid. Auto-run being on by default threw off my platforming muscle memory until I disabled it. I'm not fond of the jacked up fire rate for the beams without charge beam. Thankfully there's a patch to disable this intrusive change. Door and elevator transitions are sped up, but sometimes the door transition would hang on a black screen. Redux implements the circle-dot maps from the GBA titles, but only on the main map screen. The mini-map can't display the item-circles. The Norfair false-wall still defies the x-ray visor logic established by earlier false-block "puzzles".

I'm ambivalent to the control alterations. Aiming at a downward angle is now finicky as in the GBA titles. The one draw is being able to toggle between Beams and Super Missiles with only one button press instead of two. You still have to cycle with Select to choose Missiles, Super Missiles, or the Grapple-beam. Except now Select skips over Powerbombs. X-ray visor activation has replaced the alternate-fire-cancel button.

In the end it came off as "modded Super Metroid" instead of being a perfect revision.

Super Metroid was a game I originally diddnt particularly like. But after deep diving and researching where everything was and the lore I became obsessed. It’s now a top 5 maybe top 3 game.

They really just made a game with one the best environments and make it one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve had. It’s been a year since I’ve last played and i didn’t get all items around 90% but I did do it under 3 hours and felt boss about myself.


This mod also improves and it’s the way I play the game unless on my switch when I’m travelling. I can highly recommend this game and this mod as well!!!

Visiting Super Metroid after playing a remake like zero mission feels redundant, since it envelops most improvements undertaken in SM while deferring or refusing other changes like the fleeting lightness of SM's movement.

Doesn't mean that it's worse though, SM gives an amazing kick that keeps you high for at least half its playtime, it's more of the good metroid! Although it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that 3 games later they still can't do a proper ridley bossfight.