NovaNiles
1994
Thank you to QuentTheSlayer for giving me the final push that made me play through Super Metroid.
The Super Nintendo was probably the ultimate time of refinement for Video Games. So many game series, that are now held up as timeless classics found their definitive formula on Nintendo's second console generation. Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy and of course today's subject: Metroid. Super Metroid is still considered by many to be the peak of the metroidvania genre, and it's admittedly strange to realize that I had never played it. Even as a huge fan of the series, I just always put it off to the side. I'll get around to it eventually. After all: In the same amount of time it would take me to get into Super Metroid, I could just replay Fusion for the 50th time. I haven't played Prime 2 in a hot minute. What's that shiny new Dread game that just came out ? And so on and so on. But then in 2024, I set aside the excuses, committed, and I can now say that I have finally finished Super Metroid.
Its hard to put into words how much of a mindfuck my first playthrough of Super Metroid was. This almost 30-year-old Super Nintendo game has you in a chokehold the moment the title screen appears. The pan across a quiet, dark laboratory. 1994. Nintendo. Presents. Metroid 3. SUPER METROID. Right there, with the bodies of dead scientist strewn across the floor and the baby metroid trapped in a glass tube, the title of the game towers in gigantic, bold letters. It's one of the most striking introductions to a Video Game I have ever seen. A statement, before you even press a single button.
Of course this strong in medias res opening is only possible due to the fact that Super Metroid is the canonical third entry of the series, continuing on from the ending of Metroid 2: Return of Samus. And the game does an excellent job of catching you up to the events of the previous games. In a moody monologue, Samus recounts her fight against Motherbrain in her first adventure, her mission to eradicate the Metroid species for good and her sparing the last baby Metroid at the end. She brings said baby Metroid to the Galactic Research Station Ceres. There, the baby Metroid is supposed to be further studied while Samus is off hunting another bounty. Of course, she barely makes it out the door before receiving the call that Ceres is under attack. Ridley and his space pirates have decimated Ceres in order to capture the last Metroid. It's here where Super Metroid first gives you control over Samus in an action packed and atmospheric opening. She blasts through the invading space pirates and storms into an inevitable confrontation with long time nemesis Ridley. After an early sneak peek at this late game boss fight, Ridley flees with the baby Metroid in his claws. Samus follows in hot pursuit and lands on the planet Zebes. The setting of the original Metroid. This series story telling has always been and would continue to be very subtle, but even this opening stands tall among its peers in terms of how much you can get across just through a quick opening text crawl and pure gameplay. Really, the recap from our badass heroine is the only dialogue you will get across the entire game, and yet it still manages to tell an engaging story as you make your way down through the underground tunnels of Zebes.
Zebes is what all metroidvania maps should aspire to be in my opinion. Isolating, with long, winding corridors and incredibly distinct environments. This map is so well-designed that I rarely felt lost or directionless even when I wasnt exacly sure what my next step was. The map screen is there, but it does the bare minimum to give you any general information on the environment. Because it doesn't have to tell you more. The drive to explore and the invisible hand of the developers guiding you are enough. Very, very rarely did I find myself lost as to where to go next and the few times that the game had me stumped, I can attribute to my general impatients I have been trained on due to modern video games. If I spend more than 30 minutes figuring out the way forward, then it must be bad game design, right ?. Fuck you, David Jaffe. By paying close attention to the game, you can always intuit where your way forward is. It's a masterstroke of game design.
The other side of gameplay besides navigating the game world, is combat and finding upgrades. Because Samus isnt badass enough already. That was Metroids bread and butter from the very beginning really. Super doesn't hugely change the formula, but still excels in teaching you its mechanics naturally. The game has you collect all the now famous Metroid tools like Super Missiles, the Grapple Beam and so on, while always showing you how to use them with a reward that seems just out of reach, right after you got that shiny new upgrade. Again, all without a single interruption or textbox. If somebody had to nitpick any aspects of the gameplay, it would probably have to do with Samus jump and the way you switch through different weapon modes. Firstly: Samus jump arc is a weird one to get used to for sure, since she gets an unusual amount of air time for a 2D platformer. The standard jump, which can also be altered into a summersault forward, seems very stiff as well. It almost feels like the Castlevania 1 jump arc as if some weirdo happend to turn on low gravity. Weird maybe, but those quirks still very much lend themselves to the often tubelike level design of Zebes and I rarely had any problems with jumping up to ledges or across platforms. The second, more annoying nitpick would probably be how you switch weapons via the select button. It's an awkward solution that had me often fumble around when I wanted a specific weapon equipped, but it's not a dealbreaker either, just something I wished was a bit better by default. Oh, and there is a run button. Never forget that you have a run button. It had me stuck for a bit and you will thank me later, fellow non-manual readers. Those minor flaws aside, the gameplay is incredibly rewarding to master and once you do master it, the real meta game of Super Metroid begins. Sequence Breaking.
Again: It's an aspect of the genre that Metroid is already famous for and its the game that popularized it, but Super Metroid does it on a whole other level. This game has one technique in particular, one you unknowingly have access to from the very beginning, that is designed to break the game's intended progression. It's a tricky one to execute, and the game will teach it to you in an organic way at some point. Once you fully master it, you might as well throw all preconceived notions out the window that this game was ever linear to begin with. Already deep into my second playthrough, I feel the effects of playing at a higher level. Upgrades and bosses, that seemed so far away in the beginning, can now be acquired basically as early or as late as you want to. The genius decision of teaching you this high level play during your first trip through Zebes does wonders for replayability. Pay attention and the game will infinitely reward you for it. You might of course go to areas you're not equipped for yet, but if you persevere, you get the best abilities incredibly early. Risk vs Reward, entirely on the player's own terms. Genius.
I honestly didn't expect to sing this game's praises so much, and I still haven't talked about the incredible sprite work or the god tier soundtrack. Two aspects I can not find a single flaw in, and talking about them would have me repeating myself again with only superlatives. The game is one of the most gorgeous games I have ever seen, it's like a immaculate painting. The soundtrack gives me goosebumps just thinking about it, and taking the elevator down the Brinstar for the first time is already one of my top 5 magic moments of all time. There you go.
Saving my credibility for reviewing video games, whatever that is even worth, I should probably still mention my one big rage-quit moment. As no game is perfect, but Super Metroid is damn close. Maridia. Maridia fucking sucks and seems to be the one area where the developers couldn't hold back the urge anymore to design a cryptic hell maze. Not only is getting to Maridia a bullshit ordeal all on its own, actually navigating this oversized fish tank with all its invisible walls is a confusing slog. And god help you if managed to come here without the gravity suit, like i did. Now, try to figure out how to get back to dry land while Samus jogs across the ocean floor in slowmotion. Or hope your most recent save isn't too far away. Hey, there is this giant purple tube you can go up and down through, that is clearly showing you an entirely different area in the middle. Well forget that. Ain't going there yet, no matter how hard the game implies it. Finish off the underwater journey with two really sub-par bosses. Please just end me.
Alright. Despite the grueling stretch through the sludge waters of Maridia, despite every bone in my body telling me that now this supposed all-time classic has finally fallen to the rose-tinted nostalgia glasses of fanboys across the globe, it shinesparked back up like a phoenix and stuck the landing. More than that, it destroyed the landing pad and drilled itself deep into my heart to become one of my favorite games of all time. I already know this will get more than one playthrough in the near future, because Super Metroid fucking rules. Go play Super Metroid you cowards!
The Super Nintendo was probably the ultimate time of refinement for Video Games. So many game series, that are now held up as timeless classics found their definitive formula on Nintendo's second console generation. Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy and of course today's subject: Metroid. Super Metroid is still considered by many to be the peak of the metroidvania genre, and it's admittedly strange to realize that I had never played it. Even as a huge fan of the series, I just always put it off to the side. I'll get around to it eventually. After all: In the same amount of time it would take me to get into Super Metroid, I could just replay Fusion for the 50th time. I haven't played Prime 2 in a hot minute. What's that shiny new Dread game that just came out ? And so on and so on. But then in 2024, I set aside the excuses, committed, and I can now say that I have finally finished Super Metroid.
Its hard to put into words how much of a mindfuck my first playthrough of Super Metroid was. This almost 30-year-old Super Nintendo game has you in a chokehold the moment the title screen appears. The pan across a quiet, dark laboratory. 1994. Nintendo. Presents. Metroid 3. SUPER METROID. Right there, with the bodies of dead scientist strewn across the floor and the baby metroid trapped in a glass tube, the title of the game towers in gigantic, bold letters. It's one of the most striking introductions to a Video Game I have ever seen. A statement, before you even press a single button.
Of course this strong in medias res opening is only possible due to the fact that Super Metroid is the canonical third entry of the series, continuing on from the ending of Metroid 2: Return of Samus. And the game does an excellent job of catching you up to the events of the previous games. In a moody monologue, Samus recounts her fight against Motherbrain in her first adventure, her mission to eradicate the Metroid species for good and her sparing the last baby Metroid at the end. She brings said baby Metroid to the Galactic Research Station Ceres. There, the baby Metroid is supposed to be further studied while Samus is off hunting another bounty. Of course, she barely makes it out the door before receiving the call that Ceres is under attack. Ridley and his space pirates have decimated Ceres in order to capture the last Metroid. It's here where Super Metroid first gives you control over Samus in an action packed and atmospheric opening. She blasts through the invading space pirates and storms into an inevitable confrontation with long time nemesis Ridley. After an early sneak peek at this late game boss fight, Ridley flees with the baby Metroid in his claws. Samus follows in hot pursuit and lands on the planet Zebes. The setting of the original Metroid. This series story telling has always been and would continue to be very subtle, but even this opening stands tall among its peers in terms of how much you can get across just through a quick opening text crawl and pure gameplay. Really, the recap from our badass heroine is the only dialogue you will get across the entire game, and yet it still manages to tell an engaging story as you make your way down through the underground tunnels of Zebes.
Zebes is what all metroidvania maps should aspire to be in my opinion. Isolating, with long, winding corridors and incredibly distinct environments. This map is so well-designed that I rarely felt lost or directionless even when I wasnt exacly sure what my next step was. The map screen is there, but it does the bare minimum to give you any general information on the environment. Because it doesn't have to tell you more. The drive to explore and the invisible hand of the developers guiding you are enough. Very, very rarely did I find myself lost as to where to go next and the few times that the game had me stumped, I can attribute to my general impatients I have been trained on due to modern video games. If I spend more than 30 minutes figuring out the way forward, then it must be bad game design, right ?. Fuck you, David Jaffe. By paying close attention to the game, you can always intuit where your way forward is. It's a masterstroke of game design.
The other side of gameplay besides navigating the game world, is combat and finding upgrades. Because Samus isnt badass enough already. That was Metroids bread and butter from the very beginning really. Super doesn't hugely change the formula, but still excels in teaching you its mechanics naturally. The game has you collect all the now famous Metroid tools like Super Missiles, the Grapple Beam and so on, while always showing you how to use them with a reward that seems just out of reach, right after you got that shiny new upgrade. Again, all without a single interruption or textbox. If somebody had to nitpick any aspects of the gameplay, it would probably have to do with Samus jump and the way you switch through different weapon modes. Firstly: Samus jump arc is a weird one to get used to for sure, since she gets an unusual amount of air time for a 2D platformer. The standard jump, which can also be altered into a summersault forward, seems very stiff as well. It almost feels like the Castlevania 1 jump arc as if some weirdo happend to turn on low gravity. Weird maybe, but those quirks still very much lend themselves to the often tubelike level design of Zebes and I rarely had any problems with jumping up to ledges or across platforms. The second, more annoying nitpick would probably be how you switch weapons via the select button. It's an awkward solution that had me often fumble around when I wanted a specific weapon equipped, but it's not a dealbreaker either, just something I wished was a bit better by default. Oh, and there is a run button. Never forget that you have a run button. It had me stuck for a bit and you will thank me later, fellow non-manual readers. Those minor flaws aside, the gameplay is incredibly rewarding to master and once you do master it, the real meta game of Super Metroid begins. Sequence Breaking.
Again: It's an aspect of the genre that Metroid is already famous for and its the game that popularized it, but Super Metroid does it on a whole other level. This game has one technique in particular, one you unknowingly have access to from the very beginning, that is designed to break the game's intended progression. It's a tricky one to execute, and the game will teach it to you in an organic way at some point. Once you fully master it, you might as well throw all preconceived notions out the window that this game was ever linear to begin with. Already deep into my second playthrough, I feel the effects of playing at a higher level. Upgrades and bosses, that seemed so far away in the beginning, can now be acquired basically as early or as late as you want to. The genius decision of teaching you this high level play during your first trip through Zebes does wonders for replayability. Pay attention and the game will infinitely reward you for it. You might of course go to areas you're not equipped for yet, but if you persevere, you get the best abilities incredibly early. Risk vs Reward, entirely on the player's own terms. Genius.
I honestly didn't expect to sing this game's praises so much, and I still haven't talked about the incredible sprite work or the god tier soundtrack. Two aspects I can not find a single flaw in, and talking about them would have me repeating myself again with only superlatives. The game is one of the most gorgeous games I have ever seen, it's like a immaculate painting. The soundtrack gives me goosebumps just thinking about it, and taking the elevator down the Brinstar for the first time is already one of my top 5 magic moments of all time. There you go.
Saving my credibility for reviewing video games, whatever that is even worth, I should probably still mention my one big rage-quit moment. As no game is perfect, but Super Metroid is damn close. Maridia. Maridia fucking sucks and seems to be the one area where the developers couldn't hold back the urge anymore to design a cryptic hell maze. Not only is getting to Maridia a bullshit ordeal all on its own, actually navigating this oversized fish tank with all its invisible walls is a confusing slog. And god help you if managed to come here without the gravity suit, like i did. Now, try to figure out how to get back to dry land while Samus jogs across the ocean floor in slowmotion. Or hope your most recent save isn't too far away. Hey, there is this giant purple tube you can go up and down through, that is clearly showing you an entirely different area in the middle. Well forget that. Ain't going there yet, no matter how hard the game implies it. Finish off the underwater journey with two really sub-par bosses. Please just end me.
Alright. Despite the grueling stretch through the sludge waters of Maridia, despite every bone in my body telling me that now this supposed all-time classic has finally fallen to the rose-tinted nostalgia glasses of fanboys across the globe, it shinesparked back up like a phoenix and stuck the landing. More than that, it destroyed the landing pad and drilled itself deep into my heart to become one of my favorite games of all time. I already know this will get more than one playthrough in the near future, because Super Metroid fucking rules. Go play Super Metroid you cowards!
2023
Being a fan of Nintendo can be tough sometimes. I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom Wario was as much a part of childhood as Mario. Be it when I was borrowing the first few games from my older cousins, playing the hell out of my own copy of Wario Land 4 on the GBA, or enjoying the many spinoffs he was front and center in. Wario was always there, until Nintendo decided he wasn't anymore. As the Mario games shifted more and more into a heavily protected mega franchise, Wario had to go. Mario's greedy, smelly rival was shuffled off to the eternal spin off mines. The way of almost all Nintendo IPs of course that aren't profitable enough, whatever the fuck that means in shareholder land. Luckily, Indies have given us many, sometimes even better substitutes to whatever Nintendo isn't willing to do anymore. And in 2023, a bit out of nowhere, we got another great one: Pizza Tower.
The devs at Tour de Pizza indeed created the ultimate answer to the question: Where did Wario Land go ? Apparently it turned into an awesome 2D platformer where a funny Italian man, with serious anxiety problems, fights an Evil Pizza Face trying to nuke his restaurant. Obviously.
And that is all presented through an absolute wild art style. An amazing art style. Many have compared it to old 90s cartoons drawn in MS Paint, but I can't really agree with that. For me, it seems a lot more like it's going for mid 2000s adult swim shows and Newgrounds cartoons. A bit like Super jail or Mr Pickles. The kinda off- model drawings that throw away smooth line work and continuity in its individual frames for a much faster, chaotic style that feels like you're watching a painting melt on acid before your eyes. And just like its inspirations, Pizza Tower still excels in actual animation quality. It's insane how many individual poses and expressions fill the screen at any moment, along with the movement in the gameplay. Peppino himself gets a giant TV on the top right that is shifting all the time to new hilarious expressions, all depending on what's happening to him at that moment. For sure just a giant, well earned flex by the devs.
The soundtrack accompanying his crazy pizza adventure is also one of the best I have ever heard. Its almost impossibly diverse with dark humming undertons flawellesly going into a driving beat in levels like Dont Make a Sound or entering Crust Cove and hitting you with music that wouldnt at all be out of place in Jet Set Radio. A lot of these songs stay in my head long after I closed the game.
And while this amazing soundtrack is playing you'll be air dashing with Peppino all over the place trying to reach the end of each Level. Just like Wario Land 4, when you hit the exit switch, this time not in the form of a weird frog statue but as the weirdly creepy looking John Pillar. Who's a Giant Pillar with a Human face that is holding the Pizza Tower together, of course. You're then promted to run back to the exit before the timer runs out or be chased to a game over by the games villain, Pizza Face. The first time in each level is always an anxiety inducing dash as you try to grab all the collectibles you missed while going faster than sonic could ever dream of. If your like me, you'll probably still get a bad letter grad like C or D even. But that's the other beautiful thing in Pizza Towers design: How complex its move set is and how good you become at it if you're willing to put in a bit of work. It's honestly a god like feeling when you eventually understand it and fly through the stages with the goal of reaching the top ranking. Dash through the metal block, up smash, get the secret, fall out the bottom, don't forget to get the Janitor.... It's so awesome. It must be how speedrunners or fighting games players feel when they reach their apex skill level. That said: I can't exactly claim I'm that good at it. As much as I wish I was, I will probably forever stay in the A to S tier ranking. The highest you can get is P, which requires a full run of the level, never losing your combo, then finished the second lap while the countdown is ticking down and beating each of the 3 hidden stages. Not to mention you're ranked again in total at the end of the game. It's a lot, and it already took me hours to just P Rank the first world. I think I'm good with leaving that to the professionals.
I'm just so glad Pizza Tower exists. An incredible game that just had even more content added to it via The Noise Update. An entire new character to play as with his own move set to learn and tons of new costume animations. Needlessly to say, my conclusion is that Pizza Tower is absolutly goated and makes me question if I even still need Nintendo. Seriously, just sell Wario to Tour de Pizza, they would do my favorite yellow garlic enjoyer justice for sure.
The devs at Tour de Pizza indeed created the ultimate answer to the question: Where did Wario Land go ? Apparently it turned into an awesome 2D platformer where a funny Italian man, with serious anxiety problems, fights an Evil Pizza Face trying to nuke his restaurant. Obviously.
And that is all presented through an absolute wild art style. An amazing art style. Many have compared it to old 90s cartoons drawn in MS Paint, but I can't really agree with that. For me, it seems a lot more like it's going for mid 2000s adult swim shows and Newgrounds cartoons. A bit like Super jail or Mr Pickles. The kinda off- model drawings that throw away smooth line work and continuity in its individual frames for a much faster, chaotic style that feels like you're watching a painting melt on acid before your eyes. And just like its inspirations, Pizza Tower still excels in actual animation quality. It's insane how many individual poses and expressions fill the screen at any moment, along with the movement in the gameplay. Peppino himself gets a giant TV on the top right that is shifting all the time to new hilarious expressions, all depending on what's happening to him at that moment. For sure just a giant, well earned flex by the devs.
The soundtrack accompanying his crazy pizza adventure is also one of the best I have ever heard. Its almost impossibly diverse with dark humming undertons flawellesly going into a driving beat in levels like Dont Make a Sound or entering Crust Cove and hitting you with music that wouldnt at all be out of place in Jet Set Radio. A lot of these songs stay in my head long after I closed the game.
And while this amazing soundtrack is playing you'll be air dashing with Peppino all over the place trying to reach the end of each Level. Just like Wario Land 4, when you hit the exit switch, this time not in the form of a weird frog statue but as the weirdly creepy looking John Pillar. Who's a Giant Pillar with a Human face that is holding the Pizza Tower together, of course. You're then promted to run back to the exit before the timer runs out or be chased to a game over by the games villain, Pizza Face. The first time in each level is always an anxiety inducing dash as you try to grab all the collectibles you missed while going faster than sonic could ever dream of. If your like me, you'll probably still get a bad letter grad like C or D even. But that's the other beautiful thing in Pizza Towers design: How complex its move set is and how good you become at it if you're willing to put in a bit of work. It's honestly a god like feeling when you eventually understand it and fly through the stages with the goal of reaching the top ranking. Dash through the metal block, up smash, get the secret, fall out the bottom, don't forget to get the Janitor.... It's so awesome. It must be how speedrunners or fighting games players feel when they reach their apex skill level. That said: I can't exactly claim I'm that good at it. As much as I wish I was, I will probably forever stay in the A to S tier ranking. The highest you can get is P, which requires a full run of the level, never losing your combo, then finished the second lap while the countdown is ticking down and beating each of the 3 hidden stages. Not to mention you're ranked again in total at the end of the game. It's a lot, and it already took me hours to just P Rank the first world. I think I'm good with leaving that to the professionals.
I'm just so glad Pizza Tower exists. An incredible game that just had even more content added to it via The Noise Update. An entire new character to play as with his own move set to learn and tons of new costume animations. Needlessly to say, my conclusion is that Pizza Tower is absolutly goated and makes me question if I even still need Nintendo. Seriously, just sell Wario to Tour de Pizza, they would do my favorite yellow garlic enjoyer justice for sure.