Super Metroid | 9.5

It's sort of funny how I came to own Super Metroid. Back in 1995, I had some money and I was looking to buy some used Super Nintendo games at the local Movie Gallery. I found one that I wanted, but I had enough money to buy one or two more. I didn't really see any others that I was dying to have, but Super Metroid looked spectacular from the back of the box and I had always heard about how great it was, so I went ahead and bought it. Little did I know that it would turn out to be my favorite game of its kind, and possibly my favorite video game of all time!

When you first start a new game of Super Metroid, a short cinema that consists of 3D pictures and dialogue will start showing and telling the story. I could tell you the story, but that would spoil it.

Your job is to control Samus Aran, and guide her through several different and challenging worlds that mainly consist of futuristic-looking aliens as enemies. While you make your way through the game, you can always pause the game and look at the map to see where you need to go and where you're currently at.

Samus always has a gun that you can use, but there are several other weapons and gadgets that you can find somewhere in the game, and then use. There are missiles, super missiles, bombs, super bombs, other kinds of beams such as an ice beam, new suits such as a gravity suit for the underwater environments, the ability to run EXTREMELY fast, a grappling hook, X-ray vision goggles, extra energy units, and much more.

But it's not a piece of cake for Samus. All over the place, are several different enemies that can fly, eat Samus alive, jump from one side of a room to the other, and more. There are also AWESOME bosses that you have to defeat. These bosses can range from a towering dragon that throws claws at you, a bird that has wings that never get tired, to the all-powerful Mother Brain, and others.

Pretty much, Super Metroid is mainly about exploring the different environments. Samus starts out at scratch, with only one energy unit and a basic gun. You must find missiles, extra energy units, new suits, and all the other items, in order to be able to use them. The more items you find, the better off you'll be, and the better ending that you'll see at the end of the game.

There are also items other than weapons or powerups that need to be found in each world, such as save points (for saving your game), map data, and more.

Everything about Super Metroid couldn't have been any better. The graphics are haunting, well detailed, and couldn't have been any better for this type of game. The backgrounds have great effects such as lightning or morphing effects, and the characters in the game look very sci-fi and detailed. Just like the graphics do, the sound effects and music add to the science fiction and horror theme of Super Metroid. I'm one of the few lucky people in the world who is fortunate enough to own the Super Metroid soundtrack (it was only made in Japan and it's VERY hard to find), and let me tell you, it has the best music I have ever heard in a video game. All the tracks have that horror sound to them and they're all overly catchy.

As for sound effects, all of the sounds from the explosions, to the screeching and terrorizing voices of the enemies, are unbelievable. Super Metroid's control is slick, without being too touchy or sluggish; it's perfect in other words. Finally, Super Metroid has the best replay value of any adventure game I've ever played. I've went all the way through the game at least 50 times, and I'm still not tired of it! And I KNOW that I will NEVER get tired of playing Super Metroid. It's fun to see how many of the items you can find and how fast you can get through the game.

If there is anything bad about Super Metroid, it's the fact that it is only a one-player game. BUT, it is still one of the best games ever made. Super Metroid is as close to perfect as any game that has ever been made, in my opinion.

If you own a Super Nintendo, Super Metroid is a MUST-HAVE! It's not only one of the best games for the Super Nintendo, it's one of the best video games of all time, for any system. Electronic Gaming Monthly recently published a list of the 100 best video games of all time, and they chose Super Metroid as the best game of all time. That's right, they chose it as #1. When you play it, you will see why! Get it today while you can!