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System: NES Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Players: 1 Save: Password Genre: Action

Space Pirates have attacked an intergalactic spaceship that was en route back to earth after recovering a mysterious life form from the planet SR388. The life form nicknamed "Metroids" were stolen by Space Pirates and taken back to their home planet, Zebes.

Fearing an uncontrolled propagation of Metroids on Zebes, the Galactic Federation Police hired Bounty Hunter Samus Aran to destroy all the remaining Metroids.

This game was released in North America in the year 1986. It was developed and published by Nintendo.

North America: August 1986
Japan: Unknown
Europe: Unknown

Screeshots: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5

Metroid was a unique game when it was released in 1986. It was an action side-scroller with a great deal of adventure elements and a small degree of problem solving. It boasted impressive visuals and audio and always had several sprites on screen.

Game play variety is a huge part of Metroid's game design. Often times you would be battling enemies, trying to navigate your way through an obstacle by jumping or using the morph ball. Other times you would be exploring the world searching for new paths to discover with your newly-acquired items or fighting very challenging bosses.

Metroid was not a big hit when it was released. In North America, it did not sell many copies during its initial release; it only gained popularity after Nintendo re-released it later in the life span of the NES. Interestingly, this game was never popular in Japan and Metroid was the first Nintendo game on the NES to sell more copies in North America than in Japan. Ironically, the Metroid franchise is now one of Nintendo's most cherished and is arguably Nintendo's #5 franchise behind Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart and Pokémon games.

Score - 9.3

It's a classic!

Page by Player Guy Forever

10/18/2004