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First Thoughts...
Sometimes I think the hi-tech world moves too fast. There have been times in the past when something came along that we all got excited about, and within a few months or a year, it was all but forgotten. I do not see this as a positive, because we seem to lose a bit of our sentimentality as time goes by. We’re always looking for that next new gizmo, gadget, or game.
Super Metroid is one of those rare games that will be remembered long after the last game cartridge has failed. The memorable characters, smooth gameplay, the storyline, the haunting music... all of these ingredients combine for a gaming experience head and shoulders above other run and shoot or RPG games of the time. In short, Super Metroid is one of the best of all time.
I'm not going to do an exhaustive explanation of the game. There are many sites that do this. This site exists as a tribute to my all-time favorite game, and to introduce those who may have missed it to the perils of Planet Zebes.Enjoy! - Alan
The Metroid saga begins some years ago when bounty huntress Samus Aran hunted down and destroyed a dangerous group of creatures called “Metroids” that were being used for galactic conquest by the space pirate mastermind, “Mother Brain.” Mother Brain was a creature of questionable origin, being essentially a giant greasy brain in a big glass jar with various life-support gizmos connected to her (revolting!). Samus had to battle all across the many underworlds of Planet Zebes to acquire the necessary tools to finally confront this evil entity.
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While simplistic in concept (break the glass, then shoot until Mother Brain is dead), the final fight in the original Metroid game was challenging. Once Samus enters Mother Brain's chamber she must first batter her way through a series of energy barriers, using up a lot of missles. All the while she's also being hammered by these weird little floating ringlets that spring up all over the screen and do her significant damage. The trick is to jump over the ringlets while continuing to fire at Mother Brain.
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Samus next fought these creatures on their homeworld, SR388. Rather than render them extinct Samus rescued a single Metroid larva and took it to Ceres Research Station so that Man might better understand these amazing creatures.
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The Metroids weren't evil. But they were predators, and they fed by drawing the life force from other living creatures. This is no worse than a hawk killing a rabbit, or a mountain lion killing a deer... all creatures require sustenance. It is discovered at Ceres that the Metroids not only take energy, but are capable of GIVING energy as well. The problem here was that Mother Brain was using the Metroids as instruments of destruction. There is of course a lesson and a moral here, but I do enough of that stuff on this website as it is. This page is for fun.
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Unfortunately Mother Brain has survived and has sent one of her henchmen, Ridley, to capture the larva. Ridley kills everyone at Ceres, makes off with the larva and returns to Mother Brain’s homeworld, Zebes. It is here that Samus must return if she is to have any chance of saving the larva from Mother Brain. A detailed description of Ridley and the rest of the Bad Guys is farther down the page.
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Samus's return to Zebes is eerie for those who played the original Metroid on the old 8-bit NES. Once Samus's way-cool ship has landed the first thing you do is jump down the long shaft from which you escaped in the previous battle, and make your way through the ruins. Everything is as it was, including Mother Brain's glass jar, now shattered. The graphics are of course much better than in the old 8-bit game, and the artful mix of ancient ruins and hi-tech is maintained quite well. The upper area of Crateria is virtually identical to the original game, but as time goes by you'll find some significant differences. The morphing ball is right where it was, as is the first missle icon. There are still plenty of spiny little critters crawling through and around the rocks, and it's still necessary to shoot your way through fake walls and floors.
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The various subworlds are all still there, but it seems that someone has been rennovating the place. New areas, new critters, new hazards. Mother Brain has returned. I won't get into an exhaustive explanation of the game here. Samus must once again traverse the many worlds beneath the surface of Zebes, all of which are now larger and more dangerous. She must of course acquire various weapons and tools to complete her journey and most of these are well-hidden. There are plenty of hidden rooms, secret passages, and many doorways that require specific weaponry to blast open. Lots and lots of stuff to do. Regarding the new characters in the game, there are a couple who actually help Samus by teaching her some new tricks. I won't give away the secret here, on the chance that after all these years maybe you've never played the game. I will say that my favorite of the new characters is a light-speed rooster that holds the record for the Intergalactic High-Jump. Find him. He's in the subworld called "Brinstar." Somewhere.
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| Sporespawn | |
| The first level boss of any consequence is "Sporespawn." This critter resides in Brinstar and basically just swings back and forth on the screen, forcing you to get out of its way. It's only vulnerable while its mouth (or whatever) is open. When it opens, quickly jump up and fire a couple of missles into its rotten core. Each time it takes a hit, Sporespawn speeds up, so be careful. You must destroy Sporespawn and then climb up though the vertical shaft that opens, then find the first "Super Missle" weapons upgrade. Watch out for the spores that emanate from Sporespawn. Shoot them to replenish your weaponry, but they damage you if you touch them. |
| Kraid | |
| After killing Sporespawn you'll wander awhile, picking up some really nifty weapons upgrades and energy tanks. You'll also need to venture a short distance into the "Norfair" subworld and find the "High Jump" boots. Then you'll venture back into Brinstar to face that world's "major boss." This is Kraid. He's two screens tall. You can only kill him by firing missles into his mouth as he roars at you. There is a little trick involved in getting him to roar, but you can figure that one out. Once he's gone, you'll get your first armor upgrade. This is needed to travel the hotter area of Norfair, which has a disturbing resemblance to Hades. |
| Crocomire | |
| Once Kraid sinks into the floor and vanishes, you'll need to obtain the "Speed Boost" upgrade in the upper levels of Norfair. This allows you run with lightning speed. You don't need it to escape enemies, but it is required for knocking down barriers and it allows you to jump incredible distances. You'll also need the speed boost to eventually arrive at the doorway to the domain of Norfair's minor boss, "Crocomire." This unsavory guy requires that you fire missiles into his mouth (like Kraid) to force him back onto a bridge, which will collapse under his weight and send him into the lava below. Meanwhile, he's swinging his claws at you and trying to drive YOU back into a wall of nasty-looking spikes. Once you drive him onto the bridge and he falls into the lava... well, it ain't over 'til it's over. |
| Phantoon | |
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After picking up a few more goodies, make your way to the surface, visit the ship (to save and recharge), then crash through the rocks to the right of the ship. Open the door and enter the chamber. If you did all the right things after whipping Crocomire, you'll be able to swing over the water, collect the missile waiting for you in the middle of this underground pool, and then continue to the right where you'll find the smallest, but among the most interesting worlds: "The Lost Ship." This craft must have crash-landed at some point in the past. Get aboard and find your way down to the lair of Phantoon. It seems that Phantoon is sustaining itself by drawing energy from the ship. Until you kill Phantoon nothing aboard her will function. Phantoon is only vulnerable when it's completely visible. Phantoon emits flaming blue globs of... well something at you. Shoot them to replenish your missiles. Use your missiles against Phantoon, but be careful if you use Super Missiles. They kill it more quickly, but Phantoon's counter attack is much more vicious. |
| Draygon | |
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Killing Phantoon will allow full exploration of The Lost Ship. You'll want to be very thorough here and shoot and bomb the walls and floors of every room. You'll find it necessary to exit the ship at one level and then enter another room accessible only from the outside. Then you'll need to pull off a really cool trick (nope, I ain't telling) to obtain the Gravity Suit armor upgrade. This allows you move underwater. Once all that is done, journey to the underwater world of Maridia. Here you will eventually find yourself confronting "Draygon." Shoot his soft underbelly with missiles to kill him, and avoid the sticky stuff he shoots at you. It'll allow him to lift you off the floor and cause you major harm. There is another way to kill Draygon IF you have the grappling beam and IF you have made the necessary preparations. All I'll say is that Draygon finds it "shocking." So will you, although not so much as Draygon. Once Draygon is vanquished, you'll need to acquire the "Space Jump" before leaving this area. This is a vital weapon for reaching Ridley's lair and it works together with another weapon ("The Screw Attack") to not only give Samus the ability to fly but to also make her nearly invincible. Nearly... not quite. |
| Ridley | |
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Once you have obtained a fair amount of weaponry (speed boost, power bombs, super missiles, two suit upgrades, etc) you'll be ready to find your way through the maze of Eastern Norfair and down into the realm of Mother Brain's most vile companion, Ridley. Shoot him in the face and chest. Start with Super missiles, then regular missles. Use the power bombs as well. Note that Ridley doesn't take any damage from hits on his tail or lower back. Be ready for the fight of your life... Ridley is the toughest level boss in the game with the exception of Mother Brain herself. Ridley will spit fire at you. He'll lift you up in the air and bash you with his spiked tail. He'll slam into you and knock you into the ever-present lava below. You can't get here without a weapon called the "Screw Attack" (don't blame me, I didn't name it). The Screw Attack will provide you with a degree of protection from Ridley's assaults although it doesn't hurt him. To get the Screw Attack you must defeat the other minor boss of Norfair. I'll let that one be a surprise. Watch the ceilings, you never know who might drop in. |
On To Mother Brain's lair...
Well... you've managed to whip the major bosses of Zebes, plus a few minor ones I've intentionally failed to mention (do I have to tell you EVERYTHING?!). Now you're ready to find the world of "Tourian" and deal with Mother Brain. If you know by now the location of that infernal golden statue, you can gain access to Tourian. A word to the wise: save the game OUTSIDE of Tourian. You don't want to get stuck there without sufficient weapons, and there are no hidden goodies there. Killing enemies along the way to Mother Brain will replenish your existing weapons, but there's nothing new in Tourian. You'll battle Metroid clones, weird flying ringlets, and you'll want to avoid the lava. Unlike some other areas, your armor does not protect you from Tourian's hot lava. By the way, to kill the floating Metroid clones, hit'em once with the ice beam, then switch to your Super Missile. One shot does the trick. There are a couple of things I'm not mentioning here... if you've never played the game, I don't want to spoil it for ya. Trust me... there is a BIG surprise waiting for you before you get to Mother Brain.
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Hitting the Pause button, aside from doing the obvious, reveals a map of the current world. At first all you'll see is where you've already been. Each level except Tourian has a Map Room in which you can access a map computer for that world. Afterward, each time you pause the game you'll see traveled areas in pink, and untraveled areas in blue. Note that there are some hidden areas that do not show up on the map until you've traveled them, even after accessing the map computer. The Map Computer looks somewhat like a really jazzed-up fire hydrant with a little two-tone green display. I have thus far not seen any equally jazzed up dogs... well, never mind. The maps are bigger than the screen, but you can scroll in all directions using the directional button on your controller. Samus's current location is marked by a flashing square, and objects like missiles, energy tanks, etc are marked by a small white dot. Save rooms are marked by an "S". Map rooms are marked by an "M" after being used. |
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Samus has a pretty darn good arsenal of weapons and tools to use, once you find them all. Hitting the Pause button on your controller and then hitting the Right button brings up a detailed view of weapons stores, upgrades, and whatever else she happens to be carrying (her lunch?). If you see an empty spot in any section, it means that you still have some collecting to do. Note that while you don't have to collect one hundred percent of everything the game has to offer Samus, it's wise to enter Toruian (and Ridley's lair) with the capacity to carry at least 180 missles (max is 230). You should have all Super missles (50) and at least half your Power Bombs for Ridley. |
Here's a rundown on what Samus can (and usually must) obtain in the course of the game...
| Item | Type | Found In | Carry Up To | Description |
| Morphing Ball | Misc | Crateria | Permanent | Morph into a ball and fit into tight spaces and hidden tunnels |
| Bomb | Misc | Crateria | Permanent | Kill minor enemies & remove obstacles |
| Hi-Jump Boots | Boots | Norfair | Permanent | Jump REALLY high |
| Speed Boost | Boots | Norfair | Permanent | Run with amazing speed. Crash thru certain barriers and do "powered" jumps without height limit. |
| Space Jump | Boots | Maridia | Permanent | The ability to fly. Requires a running jump to begin. |
| Screw Attack | Misc | Norfair | Permanent | Flying weapon. With this Samus is almost invincible. Use with Space Jump. |
| Spring Ball | Misc | Maridia | Permanent | Jump while in Morphing ball. Replaces bomb for lifting Samus while in ball. |
| Missile | Gun | Crateria | 230 | Kill most enemies and open red doors with 5 shots. |
| Item | Type | Found In | Carry Up To | Description |
| Super Missile | Gun | Brinstar | 50 | Kill most enemies Open red & green doors w/1 shot |
| Power Bomb | Misc | Brinstar | 50 | Kill or damage all enemies within range. Open yellow doors. |
| Charge Beam | Gun | Brinstar | Permanent | 1st gun upgrade More kill power. Press and hold fire button, then release. OR... press and hold then spin jump to kill enemies. |
| Spazer | Gun | Brinstar | Permanent | Wide shot and more kill power |
| Ice Beam | Gun | Norfair | Permanent | Render enemies temporarily harmless by freezing them. You can stand on them while they're frozen. They flash briefly before thawing out. |
| Wave Beam | Gun | Norfair | Permanent | Beam passes thru solid objects to kill enemies Open Blue gates from wrong side. Kill hidden enemies inside walls. |
| Plasma Beam | Gun | Maridia | Permanent | Samus's most powerful gun until she obtains a special weapon during her battle with Mother Brain |
| Grappling Beam | Gun | Norfair | Permanent | Use to grab hooks found in many areas of game and swing from hook to hook or onto platforms. Can also swing from certain enemies. It kills small enemies and a second shot can grab powerups they leave behind. |
| X-Ray Scope | Misc | Brinstar | Permanent | Use to find hidden tunnels shafts, and the treacherous "one way" blocks that can leave you MILES from where you wish to be if you fall thru them. |
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Additionally, Samus must also collect Energy Tanks found throughout the game. Each Energy Tank contains 99 units of life energy. She'll need at least 75% of them to face Mother Brain and Ridley. There are also Reserve Tanks that recharge the Energy Tanks if they get too low. Collect them all if you can find them. In the "Samus Screen" you can set the Reserve Tanks to automatically recharge Samus when her life energy gets too low. Predictably, killing enemies usually results in life and weapons powerups, and the game is nice enough to (usually) give you the ones you need. And, look for "bug holes." These are holes in the ground, usually marked by either some grass or by the end of a vertical pipe. Stand close to it and and endless stream of flying enemies will emerge and head your way. Just stand there and shoot them and get the goodies they leave behind. Each time you find a new Energy Tank, all of your existing Energy Tanks are recharged. If you're careful, you shouldn't have any trouble keeping plenty of life energy except when facing the level bosses. |
Missiles, Super Missiles, and Power Bombs are obtained by finding their icons stashed all around Zebes. Each time you find another icon, you gain the ability to carry 5 more of that item. Killing enemies, as stated above, replenishes your supply of items but does not increase the amount you can carry. The icons are buried inside fake walls, in hidden tunnels, underneath floors, and on rare occassion, in plain sight. Accessing the Map Computer will tell you where items are located (indicated by a tiny white dot), but the map doesn't tell you what the item is. Also, some areas are hidden and don't show up on the maps until you've actually been there.
Missiles, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, the Grappling Beam, and the X-Ray Scope have icons across the top of the screen. Press the Select button on your controller to choose one of these. Each time you press the Select button the next item to the right is highlighted for use. Press the "Cancel" button to unselect and return to normal mode. You can pick which button is the Cancel button, along with the fire, jump, and dash buttons in the setup menu when you first switch on the game.
Some of you male chauvinist piglets out there might be wondering why Nintendo would place a woman in such a nasty place. After all, she's "just a girl" and shouldn't we be excluding girls from combat situations? Being an enlightened Conservative, I of course recognize the fallacy of this archaic notion and realize that the females of our species are quite capable of taking care of themselves. I believe that all people should be judged only upon merit. Finish the game in under 3 hours, and you can see a nearly full-screen shot of Samus and some of her more immediately obvious merits. What a woman!I hope you enjoyed this little tour of my all-time favorite video game. It's been my pleasure sharing it with you.
Best Wishes - Alan
| The Story | Major Enemies | Map Screen | Weaponry | E-mail Me | Home |
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