There are exactly 10 games in the Metroid franchise, not counting Metroid Prime Pinball. So I came up with the idea of ranking all 10 games from weakest to best. So let's get started at listing some of the best games of all time (though not all of them).
#10. Metroid: Other M
It's unfortunate that the most recent game in the series, was also it's biggest misstep. Gameplay and design-wise it was definitely weaker than the others. While some of the combat-system was great and I would like to see some implementation of it in the future, the design-choice of showing us where the items were was a big turn-off that annoyed the crap out of me as it took away all of the reward and made the game feel so much more linear. The puzzles weren't challenging either. The game became all about the combat which should be important but not the biggest focus.
But the biggest problem here was the story and execution of Samus' character. Nintendo decided to try to give her more personality, which I commend. I wanted to see her show emotion, but it was just bad execution. Poor dialogue and even if it hadn't been, the voice acting would have sealed it.
Jessica Martin, the voice of Samus in Other M, just sounds so bored and uninterested. If she was trying to go for a stoic character, there are better ways to do it and it certainly doesn't mean cutting off ALL emotion. What makes me really scratch my head is that the voice for Samus in the Prime series was Jennifer Hale. To be fair, she just did cries and grunts for when Samus got hit, but she's one of the best VAs in the industry. For a character this important, I'm very curious why they didn't get her back.
To be fair, Other M, has its moments. The fight against Ridley, despite being preceded by possibly the most controversial moment of the series, was in the end, as always, awesome. And as I said, I like some of the aspects of the combat system and would love to see some of them implemented with a less linear design style and a better execution of Samus as a character.
#9. Metroid Prime: Hunters
This game is in the spot that it is, because it serves no purpose. The Prime trilogy as a whole was kind of separate from the main arc but it had quite a few connections. This isn't even really connected to the Prime series, despite having the Prime name in its title.
The game's story takes place in between Prime and Prime 2 and doesn't connect them in anyway. At the end of the day, I don't think the story has been mentioned since. Maybe there was a reference to it in Metroid Prime 3, but I can't quite remember.
I think part of the reason for this is because the main focus was the multiplayer which goes against every thought I have about what a Metroid game should be. To be fair, the multiplayer was good and the controls worked pretty damn well, but Metroid works as singleplayer experience. The sense of isolation, exploration, and size of the world is why it works as a singleplayer series. This threw that out the window. It's become a poster-child for multiplayer detracting from singleplayer and if you play it, you can see why.
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Okay, enough bashing on games. The next 8 games on this list can all be considered to be among the best games of all time. I think the top 6 in this list are all among my Top 100 or 150. So even the #8 game is incredible.
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#8. Metroid
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Some may call foul, me having the original so low, especially when there's one or two that many consider inferior that I haven't brought up yet. To begin, the only reason this is low on the list, is because it just hasn't aged as well as the others especially when compared to its remake Zero Mission and of course Super Metroid. Keep in mind what I said above though. This is still an amazing game and definitely worth playing.
This game really set the stage for everything and had an awesome feeling of atmosphere mixed with a sense of isolation and claustrophobia both at the same time. It's excellent 8-bit music helped enhance the atmosphere and gave the game a dark feeling that went against other Nintendo games at the time. Mario and Zelda both had a light-hearted feel whereas Metroid was dark and foreboding.
The gameplay was also quite revolutionary in Metroid, combining the platforming of Mario, with the item-hunting of Zelda, and the shooting from Konami's Contra. Also it was one of the first side-scrolling games that allowed you to go LEFT. Not that big of a deal now but that was crazy back in 1986. Unfortunately the lack of a crouch feature is a perfect example of how this game has not aged very well. Definitely recommended but don't expect the kind of greatness that we see later on this list.
#7. Metroid II: Return of Samus
An often overlooked game that I actually enjoy more than the original, Metroid II: Return of Samus is one of my favorite games for the original Game Boy. Technically it is lacking compared to the NES game but that was to be expected and taken for what it is, it's still an incredible game.
Storywise Metroid II is one of the most important entries in the series as it set the stage for Super Metroid, which is gaming at its absolute finest. The game really gave off a great Aliens vibe especially as we got to look at the life cycle of the metroids as we went through taking them, climaxing with a boss against the Queen Metroid and a great set-up for a sequel that would become gaming bliss, with the baby metroid being born.
Gameplay and design-wise, it's fairly linear compared to the original but it does it in a good way with the metroid counter. Everytime you kill a metroid, new areas are opened for you to continue progressing. The gave a nice sense of progression even if it wasn't very open. They also added a crouch to the controls making it much easier for the right reasons.
This is also the game where the Varia suit (the one to protect against heat) was given the big shoulder guards. Since it was black and white, they had too distinguish between the regular suit and the Varia suit, so they gave it big shoulder guards to make up for the lack of color.
#6. Metroid Fusion
From here, all of the games that I mention are REALLY good. Like among the greatest ever made. We start with the Game Boy Advance game, Metroid Fusion. Before Other M, this was the most story-driven Metroid game to date and in my mind it was much better executed. First of all, we didn't have a bored sounding voice actress and the writing for the story points was much better. It didn't come off making the character sound like she needed someone to support her which was a big problem with Other M.
Like Metroid II, this is much more linear game than many people were used to seeing. For this reason, and the fact that it was released on the same day as Metroid Prime, means that it often gets overlooked by casual fans of the series. The linearity works here because it doesn't feel too railroaded and it pulls off some great atmosphere with the SA-X, a copy of Samus which would be used to great affect in the later Prime games.
The music wasn't as high of quality as we expect from this series, especially when compared to the later Zero Mission on the same system. However, the sound effects are awesome and really make you feel like you've got some power in your hands. The end feels like they tried to recreate Super Metroid, but they did it in a unique way, by having a boss fight DURING the final countdown. The game has great tension, atmosphere, and awesome sound effects. It may be a little linear but it's an excellent entry.
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NOTE: The next three games on this list (3-5) were nearly impossible to choose between. They were all so excellent and close together in terms of quality that it was really difficult to rank them. I hope you appreciate the headaches and heartbreak it took to call one better or lesser than the other.
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#5. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The weakest game in the Prime series (not including Hunters), yet also the most underrated of the trilogy. The only problem with this game was that it was too similar to the original and didn't shake much up. But at the end of the day it had the same excellent gameplay with a passable storyline and great level design and puzzles.
The game made use of the light/dark parallel dimensions that was first pioneered with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. And some disagree, but I thought it worked great here, and I really liked the dark world as the creatures there were so unlike the ones in the first Prime. It also made for some damn good puzzles that affected both worlds at the same time and I love that type of design. It also introduced Dark Samus, one of the coolest and most threatening enemies in the series. Mix in some great bosses and the use of the light/dark beams and you've got a winner.
One other thing to highlight: the difficulty. This was a tough game. The bosses and enemies are ruthless and this was a huge turnaround from the original Prime which was purposefully made easy in combat to not make players afraid to explore. Again this was criticized by critics, but I loved the difficulty. It made for a great challenge and I still defend this game against its detractors to this day. No one denies it's a great game, but it doesn't get the credit it deserves.
#4. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
At the time of its release, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption had the greatest first-person controls ever put onto a console. This game showed the power that the Wiimote could have when it wasn't just used for shovelware crap that was sent to the bargain bins in two days. This was another game that took a more linear approach to its design but it was still incredible.
The reasons this game worked, despite its more linear design, was because of its excellent controls, outstanding setpiece moments, and that it took place on three planets to keep in that sense of progression and some semblance of open-world play. Being the conclusion of this nearly perfect trilogy also didn't hurt it in anyway. And of course the boss fight against Ridley was amazing. Fighting in freefall, inspired by the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog in Lord of the Rings, means it was simply awesome.
One of my favorite elements of the game involved seeing Samus' ship take a bigger role. Using it for bombing runs or as a portable save device was really cool. I also really liked the look at other bounty hunters. Yeah I know they had that in Metroid Prime: Hunters but there was a much better focus on them here and it was actually involved in the actual Prime story. Some dislike it because of its more action-feel but it's still amazing.
#3. Metroid: Zero Mission
The superior remake of the original Metroid and one of the best games on the Game Boy Advance. This game has the advantage of coming out after many of the plot points that weren't thought up until after the original Metroid came out, such as Samus' relationship with the Chozo. Therefore it gives a story that highlights those plot points in a really cool way. It's not just a graphical update, it's a new game.
First off the game incorporated a few of the newer power-ups that weren't in the original such as the Power Bombs and Power Grip. The game generally kept the same layouts and maps from the original but had some new areas that were not in the original. Kraid and Ridley were also redesigned. In the original they were about the size of Samus which was not true in the sequels. This time they scaled them up to their intended size. The music remixes are all excellent.
The big thing here though was a whole new section of the game AFTER defeating Mother Brain where Samus' ship is shot down as she's leaving Zebes. It throws stealth into the mix and has you collect a new power suit and new weapon, the plasma beam. After that you go on a rampage, slaughtering every space pirate. Seriously, you will be nearly unstoppable. Until you meet Mecha-Ridley. This part of the game is the reason to play it even if you've played the original. It's a cool new section that adds to Samus' past and her character without too much melodrama.
#2. Metroid Prime
I've never seen a bigger turnaround in opinion then with Metroid Prime. If you were to look at forums before this game came out, you would've thought this was going to be the worst game ever. Now it's often listed as one of the finest achievements in medium's history and with good reason. The First-Person POV did nothing to take away from the Metroid despite what people said it was going to do and we got sublime level design mixed with kickass boss fights.
The opening of this game showed exactly why it was going to be awesome with a great intro into what was going on while onboard a space pirate frigate. It kept mystery which enhanced the atmosphere later. As I said before, the sublime level design made the game work perfectly from a first-person point-of-view and absolutely beautiful scenery and equally beautiful soundtrack made it feast for both the eyes and ears.
Boss fights were also incredible with stand-outs being the ones agains the Omega Pirate Boss and Metroid Prime itself. But as always, in a game with Ridley, he steals the show as the most awesome and memorable boss fight of the game. Him flying over dropping firebombs on you as you try to shoot him out of the sky and when he finally does come down, he shows himself to be a total badass and if you're not careful and kick your ass across the entire platform.
A masterpiece of gaming and a brilliant example of why we should not judge a book by its cover.
#1. Super Metroid
Yeah, you guys ALL saw this coming. While Metroid Prime is a very heavy contender for the top spot, I've got to give it to arguably the greatest game in history: Super Metroid. This is a game that earns its title of SUPER. I gave an entire review on it and stated there that it's nearly flawless with just a few tiny hitches in the gameplay that really don't hurt anything in the grand scheme of things.
Like Metroid Prime, Super Metroid has sublime level design and incredible areas to use each and every power-up that you can find in the game. They all work great and the power you feel with every new power-up you get is part of what makes this game such a masterpiece. Out of all the games in the series, this is the one that made me feel the most powerful by the end, even before the last boss fight which makes you feel even more powerful.
This game told a story without much dialogue or putting an enormous amount of emphasis on it and that's one of the reasons it works so well. There are games that are better with dialogue and with a lot of emphasis on the story like Mass Effect or Metal Gear. This isn't one of those and when a big story moment does happen, you'll know it and love it. Look no further than the final boss fight. Oh dear god the boss fights.
This game has some of the best boss fights ever. The fight against the 2 1/2 screen tall Kraid, for back in 1994, was unreal and still looks awesome today. The fight against Crocomire was also very thoughtful and unique. Of course, Ridley was awesome and made for a really challenging fight. But, the best fight was the last boss fight against Mother Brain. Arguably the best boss fight in the series, when you though you beat her and she rose out like a demon from hell...dear lord.
This game is classic and it's the epitome of what makes Metroid such an incredible franchise. It's gone on for 25 years, giving us almost nothing but greatness from the beginning. Here's hoping for 25 more years of greatness from this series and 25 more years with the most badass bounty hunter ever and first lady of gaming: Samus Aran.
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