Summary
Today marks twenty years since the release ofMetroid: Zero Missionon the Game Boy Advance, and in that time the title continues to stand tall as the best version of a now-legendary game. Releasing in 1986 for the Famicom, and then arriving in North America on the NES the following year, the originalMetroidis the progenitor of the Metroidvania genre and one half of its portmanteau. After the success of takingSuper Metroid’s innovations and applying them to the series' first new game in years withMetroid Fusion, Nintendo would capture lightning in a bottle twice by doing the same thing withMetroid: Zero Mission. The end result being thatZero Missionis the best version of the original Metroidvania.
Along with greats such asCastlevania,Dragon Quest, andThe Legend of Zelda,Metroidwas yet another title releasing for the Famicom in 1986. Like all those other titles,Metroidwould push the envelope in terms of what was possible in a console video game. In the process, it would also act as the genesis for the Metroidvania genre, helping to define its key elements. Going back and playing the originalMetroid, though, would prove to be a bit cumbersome, with the lack of an overworld map being its most glaring omission.Metroid: Zero Mission’s filtering of the original game in the series throughSuper Metroid’s gameplayelevates it to being a pillar of the genre.
Metroid: Zero Mission Serves as a Reminder of Metroidvania Fundamentals
Long before bothSuper MetroidandCastlevania:Symphony of the Nightwould become the twin halves of the term “Metroidvania”, both titles’NES-era gameswould lay down the foundation of the genre’s core elements. Looking back at bothMetroidandCastlevania 2: Simon’s Questshows that the main mechanics are all there. Players traverse a large, interconnected map, there’s a mix of combat along with platforming, and biomes are gated off based on character upgrades and progression.
These core elements all remain intact inMetroid: Zero Mission, but they do so with the benefit ofSuper Metroid’s quality of life improvements. Sure, using graph paper to procedurally draw out maps as players directed Samus through Planet Zebes' labyrinthine corridors was an immersive experience, but revisiting the originalMetroidin the modern era mostly just proves how far the genre has come in the last 30-plus years. WithZero Mission, players get the best of both worlds, experiencing Samus' initial adventure but doing so through the lens of the commonly understoodfoundations of Metroidvania design.
Metroid’s Recent Successes Position Zero Mission as a Direction for the Series
TheMetroidseries' long-awaited return to its original 2D side-scrolling roots withMetroid Dreadproved to be a massive hit for Nintendo. To date,Metroid Dreadis both the fastest and best-selling game in the entireMetroidfranchise.
Metroid Dread’s unprecedented success helped to establish that bringing Samus back into her 2D roots was exactly what players wanted from a new game in the series. Additionally, it illustrated the value inherent in AAA Metroidvanias at a time when the genre was arguably dominated by indie titles. Since its release, other AAA publishers such as Ubisoft and Electronic Arts are now releasing their own games in the genre, withthis year’sPrince of Persia: The Lost Crownalready striking a chord with fans of the genre as a potential all-timer.
IfMetroid: Zero Missionproves anything, it’s that the core foundation ofSuper Metroidis still perhaps the greatest distillation of the Metroidvania genre and the foundation on which the series can continue to thrive. FollowingMetroid Dread’s success, the series can chart a new path forward by usingMetroid: Zero Mission(and, by proxy, the originalMetroid) as the starting point. Hopefully, Nintendo will see fit to bring the title to the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy Advance library sooner rather than later, joiningMetroid Fusionand seeing the series represented fully on the console.
WHERE TO PLAY
In this acclaimed retelling of the original Metroid adventure, step into the boots of bounty hunter Samus Aran as she infiltrates planet Zebes for the first time, on a mission to take down the Space Pirates and Mother Brain… but this is not the Zebes that you might remember!
Metroid: Zero Mission features completely redesigned environments, based on the original maze-like levels, but enhanced with new features like Morph Ball launchers and zip lines. It’s crawling with vicious new enemies and bosses, too…
Be prepared – once you’ve defeated Mother Brain, the mission is far from over!
