#12: Metroid

Released In: 1987
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

      The evil Space Pirates have gained control of Metroid, a vicious lifeform that can easily be multiplied and thus has great potential as a weapon. Samus Aran has been called upon by the Federation to infiltrate the pirates' base on the planet of Zebes and prevent the Space Pirates from harnessing the Metroid's power. She also has orders to take out their leader, the nefarious Mother Brain as well as her guardians, Ridley and Kraid.

Syd Lexia: Metroid used to freak the hell out of me. Your goals in this game were only vaguely spelled out for you, and since I never bothered to read the instruction booklet, I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to do. And yet, I spent many happy hours wandering the depths of Zebes, blasting away at weird enemies while creepy ass music played in the background. I still remember the first time I found Ridley. As far as 8-bit graphics go, he was rather scary-looking. Not only that, but he wouldn't freaking die. WHY WON'T YOU DIE, YOU STUPID PURPLE BASTARD? FUCK, I'M OUT OF MISSILES! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAAAAY!!!!

Between him and Baron von Blubba, I had some pretty fucked up NES-related nightmares. Oh, and those statues with the power-ups in them scared me too. I always expected them to spring to life and attack me.

Rycona: The genesis of a great game series, though I don't highly favor the switch to FPS. I haven't played this one in a long time. I should beat it again.

greeneyedzeke: I still don’t completely understand this game. This was perhaps the first title that basically forced you to get out some graph paper and draw your own map to get through the damn thing. When I was nine, my basic method of playing Metroid involved entering morph ball mode and trying to string together more ball bomb jumps than my friends. Mother Brain was just a rumored boss hidden somewhere in the cart, and we spoke of it in hushed tones like it was a forbidden topic. Great game, though.

Dr. Jeebus: I recently bought this game for my GBA because it had been so long since I played it. I'm older and wiser than when I originally played it, but I still don't think I could beat it without using the JUSTIN BAILEY cheat code.

DarkMaze: I know this has been said plenty of times, but.... I love you, Metroid.

BACK                              NEXT