Metroid (video Game) - Reception

Reception

Metroid has shipped 2.73 million units worldwide. In Nintendo Power's list of the Top 200 Games, Metroid was ranked the 11th-best game made on a Nintendo video game console. Two years later, the magazine also named Metroid the fifth-best game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in its Best of the Best feature, describing it as a combination of Super Mario Bros.'s platforming and The Legend of Zelda's exploration and character upgrades. On Top 100 Games lists, the game was ranked 69th by Electronic Gaming Monthly, and 6th by Game Informer then 7th in 2009 by Game Informer. Game Informer also put Metroid 7th on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that it "started the concept of open exploration in games". Metroid's multiple endings enticed players to race through the game as fast as possible, a method of play commonly known as speedrunning. The game was re-released or made available several times after its original launch. Linking the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion (2002) with the Nintendo GameCube's Metroid Prime (2002) using a special cable unlocks the full version of Metroid. An emulated version of Metroid was available as a bonus upon completion of Metroid: Zero Mission (2004). A Game Boy Advance port of Metroid, part of the Classic NES Series collection, was released in Japan on August 10, 2004, in North America on October 25, 2004, and in Europe on January 7, 2005. The game arrived on the Wii Virtual Console in Europe on July 20, 2007, in North America on August 13, 2007, and in Japan on March 4, 2008. Metroid was released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in March 1, 2012. This release was featured amongst other games from the NES and Super NES to be released for the 3DS on a tech demo called Classic Games at E3 2010. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said "not to think of them as remakes". Miyamoto said that these classics might be using "new features in the games that would take advantage of the 3DS' capabilities".

In a retrospective focusing on the entire Metroid series, GameTrailers remarked on the original game's legacy and its effect on the video game industry. They noted that starting with Metroid, search and discovery is what continues to make the franchise popular. The website felt that the combination of detailed sprites, original map designs, and an intimidating musical score "generated an unparalleled ambience and atmosphere that trapped the viewer in an almost claustrophobic state". They also noted that the Morph Ball, first introduced in Metroid, "slammed an undeniable stamp of coolness on the whole experience and the franchise", and they enjoyed the end segment after defeating Mother Brain, claiming that the race to escape the planet Zebes was a "twist few saw coming". The game brought "explosive action" to the Nintendo Entertainment System and a newfound respect for female protagonists. Noting that Metroid was not the first game to offer an open world, nor was it the first side-view platformer exploration game, and neither was it the first game to allow players to reach new areas using newly acquired items, Gamasutra praised Metroid for being perhaps the first video game to "take these different elements and rigorously mold them into a game-ruling structure".

Reviewing the Classic NES Series version of the game, GameSpot noted that 18 years after its initial release, Metroid "just doesn't measure up to today's action adventure standards", giving the game a rating of 5.2 out of 10, for "mediocre". For the Wii Virtual Console version, IGN commented that the game's presentation, graphics, and sound were basic. However, they were still pleased with Metroid's "impressive" gameplay, rating the game 8.0 out of 10, for "great," and giving it an Editor's Choice award. The review stated that the game was "still impressive in scope" and that the price was "a deal for this adventure" while criticising the amount of times it has been re-released and noting that it takes "patience" to get past the high initial difficulty curve. In GameSpot's review of the Virtual Console version, they criticized its "frustrating room layouts" and "constantly flickering graphics". In particular, the website was disappointed that Nintendo did not make any changes to the game, specifically criticizing the lack of a save feature.

Metroid's gameplay style, focusing on exploration and searching for power-ups to reach previously inaccessible areas, influenced other series, most notably the post-Symphony of the Night titles of the Castlevania series. The revelation of Samus being a woman was also lauded as innovative, with GameTrailers remarking that this "blew the norm of women in pieces, at a time when female video game characters were forced into the role of dutiful queen or kidnapped princess, missile-blasting the way for other characters like Chun-Li and Lara Croft ".