As an open ended adventure game Super Metroid, tasks you with finding the stolen baby metroid by exploring the alien world of Zebes. The Player is required to navigate the ancient alien technology, with the use of tools and weapons that serve as literal ‘keys’ for progressing through the games areas. The doors in the game are colored coded and require special missile types and bombs to open forcing the player to have to go to specific areas first in some instances. Other obstacles such as one way doors completely cut the player off from parts of the map forcing them to have to delve deeper into the core. Movement in the game is all based around momentum as you slowly build up speed allowing you to access and interact with the game world in different ways. This lends itself to the overall open ended nature of the game as it seems to lead you towards pre-defined routes but you can choose to deviate if you have the skill and knowledge to sequence break.
The games artwork is incredibly well done, as the sprite work and attention to detail bring to life the cavernous alien world of Zebes and its interesting topography. As Samus explores the underground jungles of Brimstar, the flooded caverns of meridia, or the molten core of Norfair, the game plunges the player into the world using ambient music which is specially tailored to each unique area of the game. Apart from the color coding of the levels the music aides in helping the player distinguish where they are in the game, while the sound effects leave much to be lacking in comparison. Noises from weapons and enemies seem to be muted or muffled behind layers, almost as if we are hearing them from behind the suit with Samus. This combination of atmospheric music and muted sound effects leads to a sense of mystery and uneasiness which
The games greatest struggle centers on the control mechanics and the difficulty of switching between gadgets which at times can become a bit cumbersome. Yet, in general this problem can be alleviated by messing around with the controller setting mode and choosing a button layout that is more on par with your play style. While the game does present a learning curve for new players it becomes an experience that centers on the gameplay rather than the narrative and the clunkiness begins to disappear as the player masters the controls overtime. The only moments of story take place at the beginning of the game as you pick up right after the original Metroid 2 and are given a brief excerpt as to what happened after that games end. As you go about your journey in the game it becomes more apparent that the biggest risks your character faces are not the enemies but rather the world itself and the many defense installations placed in levels which hurt the player but even then the only way of truly dying is as a result of sequence breaking and ending up in lava unable to reach a certain platform.
The clunkiness of controls and overall number of tools also play a role in the way the game can be played as well, as a majority of missile locations and collectibles are scattered around the map often hidden in unorthodox locations, but the game provides such a multitude of opportunities to access these power-ups that a typical player will likely not find themselves running out of all of them during a boss fight. The game runs at the pace the player chooses but would typically take between 4-6 hours to complete with shorter times possible by sequence breaking. The choice of focusing the game on its mechanics and its intended genre of open ended adventure, allow for it to have a high level of replay-ability as obstacles can be overcome in different orders and bosses rearranged depending on the play-through and the use of sequence breaking. While Sequence breaking might be considered by some to be cheating, Super Metroid presents a case wherein game mechanics can be exploited to further enhance the gaming experience in a positive way. While it requires more from the player and may take some mastery, sequence breaking provides the player with the chance to take more control over the gameplay itself and rearrange the playable narrative how they see fit to try. Either Way whether you end up using it or not, the gaming experience packed within Super Metroid is an instant classic and deserves a deep rewind from more contemporary players.
Upon finishing the game for the first run, I personally felt great exuberance and a sense of completion, but it was on the second run wherein things became more interesting. With each subsequent run as the player learns more about the carefully detailed and thought out world, you delve into the more advanced mechanics the game offers. If there is anything I would stress about this is its replay-ability and the ability for the game to completely change with each subsequent play through.
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