Review

Metroid is a side scrolling action adventure, pitting you against the space pirates, its leader; the mother brain and the evil and deadly metroids. The aim of the game is to navigate Samus in her power suit fitted with a beam cannon through a world of rooms finding power ups which any Metroid fan would recognise such as power cells for extra health, weapon upgrades such as morph ball bombs, rockets and beam upgrades to complete her first mission…destroy all the metroids.

The game plays incredibly well with simple controls which respond well and will challenge gamers old and new, not only in gameplay but also through memory as Metroid includes no map, therefore the player has to remember where power ups are (or go on a walk through site) to improve Samus’ chances of finishing her mission. Boss battles are some of the highlights of the game each contained in its own area of the world. The soundtrack is haunting and spooky while providing the right amount of beats to make you sweat when in a tight spot and fans of the newer games may recognise some of the older original tracks which have been remixed for the newer games. The game was one of the last great games not to feature a save function on the NES unlike other classics such as Zelda. In its place is the password system which, while functional is obviously past its sell-by date and many gamers will find it a hassle rather than a useful tool.

Although the game will be remembered as a classic, Metroid isn’t hard to complete once you know your way round (specially if you are using a map) and this is a plus and a minus as the game has several different endings depending on the time it takes you to complete giving replay value for those that want it.
Pros-
#Great gameplay.
#More hidden items than you can shake a stick at.
#Fantastic enemies and level design.
#Great for fans of the series…

Cons-
#Not so great for people new to the series…
#Some may find too linear
#No save system
#Steep learning curve

Final Comments-
While a great game for fans of Metroid old and new, people picking this up on a whim may find it quite frustrating quite quickly. The game doesn’t offer any information or help on boss fights that many new gamers may expect. Recommended for those who love the series or those with patience or who love a challenge.

This was our first WiiDS user review, completed by AcidCrashX! To know more about him, visit his site profile.