Game:

Super Metroid (1994)

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Gameplay Performed by: TrevorDFox

Super Metroid is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. It is the third installment in the Metroid series, following the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who travels to planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid creature stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley. It was released through Nintendo's Virtual Console in 2007 and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition microconsole in 2017.

The gameplay focuses on exploration, with the player searching for power-ups that are used to reach previously inaccessible areas. It features new concepts to the series, such as the inventory screen, an automap, and the ability to fire in all directions. The development staff from previous Metroid games—including Yoshio Sakamoto, Makoto Kano and Gunpei Yokoi returned to develop Super Metroid over the course of two years, with half a year earlier to gain approval for the initial idea. The developers wanted to make a true action game, and to set the stage for Samus's reappearance.

The game received critical acclaim, praising its atmosphere, gameplay, music and graphics. It is often described as one of the best video games of all time. Although the game did not sell well in Japan, it fared better in North America, and had shipped 1.42 million copies worldwide by late 2003. Super Metroid, alongside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997), is credited for establishing the "Metroidvania" subgenre, and has inspired other games within the genre. It also became popular among players for speedrunning. The game was followed by the 2002 release of Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime, ending the series' eight-year hiatus.

Super Metroid was developed by Nintendo R&D1 with a staff of 15 managed by Gunpei Yokoi. It was written and directed by Yoshio Sakamoto, and produced by Makoto Kano. Intelligent Systems, who co-developed the original Metroid with R&D1, handled the programming. The opening was narrated by Dan Owsen, a Nintendo of America employee.

Super Metroid was released almost a decade after the original Metroid. Sakamoto said: "We wanted to wait until a true action game was needed. And also to set the stage for the reappearance of Samus Aran." It took half a year for Nintendo to approve the project, and two further years to develop.

The developers' primary goal was to make a "good action game". It is the first Metroid game to let Samus fire in all directions while moving. It is also among the first open-world games with a map feature, which shows the outlines of rooms and indicates important locations and items. The team wanted to create a large map, but found it difficult to organize the amount of graphic data involved, and so broke it into smaller parts. Areas from previous Metroid games were included to create a sense of familiarity.

Shortly before the game's release, the North American Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulating organization, was formed in response to the increasing violence in games such as Mortal Kombat (1992). Asked whether he thought the controversy would cause a backlash for Super Metroid, Sakamoto explained that Samus's purpose is to maintain peace in the galaxy, saying: "It's not violence for the sake of violence." The game was demonstrated at the Winter 1994 Consumer Electronics Show, and was named the best SNES game at the show by GamePro.

The music for Super Metroid was composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, and uses 16-bit versions of music from previous games. The SNES sound hardware allowed the use of recorded sounds simultaneously on eight channels, as opposed to three PSG channels and one noise channel of the NES. Yamamoto decided that rich and expressive sounds, such as a female chorus, would be required to portray the setting realistically. He composed the main theme by humming while riding his motorcycle from work.

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