Title One Metroid Game Is All It Takes to Become a Fan for Life

I haven’t always been a Metroid fan. I was, once upon a time, one of those: Metroid is not the main character’s name?? She’s a girl?! The only thing that ever caught my eye about Samus was that her suits always looked cool. Even back in the N64 Smash days, I thought this was just some big chunky warrior in a chunky suit. I wasn’t wrong about the warrior part. I was just wrong about it being some dude.

But eventually, as it happens to so many of us, you start hearing whispers about how good insert Metroid game here is. And after enough people keep saying it, you eventually think, ah screw it, it’s gotta be good! For me, my first real jump into the series was Super Metroid. I bought it off the Nintendo Wii Shop, played it, and could not believe what I had missed! It was like having my third gamer eye opened, and just like that, I became one of those ravenous fans. (Insert your forced laugh here.)

But yes, it happens to the best of us. Sometimes it really does just take one Metroid game and then you’re a fan for life. Mine was Super Metroid, which then funneled me into the first Metroid Prime, and since then I’ve played almost all of them. (Does Federation Force really have to count?)

That is why I was so pleasantly surprised when Metroid Ravenous dropped during the Nintendo Direct and I started seeing people online suddenly getting curious about the series and jumping into Metroid Dread. It’s honestly has been hella fun watching it unfold. Seeing people sharing their experiences with Dread, talking about how much fun they’re having, and slowly getting sucked into the whole world has been such a cool thing to watch.

And, as unusually usual for a Metroid game, the lore has to be dug out from within the games themselves. So naturally, people start getting curious. Who is Samus Aran? What happened before this? Why is everything so damn mysterious? And then the cycle begins. You play one game, realize just how fun it is, get drawn into this weird, lonely, mysterious universe, and suddenly you want more.

It really feels like such a universal Metroid experience. You start with one, then another, then another. And because almost all of the games — ASIDE FROM THE FIRST, dare I say — are such smooth, fun experiences, people usually end up playing through the series instead of just reading about the lore online.

And that also got me thinking about something else. It’s kind of amazing how these relatively short games keep people coming back over and over. Metroid is a great reminder that games do not always need to be these massive 100+ hour open-world experiences. Sometimes all you need is a tight, focused adventure that is hella sweet from beginning to end. If the experience is a blast the whole way through, that can be more than enough.

But again… discussion for another day.

So for anyone still sitting there wondering, Should I try this Metroid stuff out? This post is your sign. Go play it. You’re in for a blast.

My journey through the Metroid universe went:

Super Metroid > Metroid (did NOT finish) > Metroid Prime > Metroid Prime 2 > Metroid Prime 3 > Metroid Fusion > Metroid Prime Hunters > Metroid: Zero Mission > Metroid: Samus Returns > Metroid Dread

What’s yours?