Metroid is 30 Years Old Today

http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/ If y'all are interested, that fan remake of Metroid 2 just went live today!

I never was interested in the Metroid series, too esoteric for my tastes. But I can appreciate how awesome they were at setting a mood, even in the first two games. A lot of Nintendo games had you go alone to save the day, but nothing felt lonelier than Metroid. Really captured the Alien movie-esque feel, even when the soundtrack was nothing but beeps and bloops. I eventually beat the first few games with the help of a guide, so it's not like i'm really missing out, just not my cup of tea so to speak.

That picture just makes me sad because it's true.

Happy Birthday Samus!

I'd like a GOOD hybrid of 2D and 3D styles.
There was a lot of potential in the Other M design. It just needed much, much, much better execution.

I absolutely love the Metroid franchise. Please give us Prime 4 or another solid 2D entry. @MitchVogel. My son is playing that right now. It looks great! As for my favorite Metroid game, it's a toss up between Zero Mission, Super Metroid or Metroid Prime.

If it wasn't for the Zelda franchise this would be my favorite series ever. Too bad it hasn't had a proper entry since Prime 3! 😥

I am SO ready for a proper Metroid release. NX title please!

@Gamecubed yep I'm old

I love the Metroid series my first game was Metroid 2 on my Gameboy loved it at the time to me it was Amazing.., Super Metroid a masterpiece in all ways was and is my favorite of the series - though the Prime series was simply Awesome as well , I even liked Other M it had its good points Fusion and Zero Mission were a highlight on my Gameboy advance At this point I would love a 2.5 3D title on 3DS that would be soo Awesome come on Nintendo make it happen I believe in you .

Happy Birthday Metroid and thanks to R&D1 for this amazing game.

R.I.P. Yokoi-san

@argh4430 If you stopped after Metroid 1 and 2, give another couple a try - those two are by far the worst. Like someone else pointed out, a fan-made remake of Metroid 2 was released today, and it's really freaking good. Try that out - it's very well-designed in that it lets you feel lost and feel like you're exploring, while actually leading you exactly where you ought to be going.

Of course, it's entirely possible that you don't like that, or that you've already tried other Metroid games; if so, that's fine! They're certainly not for everyone, but they mean the world to those who really like them, such as myself.

In either case, thanks for being so respectful of a series you don't see an appeal in! An unfortunate number of people can't see the difference between "bad to them" and "bad in general".

.kek

I'm still reserving judgment of Federation Force, but I don't want it to be the start of a new chapter. Metroid's formula wasn't broken, it played a heavy role in the evolution of video games. There's no reason to abandon the 2D Metroids or even the Prime trilogy. These are both much better directions to take the series than Federation Force. Federation Force could be great, and I won't necessarily dislike it, but that doesn't mean the series should take after it.

Let me put it this way, Mario Kart is a fun spin off but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have any more Mario platformers or adventure games.

I love Metroid and hope that Federation Force marks the beginning of a new Era in the franchise! Mabey make the next game play similarly to Other M, but without the lame story

Metroid is dead.

My dogs share a birthday with Metroid. Cool.
I recently continued playing Metroid Prime 2 after leaving it alone for ages. Should hurry up and finish it and start Metroid Prime 3. The Prime games are great and I've enjoyed the other Metroid titles I've played, so Happy 30th Metroid!

@ShadJV I guess I was a bit unclear in the article. I meant to say that hopefully this will just be the first Metroid game in a new "renaissance" of sorts. I think we'll be seeing more of it in the near future.

Give me a HD remaster of Prime 1 with motion controls (Prime 1 is the best in the series to me). That or a new game Prime 4 or something new with Samus.

After FF we better be getting a new Samus entry. Oh well FF may keep me busy in the Metroid world.

@CreamyDream Agreed. A remastered trilogy of Fusion/ZM/Super Metroid or Prime 1-3 HD would rest assure Nintendo still cares about the Series.

Happy birthday to my favorite franchise!

I've been celebrating with AM2R too, it's one hell of a remake! I won't spoil anything, but there are lots of new things and reworked small details (besides the obvious) in this latest release, even for those that played the previous demo.

Other than that, I love how it manages to remake the atmosphere of the original to great effect while also taking some influences from the Prime series here and there. Definitely a must play title for anyone remotely interested in the genre.

I think it's about time Metroid get another Sidescrolling game this time in 2.5D

The last sidescrolling game was on GBA with Zero Mission, after that it was pretty much Prime games and Other M with the FPS style.

Well let's face it. metroid is loved by the fans but has never been a console selling franchise like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokemon or even Wii sports. But still, the series deserves at least a shoot out from the company and a much much better game than that 3DS atrocity that is about to be released soon.

It is really sad that Nintendo used Federation force as it's 30th anniversary game..... such a waste. Metroid fans did a better job with the anniversary than Nintendo did by making the Metroid II remake. It's fantastic.

I see no mention of Metroid on Nintendo's social networks. I hope I'm wrong, because it's sinful they don't acknowledge one of their key franchise's anniversary while simultaneously releasing a 'controversial' game in the series.

Wow, so much Federation Force hate. Is it really that bad?

@Minotaurgamer No. People are just being entitled crybabies

woulda been great if there was a new game to help celebrate it.

Happy birthday, childhood hero.

They're making you more sexualized with every new game featuring you, but your true fans will be discarding that gross stuff and just keep that magnificent lone warrior that you are.

_{Language.-Morpheel} (sorry for that!)

Happy birthday Ms. Aran! Metroid has been one of, if not my absolute favorite game franchise ever since I started with Fusion all those years ago.

Prime 3 was always my personal favorite, as I felt it had a more proper cinematic feel without making it a literal interactive movie. (cough Other M cough)

Its sad Nintendo never wants to acknowledge a series' anniversary if its not Mario, Zelda, or Pokémon. (aka the cash-cows) I'm hopeful for Metroid's future and am fairly certain an NX reveal will be coming.

@Smokingspoon "They're making you rounder with every new game featuring you"

What?

Samus should be surrounded by chibi soldiers in that picture.

After solid 2.5D gameplay of Other M i'd like to see new Metroid game with Samus for NX or 3DS.

I will skip Federation Force because my operator's modem doesn't allow me to play Nintendo exclusives online over wifi and i don't have any friends nearby who will play 3DS games with me. I just hope there will be some classic couch co-op games for NX without need to have multiple consoles.

Never have been too keen on Metroid but any franchise's anniversary doesn't deserve to get sidelined like that. There doesn't have to be a new installment to celebrate it imo but just some reminders on how great the series has been thus far. Like 30% off on Metroid games that are on the VC or release those that aren't available on it yet.

Some more sad news, F-Zero will have it's 25th anniversary next week in the US.

@samuelvictor I was just about to say that. Even in the first game you can see Samus in a bikini so it's nothing new. The Zero suit is tamed compared to that.

The graphics and art get better with hardware so of she's gonna get more details around her. I still view it tame compared to other women game characters who also evolved with hardware.

Also his comment was changed. He said something different

@MitchVogel I submitted a news post and gameplay later last night. Hope @Damo spots it on his inbox.

And it's not like Nintendo's gonna celebrate it.

@MitchVogel I haven't played the original game, but the remake looks fun!

Wow, 30 years already. I'll have to replay Super Metroid to celebrate.

@Rocossa it's amazing to see that run of games from 2002-2010 then nothing but crickets since.

@liljmoore I've been moderated lol.. I said, She's getting more sexualized with every games.

Happy birthday, Sam. Sorry it had to be this way.

@samuelvictor Yeah, try telling someone completely new to metroid that completing the game faster makes her strip more at the end. It's just pretty dumb when hindsighting lol......

Well, I'm not the biggest Metroid fan but Happy B day to the series. I just turned 30 recently as well.

You're well late. I sent in the tip to the site 2 days ago. So while it's true Nintendo have forgotten Metroid's birthday, so did NL. Better late than never I guess(it released on the 6th August in Japan 1986, so you're a day and a half late). And Nintendo will try to argue that they haven't forgotten with.....

_(snigger).....Federation....._(snigger).....Force....._(snigger)

I also sent in yesterday the news about the fan remake of Metroid 2 being available. http://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/

Axiom Verge did more than Nintendo to celebrate the anniversary. There's 40% off it on the Humble Store for 24 hours. There's still a few hours left.

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/axiom-verge

I would have loved an M2 remake of Super Metroid for 3DS, with 3D parallax scrolling. Ah well.

Happy Birthday Samus. One of my all time favourite nintendo franchise's. Shame about federation force but hopefully there'll be something meaningful announced in the next few years.

@Tsurii

Watching Nintendo World Championship 2015 and playing Rocket League made me want to play Blast Ball. Now when it's out i can only play bot matches. Controls are pretty good and it's propably really fun game in online when there is more players in both teams.

There was few parts (with quicktime events, FPS or something like that) in Other M where i remember having problems with controls and cursed game but when controller was held sideways everything worked fine and game was really joy to play.

In story i was actually fully ok with that often disliked Ripley part because i can see Samus feeling like helpless child when Ripley has long history of making Samus loose his weapons and abilities. I just didn't like those parts where Samus was talking to other humans and that Samus had all kind of powerful weapons already in start but she couldn't use them without permission. Maybe i just want to Samus be alone.

I own Metroid Prime 1-3 but i have never completed any of them. Maybe it's because i get lost a lot easier in FPS games, use too much time scanning everything or doesn't see right solution to puzzles so easily to move forward.

I liked how Metroid Prime started and back in time graphics and water effect looked really nice. Controls was great too so i have nothing bad to say about game but i never finished it.

I have played Metroid Prime 2 only like hour on Metroid Trilogy and it was after playing Metroid Prime 3 so only thing i know about that game is that action starts quite slow. I was planning to play that game more when i complete Metroid Prime but currently both games are in backlog.

Metroid Prime 3 had great controls and for some reason it feeled more like puzzle game than Metroid but i still liked it. Story was like taken from B-grade superhero movie as far as i played it.

Original Metroid was one of first games i got for NES and over years i have played it thru countless times. That is propably the biggest reason why i would like more to have new 2D/2.5D Metroid (Other M2?) than new Prime game.

Happy birthday!
The picture is sad indeed, but... It still gets some attention from fans. It's not like the Goemon series, which is also 30 years old this year, and had far more games than Metroid or Zelda, but sadly didn't really have any in the last 11 years...
Also, stuff like Kid Icarus, Castlevania, etc...

This is really sad, not even a special eshop release (I think Other M is not on VC yet) or something as simple as that. Nintendo is turning to be like Capcom, just forgetting great characters. Samus is great, Metroid deserves better!

I liked Other M bar its story it was a great mix 2d and 3d Metroid. Just a shame Nintendo has forgotten poor old Samus as the Metroid franchise has a lot potential.

Ah Metroid, my fav game series right after Zelda.

Happy Birthday Samus and many happy returns.

I'd say anything but the article pic beat me to it.

I own Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Zero Mission, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and Metroid Prime Hunters! (Guess I'll play them to celebrate the big day!)

Time to play some Metroid Prime in loving memory.

What they have really done with Samus is make her more feminine and, yes, "cheesecake". It doesn't necessarily suit the character, but I'd hate to complain about it on sexual grounds. If anything I'd make her tougher again, but bring back the bikini.

Regarding the games, what @samuelvictor said struck a chord. My first foray into the series was Metroid Prime, which I got very frustrated with. Then I tried Metroid Zero Mission and it all clicked (that and Fusion are my favourites). Went back to Prime and loved it.

For the future, I think keeping it pure 2D (pixel art) would be the most welcome, although 2.5D would be a close 2nd. A true 3D game would also be very welcome, with the ability to switch between 1st- and 3rd-person. Although I very much enjoyed Other M, I feel the 2D/3D hybrid does not give you best of either world. For example, the gameplay was very like the 2D games, which was great, but not kept on a 2D plane. At the same time, it didn't have true 3D movement with the analogue stick, and 1st-person aiming was stationary.

The words spin-off don't seem to exist. Nor does "Side game to expand the universe allowing for a story for a game you all want with the number 4 in it".

Also....Samus has had an anniversary game how many times in 30 years? Twice. Metroid II Return of Samus, which is the 2nd title at the time so....cant really count. Then in 2006, Metroid Prime: Hunters, and we all know how that went. So be happy Metroid is at least getting a game for this one at all.

Also just to annoy anyone else here because you soooo wont like my comment. Where does Metroid keep all his missiles and how does he crawl?

@liljmoore your wish got granted in half I guess, because Prime 1 is with motion controls, so I guess it's something.

Can't blame anyone for forgetting about Metroid anniversary. The series faded into irrevelancy again and change as big as Prime can get it back into spotlight.

Sorry Sammy, but dozens of Links out way one Samus.

The pictures couldn't be more accurate than it is.

Happy 30th, Samus. Let's hope the galaxy remains at peace for a little while longer so you can enjoy your vacation!

Wow, already 30 years old ? Happy birthday !
When i was a kid i have no idea who was inside. I thought it was a man. But actually a woman after several years later i grown up. XD

That pic is so sad speaking of pics I made some crappy Metroid art on Art Academy if y'all wanna check it out on Miiverse. Captain-Buckets

It's too bad that Metroid and Kid Icarus aren't as recognizable as The Legend of Zelda. I mean, I have both Samus amiibos, and the Kid Icarus collection. If anything, Dark Pit said it best when he said "Can't help but feel sorry for you."

I wonder what plans Reggie has to ruin Metroid for us.

Hmm, I like that cartoon. Think I'll steal it.

That's is a sad pic. Is there a whole cartoon.

Aww, poor Samus.

Oh cool! I'm probably one of the few who actually enjoyed it, but my first game was Other M. I eventually got around to Metroid Fusion and I'm loving that too! Happy Birthday Samus!

I've played almost all of them, and my faves are still "Super Metroid" and the first "Metroid Prime". I also enjoy "Zero Mission" a great deal, since the original NES game was insanely repetitive (and no map, either!).

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ZELDA!

I'm really sad that amongst other things the Wii U lacked, it also didn't have a Metroid game.

This along with no GameCube games and the 90s arcade racer not getting released was just sad.

@Nin10doh Go away, Nintendo.

I mean, sure, people hate Federation Force and Samus isn't playable, but I wouldn't exactly say that releasing an HD remake of a game one generation old is quite my idea of living it up in style either.

I'm sure Nintendo hasn't abandoned it, its just that the have no clue what to do next with the series. I can only think they could do next is VR/AR, but that's a long way off.

@samuelvictor - Yeah, Zero Mission really taught me how the series works, as a much more comfortable first step than Prime. The thing with Metroid Prime is that I originally rushed my way through it. I got to the final boss without ever truly learning the environments or even really how to play. I'd beaten every previous boss, but it'd been a struggle, and I couldn't beat the final one.

Then I played Zero Mission and Fusion, went back to Prime and it was much more enjoyable. It's worth making sure you get all the Energy Tanks though, and most of the Missiles.

Metroid is one of Nintendo's best franchises, and they definitely don't give it enough love. Sure, Metroid Prime Federation Force is coming out soon, but they should have done more for its 30th! I'm really hoping for a Metroid NX game to be announced when the NX is revealed, or I'll be really upset.

Metroid Prime is my favorite for sure.

I think we all know that Women in Show Biz have more trouble remaining relevant with age than Men. Happened to Selina Scott, happened to Cybil Shepard, now it's happening to poor old Samus....

I've been playing through as many Metroid games as I can to celebrate the anniversary. I started a few weeks ago going through Prime 1-2-3 as well as Other M. I'm taking a break before diving back into the older games (about to start Star Fox Zero). Not sure which one I should do next. I might give Zero Mission a go since I've never played it. It's a quasi-remake of Metroid 1, correct?

Happy 30th anniversary, Mother Brain!

"Hard to believe it's been 30 years, but I shall finally rule all of Videoland! Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

I just joined the 30 club last month and now Metroid joins. Wohoo!

Happy Bday, Metroid. Can't wait to see you on NX

Just for the sake of creating another dispute, i really REALLY liked Other M, especially on Hard I really hope we get something nice on NX.

This inspired me to buy Super Metroid. Wish me luck in my first one!

Happy Anniversary Metroid. Some gameplay I made from Metroid Prime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYtKCT3kI3A

I came here for fun, not for feels NintendoLife.

Anyways, happy birthday Metroid. Love the franchise.

Rip Metroid!

Starfox, Paper Mario, Metroid; the list goes on and on for dead Nintendo franchises. Donkey Kong almost fell under the same spell as these other once great franchises if it weren't for the Returns games. Which poor franchise is next for good old Nintendo?

Spectacular series of video games. Will come back into the fray soon.

While Zelda and Mario were the "faces" of the NES back in the day (and to this day), Metroid was my favorite game on the NES. I bought it solely on the box cover, and to this day, I play it at least once every few months. Super Metroid was just an incredible game for the SNES, and I don't think I played any game more on my Game Boy more than Metroid 2. It's a shame we don't have any new 2D side scrolling game in the franchise, but hopefully sometime in the lifespan of the NX we'll get a true Metroid game. Happy Birthday old friend.

Having replayed Other M recently, I've come to appreciate that game a bit more than I did on my first playthrough. There are still some gameplay & story elements I wish were different but all in all I wouldn't call it a bad game.

Happy birthday, Samus Aran. From my 5-year-old son and I, we love you...

...and thank you, Mr. Yokoi. Your games will forever be in our hearts.

RIP Metroid franchise.

@MitchVogel have they already taken this down when you try to go to the site you can't get to the downloads.