Metroid's ending theme is one of the most iconic pieces of video game music from the NES era. The shift from serious and determined to celebratory is masterful for the area; of course, what else would you expect from Hirokazu Tanaka?
Well, the legendary composer — also known as 'Hip' or 'Chip' Tanaka — has shared his motivation for composing that track on social media (via Automaton Media). And it was all to impress one debugger on the Famicom and NES game.
This debugger was playing through the game during the final stages of the debugging process, and many other employees at Nintendo had gathered to cheer him on. Tanaka, however, went one step further and composed the ending theme specifically for this moment.
"The final debugging stage of Metroid’s development was quite memorable for me. We had one staff member that was older than us, and wasn’t an active member of the production team.... I composed the ending theme specifically because I wanted him to feel deeply moved after completing the game.”
It's a touching little reason to make a song, particularly for someone who was less familiar with the game and was there simply to catch bugs and issues.
And Tanaka sets the scene perfectly, describing the events of the endgame: "I think people who have played the game understand, but even if you manage to rush through defeating Mother Brain, the escape sequence is surprisingly tough, lol" he continues, echoing a sentiment I think we all understood as first-time Metroid players.
But it went beyond just composing the song for the moment, it was all about the entire atmosphere: "For the sake of one debugger, we kept switching to a bigger monitor and making the sounds louder and louder, creating such an amazing atmosphere. All of the staff was having so much fun debugging." And it sounds like it!
The original Metroid released on the Famicom Disk System on 6th August 1986, making the game 39-years-old — how on earth are we about to celebrate Metroid's 40th anniversary next year? Renowned for its tight controls and immersive map, and celebrated as one of the earliest examples of having a female protagonist, it kickstarted one of Nintendo's most-beloved franchises.
'Hip' Tanaka was recently at BitSummit 2025 in Japan and, when speaking to outlet VGC, mentioned that he wants to compose a video game soundtrack again. We'd welcome it.
Are you playing Metroid on Nintendo Switch Online to celebrate the anniversary? Let us know in the comments.