Metroid

August 6, 1986 August 15, 1987 January 15, 1988

Nintendo Entertainment System , Famicom Disk System

Game mode

Module , floppy disk

English

An unknown life form is discovered on the planet Zebes, which the scientists baptized "Metroid". The space pirates kidnap the Metroids to breed on the basic planet Zebes, captured by the Chozo. Samus Aran is sent to Zebes to stop the pirates and their leader, Mother Brain.

This part of the series has been re-released several times:

As a bonus in Metroid Prime in combination with Metroid Fusion .
As a bonus in Metroid Zero Mission .
As a standalone release as part of the Classic NES Series for the Game Boy Advance .
As a virtual console download for Nintendo's Wii .
On September 1, 2011, the game was released as part of the so-called ambassador program for Nintendo 3DS , where it can be downloaded from the eShop . Through the Ambassador Program, Nintendo 3DS is offering first-time buyers 20 free games, including ten for the NES and ten for the Game Boy Advance , which should be available by the end of the year. With this, Nintendo reacted to the sharp drop in the price of the 3DS, which took place on August 12th.

Metroid II - Return of Samus (Game Boy, 1991)

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Metroid II Logo - Return of Samus

November 1991 January 21, 1992 May 21, 1992

Game mode

English

Due to the danger posed by the space pirates, the Federation decides to exterminate all Metroids on their home planet. Samus Aran is entrusted with the task and destroys all Metroids except for one larva, which Samus recognizes as mother and is therefore spared from her after she has killed the Metroid queen. Here she meets different stages of development of the Metroids.

There is a fan project called AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake), which Metroid II has completely redesigned for Windows in the style of Zero Mission . However, due to legal actions brought by Nintendo, it is no longer freely available.

Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)

Great metroid

Super Metroid logo

March 19, 1994 April 18, 1994 July 28, 1994

Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Game mode

English

information

Also called Metroid 3 in the intro.

Samus gives the Metroid larva from Metroid II to the Ceres space laboratory, where the Metroids are discovered as an alternative source of energy. Shortly after Samus has left the laboratory, she receives a distress signal: Ridley attacks and kidnaps the larva to the rebuilt base of the space pirates on Zebes, where it is cloned. Samus destroys the revived pirate leader Mother Brain, all cloned Metroids and the planet. The last metroid (the larva) sacrifices his life to save Samus'.

This part of the series was re-released as

Virtual Console download for the Nintendo Wii ,
Virtual Console Download for the Nintendo Wii U ,
Virtual Console download for the New Nintendo 3DS ,
one of 21 pre-installed games on the SNES Classic Mini ,
Download for Nintendo Switch for subscribers to the Nintendo Switch Online service.

Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance, 2002)

Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion logo

November 18, 2002 November 22, 2002 November 29, 2002 February 14, 2003

Game mode

English

information

Also called Metroid 4 in the intro.

As a result of the extermination of the Metroids, the ecosystem of the planet SR388 collapses, since the X parasites can now multiply undisturbed without their "natural" enemies, the Metroids. A research station will be installed in the orbit of the planet and Samus Aran will be sent there. On an expedition, she is attacked by an X parasite. The X-Parasite has the ability to copy both mental and physical characteristics of its host. After the parasitic infestation is complete, the host usually dies. Samus also almost dies from it and can only be saved by an injection of Metroid cells. She is then sent back to the research station to investigate an explosion. While exploring the research station, she comes across the "SA-X", which is a replica of her entire "Varia-Suit". Since the X-Parasite reproduces through asexual cell division, the SA-X also reproduces in the course of the game. As the game progresses, she uncovered a conspiracy, namely that the Galactic Federation itself can breed Metroids as a biological weapon. When she defeats the last "SA-X", she destroys the space station, apparently the planet SR388 and thus all X parasites, by putting the space station on a collision course with the planet SR388.

Metroid Fusion was released on December 16, 2011 in the Nintendo eShop of the Nintendo 3DS handheld console , where it can be downloaded free of charge for first-time buyers as part of the so-called ambassador program . First-time buyers were compensated for the sharp price reduction for the handheld in mid-August 2011 by giving them 20 NES and GBA games free of charge.

Metroid Prime (GameCube, 2002)

Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime logo

November 17, 2002 February 28, 2003 March 21, 2003 April 3, 2003

GameCube

Game mode

Audio: English
Subtitles: ao English, German

This part takes place chronologically directly after the original Metroid. After their victory on Zebes, the Galactic Federation orders Samus to investigate a space frigate orbiting the planet Tallon IV. The frigate was almost destroyed by a failed experiment, but when Samus kills the parent parasite that caused the real problem on the station, it falls onto the main reactor, which is severely damaged in the process and threatens to explode within a short time. When you escape from the frigate, Samus loses the skills he had acquired in Metroid due to a short circuit . The station lands as a wreck on the surface of Tallon IV. On Tallon IV, Samus encounters an unknown radioactive substance, the "Phazon", which is responsible for the contamination of the planet. The pirates use the Phazon to carry out mutation experiments on various life forms, including themselves and the Metroids. Samus Aran can prevent the plans of the Space Pirates and defeat the pirates under the leadership of Ridley. By contaminating their suit, Samus receives the Phazon Suit, which makes Samus insensitive to most Phazon species. Finally Samus discovers “Metroid Prime”, mutated by Phazon, who lives in the impact crater of a meteorite, and defeats him in battle. Shortly before his death, the Metroid Prime Samus removes the Phazon from her Phazon Suit and part of her DNA. This creates a being called "Dark Samus". She plays an important role in Metroid Prime 2 , because there she unites with the "Ing" and brings the pirates under her control in "Metroid Prime 3".

Metroid Prime is the first Metroid game to be presented in a three-dimensional environment. It should be the first Metroid adventure, which was not developed by the mother company in Japan, but by the then relatively unknown development studio Retro Studios , which emerged from the former Acclaim Entertainment development studio Iguana Entertainment .

The various texts in the European version are very different from the original version. For example, the space pirates in the original version had contact with the Metroid Prime.

The engine is modular . The feedback from fans towards the engine was positive, and critics and trade magazines also described it as very good. The engine specializes in high frame rates, as is usual with first-person shooters. It uses a wide range of colors (but no fading effects are used), which is particularly helpful when implementing the various visors that Samus has at his disposal during the game.

If you connect the game to the Game Boy Advance including the game Metroid: Fusion using a link cable , it is possible to play the original Metroid for the NES and you have the option of using Samus' suit from Metroid Fusion in the game.

This part of the series has been re-released:

within the Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) with new controls, minor technical and playful adjustments and new bonus content; this re-release was released as a single game in Japan

Metroid: Zero Mission (Game Boy Advance, 2004)

Metroid: Zero Mission

Logo of the game

February 9, 2004 March 19, 2004 April 8, 2004 May 27, 2004

Metroid: Zero Mission is a remake of the original Metroid game on the technical level of Metroid Fusion , enriched with some innovations and features from other Metroids, and the secret of the whereabouts of the Chozo on Zebes is clarified somewhat.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GameCube, 2004)

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Metroid Prime 2 logo: Echoes

November 15, 2004 November 26, 2004 December 2, 2004 May 26, 2006

GameCube

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer

Subtitles: including English, German

In chronological order, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ties in with Metroid Prime . On a control flight, soldiers of the Galactic Federation discover a ship belonging to the space pirates. These flee to the planet Aether, whereupon the soldiers take up the chase. When entering the atmosphere of Aether, the soldiers' ship is damaged by lightning. Trapped on the planet, they are trying to set up a small base with which to send a distress signal to the nearest Galactic Federation station. However, this fails because atmospheric interference makes transmission impossible. Because these soldiers are staying, Samus is sent to the planet Aether because the last signals were received there. When entering the atmosphere, however, your ship is also damaged (the model of which is similar to that of Metroid II: Return of Samus and Super Metroid ). Continuous investigations reveal that the entire crew of the soldier ship was killed. A recorded video shows that the soldiers were attacked by spider-like black beings (Dark Splinter), and that in a powerful majority. Shortly after this knowledge, Samus meets the "Dark Samus". According to the scan, this individual has the exact genetic code of Samus Aran, but the body of the Dark Samus consists exclusively of the Phazon, which we already met in Metroid Prime . At this encounter, Samus gets caught in a dimensional vortex and is transported on the "Dark Aether". The atmosphere of this place is extremely poisonous and Samus is defenseless against her doppelganger and gigantic Ing hordes that await her there.

She is attacked on the Dark Aether and almost all parts of her suit are absorbed by the evil beings, hereafter called "Ing". In the further course Samus gets to know the Luminoth, intelligent living beings like the Chozo. The guardian of the Luminoth, U-Mos, tells the devastating story of Aether's decay into light and dark, triggered by a meteorite impact. There has been an ongoing war between the Luminoth and the Ing, with the Ing nearly wiping out the Luminoth by stealing every source of energy from the Luminoth. It is now Samus' task to lead these energy sources, which form a huge network, back into the main energy regulator center in the Temple of Luminoth (where U-Mos resides) and thus to bring life to Luminoth and protracted death to Ing.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is the first Metroid game that can be played in multiplayer mode. There is the "hunter mode" - comparable to a deathmatch - and the coin mode, in which as many coins as possible are to be collected by either destroying your opponent or collecting coins. There are also battle turrets in this game that you can deploy.

This part of the series has been re-released:

within the Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii) with new controls, minor technical and playful adjustments and new bonus content; this re-release was released as a single game in Japan

Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt (Nintendo DS, 2004)

Metroid Prime Hunters First Hunt

The logo of the game

Nintendo Software Technology

November 21, 2004 February 24, 2005 March 11, 2005

The first 3D Metroid for a Nintendo handheld did not appear in Europe until 2005, while it had been available in Japan and the USA for some time. The game is very different from the previous Metroid parts, as it does not contain a classic single player mode in the sense, but only training for the multiplayer part. It's actually just a demo to showcase the DS's performance. The full version, called Metroid Prime Hunters , was released on May 5, 2006 and offered an online gameplay mode until it was discontinued in May 2014 .

Metroid Prime Pinball (Nintendo DS, 2006)

Metroid Prime Pinball logo

The first Metroid Pinball game in which you swept the pinball machine as a morph ball. What is special is that you can get up again (from the morph ball to Samus) and have to fight against bosses like Thardus or the Omega pirate. These fights do not take place in the first person shooter view, but on the pinball machine.

Metroid Prime Hunters (Nintendo DS, 2006)

Metroid Prime: Hunters

Metroid Prime Hunters logo

Studio

March 20, 2006 May 5, 2006 May 23, 2006

Nintendo DS

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer (+ online mode)

medium

module

language

Subtitles: including English, German

In the distant Tetra Galaxy many thousands of years ago the Alimbians ruled over a region very well known in the Tetra Galaxy called the "Alimbian Cluster". Like the Chozo, the Alimbians were a very progressive breed, who recognized nature with its possibilities and beauties and lived in harmony with it. For reasons unknown up to now, this civilization died out and all defenses and weapons of the Alimbic remained behind. Many of these weapons disappeared over the years, but the most powerful weapons and artifacts were previously sealed by the Alimbic as a precaution and thus remained until the times of the Galactic Federation. Many space travelers, who by chance landed on the main planet of the former ruling Alimbic, told of mysterious inscriptions on the planet's surface that told of the weapons. Allegedly, the "ultimate power" is hidden there, an object with the ability to destroy entire planets. One day, this legend also reached the Federation's sphere of influence and attracted the attention of seven bounty hunters. Besides Samus these are: Kanden, a genetically modified super soldier; Trace, member of the imperialist Kriken race; the rock spire; the justice fanatic Noxus, the intergalactic criminal Sylux and the cybernetic space pirate Weavel.

Metroid Prime Hunters uses the online capabilities of the Nintendo DS and is also the first DS game to offer the player the opportunity to chat with their online friends (the players registered on their own friends list) between matches via voice chat and text chat . There is no communication option for fellow players on the second usable list, the rival list. In addition, Metroid Prime Hunters is the first game with NWFC support to offer the possibility to check the online status of friends and rivals.

The game has both a single player and a multiplayer mode. Unlike the Metroid Prime games for the GameCube, Metroid Prime Hunters was not developed by Retro Studios , but by Nintendo Software Technology . The single player mode of Metroid Prime Hunters is shorter and more linear than in the previous Metroid parts. Angled, interwoven morphball labyrinths and platform shafts are only rudimentary.

The main focus of the game is on the multiplayer mode. This offers the classic, sometimes differently named game modes of an action - first-person shooter , such as. B. Deathmatch , Last Man Standing , Capture the Flag , King of the Hill or Domination , in which up to four players - alone or in teams - can compete against each other.

Here the game not only keeps detailed statistics about victory and defeat, but also about the preferred card , preferred hunter , preferred weapon and the so-called "successful connections" (online percentage). This quota is usually 100%. However, there are deductions for intentionally canceled online matches. The intention behind this is to prevent so-called "quitters" (players who break off the game when they are about to lose).

On game consoles, the first person shooters are usually controlled via two analog sticks. One of them is responsible for moving forwards and backwards as well as punishing , the other is used to move the camera. The cross-shaped buttons X, Y, A and B of the Nintendo DS function as a second control pad. There is also a combined control setup: While the control pad is used as usual for moving forwards and backwards as well as for punishing , the touchscreen and stylus function as a mouse replacement; this type of control is very similar to the first person shooter control on PCs . Both controls can be set up for both left-handed and right-handed users due to the symmetrical arrangement of the controls on the Nintendo DS.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii, 2007)

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Metroid Prime 3 Logo: Corruption

August 27, 2007 October 26, 2007 November 8, 2007 March 6, 2008

Wii

Game mode

Single player / WiiConnect24

control

Wii remote control , nunchuk

medium

DVD-ROM

language

Audio: English
Subtitles: ao English, German

Metroid Prime 3 follows Metroid Prime 2 chronologically and brings the trilogy to an end. A federated station on the planet Norion is attacked by the space pirates. Samus and the other bounty hunters Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda are assigned by an intelligent, organic computer called an Aurora unit to help defend the station. To do this, they should start a cannon, which, however, requires the activation of three generators. To make matters worse, the Galactic Federation then discovers that a meteorite is heading straight for Norion. It can only be destroyed with the cannon, but it must be made ready for use quickly enough. Shortly before the cannon is activated, when the meteorite is already in the outer atmosphere of the planet, the dark Samus appears from it and starts a Phazon attack against the bounty hunters, which makes her unconscious and through which a Phazon core is implanted in her becomes. With the last of his strength, Samus finally manages to press the switch to start the cannon and thus destroy the meteorite in time.

A month later, Samus wakes up from her deep sleep and notices that her Varia Suit has been converted into a Phazon Enhancement Device (PED) Suit. This enables Samus to switch to the so-called hyper mode through the Phazon in her, in which she is invulnerable and can use the Phazon-based Hyper Beam and other hyper equipment. However, she consumes energy and becomes more and more obsessed with the dark Samus ("corruption"). Samus learns that the other bounty hunters were given the same system, but that they woke up from their coma earlier and were sent to different planets. There they should destroy the phazon-producing meteorites of the dark Samus, the Leviathans, so that the phazon can be prevented from spreading. However, the contact with the hunters was lost and so Samus is given the mission to visit the planets Bryyo and Elysia. Rundas was sent to Bryyo, Ghor to Elysia and Gandrayda was to visit the base of the space pirates. First, Samus was sent to Bryyo to destroy the Leviathan. However, this was protected by a shield and three defense units. On the trip to Bryyo, Samus meets Rundas, who surprisingly attacks her. After fighting Rundas, Samus realizes that she wasn't actually fighting Rundas, but rather Rundas, who was obsessed with the dark Samus. After the Leviathan was destroyed in Bryyo, she was sent to Elysia. There she met Ghor, who also attacked her. But Ghor was only attacked by the dark Samus. On Elysia, the Leviathan was protected by an extremely strong shield that had to be destroyed by a kind of atomic bomb. In search of the parts for the bomb, Samus freed Metroids, the eponymous life form, in a rather dark part of the research facilities on Elysia while removing an energy cell and finding a new weapon. After that, the Metroid can be found as opponents in some places in the game (e.g. Valhalla, homeworld of the pirates, Phaaze). After Samus had destroyed the second Leviathan on Elysia, the home planet of the pirates was located. There she met Gandrayda, of course, who, as was to be expected, had also been attacked by the Dark Samus. There was also a Leviathan on the pirate homeworld that had to be destroyed. Now all Leviathans are destroyed ... but there is one last task. To destroy the planet of the origin of all Phazons (Phaaze). Both the Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 meteorites were leviathans shot down from this planet. Phaaze is referred to by the space pirates as "the living planet", because the Phazon has spread so strongly there that the entire planet consists of the same mutagen, from the surface to the planet core. However, this planet is so far away that it can only be reached through a wormhole. However, this wormhole could only be created by a Leviathan battleship. But to gain control of a Leviathan you need a secret code. To find out this secret code, she had to go to the GFS Valhalla, which had been destroyed five months ago. After the leviathan was brought under control, the wormhole could be reached. Samus was supported by several GF units. On the planet Phaaze she finally met the Dark Samus. However, after being defeated, she reunited with the Aurora unit stolen from the GFS Valhalla. And after the Aurora unit was destroyed, the contamination of Samus could be stopped for good. The planet exploded, the Phazon was destroyed and the space pirates were at the end of their tether. If you collect 100% of all items, you get to see a special ending in that a spaceship follows Samus, who is flying away from the planet Elysia. This is very similar to the spaceship of the bounty hunter Sylux from Metroid Prime Hunter.

Metroid Prime 3 is the first Metroid game for the Wii . It is based on a completely new control system made possible by the Wii controller. For example, you can aim by simply pointing at the screen and the grapple beam is triggered by shaking the Nunchuk extension. The game does not have a multiplayer mode and does not support Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection . However, through WiiConnect24 friend coupons that are found in the course of the game can be exchanged with friends, whereby one receives friend credits with which many extras can be unlocked. It is also possible to take photos of the game in-game and then save them to the Wii Notice Board.

This part of the series has been re-released:

within Metroid Prime: Trilogy ( Wii ) - in contrast to the other two series representatives it contains, it is almost identical to the original version

Metroid Prime: Trilogy (Wii, 2009)

The three parts of the Metroid Prime series, Metroid Prime 1 , Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption , were released together under the name Metroid Prime: Trilogy for Wii . In addition to controls adapted to the Wii Remote, it also contains other elements that can be freely played, such as music titles or graphics. This compilation was published in Europe in September 2009.

Metroid Prime: Trilogy has been available from Nintendo eShop on Wii U since January 2015 .

Metroid: Other M (Wii, 2010)

Metroid: Other M

Metroid logo: Other M

Studio

Team Ninja and Nintendo as a project M

August 31, 2010 September 2, 2010 September 2, 2010 September 3, 2010

Game mode

Audio: English
Subtitles: ao English, German

The title was first presented in a trailer at E3 2009 and appeared in Germany on September 3, 2010. The developers are Team Ninja , Nintendo and D-Rockets under the team name “Project M”. As a characteristic change of game mechanics with respect to the Metroid Prime episodes is without Nunchuk, mainly in third-person perspective game, being carried the swing of the Wiimote from the horizontal to the vertical position in a first-person view changes.

The game follows chronologically Super Metroid for the SNES. Samus receives an emergency call from the spaceship Bottleship. When she gets there, she meets a Galactic Federation squad under the command of her former superior Adam Malkovich. Samus joins their rescue mission and is assigned to repair the communication system. After she does that, she is ordered to Sector 1 to look for Lyle Smithsonian. There she first meets "Little Birdie", a seemingly harmless creature. She later discovers Lyle's dead body and is attacked by a giant lizard. After the attack, the lizard escapes and Samus finds the lifeless shell of "Little Birdie". She is then sent to Sector 3, where she is attacked by Vorash, a giant lava creature. Finally she reaches sector 2. There she discovers the dead body of Maurice Favreau and a woman. She reports that a member of the squad shot Maurice. Shortly thereafter, the two are attacked by the traitor, but Samus could not see who it was. From this point on, Samus calls the traitor "Deleter". Then Samus is sent back to Sector 3 to reactivate the power plant. There she meets the lifeless shell of the lizard from Sector 1. Now she recognizes which being “Little Birdie” really is: Ridley. Ridley first throws Anthony Higgs into the lava and then immediately attacks Samus. After the fight, Ridley escapes and Samus is called back to Sector 1. There she meets again the woman who pretends to be Madeline Bergman. She tells Samus that different species were bred on the ship to test their abilities as a biological weapon. Metroids were among them. In order to be able to control these, they created an artificial mother brain, called MB, to keep them under control. However, the team lost control of MB and MB took over the ship. Samus is now on his way to Sector 0, where the Metroids are bred. Shortly before the entrance, she meets a baby Metroid. She is shot in the back, lost in thought. The attacker turns out to be Adam Malkovich. He explains to her that the Metroids that are bred here are immune to Samu's weapons. In order to be able to destroy them anyway, he goes to sector 0, detaches the entire sector from the ship and switches on the self-destruction. Samus makes his way to the biological weapons development laboratory. There she meets another survivor. Before Samus could question her, however, she flees and a Metroid queen appears. During the fight between Samus and the queen, the spaceship begins to move. Samus finally defeats the queen and reaches the woman. She identifies herself as Madeline Bergman and tells Samus the whole story about MB and that the other woman is actually MB's android body. Finally, MB appears and a second, larger group of soldiers from the Galactic Federation board the ship. They destroy MB. When the commander of the unit wants to lead Madeline away, Anthony appears and leads Madeline with Samus to the headquarters of the Galactic Federation, where she is questioned.

Days later, shortly before “Bottle Ship” is about to be destroyed, Samus re-enters the ship to get Adam's helmet as a souvenir. She finds this in the command center and starts the self-destruction of the entire ship, but Samus can save himself with her own ship.

Who is the deleter is not explained. KG is reported missing, but a member of the team was thrown into the lava from sector 3. All other members of the squad were killed with the exception of Anthony. However, a video sequence shows how an unknown person meets MB. A short time later, Samus finds James' body at this location.

The title "Other M" alludes to MB as the 2nd Mother Brain. There is also a play on words, putting the “M” in front of the “Other” results in “Mother”, as well as a literal translation as “Anderes M”, M alluding to Mother Brain and MB as the other.

Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS, 2017)

Metroid: Samus Returns

Metroid logo: Samus Returns