5. Metroid: Zero Mission
While it certainly has an important place in gaming history, the originalMetroidsuffered greatly from the limitations of its time. The controls were clunky and the jumps made Samus feel weightless.
Fortunately,Metroid: Zero Mission—a near-perfect remake ofMetroidfor the Game Boy Advance—fixed nearly everything about the original game. The visuals are still sharp, the music is improved, and Samus feels more powerful but without reducing the game’s challenge in any way.
It’s been almost 20 years since this game was first released, and it still feels fresh. If you’re looking for a good entry point to theMetroidseries, this is the best place to get started.
4. Metroid Prime
TheMetroidseries pioneered the exploration-heavy style of 2D platforming, so fans were skeptical whenMetroid Primewas announced as a first-person take onMetroidin a 3D world.
Around this time, first-person shooters were largely known as mindless run-and-gun experiences where you mowed down enemies around every corner.Metroid Primetook those mechanics and mixed them with the isolated, exploratory nature thatMetroidis known for.
Clever puzzles abound inMetroid Prime, which force you to utilize Samus’s iconic powers and abilities in various ways, resulting in an engaging experience that keeps you hooked.
The fact that the developers were able to make the Morph Ball look cool in 3D is an accomplishment all its own. Plus, the soundtrack is incredible, always adding to the tension in the best possible ways.
Metroid Prime—and the newly announced remastered edition for the Nintendo Switch—bucked expectations and proved that changing the genre of a series doesn’t have to mean losing its heart.
3. Metroid: Samus Returns
WhenMetroid IIwas released on the Game Boy, it suffered a great deal in having to strain against its hardware limitations. Despite its compelling and fun story, it’s impossible to recommendMetroid IIto any but the most diehardMetroidfans.
But then cameMetroid: Samus Returns, released in 2017 for the Nintendo 3DS, which remadeMetroid IIand fixed nearly everything that was wrong with the original without abandoning its core.
All the items, power-ups, and sense of exploration are still there, but everything runs so much smoother. The combat is vastly improved and the visuals are more in line with what modern gamers expect.
Metroid: Samus Returnstook one of the worst games in the series and turned it into one of the greatestMetroidgames of all time.
2. Super Metroid
For many years,Super Metroidwas the gold standard for the franchise. The beautiful pixel graphics looked great on the Super Nintendo, while the music was absolutely stunning.
InSuper Metroid, Samus feels powerful without being overwhelmingly so, and the way the game drip-feeds you new powers from the outset is an example of near-perfect pacing that hooks.
Despite being more than two decades old,Super Metroidstill feels modern and fresh. That’s partly because so many aspects of this game are still at the heart of most Metroidvania games released these days. It’s also because so little of this game needs to be updated.
Even playingSuper Metroidvia the Nintendo Switch Online emulator is satisfying, a testament to how ahead of its time it was back in 1997.
1. Metroid Dread
There was a lot of pressure on MercurySteam to deliver on the promise of a proper 2DMetroidgame for the Nintendo Switch.
After years of hype and then delays and then more hype, fans braced themselves for disappointment but hoped for greatness. What they ended up getting was the bestMetroidvideo game of all time.
Released for the Nintendo Switch in 2021,Metroid Dreadcaptures all the isolation of the bestMetroidgames, while the level design and combat are brilliantly updated for modern players.
The boss fights are difficult but never impossible, demanding a smart mixture of strategy and skill, all while teaching you those very skills that you’ll need from the first minutes.
You can see the influence of previousMetroidgames as you play throughMetroid Dread, particularly the exploratory aspects ofSuper Metroidand the use of melee counters fromMetroid: Samus Returns.
Metroid Dread’s visuals are a perfect implementation of 3D graphics in a 2D plane of view, shifting to an over-the-shoulder view when Samus uses her energy beam against her relentless robot pursuers.
Even if you’ve never played aMetroidgame before,Metroid Dreadis worth picking up. It’s that good, and it’s the pinnacle of the franchise.
Read next:The Best Metroidvania Games for the Nintendo Switch, Ranked
