Sakamoto not wanting to finish the original game because he thought the hardware wasn't powerful enough is really believable considering the development of Metroid Dread.
@@marcoscabezolajr.8408 no it didn’t, prime 1 was always a gamecube game. They didnt make a metroid game on the 64 because they didnt know how she would control
@@meta9492 They also didn't know in what perspective the game should be, like Mario 64 but then there would be issues with aiming, or first person... but the N64 is not good enough for that... or so they thought because Metroid has big rooms, as seen in the Prime games.
@@meta9492 I didn't mean it was in development and became Metroid Prime, but I instead meant that their ideas for a Metroid 64 was instead put into Metroid Prime. They couldn't figure it out on N64 so they did it on GameCube.
Learned wall jumps from the aliens. At first I thought I had missed a power-up. Then realized that the aliens kept cycling. Literally spent an hour and a half just slamming my head against the wall and trying to get the timing right. I'm 99% sure that the aliens have different timing from Samus 💀
That's probably one of the greatest moments in gaming ever, congrats for experiencing it raw. It's one of those experiences only videogames can provide.
@@HabAnagarek For Ninja Garden, the timing is still different because there you could stick to walls before jumping off, but to be fair, Ninja Garden required you to move and react fast that the difference between both games is minor.
25:57 Yep, it's a Chozo ship, that was never retconned. It's even IN Zero Mission, the Green Area to the bottom left of Chozodia. You even can enter it through the very same lake that you do in Super, a lot of people miss that reference for some reason. Essentially, the Chozo built their temple around the ship they took to the planet, and then the pirate Mothership exploding blew away the ruins and revealed the ship proper
@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 The implication based on where you enter/exit the ship is that you gain access to the other floors after the ship gets rocked by the explosion. If you notice, a lot of the ship is accessed through what appears to be broken floors/ducts in Super. It could also be implied that Chozodia was actively built around the ship, and some of the areas you run around in in ZM there when exploded revealed more of the ship lying inside the walls/behind the doors.
34:17 fun fact, you CAN get both in one trip. You just have to carefully step on the crack between the two sets of crumble blocks so that they *both* crumble away on your first descent. Then you can just go get both missile packs and not have to backtrack. Big time saver.
38:50 - Fun fact: You can stun the Baby Metroid with super missiles and escape to the save room completely unharmed. You still need to run like hell. (Don't ask me how I figured this out - I just tried it one day.)
Cool secret, though it kinda messes with the story because the Super Metroid is supposed to remember Samus by almost killing her and hearing the beeping of the suit warning her shields are almost down.
35:21 Finally, someone mentions this! If the Golden Torizo is still alive, holding down ABXY when entering its boss room triggers a debug cheat. It was likely used to test the fight late in development, but was never removed. It resets your inventory to 700 Energy, 300 Reserve Energy, 100 Missiles, 20 Super Missiles, 20 Power Bombs, all beams, and all items except Screw Attack. However, the cheat also _enables_ all of the beams at the same time, which is a problem. The game will crash if you fire with all beams active - Spazer and Plasma are incompatible for a reason. Since you have to hold the fire button to activate the cheat, you need to enter the room in Morph Ball mode to avoid crashing.
The problem with trying to be objective with a game that you know like the back of your hand is that you can't remember how the game gave you clues to beat it and it's hard to judge the design. I played Super Metroid shortly after about 10 years, and I don't know it very well, But I think the game does a good job communicating what to do (most of the time, I also got stuck at Ridley's exit) without holding your hand, It is very rewarding to explore and has a great admosphera ..... But fuck Maridia
As a person who has played Super Metroid multiple times... I agree, fuck Maridia. I'm not really sure what indie developers can learn from Maridia, though, specifically what to do and what NOT to do.
Maridia is a very different kind of challenging than most people would assume or expect. It's not a "hard" section of the game. The challenge comes from progression itself. And given that Ridley's lair is directly after and the polar opposite, I think it was very much intentional, and I respect what it does for the atmosphere and pacing of the game. That said, the backtracking for 100 percent is pretty repetitive. I also don't think anything about the game is as obtuse as some people make it out to be. It seems as though every problem I hear someone say about the game can be solved by simply pressing Start and looking at the map, or just observing the surroundings.
"I remembered when I first learned I could roll under his legs," he says, while I sit here processing this new information. Super Metroid is a unique game for me because it was the last 2D Metroid I played (not counting GB Metroid 2, which I still haven't played). It's the one that gives me the most trouble to actually play because of its specific control feel, physics, and world design. But I respect it so much, not just because of what it did as a follow-up, but on the whole. The experience this game presents through the sequences from beginning to end, the wonderful atmosphere, and the freedom through the abilities of Samus (intentional or unintentional). I would probably play Zero Mission, Fusion, and Samus Returns before Super, but I feel that Super manages to be something unlike any other game in this series and I think that's genuinely amazing.
I can relate. I started out with Fusion and played through all of them except Super. Bought it on 3DS virtual console and started over multiple times but I just can't bring myself to finish it. I respect the hell outta it, but I just don't gel with it.
I remember the first time I played this was on the Wii shop. Never really played an SNES game before and only start to play games around the N64 era. I thought it would be a fun game at the very least. The atmosphere and the visuals along with the gameplay had me making sure I played this game in total darkness Everytime. What an amazing game.
I feel old in my early 30s. As a kid, my cousin had this on snes. I watched in awe as he ran through the game. I remembered everything!!!! I use to beat the game once a year, but I officially retired the game. Im older now, I want the Metroid Prime trilogy HD remaster/remake
As a kid, the moment Mother Brain kills the Super Metroid was the first time I cried with video games. My brother was playing and I was weeping desperately.
2:03 - SO MUCH OF THIS for many other things too, like Mega Man 2 and other 'popular' games of any given franchise. It almost smacks of jealousy that they weren't there at the time and have missed out on being a part of it.
I don't think it has anything to do with jealously, people are just tired of hearing about it I suppose. To be clear I like Megaman 2 and Super Metroid, but thats just what I gather from what i've seen.
Well to be fair from my experience, I liked megaman 9 over 2 simply because the abilities were just more fun to use. Relying on the metal blade most of the game can get stale
YOOOOO I SAW YOUR VIDS ON SUPER METROID AND THEY ARE ALSO REALLY GOOD! Currently just in a rabbit hole of watching people talk about this masterpiece of a game before dread comes out lol
When I got to the Etecoons, I learned the wall jump from them purely by watching. I saw that they would turn as they hit the wall, then jump again. So I followed suit, hitting the opposite direction as I hit the wall and jumping. I wall jump regularly now, I even do it when I already have the space jump, it's great.
+100 for being someone who KNEW that the item collection jingle came from Ys. One of my first JRPGs was Ys Oath in Felghana and it took me as a shock when I heard the same jingle in Metroid Zero Mission. I was like who copied who and there's like no one ik who played Ys so I couldn't even talk to anyone regarding that.
@@Dimensiom That is commonly thought, but if you go back and listen to the Metroid 1 Item jingle it is in fact not the same one. The one used in all the other games (minus Zero Mission) came from Metroid II which in fact came out after YS I. Though if you wanted something really uncanny check out Ys Seven's OST Crossing Rage and compare it to Sum 41's still waiting. Stuff is crazy similar.
@@esmooth919 yes, that is right, but regardless the metroid 1 item jingle is not anywhere close to the same sounding as ys or metroid 2 onward. The remix used from metroid 2 onward is drastically changed in its remix. And it's the one that sounds the same as ys, and ys came out before metroid II. I mean if you look up the metroid 1 item jingle and compare it to YS and think they are rhe same, fine, but I dont think they are near identical.
I haven’t played any of the Prime games, but I think what he’s saying is that in Prime 3 you go to the Space Pirate’s home world, and that the Space Pirate home world in that game is not Zebes, which would contradict Super’s manual which said that Zebes was the Space Pirate home world. However, I think on the wiki it said that the manual for Prime 3 says that there are multiple Space Pirate home worlds, so you’re right that it’s still not a retcon.
@@randombloke165 ... I thought a home world was the planet a spacefaring species originated from? unless the Space Pirates are a group of species, which if I remember right, they aren't
@@redpup112 wait but space pirates are often a complete different species between games (like prime one). They’re pretty close to being confirmed to be a coalition of species I think. Might be wrong tho.
"Imagine seeing this as a kid in the 90s" Imagine? Brother, I was there. The second that timer started might have historically been my first verbal "OH SHIT" in my life.
To answer your query at 28:50, I'm a player who learned the wall jump from the little guys. I was stuck in the area and there was no way for me to leave the rooms, and I couldn't reset the game since there is a save station located there, which locked me in. And due to my progress, starting from the very beginning of the game was NOT going to be an option. I kept looking around and bombing/shooting everything. I started wondering about the green creatures, how they sing that jingle and how they don't damage you (and you cannot damage them as well. I saw what they were doing, and I would just try to jump along with them, even imitating their exact jump height and what not. I noticed a single sprite frame from Samus and thought it was somehow relevant during this. I pressed random buttons from frustration and then I saw that Samus would push off the wall. And I think the rest pretty much explains itself. It was a huge accomplishment for me, and I played this game when it released when I was 11 without other sources to learn from (e.g. guides, friends, etc).
holy shit. massive props to you. playing this game in this year for first time (on NSO) and i was STRUGGLING with this room in particular. i had to give up and look up the walljump tutorial.
27:43 I personally love the coloration of the gravity suit here, and they use it again in Zero Mission. Reason being is because it feels like the orange layers of the Varia Suit are being coated by a transparent purple pink aura
So as I understand, Phantoon IS more fleshed out in the Japanese version of the manual to this game, and it more or less makes it out to be the ghost of the first Mother Brain, which then implies that the Phantoon in Other M is the ghost of the MB AI. It's not much, but it's a neat touch I think that actually explains the existence of these things, being more or less the ghost that's left behind when something with telepathic powers is destroyed. (And specifically, things that could control Metroids telepathically)
I wait even longer before fighting Spore Spawn. Since I already got Super Missiles, there is no rush to get him. I always fight him after getting a fully decked out Beam, and a single charge shot from a Plasma Beam is enough to kill him. The fight ends in 15 seconds. It feels great.
If you're good at wall jumps and shinesparks, you can do the same thing with crocomire. One charge shot and he just nopes himself all the way back into the acid. It's wonderful. Edit: The point of being good at wall jumps and shine sparks is to skip grapple, in case that wasn't clear.
I learned to wall jump from those little guys! But not when I first saw them. I came across them but had no idea what they were doing and figured I'd find a power up along the way to help me get up the wall. I later came across the ostrich looking thing and figured out it was trying to show me how to use the shinespark. Then it clicked that those 3 little guys were trying to teach me something. I went back to that spot and started messing around, jumping off of the wall. It was a delayed lightbulb moment.
I would tell you what it felt like to have those little creatures teach me how to wall jump, but that was 1994 and I'm having trouble remembering last week.
I love how this game brings liberty to explore and experiment with your moves and your items, is very satisfying when you discover wall jump and you can skip parts that apparently required other things, one of my favorite games ever, great video btw
Man, I've watched this twice now. Excellent video, Trav. The amount of detail and work that went into it, it certainly didn't go unnoticed. Also really interested to see your full thoughts on Fusion when you get to it, I find that game really fascinating for a lot of reasons lol
34:10 it's actually possible to get both those missile tanks in one go. I've done it myself, but its very precise and if you screw it up you will have to make a second trip.
I did learn wall jumping from the Etecoons. During my first playthrough I fell down there and realized right away the only way out was up. So I figured, if they can do it so can I.
Yeah, I remember the same, and then falling a lot. It took me a long time to figure out the timing: I had to re-wire my brain as the mechanic was different to games like Batman and Mega Man X.
About the wall jump, yep, I learned from the little critters. I can't really explain to you what the mental process was, I literally saw them do it and tried a few different combinations. Took me a few minutes but I got there.
Playing as kid on snes I figured out the walljump existed since we had seen it happen on accident few times while playing the game. Seeing them aliens chain it together to go up the shaft provided an excuse to learn how to do it. Recall how it took me a tremendous amount of time and lots and lots of foul words to reach the top.
I learned the wall jump from the aliens. I looked closely at their animation and noticed Samus’ when turning away mid jump. But this was when I was much older and finally beat the game myself. But as a kid, I was fortunate enough to never have found them LOL
28:50 I thought I was missing an upgrade to bounce off walls at first ngl, until it struck me that they were spinning like I was and I just tried spinning into the wall and I noticed Samus doing that little pose off the wall to indicate a jump. I didnt know what it meant at the time but I felt like I should at least move so I just started spamming buttons and I eventually hit the jump button again and figured out that I can just wall jump
This is super timely. I'm making my own retrospective on what I think makes the series special, and "Setting the Standard" is pretty much exactly how I'd define Super. What a great video. Great job!
34:25 You actually can get both in one go. You have to land directly in the middle so you take out both sides. You can then jump to grab both, but you have to time it right.
Travguy: "I remember when I first learned I could roll under his legs..." Me, who has played Super Metroid 3246 times: *surprised Pikachu face* *** As someone who learned to wall jump from the trio of green aliens... my process for learning to wall jump was...to not learn it very well. In short, I learned it enough to exit that cursed chamber and then never fall down that pit of despair ever again to avoid having to deal with it. Jeff lore time, my brother was convinced that you could use your ice beam and freeze enough enemies to run fast enough to shine spark up the chamber...he never could do it and had to resort to wall jumping, something that no one in my family can do well.
For the controls, I also had Y to shoot, B to jump, and A to run! But because I was playing on a Switch Pro Controller, I went into controller settings and made the ZR button read as an A button press
@@lilsoonerfaninmo disagree, while I think that ZM and Dread control better for sure, SM controls well. If you tell Samus to do a wall jump, with practice you can make it happen. and it should be noted that you never _have_ to do a wall jump but it is a little bit too floaty in comparison to every entry after. if you bounced off of SM, I recommend giving ZM a try. it essentially takes this game and replaces the floatiness with the ability to just stop on a dime
When I learn how to wall jump from the those little critters. It was the single most frustrating thing I ever had to endure…I got to a point where I almost gave up but I kept at it and finally got it.
The best ending to a game is AM2R. After the credits, you feel elated. Then you hear "The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace..." You just get a sense of adrenaline and a lump in your throat. You then reach over to the Super Metroid cart to continue the adventure.
Super Metroid was the first Metroid game I've ever played, but I've never actually finished it until about 3 months ago. While it's not my favorite Metroid game, I definitely still really enjoyed it and it's at least among my Top 5 favorite Metroid games. :)
I just played through it for the first time & loved it. I had a strange reverse nostalgia experience, where the music from Magmoor in Prime was in one of the areas here, and it was so cool when that song kicked in & I realised that this is where it came from
The part of upper Crateria where you go through the acid room, and you have to drop down to get the two missiles, you actually can land on the middle spot between the two sets of crumbling blocks and collect both missile tanks in one run. It is just tricky though
28:32 I in fact learned the wall jump from them. If you watch them closely, they jump to the wall and then briefly show the same animation Samus shows when you push your directional pad away from the wall. I remember I was standing at that spot for a good 5 minutes until I got it lol, and 5 more minutes until I reached the top. 29:01 That running was much easier to get, but I struggled with pressing down at the right moment lol. 20:16 Actually... I didn't figure that tube out watching the Demo... I didn't know that demo existed when I was figuring the tube out. The way I figured it out was... I went to Maridia and ran around there. Soon enough you cant get further and you are stuck and you come across a broken tube. So I was thinking "there got to be another entrance to Maridia"... and I remembered that there is that tube in Brinstar that also moves you to Maridia. When I ran around there... I seen that tube and thought "I seen something that looks like leftover of this"... and started to fiddle around, shoot some missiles, super missiles... super bomb... then the game froze and blew my mind back then, lol. 36:45 That wall... shows not the usual black, but whiter black. You see what I mean when you use your X-Ray Visor... parts that cant be walked through have a darker black color, this spot has a more greyish black. That's what gave it away for me. The thing that's pissing me is that everyone runs around calling stuff "Metroidvania" when in fact Metroid is the very first game of that style. Ever. That Castlevania Simons Quest came out in 1987aproximately one year after Metroid. Even Zelda 2 The Adventure of Link came earlier. And Castlevania Symphony of the Night was all but re-picking up that style of game... and then Konami used it for every GameBoy Castlevania title afterwards. Another grudge I have is nearly every "Metroidvania" that is released... is more Castlevania Symphony of the Night with melee combat and stuff... then Metroid. One of the few games close is Axiom Verge, but there are so many that are like Castlevania.
Regarding the animals teaching you how to wall jump. I just brute forced it until it worked. I never fully understood how to do it until, well, videos like this came about on YT. I never realised Samus would lean on the wall for a few frames. I would have been around 10-11 years old when i first played this. Great video, as always. There's countless 45 minute videos on this game out there, yet this one is very 'you' so it definitely has it's place. Really interested in that tiny crocomire! He's my favourite boss. Scary AF back in the day.
Actually, The Wrecked Ship has NOT been retconned to be a Space Pirate Ship! You can find a few (i mean like...2) rooms of the Wrecked Ship in Chozodia back in Zero Mission that is NOT the Space Pirate Mothership!
I first played Super Metroid a few years ago after getting the SNES Classic. I grew up with a Sega Genesis so never got to experience this game as a kid. I'm 30 now. When it comes to the wall jump, I had no idea that was a thing and when you get to the room where you're locked in and the creatures show you, it took me a while to under stand what the hell to do. I tried everything and then realized the little dweebs were showing me how to wall jump and it took a lot of trial and error to perfect the wall jump since the controls are very picky with it. But yeah, I learned the way the game intended I suppose. Not super hard. Definitely makes you think which I greatly appreciate since most games nowadays hold your hand way too much.
Be glad that you didn't have to learn it as a kid, like I did. Just left a comment about my experience of learning the wall jump and is glad more people commented their experience with it. ^^
Re: knowing how to nuke the Glass Maridia Tube Tunnel outside of watching the demo reel - It's a pretty subtle thing, but there's a Broken Tube Tunnel in the wrecked ship; you're supposed to see this blowed-up version, equate it with the intact one in Maridia, and then get the light bulb to go off that there must be some way to turn an Intact Tube Tunnel into a No-Longer-Intact Tube Tunnel. Or, you know, be like me - I was just plopping down a Power Bomb on every single screen 'cuz it was faster then X-ray-scoping all over, and pretty much lucked my way into blowing up the Tube Tunnel. Also, I LOVE all the little visual touches they gave Samus in this game: * She still gets New Shoulders when upgrading from her normal suit to the Varia Suit. * Whenever the ambient lighting in an area is dim, her visor flickers and glows green. * In any room where the heat can damage her in the standard suit, Samus takes on a softly pulsing reddish glow when she visits in the Varia or Gravity Suits. * After Zebes explodes, Samus' ship shakes up and down for several seconds to REALLY sell the impact of an entire planet exploding nearby.
I learned to wall jump from the etecoons because I found that bird first. So by logic I figured if the ostrich could teach me the shinespark then these dudes could teach me how to get out of this hole. Granted I didn't learn any of these names until I was an adult and the bird I can never remember.
To answer your question on the wall jumping when I played Super Metroid on my Switch in my 20s: It was hell. I never played a Metroid game before and I thought you needed some wall jumping ability to do it. I was pissed when I found out you had to wall jump yourself and I kept getting mad at not being able to do it right. XD Needless to say, I basically lost my marbles in the process. -w-;
As someone who's played this game many times since it came out, I never noticed the turning faces at the beginning. Truly a masterpiece! Looking forward to Metroid Dread!
I learned to wall jump from the Etecoons all the way back in 1994. However, because I only learned last year that you have to tap away from the wall BEFORE you jump not AS you jump, it took a fucking while.
This game was such a huge part of my childhood. This video actually made me want to start up another playthrough of the game after not having played it in years. It's just as good if not better than I remember. It makes me really happy to see that one of my favorite TH-camrs is giving this game some well deserved love. Great video, Trav :D
29:30 so I played Super for the first time recently (Dread hype, basically) and didn't watch the demo. There is a room you pass through in Maridia shortly before the map room (if you come down directly from the right of the crashed ship) that has some crabs showing a somewhat hidden hole in the floor. That room has an already-destroyed water tunnel, hinting that you can blow it up. Between that, the map of the area I just got, and really having nowhere else to go, I figured it out without too much wasted time. Felt pretty good. Hooray level design?
And that was very much intentional. I keep hearing people say the game is too obtuse and easy to get lost in, and I have to wonder if these people know how to use a map, or just observe the surroundings. The map tells you everything you need. Maridia is a bit convoluted even with the map, but considering how far into the game it is, not to mention the general lack of enemies as sources of obstruction, it's appropriately obtuse I think.
a few things. thank you for this video. I have been really, REALLY down the last.... christ month and a half and seeing this video break down my all time favorite game is so nice. I learned the wall jump from the Etecoons and i gotta say... it was weird trying to figure out the timing. like. I saw the little guys goin up and figured i could do the same. but it took me forever to actually make it up. and you can get the two missile tanks in one go in Crateria you just have to go down the middle of the room and react quick enough. it is a pain but doable.
You and me both. I will be blunt that save is BS and the stupid aliens do not teach the wall jump well. The button combo needed for it was not at all clear enough.
So you wanna know how I learned to wall jump from those little guys? I actually did learn it from them and I will try to explain it as simply as I can. Here's how it was: you see, I was first wondering what they are doing but had no idea. But there were three of them and as they were jumping, they were making these strange triangular shapes. Three, triangular shape... they certainly must have implied pyramids! So I knew I had to look there. So I started to study ancient egyptian hieroglyphics and didn't find much of anything helpful until I once came upon one that had such a strange shape that reminded me of a violin... or a guitar. I'm not too sure. But it dawned upon me that the key to look for is in music. So I browsed through a lot of legendary bands - The Beatles, AC/DC, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, even friggin Nickelback. Yes, even Nickelback. But sadly, I couldn't find anything that could help me with solving this task in their lyrics... Feeling disappointed and almost about to give up, one day I had another epiphany. Maybe I was doing it wrong? Maybe I looked in wrong places even though the answer was so close all along. It came when I found an old Elvis Presley album. And there was an answer! Do you remember how Elvis was swinging on a stage moving his hips left and right while performing his classical moves? Sometimes he was also jumping! I connected alll the dots and finally figured it all out. I had to jump high and then press left and right as I was bouncing off the walls. Yes, all of this totally made sense to me then. I'm thankful to these guys for making it so clear.
Super Metroid was my first Metroid game (thx Somecallmejohnny), and I was engrossed in this game’s atmosphere and speechless storytelling. This is my favorite SNES game ever and is tied with Sonic 3, Mario Galaxy, and Megaman X as one of my favorite games of all time.
28:38 I only recently (like 2 months ago) learned how to wall jump. So way back on my first playthrough, when i got in that spot, with no space jump and of course having saved in that hole, my only option to get out of there was with the bomb jump. And I always had difficulty to find the proprer rythm too. Sigh, I always dreaded to go back into that hole and on future playthroughs always made sure I had the space jump before going there.
This game, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, are the gold standards of this genre of game. They may have been surpassed in some areas by other titles, but few games even come close. There's a reason it is still as beloved as it is today. And to the haters: Try it. Play it, even with a guide, even with NSO emulation. It's fun as heck.
@@Hipno702 either way, that's a really cool thing to have. Johnny is a legend, and low and behold he's redoing his 2d metroid review right now. Super metroid is next haha
@@HiddenAccount wow lol I've seen that video a dozen times over the years and didn't remember that at all haha. Do you have a link? I don't remember that in the original sgb review
The funny thing about Other M and phantoon is that as it turns out, as shown in concept art, phantoon isnt JUST that head. He actually has a full body and hes peeking his face into our dimension.
I played this game for the first time last month on Nintendo Switch Online. Wall jumping gave me nightmares, specially being so used to MegaMan X controls. That said, amazing game, should have played it years ago.
In anticipation of Metroid Dread , ive been playing Super Metroid for the very first time on my switch.. I loved Metroid fusion alot as a kid & ive been throughly enjoying this game.. Im really glad i found your video on this.
Learning the wall jump from the aliens was quite possibly the most frustrating process possible. It was a mind-numbing repetition of jumping into the wall, trying everything possible. The first wall jump was mind-blowing, but it must have taken at least a half hour to achieve relative repeatability. I had an easier time mastering the space jump in Metroid II. It is a master class of forcing you to become proficient in something before allowing progression, however. Depite this frustration, I can't bring myself to fault the game. It's my favorite childhood video game adventure. Thanks for your work on this video.
Man I'm disappointed I didn't find you sooner, I love this style of heavily edited gameplay fused with trivia fused with a review all with comedic writing. And no that's not just because that's the style of videos I make too.
Love the video, excellent synopsis of all the important nuances, though this game’s mechanics are on a different level to almost anything. Seems to me the beginning escape sequence door transfer was to differentiate the atmosphere of the station versus the planet. The planets doors would need to protect the contents of the rooms with hard (impermeable without the energy blaster) barriers wheres the supposedly sterile environment of the station is right at home with auto doors. Very much a this will not be that moment when you land on the planet.
After watching this I can see why Super is loved as much as it is and the amount of speed run strats and sequence breaking, intentional or otherwise, will never stop being amazing to me
actually since the prime trilogy is sandwiched between metroid 1 and 2, it's more like "ridley is back from being a cyborg for god knows how long." also the wrecked ship isnt a space pirate ship. the mothership from zero mission is not only located in a different area, you actually go through a small part of the wrecked ship if you decide to backtrack to the rest of the map after getting the power bombs.
Amazing review, Trav, and I would agree the game truly lacks in feeding you some important information. I remember having replayed last year after something around... 10 years? Since the last playthrough, and felt completely lost and stuck more than once, specially Maridia. The "drop down at the spikes" part also drove me insane, as I truly had no idea I had to do that and, once I did, it felt pretty weird and unnecessary. Interesting, I wonder what your thoughts are on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, you seem like someone who greatly enjoys it, or would if you played it.
my guess with the fake spikes in maridia is there's crumble grapple blocks and a red herring missile expansion where you would normally go without thinking about, which makes me think they expected players to fuck up and land on the spikes, go "hey why aren't i taking damage", investigate further and find draygon's entrance. I think most of SM's main progression is communicated even if pretty subtly, like youtuber nerrel pointed out how in the route into maridia most players would take (crateria entrance) it has a broken pipe that looks nearly identical to the one bridging brinstar, implying it can be broken. Or how the map station in brinstar tells you there's more map right of norfair's entrance, tipping you off on how to get to kraid. Some of the optional expansions though? Man some of them i have no idea how a player would find without a strategy guide or by accident. I guess not being required lets them get away with being obtuse, lol.
Remember drawing Metroid comic back in 4 grade and wining 2 place on local tv station VG drawing contest with a box drawing collage. This game was so inspiring for me.
Also feel like we are very similar people. Have also beaten this game numerous times (first time I was 4 years old, somehow???) and Norfair is just a maze to me with almost every playthough I've done.
Also remember bawling my eyes out when Mother Brain killed the Metroid then proceeding to kick the ever loving shit out of her for killing my friend. Being a kid in the 90s was awesome.
Sakamoto not wanting to finish the original game because he thought the hardware wasn't powerful enough is really believable considering the development of Metroid Dread.
And that’s why Metroid 64 doesn’t exist
@@niclaswa5408 metroid 64 essentially became Metroid Prime.
@@marcoscabezolajr.8408 no it didn’t, prime 1 was always a gamecube game. They didnt make a metroid game on the 64 because they didnt know how she would control
@@meta9492 They also didn't know in what perspective the game should be, like Mario 64 but then there would be issues with aiming, or first person... but the N64 is not good enough for that... or so they thought because Metroid has big rooms, as seen in the Prime games.
@@meta9492 I didn't mean it was in development and became Metroid Prime, but I instead meant that their ideas for a Metroid 64 was instead put into Metroid Prime. They couldn't figure it out on N64 so they did it on GameCube.
Learned wall jumps from the aliens. At first I thought I had missed a power-up. Then realized that the aliens kept cycling. Literally spent an hour and a half just slamming my head against the wall and trying to get the timing right. I'm 99% sure that the aliens have different timing from Samus 💀
They're just built different. Literally.
That's probably one of the greatest moments in gaming ever, congrats for experiencing it raw. It's one of those experiences only videogames can provide.
@@seraph4581 Damn straight! I'm glad I did it the hard way after all
From what I remember from the time, I think a friend showed me, and it was familiar from years of games like Shinobi and Ninja Garden.
@@HabAnagarek For Ninja Garden, the timing is still different because there you could stick to walls before jumping off, but to be fair, Ninja Garden required you to move and react fast that the difference between both games is minor.
25:57 Yep, it's a Chozo ship, that was never retconned. It's even IN Zero Mission, the Green Area to the bottom left of Chozodia. You even can enter it through the very same lake that you do in Super, a lot of people miss that reference for some reason. Essentially, the Chozo built their temple around the ship they took to the planet, and then the pirate Mothership exploding blew away the ruins and revealed the ship proper
I guess it makes sense why. I missed that connection on my first playthrough of ZM because of the sheer power trip from the ending.
Isn't that ship though substantially smaller in scope?
This one scales for a whole area, the one in chozodia is like two rooms long
@@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32 The implication based on where you enter/exit the ship is that you gain access to the other floors after the ship gets rocked by the explosion. If you notice, a lot of the ship is accessed through what appears to be broken floors/ducts in Super. It could also be implied that Chozodia was actively built around the ship, and some of the areas you run around in in ZM there when exploded revealed more of the ship lying inside the walls/behind the doors.
the chorizo aliens are basically the engineers from Alien
and I'm pretty sure that the pirate ship sunk into Meridia, and that's where you find the mocktroids
34:17 fun fact, you CAN get both in one trip. You just have to carefully step on the crack between the two sets of crumble blocks so that they *both* crumble away on your first descent. Then you can just go get both missile packs and not have to backtrack. Big time saver.
Yup!!!
Understatement! And Johnny taught me that one!
38:50 - Fun fact: You can stun the Baby Metroid with super missiles and escape to the save room completely unharmed. You still need to run like hell. (Don't ask me how I figured this out - I just tried it one day.)
You monster, that's your child.
Cool secret, though it kinda messes with the story because the Super Metroid is supposed to remember Samus by almost killing her and hearing the beeping of the suit warning her shields are almost down.
aahh yes the
why not? is it stupid? yes! is any gonna know if it won't work? no!
LET'S DO IT!
How many super missiles would that take though
@@derivative3704 well that's literally the entirety of grapple beam skip, that died a while ago
35:21 Finally, someone mentions this!
If the Golden Torizo is still alive, holding down ABXY when entering its boss room triggers a debug cheat. It was likely used to test the fight late in development, but was never removed. It resets your inventory to 700 Energy, 300 Reserve Energy, 100 Missiles, 20 Super Missiles, 20 Power Bombs, all beams, and all items except Screw Attack.
However, the cheat also _enables_ all of the beams at the same time, which is a problem. The game will crash if you fire with all beams active - Spazer and Plasma are incompatible for a reason. Since you have to hold the fire button to activate the cheat, you need to enter the room in Morph Ball mode to avoid crashing.
So it triggers the "omega beam"
...always wondered how that happens
I thought it was called murder beam or do different names exsist?
@@Graf-Fischgen-von-Fischgesicht I knew it as the murder beam too.
The problem with trying to be objective with a game that you know like the back of your hand is that you can't remember how the game gave you clues to beat it and it's hard to judge the design. I played Super Metroid shortly after about 10 years, and I don't know it very well, But I think the game does a good job communicating what to do (most of the time, I also got stuck at Ridley's exit) without holding your hand, It is very rewarding to explore and has a great admosphera ..... But fuck Maridia
As a person who has played Super Metroid multiple times...
I agree, fuck Maridia.
I'm not really sure what indie developers can learn from Maridia, though, specifically what to do and what NOT to do.
Maridia is a very different kind of challenging than most people would assume or expect. It's not a "hard" section of the game. The challenge comes from progression itself. And given that Ridley's lair is directly after and the polar opposite, I think it was very much intentional, and I respect what it does for the atmosphere and pacing of the game.
That said, the backtracking for 100 percent is pretty repetitive.
I also don't think anything about the game is as obtuse as some people make it out to be. It seems as though every problem I hear someone say about the game can be solved by simply pressing Start and looking at the map, or just observing the surroundings.
You should see some of the Reverse Boss Runs in Super Metroid, starting with Ridley first instead of Kraid.
Ive played it yearly from realese year, Maridia gets no easier
Yeah Nah Fuck maridia!
(7:53) "The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace" iconic opening words.
That line goes so hard
The Last Metroid Has Escaped…The Galaxy Is No Longer At Peace.
@@etharchildres3976 th-cam.com/video/xFGfWrJR5Ck/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dVcCsnfHjB5Hg_Oo
"I remembered when I first learned I could roll under his legs," he says, while I sit here processing this new information.
Super Metroid is a unique game for me because it was the last 2D Metroid I played (not counting GB Metroid 2, which I still haven't played). It's the one that gives me the most trouble to actually play because of its specific control feel, physics, and world design. But I respect it so much, not just because of what it did as a follow-up, but on the whole. The experience this game presents through the sequences from beginning to end, the wonderful atmosphere, and the freedom through the abilities of Samus (intentional or unintentional). I would probably play Zero Mission, Fusion, and Samus Returns before Super, but I feel that Super manages to be something unlike any other game in this series and I think that's genuinely amazing.
Fantastic breakdown 👍👍 I feel the same about Dark Souls! I'm no good at them but bloody hell do I respect and love them.
Exactly XD Rolling under the statue's leg was something new that I learned from this video.
Bruh, they're all great in their own rights. you're missing out.
Yep, same here; not a fan of the movement in Super, but it did so much to kick off the genre that I respect it.
I can relate. I started out with Fusion and played through all of them except Super. Bought it on 3DS virtual console and started over multiple times but I just can't bring myself to finish it. I respect the hell outta it, but I just don't gel with it.
I remember the first time I played this was on the Wii shop. Never really played an SNES game before and only start to play games around the N64 era. I thought it would be a fun game at the very least. The atmosphere and the visuals along with the gameplay had me making sure I played this game in total darkness Everytime. What an amazing game.
I first played it as a small child on the SNES and the bomb torizo scared me so badly I went and hid in the closet
@Tim Bowen I agree man I feel like the truly great classics will always be appreciated no matter what timeline
I feel old in my early 30s. As a kid, my cousin had this on snes. I watched in awe as he ran through the game. I remembered everything!!!! I use to beat the game once a year, but I officially retired the game.
Im older now, I want the Metroid Prime trilogy HD remaster/remake
It's so strange how they made it look like megman x4 wich came out on the ps1 a console that had 3d games.
As a kid, the moment Mother Brain kills the Super Metroid was the first time I cried with video games. My brother was playing and I was weeping desperately.
What happened?
2:03 - SO MUCH OF THIS for many other things too, like Mega Man 2 and other 'popular' games of any given franchise.
It almost smacks of jealousy that they weren't there at the time and have missed out on being a part of it.
I don't think it has anything to do with jealously, people are just tired of hearing about it I suppose. To be clear I like Megaman 2 and Super Metroid, but thats just what I gather from what i've seen.
The main analysis himself welcome to the video
Well to be fair from my experience, I liked megaman 9 over 2 simply because the abilities were just more fun to use. Relying on the metal blade most of the game can get stale
Personally I thought mega man 2 is good, just not nearly as good as most of the other games. It’s definitely true that lots of people do this though
YOOOOO I SAW YOUR VIDS ON SUPER METROID AND THEY ARE ALSO REALLY GOOD! Currently just in a rabbit hole of watching people talk about this masterpiece of a game before dread comes out lol
Trav’s back with the Metroid, and just in time!!!
He is 😳
It's almost like he planned it! 😱
Of topic, I had that EXACT pfp on Reddit until I swapped it for a different Rex one.
When I got to the Etecoons, I learned the wall jump from them purely by watching. I saw that they would turn as they hit the wall, then jump again. So I followed suit, hitting the opposite direction as I hit the wall and jumping. I wall jump regularly now, I even do it when I already have the space jump, it's great.
27:05 "I wish Phantoon had more lore to him"
You mean other than him being the physical manifestation of Mother Brain's murderous rage?
Where did you learn about that?
@@esmooth919 Japanese manual for Super Metroid
41:49 I love this ending sequence, especially the bright, Saturn-shaped explosion at the end.
They definitely wanted to make sure the player understood Zebes was destroyed.
The fact this guy successfully called the planet a different name every time made this video worth it
+100 for being someone who KNEW that the item collection jingle came from Ys. One of my first JRPGs was Ys Oath in Felghana and it took me as a shock when I heard the same jingle in Metroid Zero Mission. I was like who copied who and there's like no one ik who played Ys so I couldn't even talk to anyone regarding that.
I think I heard at some point that in an interview they said it was inspired by Metroid but don't quote me on it
The item collection jingle was in Metroid first, then "borrowed" for Ys.
Metroid came out in 1986. Ys in 1987.
@@Dimensiom That is commonly thought, but if you go back and listen to the Metroid 1 Item jingle it is in fact not the same one. The one used in all the other games (minus Zero Mission) came from Metroid II which in fact came out after YS I. Though if you wanted something really uncanny check out Ys Seven's OST Crossing Rage and compare it to Sum 41's still waiting. Stuff is crazy similar.
@@calebcollette7806 The Metroid item jingle is the same throughout every game, just remixed.
@@esmooth919 yes, that is right, but regardless the metroid 1 item jingle is not anywhere close to the same sounding as ys or metroid 2 onward. The remix used from metroid 2 onward is drastically changed in its remix. And it's the one that sounds the same as ys, and ys came out before metroid II. I mean if you look up the metroid 1 item jingle and compare it to YS and think they are rhe same, fine, but I dont think they are near identical.
"samus steals the metroid that samus saved in the last game" -ThatTravGuy
5:43 was NOT retconned. That was what happened in Metroid 1/Zero Mission. Prime happened between 1 and 2.
I haven’t played any of the Prime games, but I think what he’s saying is that in Prime 3 you go to the Space Pirate’s home world, and that the Space Pirate home world in that game is not Zebes, which would contradict Super’s manual which said that Zebes was the Space Pirate home world. However, I think on the wiki it said that the manual for Prime 3 says that there are multiple Space Pirate home worlds, so you’re right that it’s still not a retcon.
@@randombloke165 ... I thought a home world was the planet a spacefaring species originated from? unless the Space Pirates are a group of species, which if I remember right, they aren't
@@redpup112 wait but space pirates are often a complete different species between games (like prime one). They’re pretty close to being confirmed to be a coalition of species I think. Might be wrong tho.
You can get both Missle tanks from the gauntlet in one pass through you need to land in the exact middle
"Imagine seeing this as a kid in the 90s"
Imagine? Brother, I was there. The second that timer started might have historically been my first verbal "OH SHIT" in my life.
My favorite game ever. About the wall in Lower Norfair, unfortunately it's a glitch, the X-Ray Scope doesn't work in rooms with the fireflies enemies.
Bold of you to assume I stopped hanging on the edge of the pool like Spider-Man past 12
To answer your query at 28:50, I'm a player who learned the wall jump from the little guys. I was stuck in the area and there was no way for me to leave the rooms, and I couldn't reset the game since there is a save station located there, which locked me in. And due to my progress, starting from the very beginning of the game was NOT going to be an option. I kept looking around and bombing/shooting everything. I started wondering about the green creatures, how they sing that jingle and how they don't damage you (and you cannot damage them as well. I saw what they were doing, and I would just try to jump along with them, even imitating their exact jump height and what not. I noticed a single sprite frame from Samus and thought it was somehow relevant during this. I pressed random buttons from frustration and then I saw that Samus would push off the wall. And I think the rest pretty much explains itself. It was a huge accomplishment for me, and I played this game when it released when I was 11 without other sources to learn from (e.g. guides, friends, etc).
holy shit. massive props to you. playing this game in this year for first time (on NSO) and i was STRUGGLING with this room in particular. i had to give up and look up the walljump tutorial.
Love the little details in sound you added, especially the Gmod physics jiggle noise when “hitting” Mother Brain.
27:43 I personally love the coloration of the gravity suit here, and they use it again in Zero Mission. Reason being is because it feels like the orange layers of the Varia Suit are being coated by a transparent purple pink aura
22:09
"Now who wants some speed, boi?"
I can't lie, that part is hilarious for some reason
So as I understand, Phantoon IS more fleshed out in the Japanese version of the manual to this game, and it more or less makes it out to be the ghost of the first Mother Brain, which then implies that the Phantoon in Other M is the ghost of the MB AI. It's not much, but it's a neat touch I think that actually explains the existence of these things, being more or less the ghost that's left behind when something with telepathic powers is destroyed. (And specifically, things that could control Metroids telepathically)
I wait even longer before fighting Spore Spawn. Since I already got Super Missiles, there is no rush to get him. I always fight him after getting a fully decked out Beam, and a single charge shot from a Plasma Beam is enough to kill him. The fight ends in 15 seconds. It feels great.
If you're good at wall jumps and shinesparks, you can do the same thing with crocomire. One charge shot and he just nopes himself all the way back into the acid. It's wonderful.
Edit: The point of being good at wall jumps and shine sparks is to skip grapple, in case that wasn't clear.
@@spaceduck413 Right, the Grapple Beam is something I really only use for Draygon.
I learned to wall jump from those little guys! But not when I first saw them.
I came across them but had no idea what they were doing and figured I'd find a power up along the way to help me get up the wall. I later came across the ostrich looking thing and figured out it was trying to show me how to use the shinespark.
Then it clicked that those 3 little guys were trying to teach me something. I went back to that spot and started messing around, jumping off of the wall.
It was a delayed lightbulb moment.
I would tell you what it felt like to have those little creatures teach me how to wall jump, but that was 1994 and I'm having trouble remembering last week.
I love how this game brings liberty to explore and experiment with your moves and your items, is very satisfying when you discover wall jump and you can skip parts that apparently required other things, one of my favorite games ever, great video btw
Man, I've watched this twice now. Excellent video, Trav. The amount of detail and work that went into it, it certainly didn't go unnoticed. Also really interested to see your full thoughts on Fusion when you get to it, I find that game really fascinating for a lot of reasons lol
34:10 it's actually possible to get both those missile tanks in one go. I've done it myself, but its very precise and if you screw it up you will have to make a second trip.
Referencing 'Spirituality' for the Ice Beam. Good call. \m/
I did learn wall jumping from the Etecoons. During my first playthrough I fell down there and realized right away the only way out was up. So I figured, if they can do it so can I.
Yeah, I remember the same, and then falling a lot. It took me a long time to figure out the timing: I had to re-wire my brain as the mechanic was different to games like Batman and Mega Man X.
About the wall jump, yep, I learned from the little critters. I can't really explain to you what the mental process was, I literally saw them do it and tried a few different combinations. Took me a few minutes but I got there.
Playing as kid on snes I figured out the walljump existed since we had seen it happen on accident few times while playing the game. Seeing them aliens chain it together to go up the shaft provided an excuse to learn how to do it. Recall how it took me a tremendous amount of time and lots and lots of foul words to reach the top.
This video has been a nice loop of me going "yep, yep, yep, _YOU CAN DO THAT?_ "
This game has my favorite music from any OST. Nothing comes close to it's unique composer and varied genres.
wrpng
yoy fotgot sonic's schoolhuose
I learned the wall jump from the aliens. I looked closely at their animation and noticed Samus’ when turning away mid jump. But this was when I was much older and finally beat the game myself. But as a kid, I was fortunate enough to never have found them LOL
28:50
I thought I was missing an upgrade to bounce off walls at first ngl, until it struck me that they were spinning like I was and I just tried spinning into the wall and I noticed Samus doing that little pose off the wall to indicate a jump. I didnt know what it meant at the time but I felt like I should at least move so I just started spamming buttons and I eventually hit the jump button again and figured out that I can just wall jump
This is super timely. I'm making my own retrospective on what I think makes the series special, and "Setting the Standard" is pretty much exactly how I'd define Super. What a great video. Great job!
Wish you the best on your retrospective!
@ThatTravGuy Why did you named the Metroid Bifalo
34:25 You actually can get both in one go. You have to land directly in the middle so you take out both sides. You can then jump to grab both, but you have to time it right.
The galactic federation in the chibi metroid parody getting put on voicemail made me laugh more than it should
Travguy: "I remember when I first learned I could roll under his legs..."
Me, who has played Super Metroid 3246 times: *surprised Pikachu face*
***
As someone who learned to wall jump from the trio of green aliens... my process for learning to wall jump was...to not learn it very well. In short, I learned it enough to exit that cursed chamber and then never fall down that pit of despair ever again to avoid having to deal with it.
Jeff lore time, my brother was convinced that you could use your ice beam and freeze enough enemies to run fast enough to shine spark up the chamber...he never could do it and had to resort to wall jumping, something that no one in my family can do well.
I love that quiet half life ragdoll impact sounds at 39:51 nice touch there.
For the controls, I also had Y to shoot, B to jump, and A to run!
But because I was playing on a Switch Pro Controller, I went into controller settings and made the ZR button read as an A button press
Using x to shoot was so awkward.
4:20 "Samus steals the baby Metroid that Samus saves in the previous game"
Oops...
The fact that you can sequence break the ever loving shit of Super Metroid makes it even better
Definitely not control wise
@@lilsoonerfaninmo disagree, while I think that ZM and Dread control better for sure, SM controls well. If you tell Samus to do a wall jump, with practice you can make it happen. and it should be noted that you never _have_ to do a wall jump
but it is a little bit too floaty in comparison to every entry after. if you bounced off of SM, I recommend giving ZM a try. it essentially takes this game and replaces the floatiness with the ability to just stop on a dime
When I learn how to wall jump from the those little critters. It was the single most frustrating thing I ever had to endure…I got to a point where I almost gave up but I kept at it and finally got it.
The best ending to a game is AM2R. After the credits, you feel elated. Then you hear "The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace..." You just get a sense of adrenaline and a lump in your throat. You then reach over to the Super Metroid cart to continue the adventure.
"Oh holy shit! FUZZY MEATLOAF!"
Johnny: "Did you just say fuzzy meatloaf?"
Super Metroid was the first Metroid game I've ever played, but I've never actually finished it until about 3 months ago. While it's not my favorite Metroid game, I definitely still really enjoyed it and it's at least among my Top 5 favorite Metroid games. :)
I love how the boss in the end hits you with a dragon ball z kamaya Maya😂😂
“Imagine seeing this as a kid in the 90s”. - yes. It was fucking dope.
I just played through it for the first time & loved it. I had a strange reverse nostalgia experience, where the music from Magmoor in Prime was in one of the areas here, and it was so cool when that song kicked in & I realised that this is where it came from
18:33
The devs expect you to figure it out (i suspect) with the map.
The part of upper Crateria where you go through the acid room, and you have to drop down to get the two missiles, you actually can land on the middle spot between the two sets of crumbling blocks and collect both missile tanks in one run. It is just tricky though
28:32 I in fact learned the wall jump from them. If you watch them closely, they jump to the wall and then briefly show the same animation Samus shows when you push your directional pad away from the wall. I remember I was standing at that spot for a good 5 minutes until I got it lol, and 5 more minutes until I reached the top.
29:01 That running was much easier to get, but I struggled with pressing down at the right moment lol.
20:16 Actually... I didn't figure that tube out watching the Demo... I didn't know that demo existed when I was figuring the tube out. The way I figured it out was... I went to Maridia and ran around there. Soon enough you cant get further and you are stuck and you come across a broken tube. So I was thinking "there got to be another entrance to Maridia"... and I remembered that there is that tube in Brinstar that also moves you to Maridia. When I ran around there... I seen that tube and thought "I seen something that looks like leftover of this"... and started to fiddle around, shoot some missiles, super missiles... super bomb... then the game froze and blew my mind back then, lol.
36:45 That wall... shows not the usual black, but whiter black. You see what I mean when you use your X-Ray Visor... parts that cant be walked through have a darker black color, this spot has a more greyish black. That's what gave it away for me.
The thing that's pissing me is that everyone runs around calling stuff "Metroidvania" when in fact Metroid is the very first game of that style. Ever. That Castlevania Simons Quest came out in 1987aproximately one year after Metroid. Even Zelda 2 The Adventure of Link came earlier. And Castlevania Symphony of the Night was all but re-picking up that style of game... and then Konami used it for every GameBoy Castlevania title afterwards.
Another grudge I have is nearly every "Metroidvania" that is released... is more Castlevania Symphony of the Night with melee combat and stuff... then Metroid. One of the few games close is Axiom Verge, but there are so many that are like Castlevania.
Regarding the animals teaching you how to wall jump. I just brute forced it until it worked. I never fully understood how to do it until, well, videos like this came about on YT. I never realised Samus would lean on the wall for a few frames.
I would have been around 10-11 years old when i first played this.
Great video, as always. There's countless 45 minute videos on this game out there, yet this one is very 'you' so it definitely has it's place.
Really interested in that tiny crocomire! He's my favourite boss. Scary AF back in the day.
Actually, The Wrecked Ship has NOT been retconned to be a Space Pirate Ship! You can find a few (i mean like...2) rooms of the Wrecked Ship in Chozodia back in Zero Mission that is NOT the Space Pirate Mothership!
28:49 my mental process: i fucked around until it worked
I first played Super Metroid a few years ago after getting the SNES Classic. I grew up with a Sega Genesis so never got to experience this game as a kid. I'm 30 now. When it comes to the wall jump, I had no idea that was a thing and when you get to the room where you're locked in and the creatures show you, it took me a while to under stand what the hell to do. I tried everything and then realized the little dweebs were showing me how to wall jump and it took a lot of trial and error to perfect the wall jump since the controls are very picky with it. But yeah, I learned the way the game intended I suppose. Not super hard. Definitely makes you think which I greatly appreciate since most games nowadays hold your hand way too much.
Be glad that you didn't have to learn it as a kid, like I did. Just left a comment about my experience of learning the wall jump and is glad more people commented their experience with it. ^^
Re: knowing how to nuke the Glass Maridia Tube Tunnel outside of watching the demo reel -
It's a pretty subtle thing, but there's a Broken Tube Tunnel in the wrecked ship; you're supposed to see this blowed-up version, equate it with the intact one in Maridia, and then get the light bulb to go off that there must be some way to turn an Intact Tube Tunnel into a No-Longer-Intact Tube Tunnel.
Or, you know, be like me - I was just plopping down a Power Bomb on every single screen 'cuz it was faster then X-ray-scoping all over, and pretty much lucked my way into blowing up the Tube Tunnel.
Also, I LOVE all the little visual touches they gave Samus in this game:
* She still gets New Shoulders when upgrading from her normal suit to the Varia Suit.
* Whenever the ambient lighting in an area is dim, her visor flickers and glows green.
* In any room where the heat can damage her in the standard suit, Samus takes on a softly pulsing reddish glow when she visits in the Varia or Gravity Suits.
* After Zebes explodes, Samus' ship shakes up and down for several seconds to REALLY sell the impact of an entire planet exploding nearby.
I learned to wall jump from the etecoons because I found that bird first. So by logic I figured if the ostrich could teach me the shinespark then these dudes could teach me how to get out of this hole. Granted I didn't learn any of these names until I was an adult and the bird I can never remember.
To answer your question on the wall jumping when I played Super Metroid on my Switch in my 20s: It was hell.
I never played a Metroid game before and I thought you needed some wall jumping ability to do it. I was pissed when I found out you had to wall jump yourself and I kept getting mad at not being able to do it right. XD
Needless to say, I basically lost my marbles in the process. -w-;
Been doing my yearly run of all 2d Metroids and my Super run was finished a few weeks ago this was a nice monday morning surprise
I know people who call the theme from lower norfair the magmoor caverns theme. It dives me absolutely insane when they do that.
As someone who's played this game many times since it came out, I never noticed the turning faces at the beginning. Truly a masterpiece! Looking forward to Metroid Dread!
Those turning faces gave me nightmares as a little kid. I loved this game but it was pretty scary (i was like 6 yrs old)
I learned to wall jump from the Etecoons all the way back in 1994. However, because I only learned last year that you have to tap away from the wall BEFORE you jump not AS you jump, it took a fucking while.
28:50 I learned it from those guys out of sheer frustration and determination. I WANTED to get up there.
This game was such a huge part of my childhood. This video actually made me want to start up another playthrough of the game after not having played it in years. It's just as good if not better than I remember.
It makes me really happy to see that one of my favorite TH-camrs is giving this game some well deserved love. Great video, Trav :D
29:30 so I played Super for the first time recently (Dread hype, basically) and didn't watch the demo. There is a room you pass through in Maridia shortly before the map room (if you come down directly from the right of the crashed ship) that has some crabs showing a somewhat hidden hole in the floor. That room has an already-destroyed water tunnel, hinting that you can blow it up. Between that, the map of the area I just got, and really having nowhere else to go, I figured it out without too much wasted time.
Felt pretty good. Hooray level design?
And that was very much intentional. I keep hearing people say the game is too obtuse and easy to get lost in, and I have to wonder if these people know how to use a map, or just observe the surroundings. The map tells you everything you need. Maridia is a bit convoluted even with the map, but considering how far into the game it is, not to mention the general lack of enemies as sources of obstruction, it's appropriately obtuse I think.
came for the metroid, stayed for the strapping young lad jokes
a few things. thank you for this video. I have been really, REALLY down the last.... christ month and a half and seeing this video break down my all time favorite game is so nice. I learned the wall jump from the Etecoons and i gotta say... it was weird trying to figure out the timing. like. I saw the little guys goin up and figured i could do the same. but it took me forever to actually make it up. and you can get the two missile tanks in one go in Crateria you just have to go down the middle of the room and react quick enough. it is a pain but doable.
29:54 "Oh look at the little baby phantoons, can I just- *screams of agony* "
My first playthrough as a kid ended when I saved at the wall jump tutorial
You and me both. I will be blunt that save is BS and the stupid aliens do not teach the wall jump well. The button combo needed for it was not at all clear enough.
So you wanna know how I learned to wall jump from those little guys? I actually did learn it from them and I will try to explain it as simply as I can. Here's how it was: you see, I was first wondering what they are doing but had no idea. But there were three of them and as they were jumping, they were making these strange triangular shapes. Three, triangular shape... they certainly must have implied pyramids! So I knew I had to look there. So I started to study ancient egyptian hieroglyphics and didn't find much of anything helpful until I once came upon one that had such a strange shape that reminded me of a violin... or a guitar. I'm not too sure. But it dawned upon me that the key to look for is in music. So I browsed through a lot of legendary bands - The Beatles, AC/DC, Nirvana, Iron Maiden, even friggin Nickelback. Yes, even Nickelback. But sadly, I couldn't find anything that could help me with solving this task in their lyrics... Feeling disappointed and almost about to give up, one day I had another epiphany. Maybe I was doing it wrong? Maybe I looked in wrong places even though the answer was so close all along. It came when I found an old Elvis Presley album. And there was an answer! Do you remember how Elvis was swinging on a stage moving his hips left and right while performing his classical moves? Sometimes he was also jumping! I connected alll the dots and finally figured it all out. I had to jump high and then press left and right as I was bouncing off the walls. Yes, all of this totally made sense to me then. I'm thankful to these guys for making it so clear.
Super Metroid was my first Metroid game (thx Somecallmejohnny), and I was engrossed in this game’s atmosphere and speechless storytelling. This is my favorite SNES game ever and is tied with Sonic 3, Mario Galaxy, and Megaman X as one of my favorite games of all time.
same finally beat it a few days ago he made me interested in it for years
28:38 I only recently (like 2 months ago) learned how to wall jump. So way back on my first playthrough, when i got in that spot, with no space jump and of course having saved in that hole, my only option to get out of there was with the bomb jump. And I always had difficulty to find the proprer rythm too. Sigh, I always dreaded to go back into that hole and on future playthroughs always made sure I had the space jump before going there.
This game, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, are the gold standards of this genre of game. They may have been surpassed in some areas by other titles, but few games even come close.
There's a reason it is still as beloved as it is today. And to the haters: Try it. Play it, even with a guide, even with NSO emulation. It's fun as heck.
man, i love those random quick jokes you put in there like its no big deal lmao
"aw yeah, super missiles. these things fuck."
Did nobody notice it was the Somecallmejohnny logo at 3:05? He's such a great TH-camr, and a long time Metroid fan as well.
So I’m wondering did Trav buy the game from Johnny at TMG or did he buy it and have him autograph it?
That was the joke…
@@Hipno702 either way, that's a really cool thing to have. Johnny is a legend, and low and behold he's redoing his 2d metroid review right now. Super metroid is next haha
I’m actually more amused you guys never watched somecallmejohnnys video on it, they both make the same joke but with each other’s mark
@@HiddenAccount wow lol I've seen that video a dozen times over the years and didn't remember that at all haha. Do you have a link? I don't remember that in the original sgb review
The funny thing about Other M and phantoon is that as it turns out, as shown in concept art, phantoon isnt JUST that head. He actually has a full body and hes peeking his face into our dimension.
*...Oh.*
I played this game for the first time last month on Nintendo Switch Online. Wall jumping gave me nightmares, specially being so used to MegaMan X controls. That said, amazing game, should have played it years ago.
I had never played metroid. Your video made me try it and now I have a new series to try out. Thanks!
In anticipation of Metroid Dread , ive been playing Super Metroid for the very first time on my switch.. I loved Metroid fusion alot as a kid & ive been throughly enjoying this game.. Im really glad i found your video on this.
Learning the wall jump from the aliens was quite possibly the most frustrating process possible. It was a mind-numbing repetition of jumping into the wall, trying everything possible. The first wall jump was mind-blowing, but it must have taken at least a half hour to achieve relative repeatability. I had an easier time mastering the space jump in Metroid II. It is a master class of forcing you to become proficient in something before allowing progression, however. Depite this frustration, I can't bring myself to fault the game. It's my favorite childhood video game adventure.
Thanks for your work on this video.
Man I'm disappointed I didn't find you sooner, I love this style of heavily edited gameplay fused with trivia fused with a review all with comedic writing. And no that's not just because that's the style of videos I make too.
Watching this right after Johnny's review gave me joy with the moment at 3:05
Love the video, excellent synopsis of all the important nuances, though this game’s mechanics are on a different level to almost anything. Seems to me the beginning escape sequence door transfer was to differentiate the atmosphere of the station versus the planet. The planets doors would need to protect the contents of the rooms with hard (impermeable without the energy blaster) barriers wheres the supposedly sterile environment of the station is right at home with auto doors. Very much a this will not be that moment when you land on the planet.
I just realized that SNES Ridley, Draygon, and Kraid use Anguirus' roar from the Godzilla franchise.
After watching this I can see why Super is loved as much as it is and the amount of speed run strats and sequence breaking, intentional or otherwise, will never stop being amazing to me
actually since the prime trilogy is sandwiched between metroid 1 and 2, it's more like "ridley is back from being a cyborg for god knows how long."
also the wrecked ship isnt a space pirate ship. the mothership from zero mission is not only located in a different area, you actually go through a small part of the wrecked ship if you decide to backtrack to the rest of the map after getting the power bombs.
Amazing review, Trav, and I would agree the game truly lacks in feeding you some important information. I remember having replayed last year after something around... 10 years? Since the last playthrough, and felt completely lost and stuck more than once, specially Maridia. The "drop down at the spikes" part also drove me insane, as I truly had no idea I had to do that and, once I did, it felt pretty weird and unnecessary.
Interesting, I wonder what your thoughts are on Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, you seem like someone who greatly enjoys it, or would if you played it.
my guess with the fake spikes in maridia is there's crumble grapple blocks and a red herring missile expansion where you would normally go without thinking about, which makes me think they expected players to fuck up and land on the spikes, go "hey why aren't i taking damage", investigate further and find draygon's entrance.
I think most of SM's main progression is communicated even if pretty subtly, like youtuber nerrel pointed out how in the route into maridia most players would take (crateria entrance) it has a broken pipe that looks nearly identical to the one bridging brinstar, implying it can be broken. Or how the map station in brinstar tells you there's more map right of norfair's entrance, tipping you off on how to get to kraid.
Some of the optional expansions though? Man some of them i have no idea how a player would find without a strategy guide or by accident. I guess not being required lets them get away with being obtuse, lol.
Remember drawing Metroid comic back in 4 grade and wining 2 place on local tv station VG drawing contest with a box drawing collage. This game was so inspiring for me.
Fun fact: the space pirate ship from Zero Mission is NOT the wrecked ship from Super Metroid. You can enter the wrecked ship in Zero Mission
I subscribe to the fan theory that Maridia is the flooded ruins of Chozodia and the exploded mothership.
Dude I'm so glad I found your channel. Super Metroid and Doom have been my all time favorites that I still play over and over to thos day.
Also feel like we are very similar people. Have also beaten this game numerous times (first time I was 4 years old, somehow???) and Norfair is just a maze to me with almost every playthough I've done.
Also remember bawling my eyes out when Mother Brain killed the Metroid then proceeding to kick the ever loving shit out of her for killing my friend. Being a kid in the 90s was awesome.