The Metroid series is a collection of action-adventure video games created by Nintendo. In these games, players control Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates. These pirates try to use the power of creatures called Metroids. The games mix the jumping and running style of Super Mario Bros. with the exploring of The Legend of Zelda. They take place in a science fiction world and allow players to explore different areas in any order. Most games in the series use side-scrolling views, while some newer games use a first-person perspective. Players fight alien enemies and collect special abilities as they move through the game world. There are few characters in the games who are not controlled by the player.
The first Metroid game was made by Nintendo's research and development team and released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Metroid II: Return of Samus came out for the Game Boy in 1991. Super Metroid, released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, added more abilities and a more detailed story. After a break, the first 3D Metroid game, Metroid Prime, was developed by Retro Studios and released for the GameCube in 2002. It was also released alongside Metroid Fusion for the Game Boy Advance. Later games included Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) for the Wii.
Metroid: Other M (2010), made by Team Ninja for the Wii, received less positive reviews. After another break, MercurySteam created a remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus called Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) for the Nintendo 3DS. This was followed by Metroid Dread (2021) for the Nintendo Switch. After a long development process, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was released for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
By 2012, the Metroid series had sold over 17.44 million copies. It has been called one of the best game series by many publications, and several Metroid games are listed among the greatest games of all time. The series has also appeared in other Nintendo media, such as the Super Smash Bros. games. Other media include music, comics, and manga. Early Metroid games, along with the 1997 Konami game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, helped create the Metroidvania subgenre, which includes games with large, side-scrolling worlds to explore. Samus Aran was one of the first well-known female characters in video games.
Gameplay
The Metroid series includes elements from shooter, platformer, adventure, survival, and first-person games. The series is known for its non-linear progression and format where the player controls only Samus Aran, with few or no other characters to interact with. The player gains items and power-ups for Samus’s special suit mainly through exploration, and sometimes by defeating alien creatures in real-time combat using the suit’s arm cannon. Many of these upgrades allow the player to explore new areas. A common upgrade is the Morph Ball, which lets Samus curl into a ball, roll into tight spaces, and plant bombs. Another well-known ability is the Shinespark, which allows Samus to charge her Power Suit with energy and run and dash at high speeds. This ability helps the Power Suit break through certain walls. While not required to finish the games, it gives access to secret areas and is important for speedrunning.
The classic Metroid games are 2D side-scrollers, while the Metroid Prime series uses a first-person perspective and first-person shooter mechanics. The 2010 game Other M uses a third-person shooter format.
The original Metroid was influenced by two Nintendo franchises: Mario, which inspired its platform-jumping sections, and The Legend of Zelda, which inspired its non-linear exploration. Metroid stood out for its atmosphere of loneliness and tension. It was also one of the first games to allow players to explore to the left, right, and back to previously visited areas to find hidden items and paths. Since the late 1990s, the term "Metroidvania" has been used to describe this style of gameplay. According to Edge magazine, Metroid is called "the thinking man's shooter," where weapons are more about progressing through the game than fighting enemies, and environments present greater challenges than enemies.
The Metroid series is known for its unique video game music. Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, the composer of the original Metroid, aimed to create a score that made players feel like they were encountering a "living creature," with no clear difference between music and sound effects. The main Metroid theme was only played after defeating Mother Brain, intended to give players a sense of relief. Kenji Yamamoto, who composed the music for Super Metroid, created some themes by humming while riding his motorcycle to work. He was asked to compose the music for Metroid Prime to continue the series’ musical style. The surround sound in Metroid Prime was mixed by a member of Dolby.
Developers from Retro Studios noted that the 6 MB memory limit for sound effects in Metroid Prime was important for creating a high-quality soundtrack, as each sound had to be of high quality. Yamamoto used heavy drums, piano, chants, pipe clangs, and electric guitar. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption used the increased RAM of the Wii to include higher-quality audio samples. Kenji Yamamoto, who composed music for Super Metroid and the Prime trilogy, kept the music and themes dark and scary until the end of Metroid Prime 3, when uplifting music played during the credits.
Plot
The Metroid franchise is set in a science fiction world where humans are part of a group of space-traveling nations called the Galactic Federation. Other alien species, such as the Chozo, a bird-like race with advanced technology and skills in bioengineering, are also members of the Federation. The main enemies of the Federation and the Chozo are the Space Pirates, a group of space-faring villains made up of many different alien races that refuse to follow the Federation’s rules. They are led by Ridley, a dragon-like warlord, and plan to create dangerous weapons using harmful life forms and materials to destroy the Federation and take control of the galaxy.
The Metroids are a type of jellyfish-like creature that feeds on a hidden energy found in all living things. The Chozo created the Metroids as a weapon to stop a dangerous virus called the "X" that threatened their civilization. Although the Metroids helped eliminate the X, they became a threat to the Chozo when they evolved into more dangerous forms. Many of the games focus on the efforts of groups like the Space Pirates, the Galactic Federation, and some Chozo who act alone, to use the Metroids as weapons and the conflicts that follow.
The story follows Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who fights the Space Pirates and the Metroids. Samus was raised by the Chozo after her parents were killed in an attack by the Space Pirates led by Ridley. She works for the Galactic Federation’s military before becoming a bounty hunter, while facing enemies like Ridley and Mother Brain, a powerful cybernetic lifeform.
In the original Metroid and its remake, Zero Mission, Samus travels to the planet Zebes to stop the Space Pirates from using the Metroids to create weapons. She defeats Mother Brain, as well as Ridley and another Space Pirate leader named Kraid.
In Metroid II and its remake, Samus Returns, the Galactic Federation orders Samus to destroy all Metroids on their home planet, SR388. She succeeds in killing the Metroids there but saves one baby Metroid, which bonds to her and is taken to a research station. Later, in Super Metroid, Ridley steals the baby Metroid and takes it to Zebes, where the Space Pirates are trying to clone the Metroids. Samus kills Ridley and Mother Brain, who nearly kills her, but is saved by the grown Metroid, which sacrifices itself. Samus destroys Mother Brain and escapes as Zebes explodes. In Metroid: Other M, Samus investigates a derelict research station called the Bottle Ship with a Federation team led by her former commander, Adam Malkovich. They fight bioweapons, including clones of enemies like Ridley and the Metroids. A revived Mother Brain, now in a human-like body, tries to control the Metroids, but Samus stops her, costing Adam his life. Samus later defeats an entity called Phantoon and destroys the Bottle Ship.
In Metroid Fusion, Samus joins scientists on SR388, where the X parasites return. The X take over a research station, and Samus is infected but saved by a vaccine made from the baby Metroid’s cells. She discovers the Federation is secretly cloning Metroids and destroys the station to eliminate the X. In Metroid Dread, the Federation sends advanced robots called E.M.M.I. to investigate a planet called ZDR, where X parasites are found. Samus is sent to the planet after contact is lost, where she fights the X and a Chozo criminal named Raven Beak, who wants to use Metroid DNA to clone an army.
The Metroid Prime series, made by Retro Studios, is a side story that takes place between Metroid and Metroid II. In Metroid Prime, Samus goes to Tallon IV to stop the Space Pirates from using a dangerous substance called Phazon, which has poisoned the planet. She defeats a powerful Ridley and a Phazon-infected Metroid to clean up the planet.
In Metroid Prime Hunters, Samus answers a distress call to the Alimbic Cluster, where other bounty hunters, including Sylux, join her to fight an enemy named Gorea.
In Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Samus explores Aether, a planet affected by Phazon, which has split the world into "light" and "dark" dimensions. The dark side is ruled by the Ing, and Samus faces a version of herself called Dark Samus, a Metroid Prime that resembles her. In Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Samus and other bounty hunters are sent to stop Dark Samus from spreading Phazon across the galaxy. Samus fights to avoid being infected herself and destroys Phazon and her double.
In Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Samus is mind-controlled by the Space Pirates. A group of elite soldiers called the Federation Force fights to rescue her and defeat the Space Pirates.
In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, set after Super Metroid, Samus helps defend a Galactic Federation facility on Tanamaar from a Space Pirate attack led by Sylux, a rival bounty hunter who uses Metroids to control the pirates. A mysterious artifact activates, teleporting Samus and others to the planet Viewors. The extinct Lamorn people of Viewors have a prophecy about a hero who must plant a seed called Memory Fruit on another planet to preserve their legacy. After reuniting with Federation soldiers and finding a way home, Samus faces Sylux, who is too powerful to defeat. Her allies sacrifice themselves so she can complete the Lamorn’s task.
Development and history
The main people involved in creating and developing the Metroid series include Satoru Okada, who directed the first Metroid game and started the series; Yoshio Sakamoto, who designed characters for the first game and directed or supervised many later games; Gunpei Yokoi, who led the R&D1 division and helped make the first two games; Makoto Kano, who wrote the story for Metroid, helped design the second game, and produced the third; and Hiroji Kiyotake, who designed characters for the original game.
The first Metroid game, an action game for the Family Computer Disk System, was made by Nintendo's R&D1 division. It was released in Japan on August 6, 1986. Later, it was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in August 1987 and in Europe on January 15, 1988. Satoru Okada directed the game.
Metroid was designed to be a shooting game that combined the jumping mechanics of Super Mario Bros. with the open exploration of The Legend of Zelda and a more serious style. The game's name comes from combining "metro" (like a subway) and "android," which refers to the robot-like character and the game's underground setting. During development, a team member suggested the idea of the character being a woman, and the idea was approved. The game was also influenced by the 1979 movie Alien, which inspired the name "Ridley" for a villain and the design of creatures in the game.
Metroid II: Return of Samus was released for the Game Boy in 1991 in North America and in 1992 in Japan and Europe. It helped define Samus Aran's appearance, including a new suit called the Varia Suit and different weapons.
Because R&D1 was busy, Nintendo asked Intelligent Systems to make Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Development began in late 1991, and the game was released in 1994. It expanded the Metroid series with new abilities and a more detailed story. It was well-received and considered one of the best SNES games. Yoshio Sakamoto, who designed characters for the first Metroid, directed and produced most of the 2D Metroid games after this.
For eight years after Super Metroid, no new Metroid games were released. Nintendo struggled to create a Metroid game for the Nintendo 64, as they were unsure how to use the controller for movement. A company declined to make a Metroid game for the Nintendo 64, fearing they could not match the quality of Super Metroid. Samus appeared in the Virtual Boy game Galactic Pinball (1995) and in the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros. (1999).
In 2000, Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto visited Retro Studios in Texas. He was not interested in their current projects but played a game called Action Adventure, which had a female main character. Miyamoto asked Retro to make a Metroid game for the GameCube instead. The team stopped working on Action Adventure and began developing Metroid Prime.
Metroid Prime, the first 3D Metroid game, was released in 2002. It changed the open structure of Super Metroid to a first-person perspective. Nintendo said it was not a shooter but an "adventure" game. It was well-received, sold 2.84 million copies worldwide, and was the best-selling Metroid game until Metroid Dread (2021).
In 2000, Nintendo also released Metroid Fusion, a 2D game for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It was made by R&D1 and directed by Sakamoto. Its gameplay was similar to Super Metroid but had a more structured, mission-based format. The next GBA game was Zero Mission (2004), a remake of the original Metroid. Both games were praised. In 2003, R&D1 was merged with R&D2.
In 2004, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was released, featuring Samus switching between light and dark worlds and having more difficult challenges. In 2005, Metroid Prime Pinball was released for the DS by Fuse Games. Metroid Prime Hunters, a multiplayer game by Nintendo Software Technology, came out in 2006. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, released for the Wii in 2007, added motion controls and had Samus explore different planets. By the late 2000s, Nintendo focused more on casual gamers, and Metroid Prime 3 received little marketing due to its complex gameplay.
The Prime games were later released as a compilation called Metroid Prime: Trilogy for the Wii. Only a limited number of copies were made, and Nintendo stopped producing them in 2010, suggesting people buy used copies instead. In the late 2000s, Next Level Games made a Metroid prototype for the Nintendo 3DS but it was not chosen. Instead, they developed Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon.
During the Wii's time, Nintendo focused on simpler games, so the next Metroid game, Metroid: Other M, had simpler controls and a more story-focused approach. It was made by Team Ninja and directed by Sakamoto. Released for the Wii in 2010, it used a third-person perspective and had weaker reviews. Critics said Samus was portrayed as too emotional and the game reduced exploration. It was considered a failure for the series. No major Metroid game was released for seven years.
A Metroid minigame called "Metroid Blast" appeared in Nintendo Land (2012) for the Wii U. It had mixed reviews. In 2016, Metroid Prime: Federation Force was released by Next Level, but it was criticized for its focus on multiplayer and a casual tone. A fan petition to cancel the game had thousands of signatures, and it was not shown at E3 2016. It sold poorly.
In the mid-2010s, MercurySteam, a Spanish studio, proposed remaking Metroid II. Sakamoto was impressed by their work on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (2013) and asked them to remake Metroid II. Metroid: Samus Returns (2017) kept the side-scrolling gameplay of the original and added 3D graphics and a new attack style inspired by Castlevania.
Reception
In 1996, Metroid was ranked as the 70th best game by Next Generation, and in 1999, it was ranked as the 6th best game. In 2008, IGN listed the Metroid franchise as the 8th best game series. In 2001, Electronic Gaming Monthly named Super Metroid the best game ever. By 2005, all Metroid games were included in a Nintendo Power list of the top 200 Nintendo games. Prime was listed in IGN’s top 100, and Metroid, Super Metroid, Prime, and Echoes were included in a GameFAQs user list. Metroid and Super Metroid were also listed in Game Informer’s rankings, and Prime and Super Metroid were included in Edge’s list. The Metroid series influenced games such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Samus Aran was recognized by Guinness World Records as "enduringly popular" and as the "first playable human female character in a mainstream video game." However, Toby Masuyo ("Kissy") from Namco’s Alien Sector was released one year earlier. Ridley was the second-most requested Nintendo character by IGN and the most requested by fans to be added to the Super Smash Bros. series. Mother Brain is often named as one of the best video game bosses.
The original Metroid was praised for its "eerie" music, which created a "sense of mystery and exploration" and made the game "moody and atmospheric." IGN noted that the music was well-timed and added suspense. GameSpot said Super Metroid was better than the original "in literally every conceivable way." Metroid Fusion was praised for its "understated score," which matched the adventure’s mood, and for its excellent stereo sound effects, which made it a standout experience on the Game Boy Advance. Metroid Prime won multiple Game of the Year awards. IGN described the aural experience of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes as "mesmerizing." Music from the Metroid series has been frequently re-released in "best of" video game music collections. Metroid Prime’s soundtrack was called the best sound design on the GameCube. The sound effects were also noted for their accuracy and how well they blended with the soundtrack.
Each Metroid game, except for spin-offs and remakes, has sold more than one million copies. By September 2012, the series had sold over 17.44 million copies worldwide. Metroid sales in Japan have typically been lower than in the United States. In its debut week in Japan, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption sold 32,388 units, ranking it behind Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wii Fit, and Gundam Musou Special. Metroid: Other M was the third-bestselling video game in Japan during its release week, with 45,398 copies sold, ranking it behind Wii Party and Monster Hunter Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village. It sold an additional 11,239 copies the following week.
Legacy
The 1997 Konami game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the early Metroid games helped create a subgenre called "Metroidvania." Tom Happ, the creator of the 2015 game Axiom Verge, described Metroidvania games as side-scrolling adventures with large, connected maps instead of separate levels. Players must collect items and revisit areas to progress. Other well-known Metroidvania games include Cave Story (2004), Shadow Complex (2009), Ori and the Blind Forest (2014), Hollow Knight (2017), and Chasm (2018). The Metroid series is one of a few game series with genres named after them, along with Dark Souls (Soulslike) and Rogue (Roguelike).
In 2016, a fan-made remake of Metroid II called AM2R was released. Nintendo sent legal notices to stop its distribution, fearing harm to its intellectual property. AM2R was nominated for the Game Awards 2016 but was later removed because Nintendo had not approved its inclusion.
Samus Aran is a playable character in all five Super Smash Bros. games. Starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, players can also control Zero Suit Samus, a version of Samus wearing a blue outfit from Zero Mission and the Prime series. Ridley appears in Super Smash Bros. as a character flying through the level Zebes and in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a trophy and in the game’s opening scene, where he fights Samus at Ceres Space Station. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ridley is a boss in two forms. A version of Ridley from Metroid: Other M appears as a boss in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and joins a player’s team if defeated. Due to fan demand, Ridley became a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Kraid appears as a stage hazard in Super Smash Bros. Melee and as a trophy. Other characters, such as Metroids, Mother Brain, and Dark Samus, appear as trophies or stickers in the Super Smash Bros. series. Dark Samus later became a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, sharing moves similar to Samus. Battle stages from the Metroid series also appear in Super Smash Bros. games.
Samus has appeared in other Nintendo games, including Super Mario RPG, the NES version of Tetris, Tetris DS, Galactic Pinball, Kirby Super Star, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, and WarioWare.
A character resembling Samus, called Komayto, appears in Kid Icarus for the NES. The game Kid Icarus: Uprising references the similarity between Komayto and Samus. In Dead or Alive: Dimensions, a stage is based on the arena from Metroid: Other M, and Samus and Ridley appear as non-playable characters. Team Ninja’s Yosuke Hayashi explained that Samus was not playable in the game because it was better for her to focus on her role in Metroid. A Metroid Blast minigame based on the series appears in Nintendo Land. A Samus amiibo figure can unlock a Mii costume in Mario Kart 8 and a Samus costume in Super Mario Maker.
In 2020, Nintendo and Epic Games discussed including Samus as a skin in Fortnite. Details emerged in 2021 during the Epic Games v. Apple case. Other characters like Kratos and Master Chief were added to Fortnite in 2020, but Samus was not. In 2024, former Fortnite creative director Donald Mustard explained that Nintendo wanted the Samus skin to be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, which conflicted with Fortnite’s policy of keeping the game the same across all platforms.
A Metroid animated series was considered for the Super Mario Bros. Power Hour in the 1980s. Concept art for the series was created, including a male version of Samus. The Power Hour idea was abandoned, and The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! aired in 1989 instead. Mother Brain was the main villain in the TV show Captain N: The Game Master.
Magazines have published comics and manga based on Metroid, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid: Zero Mission in the U.S. and Japan. Samus and other characters also appeared in Captain N: The Game Master comics by Valiant Comics. In Japan, a Metroid manga series began in Monthly Magazine Z in 2003 and ran for 16 chapters, later collected into two volumes. The story followed Samus’ life up to the events of the original game and influenced later games in the series. Another Metroid manga, Metroid: Samus and Joey, was published in Comic Bom Bom.
In 2003, two producers bought the rights to make a live-action Metroid movie, but the rights expired. John Woo later acquired the rights, and his studio planned to release the film by 2006. The film’s writers included David Greenwalt, who worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Grimm. The movie would have explored Samus’ origin story, showing her as a skilled but flawed character seeking redemption. Nintendo was hesitant to provide details about Samus’ personal life, relationships, or other traits. In 2013, Sakamoto said he would support a Metroid film directed by Ryuji Kitaura, the director of Other M’s CG scenes, if the concept was strong enough. In 2025, filmmaker Chris Stuckmann said it was his dream to direct a Metroid movie. An industry insider named DanielRPK reported on his Patreon page that a Metroid movie is reportedly in development.