Bounty hunter Samus Aran has starred in a number of adventures in Nintendo’sMetroidseries; there have been 15 titles within the series since its initial launch in 1986. But whilethe series is renowned for its quality, not all of the installments have been classics.
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Regardless of availability, some Metroid games are just better than others. And, when you look at the series as a whole, it isn’t difficult to establish a hierarchy from weakest to best.
15Metroid Prime: Federation Force
Not many games in this franchise manage to actually reach the point of being bad, butMetroid Prime: Federation Forcemanages it in no small part because it’s an uninspired shooter in a franchise known for being immersive and exploratory.
Even worse for Federation Force is that it was a follow-up to another bad game in the franchise, thus leaving fans feeling as if it were a hasty title made to cash in on the brand instead of a passion project. It’s safe to skip this one and forget about it altogether.
14Metroid: Other M
Between its development with Team Ninja and its promise of focusing on story, fans were very excited forMetroid: Other M. Then it actually released, and the story it contained removed much of the agency and independence that had made Samus Aran an iconic woman of gaming history.
This was only compounded by a remarkably awkward control scheme, a linear experience with little backtracking, and strange justification for its mechanics. Other M is a game Metroid fans are eager to pretend never existed if it is at all possible to do so.
13Metroid Prime Pinball
If you make a series of games where the protagonist rolls up into a ball, it only makes sense that eventually designers will get a pinball game out of it. So it was with Metroid Prime Pinball, which ranks rather low simply because… it’s a pinball game, lacking the signature features of other Metroid games.
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This doesn’t mean the game is a bad pinball game; it just means that when Metroidliterally helped name the Metroidvania genre, a pinball game is probably not something fans want. But it is a perfectly fine pinball game.
12Metroid Prime Hunters
A multiplayer-focused spinoff of the Metroid Prime franchise, Metroid Prime Hunters introduced some memorable characters and solid mechanics. As a game by itself, it is in fact a good title, but it gets completely overshadowed by the main series.
This is not surprising when one considers that Hunters is a portable game when the main FPS games were on consoles that were both more powerful and more suited to the controls necessary. This marks the game as a somewhat forgotten, yet still admirable, entry in the series.
11Metroid II: Return Of Samus
There is no denying that the Game Boy was a capable mobile gaming experience withsome excellent features. However, handling Samus Aran’s second outing might have been just a little bit more than it could manage, and Metroid II: Return of Samus suffers for it.
Between the needs of portable gaming and the lesser hardware, it’s difficult not to feel like this second outing was weaker than the initial offering. That doesn’t keep it from being fun, but it notably pales compared to other entries.
The first installment of a series should not be its best, and such is the case for the original Metroid. While the first game is a classic and a lot of fun, it suffers compares to what would come later – especially with its awkward password system and lack of mapping.
Adding to that is the fact that many components of the series that would go on to be staples did not originate in the first game, making the title feel simultaneously simple and too elaborate for its hardware. But, its status as a classic NES title is beyond reproach.
9Metroid: Samus Returns
A good remakeupdates a game for a new audience, and this remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus does exactly that. Not only does it address many of the fan issues with the Game Boy original,Metroid: Samus Returnsexpands and lengthens the game to offer a new experience for veterans.
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This title does still have weaknesses, however, in no small part because a remake is also reliant upon its source material to reach its full potential. Some of the added elements for this remake were also a bit more questionable, but it led to the developers getting bigger projects in the future.
8Metroid: Zero Mission
At its heart,Metroid: Zero Missionis just the original Metroid with updated graphics and mechanics that more closely match what became the standard in later installments. And that is more than enough to make this a strictly superior version of the original, including more boss fights, more exploration, and more content.
The one weakness is the game’s behavior after players beat the original final boss, which adds a tacked-on stealth section and a new final boss that feels less necessary. But when so much else is going right, there’s little to complain about.
7Metroid Prime: Trilogy
There’s little to say about theMetroid Prime: Trilogyrelease that cannot be said about the original games. Which might make it seem a little bit odd that it rates below them when it contains all of the original games with an updated control scheme.
Unfortunately, therein lies the main problem: the updated control scheme can be a bit awkward compared to the original, and some of the minor changes and the sheer volume of content makes the games run together. But this is still an excellent compilation.
6Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Almost anyone who played the first half of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes would see it as an evolution of its predecessor. Unfortunately, the second half of the game turns into an extended scavenger hunt for plot reasons rather than having players hunt down items to make obvious forward progress.
This doesn’t make Metroid Prime 2 a bad game. It’s just ultimately the weakest of what is (at the moment) a trilogy.
