It feels good to type Metroid as the title of this review. It’s just good old Metroid, nothing more, and nothing less. Some may wonder why Nintendo would release the original Metroid in the Classic NES series because they already released the spiffy remake of Metroid in Metroid: Zero Mission. For those who have played both this original and Zero Mission, you would know that Zero Mission is practically a completely new game. While that is a valid reason in itself to include Metroid in the Classic series, you really need no other reason than the absolute truth that you cannot get a game that defines classic much more than Metroid.

Like many of the Classic NES Series games, Metroid definitely caters towards the older generation of gamers who played these games growing up. I remember the first time I played Metroid. I was seven or maybe eight years old and Wal-Mart had one of those cool twelve game NES systems set up in the electronics department. Back then I couldn’t afford Nintendo Power, and there was no such thing as the Internet. The only way I learned about new games was through the push-button NES at Wal-Mart, or by begging my mom to let me rent a game. For some reason on this day, the name Metroid caught my eye. Probably because I was all about outer space as my Dad had me hooked on Star Trek: The Next Generation when I was six, and Metroid sounded like Asteroid. Needless to say, I was thrilled when it indeed turned out to be a space game! I remember after I died several times heading to the right from the start, I decided to go left. When I found the morph ball to the left, I felt like I made the biggest discovery ever! I don’t know what to say, I was seven. Soon afterward I proceeded to the next step in my gaming cycle and begged my Mom to let me rent it. I don’t think I ever made it very far in the game back then but I loved every second of it.

I remember Metroid being very hard from my NES adventures with it years ago, and that has not changed one bit. Even now, almost twenty years later, Metroid will still kick my butt if I start to slack off. When you start the game your power beam doesn’t even travel across the whole screen. You can’t crouch, and you can’t fire at an angle or even downward while you are jumping. There is no map of any kind, and no clues to where you should be headed next. The game doesn’t even start you with full health! There is also no intro story of any kind. Once you press start it throws you straight into the game.

Thankfully Metroid is not about the story. Metroid is about the adventure, and without the map and clues that we have come to rely on, this game make is about the adventure even more. Where is the next weapon? Where are the missiles and energy tanks? Good luck, you’re going to need it! Metroid is HARDCORE and relentless. If you are up for a challenge, then step right up. If you haven’t played the Metroid that spawned all the others, then you owe it to yourself to see where it started, as well as to make you appreciate the forgiveness Nintendo offers you with all of Metroid’s much easier sequels.