The original Metroid was released in Japan in 1986, and hit the United States one year later. The planet of Zebes was full of life, with creatures large and small sprawling over the planet’s interior. Each area was distinctly different, and housed a tough boss character. Heroine Samus Aran’s gender was kept a secret until the conclusion of the game, shocking many gamers. After the success of the first game, the original girl of gaming headed for the Metroid home planet in Metroid II: Return of Samus. It was the first game in the series to be released on a handheld, and proved to be quite popular. And in 1994, Super Metroid was released, boasting better graphics, a darker mood, and some of the most challenging boss battles in the entire series.
Twelve years passed. Samus made a brief appearance in Super Smash Bros., and there were rumors of a Metroid title for the N64, but no such game was released. Then in 2002 Nintendo released Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion, two Metroid titles that drastically changed the way the series was played. Using the same basic engine as Metroid Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission followed two years later. Zero Mission was both a remake and a re-imagining of the original Metroid game. The graphics were significantly updated and the soundtrack given a cleaner sound due to the capabilities of the Gameboy Advance.
Zero Mission brought back the three most famous villains in all of Metroid history: Kraid, Ridley, and Mother Brain. Their boss fights were changed slightly, as their attacks were now more varied. These villains even received their own cutscenes from time to time, which expanded on their story – something that confused some gamers in the original Metroid. An extended ending was also included, which showed Samus destroying the space pirate mothership after defeating Mother Brain. Players controlled Samus in her zero suit for the first time, and while the controls remained the same, Samus' defensive and offensive capabilities were altered greatly. Because of this, players were required to be more stealthy in the presence of space pirate patrols. The new ending focused heavily on the space pirates, helping to bridge the gap to their story in the Metroid Prime titles.
The game flowed more smoothly, even in the smallest of ways. No longer were load-ins for each individual area present. Granted, they were very short in the original game, but in Zero Mission they were nonexistent. Three separate save files were included, as well as two difficulty settings. Two image galleries could be unlocked, one upon completing the game multiple times with different criteria, and the other by linking Zero Mission to Metroid Fusion. As if Nintendo hadn’t managed to pack enough material into a single cartridge already, the original Metroid was included, completely unaltered from its initial NES release.
Some critics of the series complain about the cast being so small (with the exception of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption). But the story of Metroid is about Samus' growth. Her initial intent is to seek revenge upon the space pirates for destroying her home, killing her parents, and taking away any chance she may have had at a childhood. In Zero Mission, Samus is no-holds barred against the space pirates, as they have now defaced her adopted home planet of Zebes and turned everything the Chozo people worked for towards their own sinister purposes. Samus matures over the course of the game, and the desolation she experiences is both physically and metaphorically appropriate.
Zero Mission is one of few gaming remakes that is arguably better than the original. While it can never replace the first Metroid, Zero Mission took the mechanics of its predecessors and fine-tuned them. Its cutscenes were rendered beautifully and its graphics finely polished. It may not have been as difficult as the original, but then again it was nowhere near as frustrating either. Zero Mission provided some of the best handheld gaming in years, and showed just how well a series can age.
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