Metroid is a video game series published by Nintendo and primarily produced by the company's first-party developers, though second-party Fuse Games and third-party Team Ninja have also developed for the series. It debuted in Japan with Metroid [lower-alpha 1] on August 6, 1986, and was later released in North America (August 1987) and PAL regions (January 15, 1988). All Metroid video games have been developed exclusively for Nintendo video game consoles and handhelds, dating from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the current generation of video game consoles. The franchise consists of eleven video games, the latest of which was released in 2021. Comics, manga adaptations, and soundtracks have also been released.
The series revolves around Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who protects the galaxy from the Space Pirates and their attempts to harness the power of fictional organisms, especially the eponymous Metroids. The series' gameplay contains elements from shooter, platforming, and adventure games. It is known for its non-linear progression and solitary exploration. [1] The 2D Metroid games are side-scrollers, and the 3D Metroid Prime series gives the player a first-person perspective, [1] while Other M is a third-person shooter with the ability to switch to first-person view. [2] Metroid is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises, with over 17 million copies sold by September 2012. [3] The games have received varying levels of critical acclaim. [1] [4]
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Original release date(s): | Release years by system: 1986 – Famicom Disk System [5] 1987 – Nintendo Entertainment System [5] 2004 – Game Boy Advance [7] 2007 – Wii Virtual Console [8] 2012 – 3DS Virtual Console [9] 2016 – NES Classic Edition 2018 – Nintendo Switch |
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Original release date(s): [12] [13] [14] | Release years by system: 1991 – Game Boy [12] 2011 – 3DS Virtual Console [15] 2023 – Nintendo Switch |
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Original release date(s): [17] | Release years by system: 1994 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System [17] 2007 – Wii Virtual Console [8] 2013 – Wii U Virtual Console [8] 2016 – 3DS Virtual Console (New Nintendo 3DS model only) 2017 – Super NES Classic Edition 2019 – Nintendo Switch |
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Original release date(s): [19] | Release years by system: 2002 – Game Boy Advance [19] 2011 – 3DS Virtual Console [20] [21] 2014 – Wii U Virtual Console [22] 2023 – Nintendo Switch |
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Original release date(s): [24] | Release years by system: 2004 – Game Boy Advance [24] |
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Original release date(s): [26] | Release years by system: 2010 – Wii [26] |
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Original release date(s): [27] [28]
| Release years by system: 2017 – Nintendo 3DS |
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Original release date: [29]
| Release years by system: 2021 – Nintendo Switch |
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Title | Details |
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Original release date(s): [30] | Release years by system: 2002 – GameCube [30] 2009 – Wii [31] |
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Original release date(s): [34] | Release years by system: 2004 – GameCube [34] 2009 – Wii [31] |
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Original release date(s): [39] | Release years by system: 2005 – Nintendo DS [39] |
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Original release date(s): [42] | Release years by system: 2006 – Nintendo DS [42] |
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Original release date(s): [46] | Release years by system: 2007 – Wii [46] |
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Original release date(s): [48] | Release years by system: 2009 – Wii [49] |
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Original release date(s): | Release years by system: 2016 – Nintendo 3DS [51] |
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Original release date(s):
| Release years by system: 2023 – Nintendo Switch |
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Original release date(s):
| Release years by system: 2025 – Nintendo Switch [54] |
Title | Release date | Length | Label | |
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Super Metroid – Sound in Action | June 22, 1994 [55] | 58:49 | Sony Records | |
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Metroid Prime & Fusion Original Soundtracks | June 18, 2003 [58] | 2:12:00 | Scitron | |
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Game | Company | Publisher | Release date | ||||
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Metroid | Valiant Comics | Nintendo Comics System , issue #2 | July 1990 [61] | ||||
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Super Metroid | Nintendo | Nintendo Power , issues #57–61 | February–May 1994 [63] | ||||
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Metroid Prime | Dreamwave Productions | Nintendo Power , issues #164–166 | January–March 2003 | ||||
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Game | Publisher | Release date | |||||
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Metroid | Wanpakku Comics | 1986 | |||||
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Super Metroid | Shounen Oh Game Comic, issue #1 | August 1994 | |||||
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Metroid | Monthly Magazine Z | November 2003 [68] –May 2004 [69] | |||||
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Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | Comic Bom Bom | July 2005–January 2006 | |||||
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Samus and Joey | Comic Bom Bom | ||||||
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Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Metroid creatures.
Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. Metroid Prime is the fifth main Metroid game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).
Metroid II: Return of Samus is a 1991 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. The first Metroid game for a handheld game console, it was released in North America in November 1991 and in Japan and Europe in 1992. The game follows bounty hunter Samus Aran on her mission to eradicate the Metroids from their home planet, SR388, before the Space Pirates can obtain them. Players must find and exterminate the Metroids to progress.
Super Metroid is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third installment in the Metroid series, following the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who travels to planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid creature stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley.
Metroid Fusion is a 2002 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, which had developed the previous Metroid game, Super Metroid (1994). Fusion is part of the Metroid series, and takes place between the events of Metroid: Other M and Metroid Dread. Players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who investigates a space station infected with shapeshifting parasites known as X.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The sequel to Metroid Prime (2002) and the first Metroid game with a multiplayer feature, Echoes was released in North America, Europe and Australia in 2004 and in Japan under the name Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes in May 2005.
Metroid: Zero Mission is a 2004 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is a remake of the original Metroid (1986), and retells the story with updated visuals and gameplay.
Ridley, also known by his aliases Geoform 187 and the Cunning God of Death, is a fictional supervillain and the main antagonist of the Metroid series. An evil and aggressive draconic extraterrestrial hailing from the planet Zebes, he became Samus Aran's archnemesis after murdering the latter's parents as he led a Space Pirate raid on her homeworld. Though having been destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is always resurrected, due in equal part to Space Pirate engineering and his natural regenerative ability, which allows him to swiftly recover from what would otherwise be fatal wounds as long as he is able to consume enough biomatter from his fallen adversaries.
Metroid Prime Hunters is a 2006 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in North America in March 2006, with other territories later. The story takes place in between the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Players assume the role of series protagonist Samus Aran, who investigates a mysterious message that originated from the Alimbic Cluster and comes into contact with a legion of bounty hunters.
Retro Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo based in Austin, Texas. The studio is best known for its work on the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country series, and has contributed to several other Nintendo-developed projects, such as Mario Kart 7.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a 2007 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The seventh main installment in the Metroid series, it was released in North America and Europe in 2007 and in Japan the following year.
Metroid Dread is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 8, 2021. Set after Metroid Fusion (2002), players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she investigates the source of a mysterious transmission on the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous 2D Metroid games and incorporates stealth elements.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy is a compilation of action-adventure games from the Metroid franchise developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It features three games from the Metroid franchise: Metroid Prime (2002), Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007).
Samus Aran is the protagonist of the video game series Metroid by Nintendo. She was created by the Japanese video game designer Makoto Kano and was introduced as a player character in the original 1986 game Metroid.
Metroid is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The first installment in the Metroid series, it was originally released in Japan for the Family Computer Disk System in August 1986. North America received a release in August 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the Game Pak ROM cartridge format, with the European release following in January 1988. Set on the planet Zebes, the story follows Samus Aran as she attempts to retrieve the parasitic Metroid organisms that were stolen by Space Pirates, who plan to replicate the Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then use them as biological weapons to destroy Samus and all who oppose them.
New Play Control! is a series of first-party GameCube games ported to the Wii by Nintendo. Games in the New Play Control! series feature enhancements such as widescreen support, enhanced graphics and the implementation of the Wii's motion controls with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Metroid: Other M is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja and Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo for the Wii on August 31, 2010. It is part of the Metroid series, and takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. The player controls intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, who investigates a derelict space station with a Galactic Federation platoon, including her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2010 platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game was released first in North America in November 2010, and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. The game's story focuses on an evil group of Tiki-like creatures known as the Tiki Tak Tribe that are unleashed on Donkey Kong Island and hypnotize the island's animals to stealing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's banana hoard, prompting the two to traverse the island to reclaim it.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Taking place after the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), players assume the role of Galactic Federation Marines attempting to thwart the continuing advances of the Space Pirates after Samus Aran eradicated the deadly Phazon mutagen. The gameplay places a greater emphasis on the shooting mechanics and multiplayer, similar to its handheld predecessor Metroid Prime Hunters, albeit with cooperation instead of competition. It also includes a competitive soccer-based game mode known as Metroid Prime: Blast Ball.
Metroid: Samus Returns is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It is a remake of the 1991 Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus. Players control series protagonist Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who is contracted by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the parasitic Metroid species on their home planet of SR388. While the story and structure parallel the original game, Samus Returns features redone graphics, updated controls and user interface, and new gameplay mechanics not seen in previous 2D Metroid titles, such as a melee counterattack and the ability to aim freely at any angle.
Game Boy — 11/1991 Metroid II: Return of Samus
Dan: Well, since R&D 1 was involved in the development of Game Boy color, I think they were able to put a special "Metroid palette" in the GBC hardware. This makes Metroid II look really, really nice on Game Boy Color. In fact, it looks a lot like the NES game on GBC
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