These games usually feature a large interconnected world map the player can explore, although parts of the world will be inaccessible to the player until they acquire special items, tools, weapons, abilities, or knowledge within the game. Acquiring such improvements can also aid the player in defeating more difficult enemies and locating shortcuts and secret areas, and often includes retracing one's steps across the map. Through this, Metroidvania games include tighter integration of story and level design, careful design of levels and character controls to encourage exploration and experimentation, and a means for the player to become more invested in their player character through role-playing game elements. While early examples were usually two-dimensional side-scrolling platform games, the term has since been applied to top-down and 3D games.
The first Metroid game in 1986 established principles of the non-linear platformer that were refined through multiple iterations, with Super Metroid in 1994 considered to have polished the style of gameplay core to Metroidvanias. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in 1997 is considered the defining Metroidvania game, incorporating role-playing game elements from The Legend of Zelda series with non-linear traversal within the Castlevania series; most subsequent Castlevania games followed its approach and refined the genre. Symphony of the Night's assistant director, Koji Igarashi, is credited with establishing key principles of Metroidvanias through his work on other Castlevania games. In the 2010s, a resurgence in Metroidvanias came about due to several critically praised, independently developed games.
While not the first game of its kind (for example, Below the Root was released in 1984,[2] or Brain Breaker in 1985), Metroid (1986, Nintendo Entertainment System) is generally considered the most influential game for the Metroidvania genre.[3]Nintendo's goal for the title was to create a non-linear adventure game to set it apart from other games at the time, requiring the player to retrace their steps while providing permanent power-ups in contrast to how other adventure games only offered power-ups with temporary effects.[4] The series was popular, and future titles refined the exploration approach while adding more story elements to the title such as with Super Metroid (1994, Super Nintendo Entertainment System).[3]Super Metroid refined several aspects from the previous Metroid games, including a diverse array of locations and adding many secrets for players to find; these secrets also enabled players to find ways to break the expected sequence that the designers had envisioned players would approach the game, making it a popular title among speedrunners.[5] However, in retrospect, Super Metroid was still considered an example of a highly polished non-linear platformer.[5]
Koji Igarashi is credited with establishing defining features of the Metroidvania genre.
During this time, the gothic horror-themed platformer series Castlevania was gaining popularity. The original Castlevania (1986, NES) featured discrete levels that the player completed in a sequential manner. It was followed by Vampire Killer (1986, MSX)[6][7] and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987, NES) which experimented with non-linear adventure gameplay,[8][9] before the series returned to the more linear style of the original Castlevania. Series lead Koji Igarashi found that as they continued to produce sequels to cater to fans of the series, experienced players would race through the levels, while new players to the series would struggle with some stages.[10] To try to make a title that would be more widely appreciated across play levels and extend the gameplay time of the title, Igarashi and others on his team looked toward the ideas used by The Legend of Zelda series into the development of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997, PlayStation).[11][12] With Symphony of the Night, Igarashi introduced new concepts into the Castlevania series from Zelda such as a large open world to explore and the need to acquire key items to enter certain areas, elements already present in non-linear platformers like Super Metroid.[10][5] However, Symphony of the Night distinguished itself from prior non-linear platformers via the incorporation of console role-playing game elements with the means for the player to improve their character's attributes through an experience system.[5][10][13][14] The changes for Symphony of the Night proved popular with players, and most subsequent games in the series would follow this formula.[3] With the releases of Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the formula these games presented would form the foundations of what are considered Metroidvanias today.[3]Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had also become a critical and financial success over time, establishing that there was a desire by players for Metroidvania-style games.[15][14] As this neologism started to be adopted, Igarashi reacted Symphony of the Night was more inspired by Zelda, not Metroid, although he stated that Metroidvania "fits very well".[11] Other figures in the game industry have since used Zeldavania interchangeably,[11] with the Zelda series recognized as following the same formula.[16][17]
The concept of Metroidvanias started to gain more attraction when other parties began to develop games in the same style.[3][18]Cave Story (2004, Microsoft Windows) was developed by Daisuke Amaya as an homage to Metroid and other classic games; the game was critically praised showing the scope of what one person could do, and highlighted another take on the Castlevania and Metroid games, as well as vitalizing the 2D platformer genre as a viable indie game format.[3][19]Shadow Complex (2009, Xbox 360) by Chair Entertainment was developed based on the premise that Super Metroid was "the pinnacle of 2D game design". The game received highly positive reviews, and remains one of the best-selling downloadable titles on the Xbox 360 service.[3] Due to games like these, the Metroidvania genre began to take off in both publisher-driven and independent games development.[3]Drinkbox Studios' Guacamelee! (2013), Moon Studios' Ori and the Blind Forest (2015), and Team Cherry's Hollow Knight (2017) are examples of modern indie Metroidvanias that have reached critical acclaim. The genre's indie renaissance did not go unnoticed by Igarashi. In May 2015, he released a Kickstarter campaign for Castlevania-influenced Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (2019), which was the highest-funded video game on Kickstarter at the time.[20]
While the word "Metroidvania" is commonly used presently to describe games in this genre, or games that have elements of this genre, the origins of the term are unclear; Igarashi notes that he did not coin the phrase, though is grateful for the invention of the term.[21] Igarashi noted that with Symphony of the Night the goal was to have exploration closer to the top-down Zelda approach, but with the side-scrolling nature, it was compared more to Metroid, and believes this is how the portmanteau came about.[22][23] A similar portmanteau "Castleroid" is sometimes used as well for describing this genre.[22] Video game journalist Jeremy Parish, who manages the Metroidvania.com site that has attempted to catalog all known Metroidvania games,[18] acknowledges he helped to popularize the term but had learned it from his former co-worker at 1UP.com, Scott Sharkey, who had used the term to describe the games in the Castlevania series that had adopted some elements from the Metroid series.[24]
Gameplay concepts
In Guacamelee!, the player gains the ability to temporarily turn their human character into a chicken, allowing them to pass through low-height corridors and discover secrets.
The term 'Metroidvania' is most often used to refer to a platforming game that features a single large, interconnected map, generally with discrete rooms or sections. Not all areas of this map are available at the start, often requiring the player to obtain an item (such as a weapon or key) or a new character ability to remove some obstacle blocking the path forward. Often, this item is protected by a boss character, providing story-driven challenges throughout the game. Maps are non-linear, and often require the player to traverse the map multiple times during the course of the game. Weaker monsters will inhabit other parts of the level, re-spawning when the player revisits those rooms, and often can be defeated to gain health, ammunition, or experience points.[25]
Larger games generally feature save points as well as the ability to transport the player quickly between certain rooms on far sides of the map, eliminating tedious backtracking in the later parts of the game. Access to new abilities can also open up shortcuts that reduce travel time, as well as discover secrets that help to improve the character's abilities. For example, gaining access to double jump or wall jump abilities can give players more mobility, while obtaining the ability to transform into a smaller object can let the player slip through narrow corridors. As such, the genre focuses on exploration of a large world map, and advancement of the player-character abilities over time. Metroidvanias are sometimes referred to as "platform adventure games" due to this scope.[26]
Metroidvania is generally associated with game levels/maps that are laid out as two-dimensional side scrollers, with the player character moving left, right, up and down through the level. These games typically are rendered using two-dimensional graphics, but can include 2.5D-rendered games using 3D graphics engines but limiting player movement to two dimensions, such as the aforementioned Shadow Complex, or with Metroid Dread.[14] The exploration and character development concepts of Metroidvanias can be used in other genres, though these games typically are not categorized as Metroidvanias.[18] For example, the Metroid Prime trilogy is a first-person action adventure game that builds on the same style of exploration play as Metroid. Dark Souls is a third-person action role-playing game loosely considered a Metroidvania featuring "soft locks" – obstacles in the form of boss characters that are difficult but not impossible to defeat when the player-character is starting out, and become much easier to defeat with increased experience and abilities.[3] The third-person action/brawler Batman: Arkham series also uses similar concepts as a Metroidvania, with Batman collecting new gadgets to access new areas.[18] The 2017 title Prey was developed as a first-person-perspective immersive sim but using Metroidvania level design concepts to require the player to traverse the setting multiple times as they gain additional tools and abilities.[27]
Igarashi described what he believed were key elements in the genre. These include designing maps that encourage exploration but which still guide the player on a main path through the game and providing means where the player can be aware of where they are in the game world at any time. This can be accomplished by graphical themes through the game's world, visually unique milestones at key game point, overall map and player status information screens, and the means of moving around the map quickly.[10] Russ Frushtick from Polygon observed that many modern Metroidvanias not only have these qualities, but also find a means to tell a narrative through the world's environments without necessarily relying on cutscenes or dialog.[28]
In a 1UP.com video discussion between Parish, Sharkey, and Chris Kohler of Wired in 2007, the three discussed some older games that had elements associated with Metroidvanias but would not be considered true Metroidvanias, including games like Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987), Legacy of the Wizard (1987), and Adventure Island IV (1994). They argued that such games, while having 2D platforming gameplay and power-up based progression systems, lacked good level design, which at their time had not been well-refined in the industry, and provided little or no information relayed to the player to help them to know where to go next, exemplified by the cryptic clues from Simon's Quest. The three also agreed that as games transitioned from 2D to 3D, the true meaning of "Metroidvania" had become diluted, as 3D-based games can hide facets of Metroidvanias.[29]
Analysis
The popularity of the Metroidvania genre is stated to be tied to the ease with which platformer games can be learned, while giving the player a character that they can grow over the course of the game.[3] Many developers of independent Metroidvania titles cited the exploration as a core element of the genre that draws in players, working off the natural human instincts to explore, and giving the players the sense of discovery and self-control during the game.[3] Donald Mustard of Chair Entertainment, the creators of Shadow Complex, said that a good Metroidvania helps the player come to epiphanies that enables them to progress in the game, describing an example of a ledge that is initially too high to reach, and as the player acquires abilities, will discover how they can reach that ledge on their own.[30]
From a developer's standpoint, the Metroidvania genre also provides benefits. The genre encourages tight connection between level design and game story, and can give developers opportunities to create an immersive world for the player.[3] Level design of such games can also be challenging as to make sure the challenge to the players of the game is fair and enjoyable, and achieving this goal can be seen as a sign of a success for a developer.[3] Thomas Mahler of Moon Studios, who developed Ori and the Blind Forest, said that it was important to design a cohesive world with memorable settings for a Metroidvania, since "players remembering the levels is part of the core design".[18] Large-scale development in this genre requires one change in the player's abilities to be tested more rigorously throughout all of the levels. Ori and the Will of the Wisps executive producer Daniel Smith said: "I don't think people generally consider how difficult it is to make a Metroidvania game. Everything is so interconnected that if you change one aspect of the game, it's just inevitable that it's going to influence the rest".[31]
Alternative terminology
There is some opposition to the use of the term Metroidvania, as it is derived from specific games rather than being a more direct description of gameplay.[32]Comic Book Resources compared the use of Metroidvania to "Doom clone" in the 1990s, a term which was eventually replaced by "first person shooter" as the medium developed.[33]Game Developer has also suggested that the term is too broad, as it encompasses a wide range of 2D and 3D games, and instead proposed "unlocking world", in a vein similar to "open world".[34]CBR has also proposed "platform-adventure".[35] An equivalent Japanese term is 探索型アクション or "search-action", which is used alongside the romanised メトロイドヴァニア (Metroidvania).
↑ In Japan, this genre is often referred to as "Search Action" (探索型アクション, Tansaku-Gata Akushon).[1]
Related Research Articles
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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.
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Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is a 2003 action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 console. Part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, it is the first installment of the series on the PlayStation 2 and the third to make use of a 3D style of gameplay. It was released in Japan and North America in late 2003 and Europe and Australia in early 2004.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a 1997 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. It was directed and produced by Toru Hagihara, with Koji Igarashi acting as assistant director. It is a direct sequel to Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, taking place four years later. It features Dracula's dhampir son Alucard as the protagonist, rising from his slumber to explore Dracula's castle which resurfaced after Richter Belmont vanished. Its design marks a break from previous entries in the series, re-introducing the exploration, nonlinear level design, and role-playing elements first experimented with in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a 2003 action role-playing game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. It is the third Castlevania game for the Game Boy Advance. Producer Koji Igarashi, who had led the production teams for previous Castlevania games, led Aria of Sorrow's development as well. Michiru Yamane returned to compose the music alongside Takashi Yoshida and Soshiro Hokkai. Director Junichi Murakami was new to the Castlevania series.
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest is a 1987 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami. It was originally released in Japan in 1987 for the Famicom Disk System, and in North America in 1988 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second Castlevania game released for the NES, following the original Castlevania (1986). Set seven years after the events of the first installment, the player once again assumes the role of vampire hunter Simon Belmont, who is on a journey to undo a curse placed on him by Dracula at the end of their previous encounter. Dracula's body was split into five parts, which Simon must find and bring to the ruins of Castle Dracula in order to defeat him. The game deviates from the traditional platforming of its predecessor, incorporating role-playing and open world elements.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is a 2002 action role-playing game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo and published by Konami for the Game Boy Advance. Part of Konami's Castlevania video game series, it is the second installment of the series on the Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan in June 2002, in North America in September 2002, and in Europe in October 2002.
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is a 2005 action role-playing game developed and published by Konami. It is part of Konami's Castlevania video game series and the first Castlevania game released on the Nintendo DS. The game is the sequel to Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and incorporates many elements from its predecessor. Dawn of Sorrow was commercially successful. It sold more than 15,000 units in its first week in Japan and 164,000 units in the United States during the three months after its initial release.
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Below the Root is a 1984 video game developed for Commodore 64, IBM PC, and Apple II home computer lines. The game is a continuation of the author Zilpha Keatley Snyder's Green Sky Trilogy, making it the fourth story in the series. The game is set in a fantasy world of Green-Sky covered with enormous trees and wildlife. The player is tasked to choose one of the five characters to explore the world and discover the meaning of the words that appeared in the dreams of the character D'ol Falla. The player explores the world through platforming, solving puzzles and exploration.
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.
Brain Breaker (ブレインブレイカー) is an action-adventure/platform game released for the Sharp X1 exclusively in Japan by Enix in November 1985. The game follows protagonist Sayaka, who crash lands and becomes trapped on an alien planet by a rogue, computer defense system. The game is a side-scroller taking place in a large, interconnected world and requires the player to acquire ability-expanding items to progress.
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