Update with Metroid Prime is remade. Remember, this rating is based on Game User Ratings in our database and is subject to real-time change even now. If you haven’t already rated your Metroid collection, please add your scores and potentially influence the order below. Enjoy!
What is the best? Metroid Game of all time? Revealed and released in 2021 of ‘Metroid 5’, aka fear of Metroidcaused a wave of excitement and the unexpected debut of Metroid Prime is remade After the February 2023 Nintendo Direct event, many of us went back to reviewing games in the franchise or catching up on games we missed.
We’ve compiled our personal ranking of the best Metroid games from a long time with Prime Minister Metroid at number one, but while we wait patiently for more information on the non-stop development Prime Minister 4, We think it’s time for Nintendo Life readers to have their say on the series as a whole.
We asked you to rate your favorite games in the Metroid series, and now we’re proud to present this reader-rated Metroid game-by-game rating list. Miss, This list is not permanent. The ratings below dynamically update based on the User Ratings of each game in the Nintendo Life game database. This means that it is quite possible to affect the order right now. If you haven’t already rated your favorite Metroid games, simply click on the ‘star’ of the game you want to rate, specify a score and potentially influence the list.
Ready? Let’s recharge our Armed Cannons, replenish our Missiles and head out…
Note: We have included both remakes and spin-offs, although there are some exclusions: Metroid Prime Hunters: The First Hunt And Metroid Prime: Ball Blast Both are essentially demo versions of the games with the underlying feature, so they’ve been omitted, as is the GBA NES Classics port of the original.
We have also included Metroid Prime trio which, as the title suggests, is a compilation of three Prime games. If this annoys you, just imagine it’s not there and you’ll have your rankings in individual games. That’s it!
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: Next level game
Despite the overwhelming hate, it was subject to subsequent release, Metroid Prime: Federation Forces is a very impressive package, slick and playable — our only real complaint is that during online play the lack of voice chat becomes annoying and the built-in chat functionality of The game is an inappropriate substitute. Aside from that, Next Level Games has treated the franchise with the respect it deserves when it comes to successfully bringing co-op multiplayer into the Prime universe, albeit in a form that doesn’t please those who don’t. die-hard fans have been starving for ‘proper’ Metroid content.
While you don’t get to play as Samus, this game is all about the unknown soldier — an ordinary marine who has signed up for military service in the Galactic Federation. Once you have accepted the Federation Forces To be than what it Notit turned out to be a much easier game to enjoy and a perfectly decent Metroid spin-off.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: Nintendo Software Technology
Metroid Prime: Hunter it’s Nintendo’s attempt to bring 3D first-person Metroid Prime gameplay to your DS, and all told it’s a pretty good game. It takes place between the events of the first two games in the Prime series and sees Samus investigating the Alimbic Cluster to find and recover artifacts scattered throughout the solar system. Meanwhile, she is hunted by six other bounty hunters vying for her blood.
It feels pretty limited these days, but on 2006’s DS, with three other players gathering around to play some multiplayer cards, this felt like a little bit of magic.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: ninja team
For some fans, something less talked about Metroid: Other US, better. In some quarters, Team Ninja’s take on the Metroid game was seen as a jumble of 2D and 3D ideas; a game that introduced loads of flashy fluff to disguise a very linear experience that felt counter to the ‘spirit’ of Metroid. The mix of 2D platforming and 3D combat isn’t suitable for multiplayer, and neither is the single Wiimote control scheme.
We’d be lying if we said we didn’t like it, though, and while it’s far from the series’ classics (to be fair, most of them), we don’t think The other M is worth the amount of vitriol it normally gets. It tried a few things, many of which didn’t work, but it’s certainly not just ‘more the same’ — we respect it for that.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: Fuse Game
Samus was up there with Kirby as a Chancellor (see what we did there?) candidate for the marbles game. Metroid Prime Pinball is as solid a spin (ball) as you could hope for, and the DS’ dual-screen feels very well matched with the innovative Metroid-themed panels inside. It also comes packed with a ‘rumble pak’ that sits in the GBA slot on your DS ‘Phat’ or DS ‘Lite’ and adds some subtle feedback as you ping Samus around the table. A fun and bug-free game.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: NintendoR&D1
While it established the template of the series and pioneered a subtle blend of discovery and gradual empowerment, we have to be honest here: the original Metroid it can be hard to go back, even if you did play again during the day. The sound and atmosphere it evokes are still unbelievable, but the control tweaks and quality of life features we use today are barely available on the original Famicom Disk System/NES and the Going back without the right mindset and context can be frustrating.
Its biggest problem is the great Game Boy Advance remake Metroid: Mission Zero survive — truly the best way to experience Samus’ first adventure. The original has its appeal, though. You just have to dig deeper to find them these days.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: NintendoR&D1
Metroid II: Return of Samus nicely expands on the original NES title. There’s no map for the game’s massive world yet, which isn’t exactly a problem given the game’s linearity, although it can be a problem if you put it down for a while and don’t remember coming where. There’s plenty of exploration and hidden items to find, and the hunt and kill 39 Metroid is pretty fun. Though nowhere is as delicate as the 2D masterpiece that is Super Metroid, Metroid II performed better than the original NES game and is therefore still worth playing. Of course, 3DS remake supposedly the best way to play Samus’ first return today, but the original still has its own lo-fi charm.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: steam mercury
Game Boy sequel to the original Metroid on the NES was remarkable at the time, but if there’s a perfect candidate for a remake in Nintendo’s latter catalog, it’s it. MercurySteam did a great job updating Metroit IIof the 21st century, giving an entirely new audience the chance to experience an important chapter in the series’ story. Helpful additions like the map are paired with a new melee attack that offers a delicate balance between risk and reward and results in one of the best games on the system. It’s no surprise that Nintendo is partnering with the developer on fear of Metroid.
Publishing company: Nintendo / Developers: Classic movie set
Introducing Wii Remote control to Retro’s Prime model, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a great conclusion to the trilogy (well, until next item eventually turned it into a quad), a series of games that proved that Samus could not only survive the transition to 3D first-person shooter, but fully thrive in that genre. MP3:C as a separate disc later became a bit redundant with the release of the entire trilogy on one disc, but it’s still a jailbreak shooter in and of itself.
