Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Hand-Drawn Pandemonium

Prepare to be spirited away into a pixel world of scheming Shogunate Lords, wandering samurai warriors, ninja clans, frenzied Demons and various scornful Gods, all warring over powerful swords known as Demon Blades.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an action-adventure hack-n-slash game, with a sheath full of Japanese mythology and lore. Every piece of scenery in this digitized wonderland was crafted with precise and vivid strokes: farmland hills burst from the screen with bold colours, dark bamboo forests hide secrets of their foggy caves, temples stand tall and unbowed, rivers of water teem with life, and trees sway with dreamlike movement.

It's very clear that the background artists were inspired by the 17th century impressionist masters, Hokusai and Hiroshige. Tokatsu, Eight Views of Hell, is a reference to the naming conventions used by both artists to indicate which “View” or place in Japan they were painting. And there's the more creative use of Hokusai's most famous piece of work The Great Wave at Kanagawa, which places your character directly on the boat – fighting a Kraken. Marvelous!

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There are two selectable characters: Kisuke – an amnesiac fugitive aided by a foxy spirit. And Momohime – a princess possessed by a cunning spirit of a swordsman known as Izuna Jinkuro. It does not matter which character you pick first, their paths intersect and funnel into several climatic endings. Luckily, both protagonists share the same controller scheme; by learning one, you'll acclimatize yourself to both.

The D-pad is used for movement: jumping, ducking, rolling and running. The buttons are mapped to attack, special techniques and item use. Holding down the attack button blocks, in this stance, combining the directional D-pad inputs activates blazing fast aerial strikes, upward slashes and powerful defense breakers. However, the true rulers of the battlefield are the Demon blades you forge. Depending on the equipped blade, you may command tornadoes, spiritual energy orbs, or execute various enemy grinding attacks.

Your repertoire of demon slaying tools will increase with each level-up and defeated foe. Each enemy has a distinctive look and attack patterns, that require a planned approach to fighting: some bosses need to be climbed to reach their exposed mantra, others have protective barriers, or are susceptible to more damage by deflecting their attacks. I don’t want to give away too much, but the spectacle of fighting a raging dragon within a thunderstorm will be imprinted on your psyche long after you shut off the game.

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You'll even do a bit of cooking! Collecting recipes and using gathered ingredients, gives you a chance to make provisions. When not in combat mode, you can start a fire and throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot and boil/grill actual usable items that heal or give extra properties. It is refreshing to see such a simple approach for item procurement. Your character may even become too full if he/she eats a big meal, which will prevent them from using healing items for a set amount of time

The game has an easy learning curve, many save spots, and you can revive at the same screen you were downed. Or you can always level up your character, and seek out stat enhancing items to equip. There's also a nifty map system that overlays onto the screen to show you the level's layout and reveal points of interest.

Muramasa's soundtrack is very enjoyable too. The music has an unpredictable almost theatrical feel that surprises the listener by shifting in tone and speed. And features a unique blend of traditional Japanese music – lutes, flutes, violins, bells, precise rhythmic drum beats – and more modern, off the cuff, instrumentation: pulsating bass, rockin' guitars and bombastic electronic keyboard licks.

Because of the insane amount of time it takes to create moving hand-drawn artwork, the backgrounds are often reused in each of the various levels, along with many of the foes. You'll spend a lot of time running from left to right and vice versa. Stopping only for story tidbits, and to cook much needed rations. I also noticed some wonky balancing in the difficulty setting, most evident while playing as Momohime.

Unlike the backgrounds the characters are drawn in a style known as Chibi. And all in-game dialogue is in Japanese. If this is not your forte, this title may not be for you. Your loss. On a more dramatic note, getting the true ending will be a battle of determination, requiring the forging of all 108 Demon Blades. This means a lot of grinding and soul collecting (souls being the mojo of forging). I recommend using the Classic Controller!

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Those subtle flaws are overwritten by the game's smooth 2D animation, edgy design and perfect control. I would expect nothing less from the folks that made Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown. Video games crafted with love and finesse such as this one are on the endangered species list. Make sure to snag them if you come across one. You will not regret it.

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Last strike to the gusto, Classic games like Muramasa will increase in value – this has been proven with the resurgence of interest in retro video games – simply because interactive artworks need patrons to enjoy them.

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Muramasa: The Demon Blade gets four promiscuous Kitsune spirits out of five. 

play it proud

 Developer: Vanillaware

Publisher: Ignition

Platform: Wii, PS Vita 

Released: 2009/2013 (Vita)

Genre: Action-Adventure, Hack-n-slash

Pandora's Tower: Emotion and Beauty Caught in a Storm

Wound of a World 

Patched by 13 Towers 

Floating Above a Void 

One Brave Knight 

One Distressed Soul 

Once Upon a Time...

Curse of the Flesh Must be Resolved

Pandora's Tower feels like an old-style epic that focuses on character development as much as it does on action. The two main protagonists are Aeron: a young man who is tasked with conquering beastly masters of thirteen mysterious towers; and his cursed childhood friend Elena: a girl who needs to consume the masters' flesh to rid of her curse.

This is may seem like a creepy premise for a game, but it works because of the evolving relationship between Aeron and Elena. What begins as friendship evolves into a relationship, finally flourishing into love. And this love motif is not some forgetful notion to be used as a mere narrative drive, it's actually ingrained into the gameplay.

Beauty Distressed 

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When not exploring the towers, Aeron is able to talk with Elena. By exchanging some kind words with the lovely maiden their relationship grows, which influences the type of ending you'll get at the end of your journey. Just like real life, having a good report with a girl is pivotal to character development.

How far the couple's bond extends dependents on several neat features: By conversing, selecting the right responses, and sharing information the two lovers sooth and confine each other. Any item in Aeron's possession can be given as a gift -- although, Elena is not interested in weaponry or weird items. She prefers lovely trinkets such as rings, broaches, or household items, which she'll often use to spruce up their hideout.

The towers provide many items that can be turned into useful equipment and fancy gifts. And Mavda, the eccentric merchant woman who carries her monstrous husband inside a large cauldron strapped to her back, is always ready to lend a hand -- at a reasonable price of course. What's neat about the game is that Elena wears her gifts around the hideout, and if you let her curse get too far, her abrupt transformation into a ghastly being will break the items.

Glory of the Chain 

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During frequent visits to the towers the focus is action, searching, and monster slaying. To combat the hostile critters of the towers, Aron can be equipped with various weapons, armour and helpful trinkets. The youth's main tool of combat is an enchanted Oraclos Chain, which can be used to bind, pull, and tear all foes. The chain is also spiritually linked to Elena, and shows how far along her curse is progressing, wait too long and beauty shifts to beast.

By aiming the Wiimote at specific objects an "O" icon appears, enabling you to interact with them by using the chain. The stages are made for fast movement, and offer plenty of opportunities for fulfilling platforming and swinging action. While aiming, the game slows down, allowing for swift targeting of specific parts. Enemies can be bound to objects, or to each other to link their life points, and be disarmed from armour or weapons.

During boss encounters, the chain's mechanics really shine. To avoid being swept into a hellish inferno, Aeron must cling onto a cavernous ceiling, and wait until a gigantic molten master surfaces to tear at its flesh. When facing the plant-like master, the chain is used to pull the boss to prevent it from healing in the sun light. I don't want to give away too much, but trust me, each encounter with a master is memorable and innovative.

Towers of Wonder; Sounds of Doom; You Will Return

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Visually Pandora's Tower is one of the best looking Wii titles available. The textures are smooth, the colours are bright and bold, and each of the towers has challenges unique to its surroundings and constructs. Running around, you'll often loose yourself in the emotive atmosphere of this game. The two recurring issues I had with the overall design, was not being able to control the camera, and noticing reused sections/rooms throughout the towers.

The score for this game is of highest quality. Fully orchestrated, and clearly based on classical opera compositions of grand master composers like Franz Liszt and Caccini. The symphonic arrangements in this game will take you to euphoric highs. Just listen to this Boss Theme. It kind of sucks that the tracks get reused a bit throughout the adventure. And I really wish there was more classical music similar to this score in more games.

The game's world has a very rich back-story that you'll piece together by reading tomes about the towers, conversing with Mavda, and witnessing Elena's vivid visions. There are many subtle, political, and religious overtones that complement the game's focus on turmoil and destiny. And I enjoyed the parallels between a world that's about to be torn apart by war, and the healing bond of youthful love.

It's worth noting that after beating the game once, you'll gain access to more rooms and items, which will help you get the best ending, if you did not do so the first time around.

Just like Pandora's Box, Pandora's Tower was destined not to be played with. However, because of some dedicated North American fanfare Nintendo's decision not to localize the game for the American audience was overturned. Thanks to the fine people who spoke up, we can all witness Aeron's resolve to keep his lover from loosing her humanity to the hungry beast within.

Pandora's Tower gets 92 sturdy chain links out of a 100. 

Developer: Ganbarion
Publisher: Xseed Games
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action RPG
Released: 2013

picstopin.com

R-Type III: Legendary Lightning Strikes

A vortex of dark matter swirls fast as its secret curtain is forced to part. Inside it, a graceful dark-blue pulse of the Ion Hub appears. The throbbing energy source blows out plasma in an organismic explosion of hidden cosmic synergy.  

Stars begin to fade as each piece of the Anti-BYDO Dimension Drive assembles, piece by piece, onto the core of the Ion Hub. In mere seconds an entire frame appears. Metal twists and bends, encasing the vital BydoChip components: cockpit, wings, and thrusters glow, signaling a release of stored energy.

With a swift thrust of its anti-matter engine the R-90 soars to skirmish once more.

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R-Type III: The Third Lightning was released in 1993. This SNES exclusive is rightly considered to be the greatest of the R-Type series. Nineties shooters were a staple of the 16-bit era, some were good, some not so much, others quite unique. This game belongs to the fourth kind: absolutely brilliant. 

To stop the BYDO Empire invasion you take control of Earth's deadliest vessel: R-90 Ragnarok. Just like in every R-Type game before it, the R-90 is armed with an indestructible spherical attachment called the Force: a living weapon that can operate independently from the main ship.

Having a free-floating module injects strategy into the regular shoot-'em-up formula. By positioning the Force behind or in front of the ship, players can take out enemies by trapping them in a cross-fire. If the screen fills with too many projectiles the Force can be attached onto the rear or front of the ship, and act as an impenetrable shield. You can select three different Force modules, with each one having different weapon power-ups and effects when detached.

Blue Pow

The game has six challenging stages which crank the difficulty the farther you progress. Each stage has memorable and unique mechanics that hinder your flight: moving corridors, acidic droplets that eat away parts of the level, giant furnaces spewing fire, plots of enemies, and direction-reversing shifts in specific spaces. The foes come relentlessly, and often fill the screen leaving a speck of space for movement. Speed-ups are scarce. Meaning, it's sometimes prudent to start the game from the beginning hoping your nerves hold up.

Each level has a distinctive ecology, mirrored in its enemy design. The vivid backgrounds have an amazing degree of depth, clarity, and detail -- quite uncommon for 16-bit shooters. This is the only shooter I know that scrolls, forwards, backwards, up and down. In the third stage, you fly downwards a mechanical tunnel, then move forwards and up. The level ends with a spider-like boss that can freely ascend and descend the tunnel's walls. Madness!

Alien(s) R-Type Style

The end level guardians are all hideously monstrous abominations spawned from the seed of man-made BYDO organic weapons. These rampant and vicious foes were initially made to propel man's universal dominion over the universe, but now stand in your way ready to devour. The BYDO bosses are unmistakable. There's, H.R. Giger's Alien-influenced, Dobkeratops; something somewhat reminiscent of reproductive organs called Gomander, the elusive Mother Bydo, and many more. (See R-Type Wiki.)

And there's the music... Incredible. Clearly arranged by an imaginatively deranged musical mind. My best description would be: catchy progressively rocking tunes, filled with Jazzy elements  that flow through percussive bass grooves. Inspired by techno, industrial, rock and Eastern influences. It's something totally unique, and at times, very energetic--especially the boss music. The cartridge is filled with must-hear arrangements that will imprint its sonic forces on your ears long after you get blown to bits by this classic's difficult onslaught.  

The game is hard. Really hard. I'm not sure if I'm a patient person by nature, or if this game made me very... meticulous. Either way, you can spend many hours playing this game, and that does not even mean you'll get to the end of the Advanced Mission scenario. R-Type is a long running series with its own extensive lore, and Third Lightning is one of the best in that gorging embryo of wickedness. A must play for any fan of side-scrolling shooters.

Developer: Irem

Publisher: Irem

Platform: SNES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console

Genre: Shooter

Released: 1993

hardcoregaming101

Blastin' Away Lords of Thunder

Cold November currents come upon us and bring corroded winds. Something wicked begins to stir. Lords of Thunder must be near.

Time has come for rain, rigid cold, and tornadoes to instill fear. Kick-ass classic shooter action elevate this sphere.

Elemental Armour Awaken!

 

Released in 1993, Lords of Thunder is a shooter that has ascended to the pinnacle of classic 2D gaming. Are you ready for a furiously fast, ball-crushing, heavy metal ride, that will incinerate your mind?

In this side-scrolling shooter, you adorn a magical flying armour of your legendary ancestors. Have cool and rip through the skies to thwart your enemies plan to revive "The Dark One." No need for elaborate tales -- this is a 90s game tried and true.

Before blasting off, you can select from six stages and four different armours: wind, water, earth and fire. Each armour has different types of attacks and packs a massive screen-clearing projectile. Picking the right armour for a specific stage is key to smoothly progressing through this bullet grinder.

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The game has very distinctive and vibrant style influenced by medieval fantasy themes. While a bit static, the backgrounds are clear and smooth. And the varied enemies you'll encounter add another layer of visual flair to pull your eyes in. A whole kingly court of biological and technological life is here: fire dragons, wizards, knights, living vyvern gondolas, and huge armoured-clad demonic bosses all await your blade.

The game's pacing is fast, with hectic patterns of baddies stuffing the screen. Your armour has a weapon power/life bar, but those can be drained rather quickly in the harder stages. To balance the difficulty, you can collect gems from fallen foes to power up your main weapon, or buy additional lives and shields. The ability to shop for upgrades before each stage is a marvelous idea and a cool feature that injects strategy into this title.

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While most shooter games use various techno/industrial musical schemes, this game has a very dedicated and awesome soundtrack. All tracks in Lord of Thunder sound as if played by a professional band. Furiously fast rhythm guitars, pulsating bass, crushing drums and dizzying solos are all part of this game's repertoire of sound. No mere chip-tune music in this venture, just balls-to-the-wall heavy metal.

My only complaint is that the sound FX can drown out the music at times. Oh well, there's always music test in the option menu. If arcade style shooters are your thing, this is a game you'll definitely want to play often, and loud. For mere $8 bucks you can get this game on Wii Virtual Console, and establish your own thunderous hegemony. Go ahead, capture this lightning in a bottle. I dare you.

quebecgamers.com

destructoid.com

Developer: Hudson Soft, Red Entertainment

Publisher: Hudson Soft

Platform: TurboDuo, Sega CD, Virtual Console, PS Network

Released: 1993

Genre: Shooter

2D Strollin' With A Boy and His Blob

I remember renting A Boy and His Blob from my local video game store. This was way back in the NES era when my friends and I would rent games for few days, and hope to have enough time between schoolwork to play. 

Right from the start, I was captivated by the game's goofy premise of having a shape-shifting blob as a partner on a treasure hunt. If I only knew it would take 20 years for the remake to appear, I'd probably rent the game a few more times. 

Once I heard about A Boy and His Blob for the Wii, I didn't take me long to seek out and play this, often overlooked, gem. The Wii version is definitely a nod to all the 80s kids who spent countless hours playing their NES instead of studying. Minutes into the adventure I got suddenly nostalgic, and felt as if my mom was about to barge into my room, yelling at me to stop playing and go to sleep. 

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World of Goo 

In this puzzle-platformer you control a human boy who is faithfully fallowed by an AI controlled companion, a peculiar white blob. Their task: stopping an alien invasion of Blob's homeworld. Boy and Blob strolling about and getting into trouble... anyone getting a buddy flick vibe? I'm a big fan of hand-drawn animation and love 2D games: this fresh title mixes both features exceptionally well. 

The backgrounds are painted with vibrant and clean strokes, seamlessly transposing everyday scenery into fantastically imaginative landscapes. Every stage has a surreal feel that will make you want to stop and scan the horizon: tranquil forests beckon adventures, caves and swamps test the nerves, and a nightly city mesmerizes the senses. The Boy and Blob's mannerisms and actions are smoothly animated with painstaking detail, which gives the game a distinctive quality – a la Saturday morning cartoon. 

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Bellyful of Jelly 

Unlike a bumbling cartoon-y sidekick, The Blob does not spew nonsensical gibberish; It does useful things, like transform into objects by eating specific jelly beans. The Boy, being a regular human child, cannot do much except run along, push or jump. But with The Blob by his side he can achieve much more. 

Each jelly produces a delightful new transformation in The Blob. No ledge is too high if your partner can shift into a handy trampoline or ladder. Nowhere to go? Blob can help, by stretching across the ground and becoming a sinkhole (a useful tool for disposing enemies). If you grew up watching Roadrunner cartoons, and always wanted to drop an anvil onto a foe, just feed your Blob the right kind of jelly and bonk 'em.

Unlike to original game, the Wii version is much easier. There are unlimited jelly beans to ingest, and guidance posts to show which abilities will get you through specific parts of the levels. Some of the game's melodic music has a lulling kind of quality to it, which does not convey immediacy, and tends to slow the pacing a bit. However, all of the levels and boss encounters are quite fun, and require use of The Blob's myriad powers in always surprising ways.

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Tale of Friendship

There's a certain story-book cuteness to this game, making it wonderfully appealing without being sappy or cheesy. The Boy's reliance on Blob's out-worldly abilities builds a bond between the two characters, which seamlessly grows with each new challenge. I dare you not feel wonderfully happy at the heartwarming way in which the Boy hugs The Blob, or how he carefully packs his companion into a knapsack so it can became a parachute. 

It's great to see a game that can convey emotions without relying on realistic graphic, or complex story lines weaved with over-top action sequences. WayForward managed to capture the charm of the original, no doubt. Action-savvy junkies may not like the slow and methodical way of progression in A Boy and His Blob; that's okay, because this is a game that reveals its elegance when played in a carefree way. The way you played games when nothing else mattered – not even your homework. 

“What! No, I don't have to finish my Geography project tonight, mom!”

Developer: WayForward

Publisher: Majesco Entertainment

Platform: Wii

Released: 2009

Genre: Platform-Puzzle

avclub.com

Sin & Punishment, Wicked Game Design 101

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, is one of those games that delivers on its promise from the get go. Even the back of the game's box states: Fierce Battles Lie on the Horizon.

There's something about every Treasure game that really resonates with old-school gamers like me. It's probably the well earned promise of unmatched quality and ingenuity, that can be found in all their games.  

Sin

Star Successor is an arcade style on-rails shooter. If I had to describe this game using similar tittles, I'd say: Space Harrier meets Wild Guns, fuses with Panzer Dragoon. Did you enjoy the name drops?

On-rails shooting usually means that the in-game camera is preset and cannot be moved by the player. The player can only move his/her cross-hair (gun) and the avatar. In the current slew of "sandbox-style" games this may seem somewhat limiting and outdated, but to a bunch of creative designers it only means one thing: organized chaos.

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Punishment 

This game is challenging. If you make it through the first three levels you'll undoubtedly profess this game is madness. Each level, you are greeted by an unending stream of projectiles big and small. This baptism by fire, will strain your skill to the max.

The only refuge comes at the beginning, in the form of an introductory tutorial to all the abilities you'll be using to progress. The levels are huge and segmented into several checkpoints; which is good, because each segment is filled with devious obstacles and engaging boss fights. The game also auto saves at each check point.

Driven by the delirious preset path, you'll strafe abandoned cities, dash through myriads of tunnels, brave floating fortresses, infiltrate a volcano base, and skirmish with thousands of organic and technologically enhanced enemies of all shapes and sizes. Each new wave of foes demands fast reflexes, instant patter recognition, and dedicated memorization.

The unyielding scenarios this game throws at you are borderline wacky: free-falling inside a pipeline, a gigantic rock turtle blocks your path yawning lava and shooting parts of its spiky shell; a cybernetic samurai challenges you inside a slipstream, where each cross of blades gets you closer to electromagnetic shock-wave death; moving through post-apocalyptic highways, mythical beasts dive-bomb onto you with ill intent. And that's just a few examples of hundreds of different skirmishes.

nintendolife.com

 Star(s)

Who's in the grinder with you? Isa Jo: a solider of inner space; and, Kachi: a mnemonic rival of inner space from (you guessed it) the outer space dimension. The two characters serve as Romeo and Juliet for the dimensional war between the inner and outer space.

Much of the story is sprinkled throughout the game in the form of cut-scenes. While the voice acting is bearable, the frantic pace of the game will often make you want to skip most of the monologues. Which is fine, because this game is all about the action.

Either character can jump, evade, melee attack and hover. Isa hovers Peter Pan like (this is my girlfriend's observation) by using his... spheroid backpack; and Kachi floats around by much stylish hover-board. You can shoot freestyle, lock-on to a target--or targets if you're Kachi--and let out a powerful blast, or slice and dice if you're close enough. You aim with the Wii Remote and move with the Nunchuk, which makes the controls precise and intuitive. You'll be dodging bullets, while locking onto targets, and parring missiles back at foes in no time; accompanied by your frantic yells: "I'm a Sci-Fi ninja master!"

kotaku.com

True Successor

Fans of the original N64 Sin & Punishment have been nagging Treasure for a sequel/update for many years, and the company has finally delivered.

In this next-gen successor, your high scores get uploaded to internet leader boards, there's adjustable difficulty, and a second player can jump in to help out with clearing the enemies--albeit only with a target receptacle. Having a second player controlled avatar at the same time would be too much mayhem.

Clearly, this is a game for harden arcade veterans, but there's much fun to be had for casual players who are willing to put up with 45 minute increments of frantic shooting. This game is a must have for anyone still craving score-driven arcade ventures, or anyone looking to get inspiration for serious game designing. Let loose and never be bored again.

Developer: Treasure

Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: Wii

Released: 2010

Genre: Action-Shooter  

amazon.com

Super Metroid: A Revealing Look Into Samus' Suit

The most memorable year in gaming for me was 1994. Mostly due to the release of Nintendo's Super Metroid: A series known for its female protagonist bounty hunter Samus Aran and exploratory open-world gameplay.

Super Metroid is the third instalment in the Metroid series (Metroid 1 and 2 are available on NES and Game Boy). Once released, the game immediately had a lot to aspire to.

Rather than just reviewing this game, I'll discuss its overall feeling and composition. If you think a 2D game cannot instill any emotions into players, then you simply haven’t visited the alien infested, structurally massive, planet Zebes.

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Isolation

Landing on Zebes you're introduced to a rather silent environment. Several minutes pass before Samus trips the alarm system which alerts her foes to flood the many corridors and passages she must explore.

Beyond  Samus' introductory log, there's no other communique or direction on how and where to proceed. You're left to explore, alone. Not having any sort of AI or director, you can completely give yourself to the urge of exploration. And that urge naturally takes you deeper into the planet's vast world filled with secret passages, items, power-ups, and critters all too suited to the environments they're in.

The game's large and complex environments can be imposing, but they are made this way to add a certain degree of isolation. This mood is maintained throughout the entire game creating a very tight bond between the player and the silent armour-clad Samus. Each new uncovered area has clues that must be considered to progress. There's no hand holding in this title, you simply must observe the environment closely, make mental notes, and come back once you gained a new ability or weapon.     

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Bewilderment

Each section of the game is a small unique world. Each world is a piece of a greater puzzle that is planet Zebes. Majority of rooms are connected through a series of colour-coded doorways. To open those doors you'll need to fire specific weapons at them. But first you need to find those weapons. Because of this feature, progress happens in a very nonlinear fashion.

Sometimes you're able of circumvent areas by taking a hypotenuse--like turning into a ball a scurrying small spaces. Other times you'll need to find key items--such as lava resistant armour--by battling a boss. Progress gets tracked on a grid-like map that you can access anytime to get a better lay of the land. But the beauty of the game design is that the more you explore the more it gets imprinted on you memory. Once you've been around the neighbourhood, you just know your way around.

Because there's so much to explore, you'll want to backtrack often. Unlock only a portion of a stage? Come back with new abilities. See a suspect ledge? Find the Ice Beam, and try freezing an enemy to use it as a stepping stone. You'll never find everything first time. And that's ok, because this game is all about gradual pacing and being absorbed in its intricate layers. Like enjoying tasty Gelato during summer nights; or shooting a lava beast in its open mouth with a super missile.

destructoid.com

 Creativity 

The game's solid graphics, sci-fi inspired scenarios, and imaginative design make it a standout title. The sound fx are all fantastic, and the music is as memorable as the areas you'll discover. But that's not what I mean by creativity this time. What I want to say is that Super Metroid lets players craft his/her own adventure by giving them flexibility in how to reach certain objectives. 

While there's logic in the level design, the designers gave many opportunities to completely disregard the visible path. Having a through understanding of certain techniques, such as wall jumping, players who memorized level layouts are able to acquire ability-enhancing items early to power through the game, or completely break it.

By sequence braking,  players can skip preordained events or even glitch the game entirely. As a homage to those dedicated and crafty enough, the programmers put in different endings to reward folks who manage to clear the game under specific number of hours -- a worthy achievement.

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Legacy 

Many Metroid games have come and gone, but no other Metroid game has been as influential as this one. After two decades, Super Metroid is still considered an example in inventive stage design, tone creation, and isolation settings. Samus Aran was the first legit female hero, and through inspiring generations of fans and game designers she has become an icon in gaming. 

There are fan websites that recreate maps using in-game screen capture to show planet Zabes in incredible detail. You can even watch YouTube videos proving how Samus can shrink into a ball quarter of her original size. This game is one of a kind, and I try to play through it at least once a year, always loosing myself in its massive universe. Come and find me, I'll be near an enemy generator shooting critters that appear.

Developer: Nintendo, Intelligent Systems

Publisher: Nintendo

Platform: SNES, Wii, Wii U

Released: 1994

Genre: Action-Adventure, Sci-Fi