Lets get this morph ball rollin'

In case you didn't know, tomorrow (Monday, August 15th) marks the 35th Anniversary of Metroid's NES launch in North America. That's insane, right? 35 years! Do you feel old yet?

In the years and decades since its debut in 1987 ('86 in Japan), the Metroid franchise has gone on to become one of Nintendo's tentpole franchises, with games releasing on near enough every console bar the N64 and Wii U (Virutal Console doesn't count!). Despite earning somewhat lukewarm commerical success when compared to the likes of Super Mario and Animal Crossing, Metroid has more than earned its place in the hearts of Nintendo gamers worldwide; heck, you only need to look at some of the reactions to Nintendo's announcement of Metroid Prime 4 to appreciate just how impactful the franchise has become.

So with that in mind, we thought we'd share our introductions to the franchise, and we want to hear your stories, too! Which game did you start with? What drew you to it? Did a friend or family member introduce you?

If you haven't played the franchise at all yet, that's okay! Some of us have huge gaps in our Metroid history too, and you'll notice that only one of us (me!) has played through the Metroid Prime Trilogy, so you'll be fine company here.

Enjoy, and be sure to share your stories in the comments below!

I suppose I got into the Metroid franchise fairly late, all things considered. My first entry was Metroid Prime for the GameCube when it launched back in 2002. I remember reading about it in issues of NGC Magazine and being totally blown away at how stunning it looked. Thinking back, I’m not sure I even realised at the time that the franchise actually started out as a kind of 2D adventure series; it was only when I saw Metroid Fusion for the GBA and subsequently did a bit of research that I realised that, actually, Metroid Prime’s first-person view was a completely new take on the franchise.

Needless to say, I fell in love with Metroid Prime hard; locations like Phendrana Drifts and Phazon Mines were among some of the most beautiful environments I’d ever seen, and the balance between exploration and combat was simply perfect. So, naturally I dove head first into the franchise and played through the original Metroid, Metroid II, and Super Metroid, before picking up Metroid Fusion at a later date. Despite the obvious limitations of the debut title on NES, I could see how the game had influenced the franchise going forward.

It’s probably safe to say that Metroid is my favourite Nintendo franchise to this day and I owe it all to Metroid Prime. When nothing else would catch my eye, Prime was the game I'd fall back on - every time. You can imagine my utter delight when Nintendo announced a fourth entry would be on its way to the Switch... Speaking of which, any updates on that, Nintendo?

Admittedly, it took me a really long time to fall in love with Metroid the way I am now. That probably wasn’t helped by the fact that my first Metroid game was the GBA Classic NES Series release of the original Metroid. I bounced off of it, hard. But I really wanted to know what this cool, orange-cladded bounty hunter was like that I’d seen in the original Super Smash Bros.

So I did some digging around online and Metroid Fusion immediately jumped out at me. I managed to get hold of a copy, played through it – even scared myself to death a few times – and loved it. Fusion’s stalker-like foe SA-X had me crawling under my bedsheets, even as a teenager. But even then, it still took me a while to say I adored Metroid. I tried playing the original a few more times through those Animal Crossing NES’ you could get once upon a time, but it was the SNES Classic that finally pushed me to try out the revered Super Metroid in 2018. Now that’s a video game with a terrifying reputation. But it turns out there’s a reason for that – it’s phenomenal. That atmosphere, map, and sense of progression is still unmatched, even today.

The rest is history. Super Metroid made me go back and replay Fusion, pick up Zero Mission, and even try the original Metroid and Metroid II again. I’m admittedly still missing many gaps – Prime, Samus Returns – but Dread has cemented this series as one of my favourites. I’m glad I kept trying.

I've never actually played a Metroid. Maybe I'd really enjoy them, I don't know! But I still have a Metroid story, sort of. When I was applying to the open Staff Writer position at Official Nintendo Magazine — a position that I would end up being chosen for out of 650 applicants (spoilers, but it's important context!) — there were a bunch of tests and interview stages I had to pass through, once they'd read my application.

The first was a phone chat. Easy peasy. I chat all the time. The second was an interview with the Editor of ONM and the overall Editor In Chief of a bunch of the magazines, which was a little daunting, but I think I did alright. The third was a test article — I had to write about 300 words of news in an hour, and Twitch Plays Pokémon was in its first few days back then, so I just wrote about that. But the final test was one that I was sure I had failed.

It was a Nintendo quiz, you see. I was 22 at the time, fresh out of university, and though I had played tons of games from the N64 to the GameCube to the Wii to the DS and 3DS, not many of those games were the ones in the quiz. I aced the questions on Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, and Mario (it would have been embarrassing not to get the Mario ones right), but when it came to F-Zero and Metroid questions, I just... had no idea. And people get really weird when they find out that a Nintendo writer hasn't played a Metroid, which always bothers me — I mean, no one gets weird if you haven't played Ace Attorney, despite it being a seminal work of whatever-that-genre-is. It's always the shooty games that people care about. Sigh.

So, I was convinced that I'd blown it. Completely messed up, thanks to my hole-filled knowledge of Nintendo blockbusters. At that point, I thought, "might as well have fun", and did a bunch of doodles. I drew Blathers in the margins of the quiz; I wrote "Falcon Punch???" as the answer to an F-Zero question, and I drew a little Samus next to a Metroid question I did not answer. Apparently... that's what got me the job (alongside my writing, obviously). The Editor didn't mind that I hadn't played all the games. You can teach someone to play games. You can't teach 'em to write as easily.

I still haven't played a Metroid, but that quiz taught me that the games I have or haven't played don't define me or diminish my value. That's a nice lesson to learn.

Metroid is always a franchise that fascinates me. Not because I am a huge fan of the games, but because – despite for my unabashed love for platformers – I have never really warmed to any of them.

The first Metroid game that I ever played was Metroid Fusion on the GBA. This was in an era when I would buy any and all games that I could get my hands on, regardless of what anybody said about them. I was drawn to this particular title, however, due to my love of Super Smash Bros. Melee, which I played near consistently on my friend’s GameCube. I always wondered who the badass with the gun was, and that lead me to Fusion.

I can’t say that this first experience really stuck with me (wow, what a way to start the site’s new feature), but I can remember that I wasn’t completely blown away. What has followed in my gaming life has been an inconsistent relationship to the series: a little bit of Metroid Prime Hunters here, a little of Samus Returns there.

Maybe contributing to this returning feature will bring me rushing back into the series when I read others’ undying love for the franchise. Somehow, I doubt it.

My Metroid story started, oddly, on DS. I had held off getting a ‘Phat’, but the slimmed-down Lite and one particular game tempted me enough to crack open my wallet and I picked up a very shiny black console and Metroid Prime Hunters.

Going back now, it’s all rather fiddly, but at the time it felt incredible to have a game so intricate on a system so dinky. It’s no classic, but its bounty hunter-based battling (not to mention the sublime Metroid Prime Pinball) got my foot in the series’ door and led to further investigation.

I ended up finding a loose Zero Mission cart (I wanted something I could play on my Lite, plus it was a remake of the very first game, so it made eminent sense), and I was hooked. I soon caught up with Super Metroid, then Fusion (as part of the 3DS Ambassador Program), and went back to Return of Samus on GB and the 3DS remake, and finally Dread last year. All fine games, although my heart belongs to Zero Mission, which surely ranks as the best remake ever remade.

The Prime series is still a personal blind spot — or not having read all the above! — and I’m hoping the rumours of a Prime 1 Switch remaster are true to get me clued up for Prime 4 when it releases sometime in Q4 2027.

Like most Nintendo IPs Metroid came into my life by accident. When I had my brick Game Boy it was standard practice to trade cartridges with my high school buddies so we could we play the biggest variety of titles possible. One such friend was stuck on something called Metroid II: Return of Samus. The name was only familiar from local TV advertising for the NES version. I borrowed it and was quite surprised to find a pocket Turrican-style exploration game with a lot of hidden depth, namely once you get the Spider Ball upgrade. By the time the staff credits rolled I knew I had just played a Game Boy masterpiece for the ages. It took me many more years after the fact to discover it was Turrican who had first sought inspiration in Samus galactic adventures.

Fast forward a few years later and I find myself eager buy a Super Game Boy. However at the store there was a equal sized (huge!) Super Nintendo game box next to it: Super Metroid! Despite the German-only player guide, I decided to use my birthday earnings on it and, well… here I am today looking at that very same huge box on the shelf while sharing this story with you fine folks. Along with F-Zero and Star Fox, Metroid is part of my Nintendo “Triforce” of science fiction escapism. The series impact on my life remains quite palpable.

So there you have it! We hope you've enjoyed this little peek into how each of us was introduced to the Metroid franchise.

Anyway, now we want to know how you were introduced. Cast your vote in the poll below and let us know which game you played first, then give us a bit of context with a comment!

Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks while listening to video game music... and Motorhead.

Super metroid for me, I had played the NES game but I could never understand it because I was too young at the time.

Metroid 2 on the GB. Wasn't very fun, got stuck, got bored. Only came back to the series with the GBA games a lot later on!

I got introduced Metroid from Metroid Prime Federation Force 3DS. It was like a random game popping in my mind with curiosity. I still have difficulty to finish Federation Force as I have never played 1st person shooter games and I still have dislikeness with other shooter games. But I guess I don't like Metroid games by general to see the gameplay that don't match with my personality and my forte.

Introduced via NOM but only ever read about it never played it. A friend loved Metroid Prime but it wasn’t something high on my badger-parents for list at that age. Tried to get in to Super Metroid but didn’t like it. So my first real play of it was Metroid Dread, at which point I’ve gone back to play Super, Fusion etc.

Though if we’re talking about the character, then Smash Brothers on the N64.

I had metroid 2 for gameboy and I still haven’t played the remake one, even tho I scooped it on day one.

Metroid on the NES not long after it launched.

Metroid Prime on Gamecube will always be my favourite though. It was the first 3D Metroid game at the time and when I saw Samus step out of her gunship for the first time there everything about that was just incredible.

I played Super Metroid when I was much younger and didn't really get into it then. But once Metroid Dread was announced I went on a HUGE Metroid kick and played pretty much all of the older games. Metroid Dread is not my favorite game in the series but I will always remember it and appreciate it for introducing me to my favorite game series of all time.

Metroid II, over here. A tough game, especially for a 7-8 year old, but my brother and I eventually figured it out. When I finally defeated the final boss it felt like such an accomplishment (and at a now embarrassing 16 hour clear time).

I seem to recall seeing my father playing the OG NES Metroid but I was so young back then that I barely remember, I just vividly remember him going left at the start for the morph ball. My father sold the NES at some point so I never really gained much of an familiarity with the system's library.

Super Metroid was the first one I actually played alongside a plethora of other SNES games that I had as far back as I started playing, I used to call it the "red game" because of the red cover art it had. I loved the game as a kid and as I still do and I actually played the game through nearly to the end after much trial and error but I was deathly afraid of Mother Brain, whom I saw my father fight at a really young age, so I never really finished the game until later when I was a bit older.

The Switch has been the console for me to try out series I’d missed or passed over all through the Gamecube, DS, and Wii era, such as Fire Emblem, Pikmin, and, yes, Metroid. Metroid Dread was my first game in the series, and I fell in love with it, even played it to 100% completion. I’ve got a nice little backlog on Nintendo Switch Online if I decide to keep looking into the franchise.

Metroid on NES but Super Metroid was the first that I actually own and completed.

I got Metroid and Metroid Fusion for free through the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program for early adapters of the 3DS system.

Metroid Prime 2, I got on release. Not the first one though, only played that later. I knew about Samus from Melee beforehand.

Why aren’t any of the smash games an option? I was introduced to metroid through smash melee.

I was introduced through Metroid II on Game Boy, a schoolyard friend let me borrow their copy and I quite enjoyed it at the time. I'd later play Super Metroid, and initially didn't get on with it too well, not getting past the Spore Spawn fight, but would later come back to it and absolutely love it.

Metroid 2 on gameboy was my first. Fell in love with the series with Fusion then worked my way through the Prime trilogy and finally Metroid Dread.

For me it’s technically Metroid prime trilogy. My brother got it at gamestop for $20 one day and he loved it, but I was too young to really get anywhere in any of the games. Then when Metroid dread got announced, I picked up zero mission on the Wii U Eshop and loved it

I was sort of introduced to it through Smash 3DS where she was one of the initial characters but I didn't know she was from a series until much later so I wouldn't really say that counts.

My personal first exposure to Metroid would be when I played both the original and Super on NSO back when I first got it in 2020......and I still haven't beat either of them. I've tried to get into the series (I even downloaded Dread's eShop demo for goodness sake!) but no matter what I try, I can never get to grips with the control or map layouts. It's a very cool series that deserves to get entries, but I've given it a fair shake and come to terms with the fact that I just don't think it's for me.

I started with the original, but didn’t start enjoying the series until Prime Pinball and Prime. I’ve since gone back and played most of the series although I still need to finish Prime and Prime 2

First I heard about her was through Super Smash bros N64. I remember that I thought she was the character from Body Harvest N64 for some reason. Mind you, I was 7 years old at the time.

First Metroid I played was Metroid Prime on Gamecube. After that I tried mutliple games but got msot pleasure out of Metroid Dread. That game was fantastic.

With tomorrow being the anniversary, I wonder if Nintendo would use it as an excuse for an announcement? Prime remake?

I remember my local sears had a demo of NES metroid for play in the toys section. I couldn't even figure out how to get out of the first room. How was I supposed to know that you're supposed to shoot the blue thing door thing?

I vaguely knew about Metroid growing up, but my first experience with it was sometime in the early 2000’s. My cousin visited and brought his GameCube with him, and along with it, a copy of Metroid Prime. I was initially confused and not very interested as I didn’t have much interest in first-person shooters at the time. Then I tried it. I’m not sure what about it got me, but I was very intrigued. After that, I emulated the first Metroid game through a Palm Pilot (I still don’t know how I managed to play through it on a device absolutely not designed for video gaming, but I did). It was around that time that Metroid: Zero Mission was coming out, and I had some money saved up, so I decided to buy it. And I played it (and the unlockable Metroid NES onboard) to death; so much that I could 100% it without a guide. After that, the rest is history. I made my way through all the games I had missed, through the new games (except Other M…someday, though), and have been a big fan since!

Super Metroid, on the Snes. I was immediately enthralled. Probably the most atmospheric game I had played at the time.

I always ignored Metroid until one day that I decided to play Super Metroid on my 3DS Virtual Console to see why everyone loves this series so much. I felt in love and I couldn't stop playing until I finished it. Then I decided to try Metroid Other M and Prime Trilogy, but even they are good, they were not my thing. Then I got Zero Mission and Fusion for my GBA on eBay and loved them a lot. I also got the Super Metroid SNES cart. I finally had the pleasure to play Samus Returns and Dread and I love them both as much as all the other 2D Metroid games.

Either Metroid or Super Metroid. Not sure which one, I had access to both. I could never get far. Fusion is the one that grabbed me and I've since bought every Metroid game, other than Metroid Prime Pinball which I'd still like to play. I've beaten every 2D Metroid game but I'm yet to beat any other Prime game than the very first one.

Super Metroid is probably the first video game I beat by myself tbh. I had played a few NES games with my grandfather before that, but most of my playing back then was Super Metroid, Kirby Super Star, and Indiana Jones Greatest Adventures.

Metroid was my realisation that games could more than munching pellets and blasting ships. They could be worlds. My second NES game and i still love that game.

Metroid was my very first NES game when I got it for Christmas in 1987. I’d played (or rather watched) my friends who had it before me but once I got my own copy it was mine, all mine! I’ve been a Metroid fan since. (Although I haven’t played any of the Metroid Prime games)

Whilst I don't think Metroid's my kind of franchise, the first game I played (a spin-off mind, and that's Metroid Blast from Nintendo Land) was surprisingly fun, and ended up obtaining all trophy achievements.

When I first played super Metroid on switch online, my brain didn't make the connection that the morph ball was the item from the first Metroid game that allowed Samus to turn into a ball. I thought it was a consumable item that would allow you to transform into a different species. I thought I needed to use it to get past the security camera and spent ages wondering why nothing was happening

I haven't played much Metroid, I think Fusion might have been the first one I tried. (whichever was the one they gave away on the 3DS Ambassador program) Although I didn't play it for very long.

My first introduction to Metroid was probably when I played Smsah Bros Melee, although I'm sure I had at least heard of the series before then.

I think Samus Aran is a super cool character (and I think she really stands out in Nintendos lineup) however the Metroid games aren't really my thing.

I first played the original but i honestly didn't like it. Sure the music was neat but as far as staying alive more than 10 minutes that wasn't happening. I kept dying over and over then said screw it. Then I'd pop in Mario 3 instead, years later i tried Metroid 2 on gameboy and i finally started to get it. I got hooked and made it all the way to the end! So yeah return of Samus is really where i became a fan. Then i played super metroid and it blew my mind! The graphics, music and freaky bosses all made for one heck of a game! I've played every main game since. I even enjoyed Other M which the rest of the world seems to hate. I still Don't think it deserves all that hate but whatever.

It's been a while since i played the amazing Metroid Dread so i may give that another go soon. Looking forward to Metroid Prime 4!

I was 7/8 years old. I liked gaming magazines. I got Metroid near at launch in 1987 or 1988. It was my favorite NES game.

At that time I played more Master System (Sega Mark III in Japan), because of the 3D glasses along with the pistol. I was done playing so much Missile Defense, Space Harrier, Maze Hunter...etc. Metroid was the game that made me play more NES than Master System or Atari (I was addicted to River Raid, Keystone Kapers, Canyon Bomber, Combat (I had a game on Odyssey very similar to Combat, I loved it, it was called Showdown in 2100 A.D)...

I started to pay more attention to nintendo because of Metroid. I didn't like Mario very much.

Rented the first Metroid from a local video rental shop, in probably 1989.

The things we take for granted today. Metroid (NES) blew my mind with the very fact you had to go left first and get the morph ball in order to progress. I was stuck on the game for days until my babysitter showed me what to do. I only knew Super Mario Bros. at that time, and you never went backward. Metroid was one of my first gaming experiences at 4 years old. Of course that stumbling block was overcome and I played and rented lots of games that offered exploration.

Learnt about Super Metroid from Total Magazine; I recall one pretty awesome cover showcasing Samus without her helmet and a bloody scratch on her cheek.

Things went quiet and I forgot about the series until I bought my GBA SP with Metroid Fusion; though it was Metroid Prime on the GameCube that really reinvigorated my love for the series.

I started with Super Metroid. I love run and guns and arcade adventures (Metroidvanias I think kids call em) Metroid didn’t really look good but Super Metroid.caught my eye!

Super Metroid on the GBA 1 year after its release

My older brother bought Fusion when it came out and prime a little after that. Don't remember which one i played first but i liked fusion the best, at least until i got to the SA-X part after the spider. I still kinda hate being hunted in games

Maybe Super Metroid? I vaguely recall playing some metroid game briefly as a child, but a couple years ago on NSO is the first time I played for real. Ironically after I had played a ton of non-metroid metroidvanias.

Well... I ignored the franchise up until, I dunno, 11 years ago? I tried the NES one on 3DS and hated it. Then Metroid Fusion on 3DS, didn't care for it. Then I tried Super Metroid when it came to Wii U for 30 cents and couldn't get into it. I don't like Metroidvanias, running around aimlessly and getting lost isn't fun for me. I'm more into linear experiences.

But, and this is a big but, I bought Metroid Dread on a whim when it came out and couldn't put it down! Everything seemed to flow so logically together so I never felt lost or unsure about what to do. A couple times I forgot where certain obstacles were once I gained the relevant ability, but it was overall a very positive experience. I even did a second playthrough where I sequence broke a little bit through bomb jumps and technical wall jumps. I am now thinking of going back and giving some of the older games a more serious attempt.

My Dad had Metroid Prime 1 & 2 when I was a kid, and I grew up getting to the same place and couldn't get past it. XD I had heard of the series growing up (and playing/beating Super on Switch online), and I finally got around to playing most of the series when Dread was announced.

I think I'd played a little of Metroid 2 on someone's Game Boy first, but it didn't leave much of an impression on me. Eventually I was spurned on buy a GameCube by being such a big fan of Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid. The best deals were either on a Wind Waker bundle (which didn't look appealing to me at that age) or a Metroid Prime one. I loved Prime and later went on to delve into the earlier games via the Wii Virtual Console. Super is my favourite now.

If it's any concern, I later bought Wind Waker too and loved it just as much, and I'm a massive Zelda fan these days.

Metroid Prime on the GameCube. I don't really know how I missed Super Metroid, but I suppose it was because I was quite young at the time and was more careful about purchases. I loved the GameCube and soon heard that Metroid Prime was one of the most revered titles for it. Unfortunately, I didn't like the game at first, generally found it an ordeal and couldn't beat the final boss.

Then I played Metroid: Zero Mission, loved it, and it helped me understand the core gameplay of the series. I went back to Prime, felt much more comfortable with it all along and finally completed it. I've been a fan of the series ever since.

Back in 89', I rented the original NES Metroid from my local Mega Video down the street and remember cracking it out of that fluorescent pink plastic rental case and playing it at my aunts house...Long story short, i didn't like it.

No Map. It was just brutual trying to differeniate many areas from one another. It wasn' until my mid to late 20's when i finally sat down and finished the thing, while drawing out my own map the further i progressed. It was a messy experience, but i totally enjoyed it!

Super Metroid & Prime 3 are the two Metroid games that blew me away. Still need to get on Fusion, Zero Mission & Dread!

Metroid Prime. As a SEGA kid in the 90sI knew nothing about Metroid, other than seeing Samus in Smash Bros when I got an N64 in ‘98. I played Prime at a display in a store and loved the scanning mechanic. I saw more of it on a friend’s GameCube at university a few months before I bought my own and it looked fantastic. Finally got my own copy a year later and really enjoyed it. However I had a very strange relationship with the game: a number of times I reached the final boss, died and just never came back to finish the job! It was years before I finally sat down and beat it fully, first on my Wii U through the Trilogy release on Wii and then finally last year I returned to it on the Cube and beat. Very satisfying after 15 years!

For me it was several ganes in the series at once. I'd watch my brother play Prime 1, 2, and 3. We also had the demo for Prime Hunters which I would play with friends, but quite rarely.

It was when I my brother moved out that I got his copy of Prime 2. I never did finish Prime 2, however I remember being stunned by the attention to detail.

It has always been my opinion that behind the scenes at Nintendo that they wanted Metroid Prime to be their answer to Halo (with Metroid focusing on single player primarily.) I remember even having conversations in the school yard back then comparing the 2 series. Of course, with the addition of multiplayer in Prime 2 (and it being pushed even further in Hunters,) I held that belief.

Prime 2 isn't my favorite game in the series. In fact the furthest I ever got was to where you need to collect some keys at the end of the game, or whatever. While it isn't even in my top 5 Metroid titles, I still appreciate the effect it had on my enjoyment of the series.

Maybe that's why, apart from Super Metroid impressing me to this day for its attention to detail, I think Prime 3 and Prime 1 are in my top 4 Metroid games or all time, with Prime 3 being at number 2.

super metroid when i has a snes in the early 1990's.

Had received my first current gen console with the GameCube so my parents bought me Metroid Prime. Never quite finished it back in that day but still a masterpiece none the less. I’ve gone on to love the franchise for its distinct style of survival & loneliness. I now prefer the 2D side scrollers to the 3D adventures but don’t mind jumping back in one day

The first one I played was the first one. Metroid on the NES. We just happened to have it for our NES, and it was years after the game originally came out, since I wasn't around during the 80s. I didn't really get into it, I remember getting stumped when I got to that super tight corridor, lol. I didn't get into the Metroid series until much, much later, with stuff like Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, and the GBA Metroid games.

Metroid Received for Christmas in 1987.

It's fun telling my kids that there was a (brief) time when nobody knew Samus was a woman. That myself and their uncle (my brother) found out by beating it quickly.

I still have it! Including the instruction manual that refers to Samus as "he".

Favorite Metroid to date is Super Metroid followed by Zero Mission. Love the Primes but my heart is with the 2D games.

At the age of 4, my aunt who was 12 years older than me was dating this guy who had a NES and the game, and let me try it out. Didn't make it far as you can imagine but the atmosphere, the music, the non linear design, it stuck with me for the years that followed until I could play the subsequent games for myself. I would only go back to the first one much later since I was too young to have owned an NES (I started myself with the SNES) and thought the NES game had aged very poorly

This was weird for me as I played METROID on NES, but never beat it because I was always at friends' houses. Played a bit of METROID II again at friends' houses as I had a GameGear. Then I had a Genesis during the 16-bit era. Was super psyched for the 3rd-person METROID 64 that of course never happened. So while I had played METROID off and on PRIME was the first one I beat.

Return of Samus back in the year or so it came out (early 90's). If I did play NEStroid before that, I don't recall it or was too young to care about the deeper involvement it required. RoS gave the perfect feeling of freedom and relaxation through silence and isolation (being an introvert, you can see how this would be a positive).

Super expanded upon those vibes and so much more. Hearing "The last Metroid is in captivity, the galaxy is at peace," in an era when voice clips were both extremely rare and not normally whole sentences, I knew Super would be a gem. Been a massive fan of the series (and highly critical of Other M, Fed Force) from the start, Dread supplanted Super and Prime 1 for me as the best Metroid.

Samus was my favorite character in Melee as a kid, and she still is in Ultimate. I didn't actually play a Metroid game until the 3DS Ambassador Program handed me the original and Fusion, of which I only finished the latter. Since then, I've beaten Prime, Super Metroid, and Dread, and tried a few others. They're all well-made with cool power-ups and boss fights, but I do have to say I usually prefer the slightly less isolated metroidvanias. Exploring isn't as much fun when you know all you're going to find is another hallway or room full of enemies, and saving the galaxy doesn't mean much when there's no one in particular you want to save.

@MarioBrickLayer Tommorrow is NOT Metroid Prime 1's or Fusion's 20th anniversary. That's in november.

I was introduced through Super Smash Bros., but my first Metroid game was Super Metroid on an emulator. The series didn't really click with me until I beat Metroid Fusion in 2015.

All you young'ins starting on Prime and Fusion lmfao!

I actually don’t know if I played the first metroid first or if it was the second. Neither really hooked med. I actually despise the game boy game since I thought it was soooo hard when I was a kid. Super Metroid was my true entry into the series. I mostly watched my brothers playing though. Later in my teens I finally played it and finished it. Then along came Prime and I was totally blown away. Metroid prime is my number one game of all time. The wait for number four is quite sad. Not unbesrable since we’ve seen nothing from it. Just sad because nothing seems to show. I wish we get it at least next year. Please Retro, make something great!!

I saw a friend briefly play the original NES game. But I didn't own an NES at first, so I had M2 for the Gameboy and it was magical.

I knew of the series but the first game that I got was Super Metroid because Super Play said it was a fine game. I have all the games bar the first on NES. It is a series I need to play one day.

I had a step cousin who lived with his grandparents because the whole family was screwed up. we would go over to visit every couple of weeks - and he was never there cuz he didn't like us they had a nintendo - so I was able to beat Simon's Quest one afternoon. Bayou Billy was horrible. The first Metroid was mesmerizing but I never got far.

Metroid Prime 2 was my first one, but it was not until I got introduced to 2D Metroid with the NES original that the series truly clicked with me.

On the Gameboy, but i never got so much into it, so normally super smash brothers

❗️I very briefly played the first Game back in 1992 but hadn't got a clue what I was to do.

In 1996, I watched a school friend play 'Super Metroid'. It looked cool but I didn't really play.

I played 'Fusion' roundabout when it was released but it was #2hard4me.

I later aged 'Prime 1' and LOVED it and I even completed 'Zero Fusion'.

I tried 'Prime 2: Echoes' but I felt it was too much of the same so stopped playing.

I haven't really played any other Game in the series since but I'd love to replay P1.

@serouj2000 I know, but November is too late to announce a game for release this year...announce on the birth of the franchise for release on the anniversary of the game? Assuming it's coming this year.

Super Metroid was my first in the series, and it’s still my favourite

Ah starting Metroid. Well, I early in the Wii life had discovered I had become rather good at playing Samus in Melee to the point where I was winning matches with ease and sparked my curiosity enough as to play one of her games and I entered the series with Metroid Prime 3 and went from there.

The original NES game. It was the first video game that I ever bought with my own money. Been a huge fan ever since!

Eventho i had the Ness, but at that time i didnt even know about metroid. I started with Super metroid, amazing game.

Other M.. I disliked it so I sold it and never looked back

The Switch is my first Nintendo Console and Dread was my first Metroid game. I played it obsessively for over a month and it’s probably my favourite Switch game so far.

Should probably check out Super Metroid on NSO.

I'd love to see a 2D Metroid collection released for Switch.

My first game in the series was Fusion via the 3DS Ambassador Programme. I've never got massively into the series but I've now played and liked all the 2D entries in some form (the remakes in the case of 1 and 2) and definitely want to play the rest of them in the future.

Like many nitnendo franchises, I was actually introduced via Smash Bros. Thought Samus was such an interesting character that I tried out the games and loved them.

Mark me down as a firm Turrican player. Metroid Prime was my first Samus adventure.

Metroid, just Metroid on the NES. What a challenge until my neighborhood friend and I memorized things more and got the decent ending that revealed Samus was a girl!?! Our minds were blown by the biggest twist in gaming at the time.

Metroid on the NES. The atmosphere, tension, music, and labyrinthian structure make it an unparalleled game from that era. Most people claim it hasn't aged well, but I'd argue the opposite.

The NES original. My parents rented it for me from local video shop and I was lost for hours in those dark caverns, not knowing where to go or what to do but the longer I played it worked itself out. I remember reading those old "How to win at Nintendo games" by Jeff Rovin when I was really stuck and the schoolyard talks about is Metroid (as we called Samus as kids) really a girl as rumored?

Kinda weird, but one of my earliest gaming memories is playing Metroid at a friends house. I wouldn't really play that long, never beat it while I was there, but had fun just playing the beginning. It wasn't until Super Metroid that I got truly hooked, now it's my favorite series.

Zero mission. Was a period I wanted to try as many nintendo ips as possible (didn't play many at the time), so knowing ZM was a remake of the first one, I tried that without even thinking. And I liked it a lot!

Super Metroid. Then, Metroid Prime. My friend had Super Metroid on his Super Nintendo, but the battery in the game didn't work, so, we would always try to make it as far as possible on one playthrough.

A rental copy of Super Smash Bros. (64) was how I was introduced to the character, Samus, but as with a lot of SNES games that I played before the Wii Virtual Console was a thing, emulation was how I first experienced a Metroid game... And as far as emulation goes, I was playing on a crappy old Windows 98 computer that didn't even have sound. Super Metroid couldn't run at a full frame rate at anymore than half of the game's normal speed, so I turned frame skipping on to accommodate. Despite the emulation flaws, I still ended up enjoying and beating the game. Not sure what ending I got, but I think Super Smash Bros. had already spoiled Samus' gender in her character profile, and reading a small description with a single identifying pronoun didn't have the same impact as going through a whole journey with what you thought was a man, only for her to set off a Power Bomb in your head when she takes off her helmet. Another Smash game later, Metroid Prime on the GameCube would be the first Metroid game I owned, and it's still one of my favorite games of all time. I wouldn't play the original Metroid until it was released as part of the Classic NES Series on GBA.

I’m baffled that Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt wasn’t included. It was a pack-in demo for the original Nintendo DS. The content of the demo also wasn’t included in the full release, so I’m quite surprised that this doesn’t seem to be as prized by collectors.

This was also the first I had ever heard of Metroid.

I was really impressed with the quality of the demo and played it to death back in the day. When the full game released about a year later (I bought my DS circa June 2005), I bought it on launch week and, to date, is the only Metroid game I have seen to completion.

While I have the Trilogy on Wii, I didn’t get around to playing it to any length, but I absolutely would if it were to ever come to Switch.

Metroid was my first, and I can’t believe I was already 10 years old when it launched. In my mind I was much younger. Nothing else grabbed me the way it did. I loved everything about it. I taught myself to play all the songs on the piano. It’s still the greatest game on the NES in my opinion. I was in high school when the SNES came out, and even though I wanted one, I was too “cool” to admit that I was into that kid stuff. Consequently, I’ve still never really played Super Metroid. By the time Prime came out however, I didn’t give a rat’s fat ass anymore and I fell head over heels for it. I think it’s the perfect realization of the Metroid series. Echoes wasn’t so much my bag (I hate games that have two worlds to switch between. Can’t explain it exactly, just find them tedious. Never played that Zelda one at all, even though it’s highly rated) but the Wii one (Corruption, I never got around to Other M) was SO good. Meeting the other bounty hunters really fleshed out the experience. Metroid games had always felt so solitary, and all of a sudden you could see how Samus fit in to the bigger picture. I was over the proverbial moon. I got pretty excited about Dread, and I really dug it until I just couldn’t handle of all of the buttons anymore. I think I’m finally getting too old to keep track of all of these combinations. I got frustrated and took a break, and when I returned it was completely impossible. One day I’ll start it over from the top and try to power through, but I’ll probably be 70 at the time and I guarantee it won’t be pretty. I am really rambling here… but good lord do I love Metroid.

I’ve been playing Metroid since the 80’s. The first two Metroid games weren’t great and had a lot of flaws. They were very interesting though and dripping with atmosphere (especially the NES game).

Metroid didn’t hit its stride until Super Metroid which we all know is a masterpiece.

Found the NES and game boy version, kinda confusing and challenging. It was Super Metroid that I found more playable. Curious if Nintendo can port Metroid Other M, as the direction seemed appealing. While Metroid Dread seemed it wanted to be more action oriented which was an interesting approach to the series.

I’m old so OG Metroid on the NES…just shortly after it launched.

Smash Bros 64. When Metroid Prime came out, I finally checked the series out, but never completed Prime. I kept up with Fusion when it was revealed and released, but that one also fell by the wayside.

Sometime in 2012 (I think), I finally checked out Super Metroid and was amazed at how well made it was. It was amazing - despite how slow it felt.

A few years later, I checked out AM2R and was blown away by it.

have every intention of checking out Dread and Prime. Just waiting for the Switch remaster.

Metroid 2 on game boy for sure. Actually didn’t even play super Metroid until way later after prime. I was disappointed there was no spiderball

For me, it was Metroid II: Return of Samus on the 3DS VC. I'd heard some great things about the series but had never tried it. Club Nintendo was still a thing then (RIP), so I used some coins to net a free download. I was surprised how much I liked the game; there are better series entries, but to fit all that exploration and action on a humble GB cart back in the day was quite a feat. My experience encouraged me to seek out the other entries.

To date, I've played/beaten most of the games in the series, all of which (that I've played) range from fairly decent to amazing. The only exceptions are Metroid Prime Hunters (Not sure about the control scheme and how much more of a FPS it is compared to the console Prime entries), Federation Force (I think this received too much internet hate, but I skipped out on it thanks to the multiplayer elements; I was burned hard by Tri Force Heroes), and Metroid Prime Pinball (A spinoff I might try someday).

Return of Samus on Gameboy was my introduction. I beat most of the Metroid games growing up, but I didn't actually enjoy them very much. Not until I was in my twenties and decided to replay them and go for 100%. Suddenly games like Prime and Fusion that I hadn't enjoyed became games I LOVED. Echoes in particular was the game that made Metroid officially overtake Zelda as my favorite franchise (until I discovered Pikmin many years later).

Technically I started with Super, but it didn’t quite click with me. But Prime swayed me and I’ve since gone on to play them all several times over.

The OG. And if it weren't for Metroid (and Zelda), I might have been turned off of NES games as a kid--at least for a while, because Mario and other whimsical arcade-like games didn't really grab me. But the 'serious' sci-fi tone of the original Metroid and the immersive feel of exploring those dark, dangerous tunnels influenced me as a gamer and as a creator for a lifetime.

Super Metroid thanks to… totally legal ways to play the game when I was in middle school. This was maybe the end of the 64, start of the GameCube era. In this era, the internet was becoming more pervasive and there was more opportunity to play games that maybe weren’t as available in my youth (I’m looking at you Final Fantasy VI with your $100 price tag in my area), so I was fortunately exposed to dozens of classic games that I couldn’t find or afford previously. Honestly, I preferred the SNES and NES eras for their gameplay over the modern consoles of the time as well. Super Metroid was one of the first games I played once I discovered… totally legal means to playing all classic games… as my family and I were always primarily first party Nintendo game players. We had the Marios, the Zeldas, the Donkey Kongs, the Kirbys, etc, but we didn’t have Metroid, Earthbound, F-Zero, you know? Anyway, I’d never heard of Metroid until I had the internet and… a totally legal way to play it… as the game wasn’t even at the local rental store. Super Metroid (and Earthbound) seemed exceptionally exotic and special because of this, and, well, I loved the game, went back and played the first one and the sequel. And I continued on with the series from there. I was really excited for Dread, in particular, though, as it’s technically the first time I’ve been able to directly support the franchise. 10/10 game too, my favorite yet.

My first Metroid was Prime 2 lol. I remember the box art being so appealing. My second was Hunters on the DS.

Metroid: Prime on GCN for me... I missed the 2D games completely and didn't get into them until much later, when I gave Zero Mission a go on Wii U. I've now played everything through except a few spinoffs.

Hopefully we get the prime trilogy for the switch before prime 4 comes out.

Hmm, that is it. Can’t think of something more to say.

Metroid Fusion (and Super Metroid) but through an emulator. There was a time in late high school/early college for me when I got into emulating best of games for the 8-32 bit systems and I played Fusion up to the Spider boss. I didn't get very far in Super Metroid (like post-Kraid). Being that these games are not originally designed with mouse and keyboard controls, I got frustrated and quit. I've tried to go back to Super Metroid when NSO online came out but I've had even less patience to finish either game.

About 3-4 years later and right before the launch of the Switch, I got lucky and bought a cheap but great conditioned copy of Metroid Prime Trilogy for Wii. Fell in love with the series, 3D Metroid works so much better for me than 2D. Prime 2 is my favorite of the bunch but 1 does have the best environment diversity and 3 has the best bosses.

I did play and enjoy Metroid Dread immensely when it came out in 2021. I was actually gonna skip it but I'm glad I didn't. Easily the best 2D Metroid by a long mile.

Super Metroid for me. I had heard about Metroid entries up to that point but this was the first time I had the chance to locate a Metroid game and get into the series. I had been told it was like Mega Man since I particularly was a fan of the blue bomber, but that info couldn't have been any more wrong-- The world immediately immersed me in. I had played NOTHING like it up to that point, and it felt like games such as Super Mario and Zelda prepared me for this then new experience-- There was platforming, exploring, item gating, and I feel it was a bit of a survival game too! It was a bit sandboxy in that I could go anywhere (allowed i.e.), and you never knew what danger was around the next corner (rising lava, a floor giving way, a boss, etc.). That unease and the inevitable badassness you ascend to left an impression on me I will never forget. I would go on to play Fusion, Zero Mission, Metroid, and Metroid II in that order for the 2D Metroids. I cannot wait to free up my overly busy life to finally dig into Dread.

I think i remembered playing the original Metroid in a Debenhams for about 5-10 minutes. I think it could have been in 1989/90 i don't remember exactly when, though i didn't understand how to play it at the time.

For me, my first real experience of the Metroid series was its sequel Metroid 2 - Return of Samus, which i borrowed from a friend at school. I remember being surprised at already having the Maru Mari at the start of the game. (The Morph Ball) I do remember something funny though, the first time i played it, I got stuck at the start because i didn't know to jump up and shoot downwards to clear to blocks. I do wonder how many people didn't realise this. Once my friend told me, i figured out the rest of the game. I got lost plenty of times, but i eventually completed it. For such a minimalistic game, it had so much atmosphere.

Though my fave in the series is still Super Metroid!!

Probably Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion. I never had an NES, and my parents never got me a copy of Super Metroid when I was growing up either. And although I had a Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color, Metroid was not necessarily among the games in my Game Boy library. Because of this, I admittedly never had a particularly strong interest in the series, or any nostalgia, because I only got to play it much later in life as a mid/late teen, when real life itself started taking hold of my ability to get into video games the way I once did.

My first Metroid game was Metroid: Samus Returns. I had known about Metroid for quite a while by the time I got Samus Returns, but I had never played one until that point. Samus Returns instantly hooked me and I became a fan. I’ve since played Zero Mission, Prime, and Dread (Dread being my favorite). I’ll definitely get to the rest of the games eventually, especially if they all come to Switch, but I’m definitely a Metroid fan regardless.

My first game was fusion on a gba emulator in about 2004, then mission zero, then super then nes then dread. I’ve never played a prime but I’d love to give it a shot

Metroid 2 on the Game Boy. Had no issue completing the game but didn't think it was anything special.

Metroid Fusion on the GBA was the game to convert me.

OG metroid had no save system on the old NES. But it did have this weird code system. Caused all kinds of headaches when one of us typo'd it.

I was a little kid playing Smash Bros Brawl with my brothers. I did a final smash and then my robot guy turned into some random girl. It was very confusing.

Having almost completely missed Nintendo altogether in the 90s, save for having the Game Boy Color, the first time I even heard the word metroid was in middle school sometime. It was either Metroid Prime 1, or one of the earlier Metroids GBA games.

The first one I played was that demo for the DS. Was amazing. To this day, I've only ever played about three metroids, maybe. Or four. Super for a little while, one of the GBA ones... maybe Fusion. Prime 3 was amazing. I watched my brother play Prime 1 or 2 later on though. Cool game as well.

I'll probably get Dread, eventually.

I rented it on nes but was not old enough to understand. However, I had a gameboy and at some point while in middle school, I got metroid 2. Best game on my gameboy! Played for probably 1000s or hours, using the magnifying light at night under the sheets. I played super Metroid at a friends and always was jealous I never had that. it wasn’t until prime 3 that I rediscovered my love for the series. I have got back and played all Metroid games countless times now except the remake on 3ds. I can’t bring myself to use that tiny little console anymore. Keep hoping it and some others(lbtw) will ported to switch someday.

Played Metroid 2 cuz my babysitter had a copy of it and I had no idea where to go. I liked the music, tho.

First was Metroid Prime 3 on Wii that my brother bought me for xmas one year, I really wasn't into first-person shooters at the time and gave up pretty early on. Then tried Fusion with the 3DS Ambassador program, but got bored after about 2/3rds of the way in. At that point, I just figured Metroid wasn't for me. Then when the SNES mini got released I decided to give Super a go and absolutely loved it from start to finish. I've only played one other Metroid since (Dread) and loved that too. Really hoping the Prime remake rumours are true so I can finally get around to trying it out also!

A friend lent me Super Metroid in junior high. One of my favorite games to this day. Same friend also lent me Chrono Trigger. Good dude.

I think the fact that Fusion was included in the ambassadors program gave a lot of exposure to many players who otherwise wouldn't have played Metroid during the dry era, including myself.

My neighborhood friends all had NES's, and my family didn't yet, so we would rent the system and games from the local video store. I remember picking Metroid because the game sounded so interesting on the back of the box. Fell in love with that game instantly.

When I finally convinced my parents to get an NES, I got Metroid and the Nintendo Player's Guide with it rather than the Super Mario Bros. /Duck Hunt pack-in games.

I have been a huge fan ever since!

Original Gameboy, still have my copy ❤️😁😁

My first Metroid game was Hunters First Hunt on the DS. From there I got the full Hunters game, and it didn’t click all that much with me.

My second introduction to the series was Fusion, as part of the 3DS Ambassador program, and then I got Metroid 2 on the 3DS Virtual Console, both games made me like the series, and I eventually went back and finally finished Hunters.

Metroid Prime on Gamecube. Fantastic game. I hope the remake rumors are true. I then went on hiatus and didn't play another game in the franchise till Samus Returns on 3DS.

I first heard of Metroid from the 90's cartoon where several video game characters banded together to fight Mother Brain. The first time I played a Metroid game was on the SNES with Super Medtroid. Loved the series ever since and played all the games.

@Ravenmaster Had to of been Captain N: The Game Master!

@Slowdive All it needed was a map and it easily would of been a 9 for me.

@NeonPizza That's the one! Thanks for reminding me

@Ravenmaster One of the best and most underrated cartoons ever! It goes great, alongside the Super Mario Bros. Super Show & Legend of Zelda. That was like, the triple trio of awesomeness for me back in 89-90 on Saturday mornings.

For me, it was probably when I got my first issue of Nintendo Power in the mail. It had a walkthrough that covered a good part of Zero Mission (Kraid's level through Ridley's level). I had played a demo of it at Walmart before, but thought nothing of it.

But after reading the walkthrough, and playing as Samus in Super Smash Bros. Melee, I figured I'd get Zero Mission. I fell in love with the series ever since. The music, the character of Samus, the atmosphere, the universe it built, I love it all.

It is easily in my Top 3 favorite Nintendo series, the others being The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox. Top 5 would include Super Smash Bros. and Super Mario Bros. (as in, the mainline Mario games, not spinoffs like Mario Kart or Paper Mario).

A little fun fact: I used to think that Samus was called Metroid (similar to how people think Link is Zelda). Well, I guess after the events of Dread, she CAN be called Metroid now! Not only is she a Metroid, she is THE Metroid!

In the Chozo language, the word "Metroid" means "Ultimate Warrior," which is exactly what Samus is. And because she is the only one with Metroid DNA and abilities left in the galaxy, she is also effectively a Metroid herself.

My first experience with Metroid was Super Smash Brothers... But then last summer I bought into the Metroid Dread hype big time, so to prepare I played through all 4 2D Metroid games in order and finished just in time to play Dread when it released. And that's how I learned that I like Metroidvanias 🙂

Got the original NES game in the late 80s. My mom bought it for me at a yard sale, if memory serves. Cart, box, manual were all in perfect condition. Been a fan ever since.

Metroid Fusion. Great memories. Such a tense first-time experience as a young gamer. That first time the music cuts and SA-X strolls ominously right underneath you.

I go back far enough that it wasn't common knowledge that Samus was a woman. I hadn't finished teh game when the Justin Bailey code blew that wide open. It was fun to play around with that code though as it enabled me to get further into the game and learn more about it.

My first home console was a Gamecube, specifically the Platinum Gamecube bundled with Metroid Prime and the Metroid Prime 2 bonus disk. It did not come with a memory card, and the Memory Card 59 that came with Animal Crossing did not have enough room to store even Prime's 2 block save file, so I played through the Frigate Orpheon sequence quite a few times before I was finally gifted a 1019 card alongside Melee. Even then, it took a lot of slow progress over the next few years before I finally beat it.

I definitely remember the Metroid NES commercial making an impression on my 80s cartoon addled 6 and 7 year old brain... and then Mother Brain from Captain N gave me some more familiarity but I dont think I would have played it til 1990 on a couple of rentals. I remember enjoying it but not having as much fun as other titles. I didnt come to appreciate this one fully til I was an adult.

Super Metroid though; I fell in love with that game. It got to the point id rent it once a month to beat the damn thing. An all time favorite to be sure.

I'm pretty sure my first exposure was through a Playchoice 10 arcade cabinet.

Super Smash Bros on the N64 introduced me to Samus and therefore Metroid. Then I saw Metroid Prime in gaming magazines and watched the trailer for it on the Ocarina of Time Master Quest disc which came with Wind Waker. It convinced me to buy it because the morph ball maze/platforming gameplay looked really fun

It was one of the in store demos for the NES back in '86. Pretty much confused every kid who tried it out.

Got Metroid 2, return of samus for my 4th or 5th birthday from my older brothers (I realized later they just got it for themselves since I could never understand it) but I did play the heck out of that game and have played them all ever since. Prime and Fusion were the first that I played on my own with no sibling help and what great memory all those metroid games were.

I was on holiday in Australia and I picked up a copy of Metroid 2 from Toys "R" Us. This was back when I didn't really know much about games and kind of just picked things based on the cover art. It kept me pretty entertained when sitting around in the airport lounge. I didn't really fall in love with the franchise until I saw Super Metroid the year after, though. Was staying at a family friend's house and they had a SNES with Zelda 3 and Metroid 3 — the latter of which really captivated me with its atmosphere.

first game was metroid dread - since then I loved the franchise as if it were a baby

Smash Brothers was how I was first introduced to Samus. Technically I think my first experience with a Metroid game was playing the demo of Fusion for 10 minutes in Electronic Boutique back when they were in business. Its how I found out Samus was a woman because I died during that game.

Super Smash Bros. technically introduced me to Metroid, but Samus Returns takes the credit. I immediately started playing it after Nintendo announced Dread, and I gotta say that it's probably one of the most impressive remakes I have ever seen.

NES Metroid was my first and I loved it. I didn't play most of the series after until Prime 3, Other M and Dread. I liked all of them, but still haven't played super metroid, prime 1/2 or the others.

Sadly I tried Super Metroid at like age 10 which scared the daylights out of me and put me off the series. I think if I had known Samus was female at the time that I would have powered through it but by the time I found out I had an aversion to the series. Bought Dread and have been trying to force my way through the series. Not enough female protags growing up so I am not going to my grave snubbing one of the OGs.

My love for Metroid began with the original for NES. It was one of the first games I got for my NES when I was gifted one in 1987. I have so many fond memories of exploring and mapping out the labyrinthine tunnels by hand in a notebook. I recall that my Dad also played and enjoyed it with me and we’d sometimes work together to map out the game. Have loved the franchise since!

I had Super Metroid as a 5-year-old. Couldn’t beat it.

Didn’t try the franchise again until I was 15. I played melee. Thought Samus was cool, so I played Zero Mission, Prime and Fusion…and then the rest lol

I jumped on the Dread hype train, and tried it out. Now I'm eagerly awaiting Prime 4.

Started with Metroid when I was 9, but I didn't really enjoy it. Metroid II I liked a ton as a kid, but then Super Metroid is when I fell in love with the series. I've played and enjoyed all of them, but never gave Other M a chance due to all the negative reactions. Thought about trying it finally...

On my first PC, I remember downloading a SNES emulator and a whole bunch of roms. I was having a go on anything that looked a bit sci-fi, most games barely keeping my attention beyond the intro screen. Then I saw Samus' face, and it looked kind of anime to me. Then the opening, where you can't really die but you fight a boss. I was hooked and played the whole thing, with a quicksave button, using a sidewinder flightsiltick. I even did the wall jump, with this giant stick, it was very hard. Since then, I have purchased an old SNES, the actual cartridge, every console and handheld (except Wii U), every Metroid game the day they came out, federation Force, Other M, repurchased super Metroid and the OG Metroid on virtual console for Wii and 3DS. I have spent $1000s on Nintendo and it all started with a bit of piracy and Super Metroid. This is why I think piracy isn't that bad a thing for Nintendo.

@Jcdbengals Other M was one of my favourite games on Wii. You should try it.

I’ve been very haphazard with Metroid. I’ve wanted to get into it but it’s not easy. For one thing, I’ve only played 2D Metroid. I’ve briefly played Super but didn’t get far at all. However, I jumped at getting Dread to help give the series another chance, but it’s been the same way. I’ll get back to it eventually but I’ve had a backlog and current games to attend to along with life in general.

Here’s hoping the Prime remakes ever happen somehow so I could finally try 3D Metroid. GBA games for NSO with Zero Mission and Fusion would also help.

The original Metroid for me. I think we got it Christmas of '87.

Sheesh...was I really 6 years old when I started played Metroid?!

Friend of my mum's. "Uncle Metroid" we used to call him, though he wasn't my real uncle

Super Metroid was the the first one I played. Bought it day one when it released. I was well aware of the Metroid games on the NES and always wanted to play them but I was a SEGA Master System kid and couldn't afford both a SMS and an NES.

Super Metroid for me. I read all the preview hype, and bought it day 1 along with World Cup Striker (football game). Since then I've played the rest except the NES one (play Zero Mission instead), and Other M and Prime 3 (boycotted the Wii and WU era).

We were introduced by mutual friends

I stared with NES and loved them all except that mess dread.. worst metroid game ever made

Metroid nes for me, still my faviorite nes game

My intro to Metroid was actually off of Super Smash Bros on N64. I didn't know who Samus was, but the character seemed rad. Got into the series through Prime and Zero Mission.

my friend told me about it so i downloaded all the roms i can get and emulated it.

Never played it until Nintendo Land…. I guess that mini game didn’t count….

Metroid II: Return of Samus on the original Nintendo Gameboy was my first Metroid. Since then I've been buying Nintendo hardware primarily to see a new installment in Metroid series.

Metroid prime which I hated as a kid then we got fusion which I loved. Years later I went back to prime and loved it. I was just too young for it at the time

My first foray into Metroid is mildly weird? Maybe? I don't know. I'm not even 100% sure but I think the first one I got was Metroid Prime 2 on the GameCube. Which I never completed even to this day. I still want to, but I never really manage to get into first person games that much. The first one I actually completed was Super Metroid and that was on the Wii U.

Also technically my first actual contact with Metroid was with Samus in the original Super Smash Bros. But that's (understandably) not on the poll.

I do need to play more Metroid. I do have most if not all of the games in the franchise.

I really never played the metroid series until the last 5-6 years. My only real exposure was playing as samus in smash 64 when I was a kid, but that was pretty much it.

NES for me, one of the earliest games I got for the system. It was a lot of fun but I didn't really know what I was doing and got lost a lot, but remember using 999999 kkkkkkk or justin bailey to mess around with.

First made aware of it through the N64 Smash Bros., had no idea who Samus was at the time. First one I actually played I think was Fusion but first one I beat was Other M.

Had kind of long only really tapped at the series, with Other M and Super being the only ones I'd beaten for years, but last year I did a pretty big deep-dive on the series and went through Samus Returns, Fusion, Zero Mission, and Dread in short order.

Metroid on the NES!!!!! One of my absolute FAVORITE games EVER! It induced an incredible feeling of isolation and cold that made me keep playing that game for so many hours as a child. I know I found every damn little secret in that game. I was so addicted to it. It's hands down my all time favorite franchise by Nintendo and possibly ever. That feeling of finding a crazy location for a power tank right when you need one or some random new upgrade. This game was soooooo far ahead of its time!!!

I actually lucked out when it came to my exposure to Metroid. The Nintendo DS happened to be a system I really wanted after loving the hours I spent playing the GBA, and Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt was provided as a pack-in. I still do like First Hunt, and it set the stage for what would be months of reading and re-reading issues of Nintendo Power in anticipation for the full game. I had so much hype for Metroid Prime Hunters going in, and when I got the game gifted to me for Easter in 2006 and played...I was blown away.

Since then, I've played and beaten every Metroid release and Metroid is my favorite Nintendo series. Metroid Prime Hunters is to me the best game in the franchise and it isn't close. My favorites behind Hunters would be, in order: Federation Force, Dread, Super and Other M for my Top 5. I've so far had the motivation and enjoyment to complete 7 Metroid games to 100%. Those would be my Top 5 and the next two I would rank just outside, being Prime at 6 and Samus Returns at 7.

Samus and I met back in 80s when the game was new. Nintendo Power wasn't a thing yet and there was no internet, so friends were our best resource. While visiting a friend of mine, he showed me Metroid and Kid Icarus, two titles I'd never heard of but suddenly had to own. The graphics were impressive at the time and I recall loving the atmosphere and fast-paced gameplay

Metroid on NES for me, though I couldn't figure out what to do and was completely lost back in the days. I finished it many years after using a map, without map it's really a pain the a**

Captain N: The Game Master! My parents would rent me a different game every weekend, and I made it a point to play everything that showed up on Captain N. (And that show had some great taste in video games. It rarely steered me wrong.) Since the big-bad of the series was Mother Brain, I eventually tried out Metroid. Been a fan ever since!

Pretty interestingly I played Metroid Prime on the GameCube first. Amazing game although it needs modern controls these days. Now thanks to Nintendo Switch Online I've played Super Metroid which is amazing too

Oh yeah. I forgot about Metroid Prime Hunters. That is really good as well

As I am old I did play the original game but did not like it at all, but then there was lots of talk about the games when they went to 3D on the gamecube, and I was extremely impressed with it and enjoyed the first two games. I cannot help feeling the series has always been a bit confused with the two different styles, suffice to say with a good company on the new metroid I am buzzing to see what they come up with, roll on that reveal!

I'd heard the term Metroidvania, and understood the jist, but until Steamworld Dig 2, I'd never given the genre a fair chance. That game sent me down a path of playing the best games in the genre which eventually led me to Super Metroid, it's clunky platforming was a tough sell, but using the rewind feature ok switch made it less frustrating. 10 hours in and I died and reloaded my save, forgetting I just been using rewind for the last 8 hours. I've tried it a few times since but never stick with it again.

Got Metroid Dread on launch, and it just felt much better, the controls issues I'd had were addressed and I ended up being the first of my Metroid loving friends to finish it.

For me, I first became aware of Metroid through Smash Bros on N64 (That game actually opened the floodgates for me, as I realized there was more to Nintendo than Mario, Zelda and Pokemon). It was actually my brother who got Metroid Fusion as a birthday present, so that was my first proper exposure to Metroid

The OG Metriod for me, think I have share this history before but whatever: I was 10 at the time and just move to another part of the country with my family, i made a friend at the new school i was and he talked me into this thing called Nintendo, i had play videogames before but didn't own a console at the time so i was interested in the conversation, anyway long story short, a few day later he told me of this place a few blocks from school when they rented videogame consoles, think of an arcade place but they also had like 5 or 6 NES or SNES hooked to tv's and they rent it over for an amount of time (half an hour, an hour an so on) we went there while waiting for our families to pick us up and i remember one day all the cool cartridges where already taken (that means the most popular ones) so i look into the cartridges left in there, found out Metroid for the NES, pay a 30 minutes session and the rest is history. When my mom came to pick me up i was really frightened, shocked of what that game did to my young mind, I was really in awe cuz at that point, no game had done anything remotely similar to me, from that day on, all I played was Metroid. To nobody's surprise (i guess) the game was always available since i think it was dificult to get into at first and those 30 to 1 hour sessions didn't help, but i loved going there and play Metroid, i never thought a videogame could make you feel scared but metroid did it for me and to this day, it remains my favorite franchise of them all. A few months later my dad gifted me a SNES and guess what game I did buy first?

GB Metroid 2 - vividly remember playing it in a hotel in the US on holiday there.

Although technically I did play the original nes Metroid before that at a neighbour’s house (also in the US when I briefly lived there) but it seemed impossibly hard.

Prime on gc is probably the one that really grabbed me though, although I think I technically played it on the wii as I got it late.

Super Metroid. Seeing that massive box for it in Woolworths compared to the other SNES game boxes got me so intrigued.

I was a little late honestly. I actually didn’t know about Samus until Smash 64. Same for Ness. Though I had a SNES early on, my library was limited & I actually played Sega Genesis mainly until N64.

I won't lie; I had no idea who Samus was until I played Super Smash Bros Brawl.

The first ever Metroid I played was Metroid Prime. Eventually I got to play all the other games except the 3DS ones: Federation Force and Samus Returns. Mostly because I was a very late 3DS adopter and I haven't found them physically.

Fusion was the first one I've played. Heard about the series before, but was a hardcore Sega fan as a kid so I missed out on the classic Nintendo 8 and 16-bit era. Then I finally got into Nintendo and never looked back.

As a kid, just about every Friday or Saturday night I would go out to dinner with my grandparents. We usually went to a cafeteria style restaurant in our local mall. After dinner we'd usually go into the KB Toys at the mall, and they'd buy me a GI Joe figure or Transformer toy. Sometimes they'd buy me an NES game. And that's how I got Metroid. I never read about it before, I simply picked it out because of the box art and what I saw on the back of the box. I was hooked. Metroid is my second favorite Nintendo franchise, and whenever I play the original, I always think about my grandparents.

Through the virtual console. Goddamn, I miss the virtual console.

Unusually late, even though I've been playing Nintendo since the 80s / the NES. So the first was Corruption, not playing myself but watching a friend. First actively played was - Other M! And I really liked it. There. Never cared for FPS, found Other M way more intriguing and unique. Would have loved to play the Metroid 2 remake, but I'm not using the 3DS anymore... too small, I prefer TV. Dread was fantastic of course, now looking forward to Prime 4, even though I'll have to overcome my FPS aversion.

First one I ever owned myself was Metroid Prime on GC. I had played Metroid and Super Metroid at friends' houses though.

My first encounter with Metroid was with Super at a Target SNES kiosk. I was fascinated, but it wouldn't be until middle school that I'd actually have a chance to sit down and play it. My parents would expect me to do what I felt was an unreasonable amount of work before they'd buy or rent a game for me, but by middle school I'd discovered emulation, and that was how I fell in love with the Metroid series. I eventually spotted a cart in a stack of other games being sold to a retro game store and I bought it before they even had a chance to put a price tag on it. I currently own almost every Metroid game.

I played the original Metroid on the NES as a kid, but I never stuck with it. I think it was a matter of me being a young kid and having absolutely no clue what I was supposed to do or where to go.

I then skipped the SNES for the Genesis so I totally missed Super Metroid.

I would consider my first real introduction to be Metroid Prime. I was instantly hooked. The Prime games are all awesome! I've since gone back and played the originals.

Back in the mid 2000s I'd watch my brother play Metroid Prime all day, 10 hrs a day every day, from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. I wasn't a gamer at the time but was thoroughly captivated by his playthrough.

Went out and bought a Platinum GameCube with Metroid Prime 1 and 2 and binged for a month straight. I was actually playing so much I started having dreams of the Ing. No joke.

When the Wii released, I had to buy one- not for Zelda Twilight Princess (I didn't know what Zelda was), but for Metroid Prime 3 Corruption.

That led to playing Zelda TP which I loved to death, and DKC Returns which I loved to death.

Thus, a gamer was born.

I didn't have an NES as a kid. I'd go to one friend's house and demand that he let me play Zelda (against his pleas of "let's go play outside!"), and another friend's house to play Metroid. For obvious reasons I never finished either. Metroid II was the first Metroid game I owned, and I absolutely loved it, even though either the cartridge or the Gameboy was broken, and after about 20 minutes it would overheat (I guess?) and shut down so you had to make your time worth it (strangely, that didn't happen with any other games). I'm not entirely sure why I missed out on Super Metroid since I had a SNES and played most of the big games... years later after I fell in love with Prime I played it on emulator and knew that a big chunk of my childhood had been missing until that point. After that I've owned and played pretty much every non-Federation Force Metroid game there is, but Samus Returns (remake or original, both of which I've played multiple times) will always be my favorite. And I still kind of think the original is the worst of them all.

Same I got it with my GB for my Birthday and got stuck and then bored and eventually traded to one of my brothers for Mario Land. Now that was a great GB game ( at least for 8 year old kid).

The next game was Metroid Prime which got me hooked on the franchise so I gave Fusion a shot. Eventually I did rally back to Return of Samus playing it on the 3DS via the free ambassador game. Having the internet and the ability to save helped make short work of the game.

My first encounter was technically the first one, but found it convoluted and hard. The first I completed and found cool was Metroid II.

Metroid 2 was my first ever Nintendo game (alongside Wave Race) and possibly the first video game I ever played! I got it bundled with the Gameboy Pocket on my 6th birthday. Naturally this series is hugely important to me although it took me about 7 years before I actually completed it.

in one of my birthday my mother gave me the Game Cube with Metroid Prime i played the game and fell in love in the franchise

back in the US, 80s/90s, there was nothing like Metroid. it was a mysterious game id play at other people's houses, and it was confusing, difficult, and frightening. it felt like it must just go deeper, and deeper, way way down, but i didnt know for sure because for the life of me i couldnt figure out how to progress haha.

i didnt get back to the franchise until after SOTN came out, i was HOOKED, and the comparisons were being made, so I had to seek out Super Metroid, and ive played just about every metroid game since.

SPOILER ALERT! im still working through dread, so thanks for that. 😔 really didnt seem worth it tbh.

@-wc- Sorry for the spoiler. I figured most people who wanted to play it, much less beat it, would have by now. As it is, it's been out for almost a year at this point (10 months, but still).

It was probably Metroid or Metroid Prime, but real answer would be Smash Bros. I have multiple games, but the series has never truly clicked for me.

lol yeah, ive had it since day 1 but ive been like, working haha. no real harm done my friend 😊 i enjoyed what you shared btw ✌️

I can't remember if I vaguely recognized Samus' appearance on the SNES/GB box arts in stores, but the first time I really remember was Smash 64. Her moves were so cool. How other people see Smash 4 Cloud or Ultimate Pyra/Mythra, is how my friends and I saw Samus' Charge Shot back then lol ("so unfair!!")

It was through the modest Smash 64 character bio section that I learned about the original NES game, and that was the first Metroid game I ever played. I didn't get far at all, like I didn't even get out of Brinstar for like a year lol, but I was enthralled with the game. It was such a joy discovering that, Kid Icarus, Wario's Woods, and other NES greats for the first time. Because I loved the NES game, I was actually quite skeptical of Metroid Prime at first because of the huge change from 2D to 3D FPA. But after some time, it ended up becoming one of my favorite games of all time.

Metroid Prime. Huge gamble because I just at random asked this game for my birthday without knowing a thing about the Metroid series and that apparently it was a traditional side-scroller before Prime. I even wasn't a big first person shooter fan but something about the game just looked appealing. It ended up being one of my best birthdays .

@-wc- Yeah, I was a Day 1 adopter, too. Frankly, I'm surprised I beat it, much less 100% completed it, considering how difficult the game is, and especially considering I've been playing almost nothing other than Genshin Impact for the past year (only other game besides both of those that I really played was Skyward Sword HD).

Metroid was one of those games everybody knew about it or heard about it but very few played it. I am talking late 80s, early 90s. I played Super Metroid (around the year 2000) and I didn't quite get it. It was until Metroid Prime when I played a Metroid game throughly and played more games from the series.

My first forey into Space Bounty Hunting was with Metroid 2 (I still have my OG Cartridge & it STILL WORKS!! XD) then Super, Prime Trilogy & Fusion though I freaking HATE Fusion's linear progression & how stupid Samus' suit looks. I played Other M (gameplay was good but VA & story left MUCH to be desired), Metroid 2 remake & DREAD & agree with everyone on the net about the pros & cons of each. Prime Quadrilogy (hope MP4 is outstanding) & Super are my favorite entries though.

@Bankaj I can see that. Samuses model and the body harvest model kinda look similar at angles.

My first experience was Metroid II: Return of Samus via a classmate's copy way back when. However, I only played my classmate's save file for about 25ish minutes and was lost with no idea what my objective was. Fast forward to May 2002, I bought a GameCube and though it wasn't my first, second, or even third GameCube game, I bought a copy of Super Smash Bros Melee that July and I picked Samus as my main. The trophies in this game not only reignited my love for Nintendo; it opened the gate to the history and lore of a lot of Nintendo games including Metroid which I immediately latched on to. Bought Fusion & Prime on day 1 and despite my not liking Prime initially as I felt overwhelmed by the vastness of just the first land area (I was only use to playing 2D games as well as smaller 3D corridor games at the time; also hadn't played many open world games like Ocarina of Time), I restarted from scratch a few months later and everything clicked. Instantly became one of my favorite GCN games. And if Melee & Prime lured me into the IP, Zero Mission just grabbed me and didn't let go. Easily one of the best remakes ever and top 2-3 best GBA games imho. While I'm not a fan of every entry (both DS outings did nothing for me, Echoes didn't click with me especially since you were constantly losing health in most areas for a decent part of the game and had limited light/dark ammo and original + II are just unplayable to me), I've enjoyed a good chunk of them with Prime, Zero Mission, Samus Returns & even the Metroid attraction in Nintendo Land being standouts for me.

@OwenGamer22 7% is the biggest increase since Prime 20 years ago. I'd say thats pretty substantial

Keep in mind, this poll is asking hard-core Nintendo fans who frequent a Nintendo fansite. Most of us were already into Metroid. I'd imagine most new players that Dread brought in are gamers who aren't long time Nintendo fans. People outside this little bubble. Clearly it had to given its sold around 3 million copies, and Samus Returns barely cracked half a million. The vast majority of players who bought the older titles decades ago probably aren't gaming anymore. So the series needed to bring in new fans. Seems like it's done that.

Metroid was my first , though I didn't play it till I was an adult. As it never blipped on my radar back then. I fell in love with its eerie atmosphere.

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