Arguably one of the greatest 2D games of all time finally hits Nintendo's Virtual Console.

Scratch another one of those most wanted Virtual Console games off the list Nintendo fans because Super Metroid has finally hit the system, and even thirteen years later, it is still one of the greatest 2D games of all time. To be completely honest, I never got the chance to play Super Metroid back when it was released in 1994, so when I heard that it was going to be released on the Virtual Console this week, I set my alarm to 9:00 am when I went to sleep on Sunday night and started downloading as soon as I woke up. After just a couple of hours of playing the game, I began to see what all the hubbub was about.

The story of Super Metroid picks up right after the events of Metroid 2. Samus has brought the baby metroid she picked up at the end of her last adventure and brought it to the galactic research station, Ceres. Soon after Samus leaves the station however, she receives a distress call from Ceres and does a U-Turn to find out what it’s all about. She arrives at the station to find all of the scientists dead and the formerly captive baby metroid in the claws of her nemesis Ridley. After a brief scuffle, Ridley sets the station to self-destruct and flies down to Planet Zebes along with the baby metroid. Not willing to let the baby metroid stay in the hands of the Space Pirates, Samus follows Ridley with the sole objective of finding and retrieving the last living metroid.

While the original Metroid established the formula of exploring a giant overworld, finding power-ups, and then using those power-ups to reach areas that were previously inaccessible, Super Metroid was the game that truly perfected this idea of nonlinear gameplay in a 2D platformer. Planet Zebes is absolutely massive, spanning five uniquely themed zones, each consisting of their own unique set of enemies, power-ups, and boss battles. The level design as a whole in Super Metroid is some of the best you’ll find in a video game, combining smart power-up placement, intelligent platforming puzzles, and an unparalleled sense of atmosphere for a 2D game.