By Joseph Walter
The "Metroid" series is one of Nintendo's black sheep. For a company recognized for its colorful, happy characters such as Mario and Yoshi, Samus Aran is the antithesis to this image.
She's a ruthless, cold-blooded bounty hunter with a penchant for wiping out entire species of alien creatures and their planets.
Fittingly, the scores that company Samus on her lonely, one-woman exploration and combat missions are sufficiently eerie, even organic. Of course, the crowned jewel of the franchise's musical identity is the threatening main title motif, which calls to mind John Carpenter's "The Thing."
In "Super Metroid," the fugitive space pirate, Ridley, breaks into a science station and captures the last surviving Metroid, an overwhelmingly dangerous entity that has the ability to extinguish a victim's life force in seconds, and the bane of Samus' existence.
The title screen embodies the lonely dread that the series is known for:
She's a ruthless, cold-blooded bounty hunter with a penchant for wiping out entire species of alien creatures and their planets.
Fittingly, the scores that company Samus on her lonely, one-woman exploration and combat missions are sufficiently eerie, even organic. Of course, the crowned jewel of the franchise's musical identity is the threatening main title motif, which calls to mind John Carpenter's "The Thing."
In "Super Metroid," the fugitive space pirate, Ridley, breaks into a science station and captures the last surviving Metroid, an overwhelmingly dangerous entity that has the ability to extinguish a victim's life force in seconds, and the bane of Samus' existence.
The title screen embodies the lonely dread that the series is known for:
Creepy, ominous notes accompany the sparse credits, while the sound of the Metroid's screech echoes in the dark chamber. Flashes of huddled corpses surround the dilapidated machinery. Finally, the Metroid is revealed by the dimly lit glows of the monitors surrounding its containment tube.
The score climaxes with a subtle but threatening rendition of the Metroid theme, with the horrifying addition of Darth Vader-like breathing.
Much like "Demon's Crest," "Super Metroid" manages to perfectly illustrate the dreary desolation that will accompany you throughout the experience.
A superb title screen that is only matched by the original NES Metroid in tone, "Super Metroid" is not only a brilliant game, but also has one of the most effective Title Screens of its time.
The score climaxes with a subtle but threatening rendition of the Metroid theme, with the horrifying addition of Darth Vader-like breathing.
Much like "Demon's Crest," "Super Metroid" manages to perfectly illustrate the dreary desolation that will accompany you throughout the experience.
A superb title screen that is only matched by the original NES Metroid in tone, "Super Metroid" is not only a brilliant game, but also has one of the most effective Title Screens of its time.
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