When the original Metroid was launched on the NES in 1987, it was a revelation. With its multiple endings and isolated atmosphere, it was a sophisticated experience for its time, even if it hasn't necessarily aged gracefully. Most notably, of course, it introduced the iconic Samus Aran, one of gaming’s first female stars 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:(and still one of the greatest).

In the following decades, the Metroid franchise has continued to bring us even more spacefaring titles, consistently keeping that spirit of exploration, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:intriguing world✤s, and menacing alien enemies in mind. Which are the be✅st games in the seri🍎es? Here are all the titles, in ascending order, as rated by score.

Updated on March 2, 2024, by Bobby Mills: Though it's never reached the lofty heights of the likes of Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, or many others in the Nintendo stable, Metroid remains a stalwart fan favourite. The series occasionally drifts into the doldrums of no new releases, but that hasn't been the case in recent years; Samus Returns, Dread, and Prime Remastered have been sumptuous feasts. What better time to rejig our ranking?

This list will feature Zero Mission and Samus Returns in place of Metroid 1 and Metroid 2, respectively; this is because these are remakes that officially replace those NES/GameBoy originals in canon. While they have their place in gaming history, they're fairly outdated experiences nowadays, so newcomers should always opt for the remakes!

12 Metroid Prime: Fede💎ration F♉orce

Metacritic Score: 64

Now, you might not think that the 3DS would be a natural home for the FPS genre, and you’d be right for the most part. The system had dabbled in the genre over the course of its long life, but just couldn’t craft an experience compara𒆙blಌe to anything you can enjoy on a PC or home conso🌃le (which is entirely un𒉰derstandable, of course, given the lack of a second analog stick on all but the New model).

Nintendo isn't known for developing FPS games, but again, they’ve given it a shot once or twice. 2016’s Metroid Prime: Federation Force is enjoyable enough, but it’s a little throwaway and is quite a departure from the rest of the series - Samus isn’t even the main character, appearing only in pre-mission briefings. Federation Force is a chibified multiplayer spin-off that attracted a lot of controversies, but shooter fans who see it on its own merits could have some fun with it.

11 ♍ M🎃etroid: Other M

Metacritic Score: 79

The Metroid franchise has strayed away from its roots from time to time. Federation Force is one example, and Metroid: Other M, a canon interquel between Super and Fusion, is another one. This 2010 Wii adventure was developed in part by 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dead or Alive’s Team Ninja, and while it starred Samus once more, she ꦆwas presented in a way t💫hat was a little off-kilter for most Metroid fans.

Other M is a 2.5D action-oriented title featuring melee attacks that function similarly to those of the Doom reboot (without the hideous skull-crushing violence, of course). It was the last installment in the series for over a decade and failed to resonate with fans due to its tone, Wiimote-based control scheme, and storytelling, which reduces Samus to a submissive PTSD sufferer who's ordered about by one Adam Malkovich.

10 🌠 ꧂ Metroid Prime Pinball

Metacritic Score: 79

It’s a well-known fact that all prolific and s🍬uccessful Nintendo IPౠs tend to experiment with other genres at some point or another. It doesn’t matter how peculiar the pairing might seem at first glance; they’ll give it a go anyway.

The thing about Metroid Prime Pinball is it's both a completely bizarre and perfectly fitting idea at the same time. Samus can roll into a ball, after all. You can see where they were going with this; it at least makes more sense than the time Mario tried it. This 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo DS tit𒁏le didn’t offer many gღame modes or tables, but it looked great for its time and shook up the pinball genre in some creative ways. How many other pinball games let you climb walls, Morph Ball-style? Not many, that’s how many.

9 𓆏 🐽 Metroid: Samus Returns

Metacritic Score: 85

After the release of Metroid: Other M, it was incredibly quiet on the Metroid front for quite some time. By 2017, fans were ready for Samus' return, and they literally got it with this remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus. Developed by MercurySteam, this game helped get the Morph Ball rolling for the future of the franchise.

Metroid: Samus Returns was the title that the series sorely needed at the time. It was an attempt to bring back the side-scrolling 2D Metroid games of yore, but with a modern twist and with 3D visuals. Our hero♕ine had a number of new techniques to utilize, including a han💜dy counter move and free aiming, which added some welcome variety to the combat. It’s one of the best-looking titles on the 3DS and a top-notch adventure all around; save for the absolutely brutal Metroid fights, which were often artificially padded by having the creatures wander off partway through.

8 ♚ Metroid Prime: Hunters 🦩

Metacritic Score: 85

Tying with Metroid: Samus Returns, we have another of the franchise’s forays into FPS territory. While the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroid Prime series is presented in first-person, its gameplay is still slow and exploration-based (albeit with some intense combat). In comparison, Metroid Prime: Hunters i🌌s an offshoot of the trilogy that offers some rather standard competitive FPS gameplay, with all the clunkiness of a DS d-pad.

This 2006 Nintendo DS title introduced a cast of Samus’ fellow bounty hunters, members of different species with various abilities. In the single-player mode, Samus searches the Alimbic System for a mysterious power, which her rivals fight her for in turn. The multiplayer modes allow you to pick from these bounty hunters and engage in deathmatches (or more creative multiplayer modes). For the DS, it was an impressive technical achievement, offering a kind of gameplay that Nintendo very rarely delves into, but it's now a tad antiquated.

7 💜 Met෴roid Dread

Metacritic Score: 88

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroid Dread is Samus' fifth mainline 2D adventure and, after a tumultuous development cycle, was finally announced and released for the Switch in 2021. It took twenty-two years for Metroid Fusion to receive a sequel, but the wait was certainly worth it. Despite the series' long absence and a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:plethora of great games inspired by the franchise's gameplay, Metroid Dread still stands out as one of the best games in the genre in recent memory.

It recaptꦕures the atmosphere, action, and exploration of its predecessors and finds interesting ways to reinvent them – those heart-pounding EMMI chases are sublime. The planet Samus lands on, ZDR, feels incredibly familiar while subverting expectations and providing some of the best environments in the series. Metroid Dread is a thrill to play through over and over again, especially with updates like the intense Dread Mode for an even more harrowing adventure.

6 Metroid: Zero Mission ꦦ

Metacritic Score: 89

Next, it's time to take a trip to the days of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Game Boy Advance. One of the accomplished handheld’s best titles was also a remake of one of Samus' earlier adventures, similar to Samus Returns. Zero Mission retells the original Metroid title and modernizes its archaic gameplay, making for a tense and mysterious adventure.

Zero Mission exemplified the template that has since become the standard: a 2D Metroidvania in which the player gradually unlocks more and m𝔍ore of the map by collecting a series of power-ups. It’s an amazing remake that allowed 🐲you to finally experience the story you were too impatient for in 1987, and even added a brief extra chapter where you controlled a defenceless Samus in her Zero Suit.

5 𒉰 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ༒

Metacritic Score: 90

The final game in the beloved Metroid Prime trilogy is the lowest-rated of the trio, but the fact that it still earned an impressive Metascore of 90 is very telling. This is widely regarded as one of 🔯the greatest trilogies in the history of video games – it's just a shame that it's largely still trapped on GameCube, unless you wish to shell out an absurd amount for its Wii re-release!

Metro෴id Prime 3: Corruption saw Samus have a dramatic encounter with the Space Pi▨rates and the formidable and insidious Dark Samus. It was hit by a number of delays, but the wait proved to be worth it: Corruption was a fantastic (supposed) swansong for the Metroid Prime series.

4 Metroꦚid Prime 2: Echoes

Metacritic Score: 92

Narrowly beating out 💎its sequel with a Metascore of 92, we have Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. There was a lot of pressure on Echoes to deliver, considering everything the original had achieved, and it certainly did just that.

In Echoes, Samus must travel between a number of sacred locations to thwart the Ing, a malevolent race who destroyed a number of Galactic Federation soldiers she was supposed to rendezvous with. It’s essentially more of the best of Metroid Prime, supplemented by a new multiplayer competitive mode. While said mode was a lit🍨tle barebones and tacked-on, the idea was welcome nonetheless.

3 Metroid Fusion 🍸

Metacritic Score: 92

Coming in with another Metascore of 92, it’s the much-loved Metroid Fusion. Hitting the Game Boy Advance in 2002, this adventure is very, very reminiscent of the iconic Super Metroid (which would surely have gotten a similarly glowing♔ Metascore if the site dealt with titles that old), which is, as all Metroid fans will tell you, a great thing.

This adventure sees Samus exploring a space station to investigate the X parasite, which has spread among the life forms on the station (and infected Samus herself). The expansive area begins to open up as Samus collects more of her abilities, revealing a game of a quite impressive scope by the humble Game Boy Advance’s standards, and there's even a HAL 9000-esque malevolent computer plot going on in the background.