Quick Links
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroidvania refers to a very specific style of platformer, either 2D or 3D, with a focus on free exploration and unlocking new traversal abilities along the way. This beloved genre draws lots of dedicated fans, from casual players to some of the world's best competitive speedrunners.
The best way to understand Metroidvania is to understand the games that created the genre in the first place. Read on to find out the history of the Metroidvania, its defining characteristics, and some of the best games to play if you're hoping to see what so many other players have come to love.
What's The Difference Between A Platformer And A Metroidvania?
A platformer is any game that is primarily about maneuvering a character through obstacles and enemies, usually by jumping, sliding, climbing, or other means of traversal. The character usually (but not always) has some sort of weapon that allows them to fight off enemies, and may gain access to new movement abilities as the game progresses. Classic platformers include 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:most Super Mario games, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Banjo-Kazooie, and more recent hits like Celeste.
Metroidvanias can be considered a subgenre of platformers. While most platformers consist of self-contained stages with clear start and end points, a Metroidvania tasks players with platforming through a single, massive area such as a castle or an alien planet. The free exploration means that players can (and often will) encounter challenges that are too much for them, and will need to backtrack to find new power-ups to access areas that they couldn't previously reach.
Think of a Metroidvania as an open-world platformer, and you aren't far off!
Metroid
As you probably guessed, Metroidvania is a portmanteau of two classic game franchises, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Metroid and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Castlevania. The original Metroid, released in Japan for the Famicom in 1986 and the NES in North America and Europe in 1987 and 1988, respectively, was the first Metroidvania❀ game.
Metroid's approach to platforming was different from any other game at the time; as Samus, players could freely explore the planet Zebes with no set path. However, some areas would be out of reach until Samus found new abilities or equipment; for example, once she gained the power to roll into a ball, she would be able to squeeze through tight passages that she couldn't access before.
Whenever players found a spot they couldn't reach, or a boss they couldn't defeat, the solution was usually to explore elsewhere and come back with new gear. The maze-like structure of the map also meant that players had to either memorize where they had been, or writ🔴e it down.
Castlevania
Castlevania, another long-running series, released at around the same time as Metroid in every major market. The game, and the next decade's worth of sequels, were traditional platformers in every sense - albeit notoriously difficult ones that continue to challenge plaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ♋ᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚyers to this day.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, only the handful of Metroid sequels - 1991's Metroid 2: The Return of Samus on Game Boy and 1994's Super Metroid on the Super Famicom / SNES - used the series' signature style of free exploration. Castlevania also stayed in its own lane, but its titles for the Super Famicom and SNES didn't quite resonate with audiences the same way the original trilogy had done.
Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood (1993), originally a Japan exclusive for the PC Engine, experimented with giving players free exploration of separate stages, with multiple routes through each level. Its sequel, the PlayStation title Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night (1997) opted to take the idea further, using Metroid's formula to give players a vast, dangerous castle to explore.
Symphony Of The Night also incorporated RPG elements, letting player character Alucard level up and equip gear that would change his attack pattern and equipment. By eventually learning to use his vampire heritage to transform into a wolf, a bat, or even a cloud of mist, Alu꧋card would be able to explore new areas of the castle as the game progressed.
Symphony Of The Night revitalized the Castlevania franchise, and most of the series' main-line games stuck to the Metroid formula from that point forward. Hence, the term Metroidvania was coined; the genre was no longer limited to simply Metroid, and so it was named after both the franchise that started it and the one that popularized it.
What Are The Best Metroidvania Games?
If you're hoping to try a Metroidvania for the first time, we've got a list of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the best games for beginners in the genre. When in doubt, you can always try a game from one of the two franchises listed above, or check out some of the best Metroidvanias that aren't Metroid or Castlevania, We also have lists breaking down the ꦅbest Metroidvan꧒ias for specific consoles: