Super Metroid is the example of a "perfect game". It's fun, it provides challenges on varying levels (Why just beat the game, when you can beat it out of order?!), it features concepts that, at the time of this game's release, were still very new and it solidified even further the dominance of Nintendo (well, the Nintendo of the 80's and 90's anyway). So, it pretty much goes without saying that Super Metroid would have an amazing soundtrack, right? Yeah, it's okay.
I do like a few of the songs from this game enough to feature it on this blog and will also take any opportunity I can to gush over what is, without a doubt, my favorite video game of all time. So, why does this game work? Well, it comes down to the time in which it was released.
Super Metroid came out in the twilight of the 16-bit era. The Sony Playstation was just on the horizon and the next generation of gaming was in focus. It seemed like the "traditional game" was being cast aside in lieu of a more hardcore market direction. 1994 remains, arguably, one of the best years in gaming history. Super Metroid shares this launch year with System Shock, Tekken, Mortal Kombat II, Marathon, Donkey Kong Country, Earthworm Jim, Final FREAKING Fantasy VI!!! I mean, SHEEEESH!!!! This was one hell of a year for gamers and I played... about two of those games :P
Okay, okay, I've played them all by now, but when I was younger I was pretty much exclusively a Super Nintendo player, I did not play many fighting games and did not spend much time at the arcade since there really was no quality arcades near where I lived that you could actually get into. The MKII cabinet was pretty much packed from opening to closing to the point where I think I once clocked a wait in at around two hours once! So I waited for the console release of most of these games (the ones that had them anyway) and stuck to my SNES. As far as Final Fantasy VI goes, I did not really like turn-based games back then and I would not get into Final Fantasy until I first played VII on the Playstation. At which point I want back and gave VI a shot... and freaking loved it.
So, you see my dilemma here. How does one objectively look back nostalgically at an entire line of games he did not play when they were fresh and revolutionary? I can't. Theoretically, I suppose, one could approach it completely objectively but that would be, essentially, approaching a game based on the assumption that I am SUPPOSED to like it. Really, for me, video games are just like every other entertainment medium: my memories and tastes are going to vary from pretty much every other human being on planet Earth. This is just the way it is. So, my memories of THIS game, Super Metroid, take me back to when I was about twelve, sitting in a room with friends, playing it well into the wee hours, drinking Sprite and chowing down on popcorn, trading the controllers off and spending hours trying to find all of the hidden intricacies that the designers stuck in for the more OCD players to seek out. I miss the days when me and my childhood friends would play these games for hours, learning them, experiencing them together. Times were different then. I did not have online play. I did not have X-box Live, or the Playstation Network, hell, those had not even been considered yet... online play was really only a concept in the minds of the more forward-thinking developers working on games that would not be live for a few years. (Yes, I know online gaming has actually been around since the 70's but I'm really just talking mainstream here).
So, anyway... Soundtrack. Super Metroid was developed by Nintendo's B-team R&D1, who also worked on a number of other Nintendo classics that weren't of the Mario or Zelda ilk. The composers, Hirokazu Tanaka and Kenji Yamamoto, do good work, and Super Metroid is no exception. While the soundtrack is not as ageless as, say, Final Fantasy VIII, it is still a very nice series of themes. Most of the songs are creepy and atmospheric, the composers do a good job of making theme sound like they belong together and the soundtrack as a whole sounds distinctly otherworldly. It works on the levels that count: It sets the atmosphere well, it matches the look, tone and flow of the game, and the songs are catchy and distinct. So, let's dig right in, shall we?
The Soundtrack -
This haunting little omen of misfortune is the first thing you hear when you boot up the game. It sounds almost horror-movie-esque in its mood and it is not hard to see why. By all accounts, this is a horror story. Think about it.
This is a good example of this soundtrack as a whole. It is often very simple in its composure but it uses mood very well. Chilling sounds resonate through this song that seem out of place, sounding like distant screams. It leads well into the silence that creates a chill in Ceres Station.
This is my favorite song in the game and, as with Sim City 3000, I chose this game to be featured based on this one song. It is another of my favorite game themes of all time. It is a masterfully-composed song, opening with a creepy bone-sounding percussion that leads into a delightfully creepy and energetic song. It certainly stands out against the simpler songs on this soundtrack.
I always found Lower Brinstar to be somewhat anomalous compared to the rest of Zebes. It has this cold, warehouse feel to it; Organic, yet, not. This song goes well with the mood set by the red emptiness of lower Brinstar with its simple composition, soft tones and haunting melody.
From haunting to triumphant. This song is the one that reminds you to keep up the fight. You hit it at about the half-way point in the game and it stands as a sort of demarcation, reminding you that victory is not out of your reach. The trumpets and drums make a march that drives you forward as you approach the entrance to the evil Wrecked Ship.
This piece always reminded me of a haunted music box. The soft twinkle and soothing woodwind is almost beautiful, and it would make for a lullaby. Yeah, probably for Wednesday Adams, but not for any parent who does not want their kids to dream of being eaten by a big fish! This is a great tune because it sounds exactly how this level feels, chilling and slow, thanks to the freaking water.
Another tune that uses mood, Norfair is probably my favorite part of Super Metroid. I remember the first time me and my friends played this, one of my friends said "Is this... Hell?" We quickly learned that, yes, it can be hell, a young kid dying over and over because he keeps getting knocked into the freaking lava! But I digress. This is a good song for the mood. It is reverent in its tone, inspired I am assuming, by the recurring visage of the obviously-arrogant Ridley.
The first two main bosses of the game, as well as the mini-boss Crocomire feature this theme. The first time you hear it, a massive Kraid rises from the crumbling ground with a roar as the pulsing bass and brass bellow a dreadful, ominous tune. This is one hell of an intro, and the song makes it all the more perfect, especially since there is just this brief moment of silence when you enter the empty chamber, the door locks behind you and... BOSS!!!
The final boss is much like the aforementioned Kraid battle. Identical in fact in the way it is presented, with the brief silence, the locked door, ect, ect. This song, however, is a lot more effective. It makes me think of the Jaws theme (Buh-duh!) and it works, because when Mother Brain rises with her new body attached, it is one of my all time favorite "oh, crap" moments in gaming.
So that was Super Metroid, my pick for the greatest video game of all time. It's moody, it's haunting, and it's beautiful. Next time, I think we will talk about a game that is a little more... relaxing. Until then...
All above music, Super Metroid and all elements therein are property of Nintendo. The video files were found on YouTube and I do not own the videos or their contents.
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