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 This week on the old Throwback Thursday I'll be looking at the original Metroid game that was mad for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Metroid came out for Nintendo back in August of 1987. I was twelve, the sky was still blue, and I loved me some Metroid. Enough in fact that I probably devoted most of the later half of my summer vacation to conquering it. I really mean that, I literally spent every waking moment I could jumping, shooting, and rolling my way to the final boss. So you got some crazy spacesuit and some killer special abilities. Do you think your special or something? The answer is yes, who wouldn't.

 The basic story to the game is set in the year 20X5 C.C and an unknown being named Metroid has fallen into the hands of evil Space Pirates. Not knowing much about the being, you are sent in to investigate the situation. The game starts you as a Space Hunter named Samus Aran. The environments are harsh and unforgiving, it's just you, the suit, and your blaster, and whatever power ups you can grab along the way. The game is a mash between an adventure game and a shooter that is rendered in a 2D environment. Most of the time spent in the game has you traveling either vertically or horizontally. So most of the game you're either running or jumping your way through the board, and sometimes both. Each level is conveniently separated by a doorway that requires the user to blast his or her way through it to get to the next.

 Each level is tackled a little different than the first. Different types of power ups aid the player in advancing forward through the next set of obstacles. Sometimes all you'll have to do is kill a few enemies to progress. Other times you might have to execute a well timed jump to reach your goal. In some areas of the game you're required to morph into a ball to clear a zone. Or in other cases you'll have to blast obstacles that are in your way to clear the level. Never the less, Metroid always keeps you on your toes looking for the next power up, or way out.

 The graphics in Metroid were simple yet visually appealing. They took us to a believable place where enemies hung from the rock ceiling awaiting our next move. Rock walls and vertical tubes gave an industrial feel to deep space levels. Tough some of the levels looked like a cross between Mario and Contra. The cold harsh blues and greens made us feel like we were weightless in deep space. In a game like Metroid it is all about making the game believable. They accomplished this and more through the background scenes in the game.

 After battling your way through the cold harsh levels and defeating all the bosses. Samus reveals herself to you. If you took your good old time beating the game she will turn her back to you in shame. In the medium length ending she takes off her helmet and reveals she is a woman, and not the man or robot you speculated her to be earlier in the game. If you battled your way through the game in a decent amount of time Samas undresses down to a leotard. Now if you were on of those talented gamers you got to see Samas in her 2D bikini, what a sight.

 Though Metroid has morphed many times and in many different forms, the first is still the greatest. The background music, the 2D environments, the mystique.

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