History VideoGame / Metroid1

* BeeWare: Zebbos are basically giant flying vespids

** The first ''Metroid'' game had some strange designs. Samus was a brunette with EightiesHair, not a pony-tailed blonde. Ridley was... [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/b/b3/Metroid_12.jpg this thing]] instead of his fearsome [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/1/12/RidleySSBB.jpg modern design]], Kraid was hairy and [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100501204216/metroid/images/9/94/Samus_artwork_11.png the same height as Samus]], and the back of the box says that "left alone the Metroid[s] are harmless" when later games make fully clear that Metroids are ''always'' dangerous and the Pirates are idiots for trying to control them. The very next game even has Metroids be deemed such a large threat that the Galactic Federation orders their extermination. Also, doors close after a set period of time if you do not enter after shooting them open (except red doors, which never close after being shot open; in later games they change into a normal blue door when you revisit that area).

->''"EMERGENCY ORDER!''
->''DEFEAT THE METROID OF THE PLANET ZEBETH AND DESTROY THE MOTHER BRAIN THE MECHANICAL LIFE VEIN''
->''GALAXY FEDERAL POLICE M510"''

* SequelHook: The games ending warns that while Samus succeeded in her mission and restored peace, it may be invaded by the other Metroid(s). This is followed up in ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus''.[[note]]Though in a superb bit of {{Irony}}, it winds up being ''Samus'' who "invades" the Metroid homeworld.[[/note]]

* ShoutOut: Ridley, whose name is derived from Creator/RidleyScott, the director of ''Film/{{Alien}}'', a huge influence to ''Metroid''.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first Metroid, while theorized to be a dangerous energy draining entity that could multiply if exposed to beta rays for 24 hours, is discovered as a HumanPopsicle. Which weapon was needed to defeat them again?

* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: Samus needs a power up just to be able to crawl through small chasms and shoot her beam more than a few feet in front of her.

** Samus cannot duck. This makes it impossible for her to shoot any enemy who's on the same plane if they are shorter than she is.

* HardLevelsEasyBosses: The levels are loaded with hazards and hostile wildlife that will make short work of you if you keep your guard down. The boss fights aren't a total cakewalk, but they're much less challenging in contrast, especially since two of the bosses (Ridley and Mother Brain) just stay stationary while attacking you with projectiles, while you spam missiles at them in turn.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first Metroid, while theorized to be a dangerous energy draining entity that could multiply if exposed to beta rays for 24 hours, is discovered in SuspendedAnimation, or what TV Tropes calls HumanPopsicle. Which weapon was needed to defeat them again?

* DependingOnTheArtist: There are two artstyles used for ''Metroid'' artwork: a [[http://www.metroid-database.com/wp-content/uploads/Metroid/Artwork/m1art_brinstar.jpg gritty]] [[http://www.metroid-database.com/wp-content/uploads/Metroid/Artwork/m1art_norfair.jpg realistic]] style used in the instruction booklet and a [[http://www.metroid-database.com/wp-content/uploads/Metroid/Artwork/jpguide1_enemies_Brinstar.png cute]] [[http://www.metroid-database.com/wp-content/uploads/Metroid/Artwork/jpguide1_enemies_Norfair.png chibi]] style used in the Japanese guide. Most characters and creatures, including Samus and Kraid, have consistent designs between the two artstyles, but Ridley is a notable exception. In the instruction booklet, Ridley's head has a very alien design with two large bug eyes, three ExtraEyes along his snout, and a tube-shaped mouth. In the Japanese guide, Ridley's head appears more similar to that of a traditional western dragon, removing the extra eyes and tube-mouth in favor of long toothy reptilian jaws. What makes this notable is that the former design is EarlyInstallmentWeirdness while the latter design much more closely resembles his iconic modern design later introduced in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/metroid_nes_box.jpg]]

[[TheEighties In the year 1980]] of the Gregorian Calendar, employees from the nation of Japan [[UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch advanced]] a company known as {{Creator/Nintendo}}, and [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld an age of prosperity began]]. A successful exchange of consumers and developers resulted, and thousands of video games shuttled back and forth between nations. Soon, however, UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 began to attack the industry, threatening galactic peace. Nintendo struck back against this aggression, but the Crash's attacks were powerful and it was impossible to withstand it in the vast reaches of the West. So Nintendo called together [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 mighty video]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI game franchises]] to battle the stagnant market.

* HumanoidAliens: The only evidence of aliens with human-like body structure are the Chozo statues, which despite appearing bird-like, manage to bypass PettingZooPeople, as some official art suggests they had exoskeletons rather than skin and feathers (''especially'' if the otherwise bird-like alien in the manual is supposed to be a Chozo). There are actually several humanoid aliens in the manual but no evidence for them is seen in any game until ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid''.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The first ''Metroid'' game had some strange designs. Samus was a brunette with EightiesHair, not a pony-tailed blonde. Ridley was... [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/b/b3/Metroid_12.jpg this thing]] instead of his fearsome [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/1/12/RidleySSBB.jpg modern design]], Kraid was hairy and [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100501204216/metroid/images/9/94/Samus_artwork_11.png the same height as Samus]], and the back of the box says that "left alone the Metroid[s] are harmless" when later games make fully clear that Metroids are ''always'' dangerous and the Pirates are idiots for trying to control them. The very next game even has Metroids be deemed such a large threat that the Galactic Federation orders their extermination. Also, doors close after a set period of time if you do not enter after shooting them open (except red doors, which never close after being shot open - in later games, they'd turn blue).

** Several gameplay mechanics feel absolutely weird, especially if one plays the later ''Metroid'' games first before playing this one. The game has no map, Samus always starts at 30 energy points after you load your saved game/use a passwords, regardless of your Energy Tank collection, and there's only the default beam, Ice Beam, and Wave Beam in the game. The default beam doesn't even shoot across the entire screen and requires a power-up to do so, which was never used again by the 2nd game onward but was brought back in the [[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission remake]].

''Metroid'' successfully sold millions of units and established dozens of mechanics now standard for subsequent video games, such as secret endings, back tracking, discoverable power-ups, and sequence breaking. Its own legacy was continued by [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} a budding franchise]] of ''Metroid'' sequels that told the rest of the saga of Samus, and by its remake, ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Metroid: Zero Mission]]'', which came out in the year 2004 of the Gregorian Calendar. In ''Zero Mission'', Samus retells the story of her first adventure to a new generation, and includes a few twists in the story for her veteran fans.

* QuicksandBox: The game has no map and gives you no hints and not much of a sense of direction. It's very easy to get lost in this game without a player's guide.

** The area where you find the Morph Ball is right next to a high wall that you can jump over from one side, but traps you on the other--the only exit out is a small space that Samus can't crawl into. The only way out is to grab the power-up and then use the new power to go through it, a warm up for the next crawl space up ahead that's littered with enemies. This entire sequence also teaches the player that, [[SignfieldIsUnfunny while obvious in hindsight]], unlike near every other platformer at the time you won't always be able to proceed by going right and will need to head in all directions in order to make progress in the game.

** The area where you find the Morph Ball is right next to a high wall that you can jump over from one side, but traps you on the other--the only exit out is a small space that Samus can't crawl into. The only way out is to grab the power-up and then use the new power to go through it, a warm up for the next crawl space up ahead that's littered with enemies.

** The first ''Metroid'' game had some strange designs. Samus was a brunette with EightiesHair, not a pony-tailed blonde. Ridley was... [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/b/b3/Metroid_12.jpg this thing]] instead of his fearsome [[http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/1/12/RidleySSBB.jpg modern design]], Kraid was hairy and [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100501204216/metroid/images/9/94/Samus_artwork_11.png the same height as Samus]], and the back of the box says that "left alone the Metroid[s] are harmless" when later games make fully clear that Metroids are ''always'' dangerous and the Pirates are idiots for trying to control them. The very next game has even has Metroids be deemed such a large threat that the Galactic Federation orders their extermination. Also, doors close after a set period of time if you do not enter after shooting them open (except red doors, which never close after being shot open - in later games, they'd turn blue).

* FakeDifficulty: A big reason why the game is so hard is because it uses a lot of cheap difficulty tricks; there's no map, so unless you use a guide, a lot of the items have to be found through TrialAndErrorGameplay--the CopyAndPasteEnvironments do not help at all. And no matter how many energy tanks you collect, Samus will always start with 30 hit points, forcing a player to [[FakeLongevity waste a lot of time farming for health]] (especially if you have all of the tanks), and all that health can easily be whittled away by the merciless barrage of enemies due to Samus' weak stamina (although the Varia Suit helps mitigate this) and lack of MercyInvincibility--and if you die, [[ContinuingIsPainful you go right back to having 30 HP again]]. To make matters worse, there are more than a few spots where its extremely hard if not impossible to dodge certain enemy attacks. On top of that, Samus' jump is very floaty and she can be easily knocked back on contact with an enemy. Norfair also has some deep pits that are extremely hard to jump out of, even with the Hi Jump Boots. Oh, and there's no save stations, so if you die in one of the five areas, [[CheckpointStarvation you have to start right back at the beginning of each of them]] (the only mitigation being that you get to keep whatever items you collected already).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first metroid, while theorized to be a dangerous energy draining entity that could multiply if exposed to beta rays for 24 hours, is discovered in SuspendedAnimation, or what TV Tropes calls HumanPopsicle. Which weapon was needed to defeat them again?

* GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed: There are many glaring examples, most obviously being the Metroids themselves! Official art depicted them with ''tentacles'' but the sprites made it look more like them latching on with teeth/mandibles. Official art of later games actually ''did'' give Metroids mandibles rather than tentacles, both in official art as well as their sprites/models, but their ''Kid Icarus'' counterparts komayto, [[DivergentCharacterEvolution continued to be depicted with tentacles]], while ''Videogame/MetroidPrime'' and [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption its second sequel]] added three tentacled Metroid offshoots.

* HumanoidAliens: The only evidence of aliens with human like body structure are the Chozo statues, which despite appearing bird like manage to by pass PettingZooPeople, as some official art suggests they had exoskeletons rather than skin and feathers(''especially'' if the otherwise bird like alien in the manual is supposed to be a Chozo). There are actually several humanoid aliens in the manual but no evidence for them is seen in any game until ''Videogame/SuperMetroid''.

* MutuallyExclusivePowerups: One cannot hold the Ice Beam and the Wave Beam at the same time, requiring those with one wanting the other to go back to where they initially found it (they respawn once Samus picks up the opposite beam). Inputting the NARPAS SWORD code (which grants the player every powerup save Energy/Missile Tanks) curiously gives Samus the Ice Beam, but with a blue colored Wave Beam sprite (presumably the game's way of handling having both weapons at once).

** Beat the game in over five hours with Armorless Samus will have her back toward you and her arm thrown over her face in shame.

* NewGamePlus

* OddlySmallOrganization: The Space Pirates are hardly the fearsome force the manual make them out to be. The local fauna and general geography are your most constant dangers in their so-called base. They managed to steal quite a lot of Metroids all the same. The manual claims Mother Brain gave life to the Multiviolas, but they still aren't referred to as Space Pirates, only "eerie followers" of them. The strategy manga for the game added a bit of plot, explaining Samus defeated most of the space pirates in space, but then fell off her ship(the vessel seems to be a bit of a klutz when Samus isn't piloting it or giving it orders), requiring her to find new power ups when she landed on the planet without it.

* PaletteSwap

* QuicksandBox: The game has no map and gives you no hints and not much of a sense of direction. Its very easy to get lost in this game without a players guide.

* ShoutOut: Ridley, whose name is derived from Creator/RidleyScott, the director of ''{{Film/Alien}}'', a huge influence to ''Metroid''.

* WallCrawl: Zoomers, Zeelas, Violas and Sovas do this.4

* TheGoomba: Zoomers, the most common enemy and the first you encounter. Like [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 actual Goombas]], they move around nimbly, but that's it--they don't even directly attack you. They only take a couple hits to kill, but you can't hit them while they're on your ground level, so you have to jump over them or use Bombs to dispatch them.

* AmbidextrousSprite: Present within the game itself; in commercials for the Famicom Disk System game, she has unique sprites for facing left and right. Interestingly, some differentiated left/right sprites are in the ROM of this game, but are [[DummiedOut unused]].

* AmbidextrousSprite: Present within the game itself; in commercials for the Famicom game, she has unique sprites for facing left and right. Interestingly, some differentiated left/right sprites are in the ROM of this game, but are [[DummiedOut unused]].

* BountyHunter: Take a wild guess who. To drive the point home, the Famicom version places a bag of money next to completed game files.

* DifficultyByRegion: {{Zigzagged| trope}}, as enemies in the Famicom version tend to have more complex patterns than their NES counterparts, making combat more difficult. All the same, the Famicom still lets people save their game. The Famicom has less lag too, meaning the player will take less cheap hits. The NES version also requires you to beat the game in one hour to get the best ending, whereas the FDS version gives you two.

* DifficultyByRegion: {{Zigzagged| trope}}, as enemies in the Famicon version tend to have more complex patterns than their NES counterparts, making combat more difficult. All the same, the Famicom still lets people save their game. The Famicom has less lag too, meaning the player will take less cheap hits. The NES version also requires you to beat the game in one hour to get the best ending, whereas the FDS version gives you two.

* WhamShot

* WallCrawl: Zoomers, Zeelas, Violas and Sovas do this.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/metroid_cover_front_2557.jpg]]

''Metroid'' successfully sold millions of units and established dozens of mechanics now standard for subsequent video games, such as secret endings, back tracking, discoverable power-ups, and sequence breaking. Its own legacy was continued by [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} a whole franchise]] of ''Metroid'' sequels that told the rest of the saga of Samus, and by its remake, ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Metroid: Zero Mission]]'', which came out in the year 2004 of the Gregorian Calendar. In ''Zero Mission'', Samus retells the story of her first adventure to a new generation, and includes a few twists in the story for her veteran fans.

->"EMERGENCY ORDER!
->DEFEAT THE METROID OF THE PLANET ZEBETH AND DESTROY THE MOTHER BRAIN THE MECHANICAL LIFE VEIN
->GALAXY FEDERAL POLICE M510"

''Metroid'' successfully sold millions of units and established dozens of mechanics now standard for subsequent video games, such as secret endings, back tracking, discoverable power-ups, and sequence breaking. Its own legacy was continued by the ''Metroid'' sequels that told the rest of the saga of Samus, and by its remake, ''[[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission Metroid: Zero Mission]]'', which came out in the year 2004 of the Gregorian Calendar. In ''Zero Mission'', Samus retells the story of her first adventure to a new generation, and includes a few twists in the story for her veteran fans.

Compare to ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' (which was built on the same game engine as Metroid and shared the same dev team) and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' (which was a major influence on the non-linear design of Metroid).

[[TheEighties In the year 1980]] of the Gregorian Calendar, employees from the nation of Japan [[VideoGame/GameAndWatch advanced]] a company known as {{Creator/Nintendo}}, and [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld an age of prosperity began]]. A successful exchange of consumers and developers resulted, and thousands of video games shuttled back and forth between nations. Soon, however, UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 began to attack the industry, threatening galactic peace. Nintendo struck back against this aggression, but the Crash's attacks were powerful and it was impossible to withstand it in the vast reaches of the West. So Nintendo called together [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 mighty video]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI game franchises]] to battle the stagnant market.