Metroid Nintendo Entertainment System

After several unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate the pirates' headquarters on ~Zebes, the Galaxy Federation unleashes their final plan of attack: Samus Aran, one of the galaxy's best bounty hunters. Armed with cybernetic armor and an arm-mounted laser rifle, Samus is charged with the task of navigating the maze-like corridors of the base and destroying Mother Brain, the pirates' leader.

The ~Zebes base is a huge, labyrinthine structure filled with strange, deadly creatures and guarded by the powerful boss enemies Kraid and Ridley. Samus will need dexterity, skill and plenty of firepower to navigate the base and come out alive.

Samus begins with 30 units of energy and no energy tanks. Energy tanks can be found at specific points in the base, and hold an additional 100 units of energy. Energy balls are collected from defeated enemies to refill the tanks.

There are a variety of power-ups Samus must collect in order to increase the cybernetic armor's abilities and weapons. They are: round ball, long beam, ice beam, bomb, high jump, varia (half damage), wave beam and screw attack. Samus can also collect up to 255 missiles, which are used to open red doors and are especially effective against boss enemies.

Metroid was one of the first games to use a password system that allowed players to continue after the console was turned off. The game also contains five different endings. Which one a player receives depends on how quickly the game is finished. If completed in under five hours, Samus' true identity is revealed ... ~ Skyler Miller, All Game Guide