The best Metroid games

From Samus' SNES classics to 2021's Dread, we rank the best Metroid games

For over 35 years Samus Aran has shown us there's real joy to be found in venturing out on solitary journeys across hostile alien worlds. Here are our favorite ever Metroid games... 

7. Metroid: Samsus Returns

An effective reimagining of Metroid 2 on Game Boy, this hits the same story beats but imbues play with modern features, like Samus' Melee Counter and Aeion abilities.

Platform: 3DS
Release Date: 2017

6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

Echoes took the design outlined with the original Prime and built upon it with haunting environments, challenging combat, and an experimental light and dark mechanic.

Platform: GameCube
Release Date: 2004

5. Metroid Dread

When Dread settles into its rhythm, it offers an isolating, driven, and atmospheric adventure that conjures fond memories of both Metroids Fusion and Super.

Platform: Switch
Release Date: 2021

4. Metroid Fusion

Fusion refined the style of the earlier 2D games, introducing a linear, more guided structure to help emphasize the perilousness of Samus' situation while serving up a killer story.

Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release Date: 2002

3. Metroid: Zero Mission

One of the finest remakes Nintendo has ever commissioned. It's a retread of the original Metroid, bringing improved controls and tighter pacing.

Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release Date: 2004

2. Metroid Prime

Retro Studios did a truly wondrous job here, transferring the ethos of Super Metroid into a beautiful, intricately structured 3D world that remains a delight to get lost in.

Platform: GameCube
Release Date: 2002

1. Super Metroid

An icon of 16-bit era, Super Metroid is a solitary and isolating adventure that finds success in leaving Samus alone to explore a sprawling, suffocating alien world. A timeless classic.

Platform: SNES
Release Date: 1994
Read More

For the full article, check out...