When it comes to Nintendo franchises, Metroid sticks out like a sore thumb. It's completely unlike almost any other Nintendo fare. It simply doesn't fit. But that's what makes it so interesting. It all started humbly enough in the 1986 original, but underneath the unassuming facade of a side-scrolling action game was a shockingly deep (and ruthlessly difficult) adventure, one that required its earliest players to make maps by hand, distinguish between items and weapons with unclear uses, and keep their wits in a sprawling map far harder to decipher and navigate than its cousin, The Legend of Zelda. There were even multiple endings! By the early-'90s, Metroid returned with a Game Boy-exclusive sequel created with the same explorative mantra in mind, and, well, the rest is history. Or herstory, perhaps, since Metroid also introduced gamers to one of the medium's first iconic female protagonists. But enough delay: Let's chat about Metroidvanias long before that term even existed.

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