
These creatures were hunted by Zebesian Space Pirates with the intention of exposing them to beta rays to turn them into a biological weapon. They latch onto a victim and drain their life energy until only a lifeless corpse remains. Metroids are alien lifeforms that act like external parasites. Think Mecha Godzilla but you know, Ridley instead of Godzilla. This area is protected by a new boss, Mecha Ridley.

This area does have design concepts that hints these may have been the aliens that helped build the great pyramids, but this is purely speculation. There’s a variety of new content added in Zero Mission, but the biggest change is a new area called Chozodia which appears to the be the ruins of the Chozo temple on Zebes.

The original Metroid is classic that doesn’t need a whole a lot of improvement, but games in the ’80s were a lot shorter than in the 21st century. Metroid: Zero Mission is more than simply a port of the original Metroid with a fresh coat of paint. And so Game Boy Advance owners got to enjoy a revamped version with Metroid: Zero Mission. That is until 2004, when Nintendo decided they needed something that would generate a lot of revenue without having to development a brand new game. The original Metroid is considered one of the best NES games since its initial release in 1986, but before the age of virtual consoles and with emulators being frowned upon with the passage of each year, the original Metroid became increasingly less accessible. This is a testament to how great and influential some of the games responsible for that portmanteau are. Metroidvanias have become so popular it’s easy to use the term to describe a game without consciously thinking about either Metroid or Castlevania. Be warned, spoilers may occasionally populate these articles. In a world where high resolutions and teraflops reign supreme, we take a look at a portable relic every month and reflect on what makes it memorable. Whether it’s the ability to play anywhere, multitask or hold an entire console in your hands, it’s a special experience consoles have never replicated.


Handheld gaming is more than a compromise of power and portability.
