The Metroid Story

Developers: Nintendo R&D1, Intelligent Systems

Director: Satoru Okada

Producer: Gunpei Yokoi

Artists: Hiroji Kiyotake, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Yoshio Sakamoto

Writer: Makoto Kano

Composer: Hirokazu Tanaka

Original Release Date: August 6, 1986 Famicom JP; August 1987 NES US

In the year 2000 of the history of the cosmos, representatives from the many different planets in the galaxy established a congress called the Galactic Federation, and an age of prosperity began. A successful exchange of cultures and civilization resulted, and thousands of interstellar spaceships ferried back and forth between planets. But space pirates also appeared to attack the spaceships.

The Federation Bureau created the Galactic Federation Police, but the pirates’ attacks were powerful and it was not easy to catch them in the vastness of space. The Federation Bureau and the Federation Police called together warriors known for their great courage and sent them to do battle with the pirates. These great warriors were called “space hunters.” They received large rewards when they captured pirates, and made their living as space bounty hunters.

Now, many years later, something terrible has happened. Space pirates have attacked a deep-space research spaceship and seized a capsule containing an unknown life-form that had just been discovered on Planet SR388. This life-form is in a state of suspended animation, but can be reactivated and will multiply when exposed to beta rays for 24 hours. It is suspected that the entire civilization of Planet SR388 was destroyed by some unknown person or thing, and there is a strong possibility that the life-form just discovered was the cause of the planet’s destruction. To carelessly let it multiply would be extremely dangerous. The Federation researchers had named it “Metroid” and were bringing it back to Earth—when it was stolen by space pirates!

If the Metroid is multiplied by the space pirates and then used as a weapon, the entire galactic civilization will be destroyed. After a desperate search, the Federation Police have at last found the pirates’ headquarters, the fortress planet Zebes, and launched a general attack. But the pirates’ resistance is strong, and the Police have been unable to take the planet. Meanwhile, in a room hidden deep within the center of the fortress, the preparations for multiplying the Metroid are progressing steadily.

As a last resort, the Federation Police have decided on this strategy: to send a space hunter to penetrate the center of the fortress and destroy Mother Brain. The space hunter chosen for this mission is Samus Aran. Samus is the greatest of all the space hunters and has successfully completed numerous missions that everybody thought were absolutely impossible. Samus uses a power suit that even the space pirates know and fear for its ability to absorb any enemy’s power. But Samus’s true form is shrouded in mystery.

Planet Zebes is a natural fortress. Its sides are covered with a special kind of stone, and its interior is a complicated maze. On top of that, the pirates have planted devices and booby traps in the maze, and the pirates’ eerie followers lie in wait around every corner. Samus has now succeeded in penetrating Zebes, but time is running out! Will the space hunter be able to destroy the Metroid and save the galaxy?