Metroid: Zero Mission

Metroid: Zero Mission is a single-player action platformer game. Pirates have transported parasitic organisms known as Metroids to the planet Zebes and fortified their strongholds there. The Galactic Federation dispatches the bounty hunter Samus Aran to infiltrate the surface, sabotage the Space Pirate operation, and eliminate the threat at its source. Her objective is to penetrate the subterranean networks beneath Brinstar, Norfair, and other regions, gather the equipment needed to survive, and reach the central biocomputer that oversees the pirates’ defenses.

The game retells Samus’s first mission, Metroid, and expands it with new areas, encounters, and story scenes presented with in-engine cutscenes and optional lore points. Navigation follows a hub-and-spoke layout across interconnected side-view zones. Map stations reveal regional layouts, save rooms record progress, and recharge stations restore missiles and energy. Hidden passages, destructible blocks, and environmental clues encourage repeated traversal as new abilities permit access to previously sealed routes.

Samus begins lightly equipped and builds a layered toolset. The Morph Ball allows entry into narrow tunnels, while Bombs reveal breakable blocks and open certain passages. Beam and suit upgrades increase combat and survivability. Combat mixes ranged precision with resource management. Enemies drop health and ammunition, and many rooms act as light combat puzzles where frozen targets, timed Speed Booster runs, or bomb chains are required to proceed. Major bosses guard key upgrades. A radar-style minimap and on-screen indicators help track objectives.

Zero Mission adds a stealth-focused interlude that temporarily alters Samus’s capabilities, introducing cover, line-of-sight evasion, and a limited-use sidearm. This sequence ties into new late-game areas on Zebes and culminates in a return to full combat power, using the abilities collected during the main expedition.

A higher difficulty mode becomes available after finishing the story, increasing enemy damage and resource scarcity. Connectivity with Metroid Fusion can unlock additional bonuses, and completing Metroid: Zero Mission also grants access to the original 8-bit Metroid as an in-game extra.