Nintendo recently held another Nintendo Direct that announced several titles coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. One of the titles announced was that of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. This sequel to the original Metroid Prime trilogy games will be the first major release in the franchise since 2007.
Metroid is the game that coined the term for the genre: Metroidvania. Across Metroid games, you’ll assume the role of the protagonist Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who protects the galaxy from space pirates and the parasitic Metroid organisms. Each game follows the core loop of exploration across various biomes, searching and battling for upgrade gear to open up previously inaccessible areas. The original release of the first Metroid game was in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since that original release, there have been 11 Metroid games released over the years.
Until the release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond later in 2025, here are the five Metroid games you should be playing to tide yourself over.
Metroid
If you are going to start your Metroid adventure somewhere, you should start at the beginning. Metroid is the first Metroid game and was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). For audiences too young or far removed from having the original NES console, Metroid is available to play as part of Nintendo Switch Online’s library of classic games.
Metroid introduced the world to the bounty hunter Samus Aran. She arrives on the planet Zebes, the homeworld of the Space Pirates. The space pirates have raided the Galactic Federation’s research ships to acquire the parasitic Metroid organism to use as a biological weapon to further their own ends.
At the beginning of the adventure, Samus is only equipped with a weak power beam, but will acquire several upgrades famous throughout all Metroid games like the Morph Ball, Morph Ball Bombs, Missiles, energy tanks, and more. Within Metroid, fans of the Super Smash Bros. franchise will also recognize several iconic characters like Kraid, Ridley, Mother Brain, and the Metroid organism, too.
Metroid Dread
Metroid Dread was the first wholly new Metroid game delivered to Nintendo Switch audiences in 2021. Metroid Dread went back to the historical roots of a traditional 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania game but with higher-caliber graphics and in-game 3D cinematics that take the narrative and gameplay up to the next level.
Metroid Dread follows a narrative where the Galactic Federation receives intel that the thought-to-be-eradicated X Parasite has been traced to the planet ZDR. The federation sends out seven E.M.M.I. (Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifier) robots to investigate the intel. After a period of no contact, Samus Aran is dispatched to investigate. Through exploration, Samus will find the E.M.M.I.’s have been reprogrammed and require extreme stealth to get past. Only through the temporary capabilities of the Omega Blaster can the E.M.M.I.’s be destroyed by Samus.
The original story of Metroid Dread was conceived back in the early 2000s and was meant for the Nintendo DS system. The game went through various periods of developmental hell that were often rumored to have left the game postponed or cancelled. News was eventually revealed that MercurySteam, the studio behind Metroid: Samus Returns would take over development of the game. Metroid Dread currently sits as the top-selling Metroid game of all time.
Metroid: Samus Returns
Metroid: Samus Returns was the first Metroid title that was developed by MercurySteam and published for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017. Metroid: Samus Returns is a remastering of Metroid II: Return of Samus originally released on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1991.
Following the events on planet Zebes with the Space Pirates and Mother Brain, Samus is sent by the Galactic Federation to deal with the Metroid population on their home planet SR388. On SR388, Samus encounters swarms of Metroids in various stages of metamorphosis and morphogenesis. In the process of eradicating the native population of Metroids on SR388 before they can cause harm to the rest of the galaxy, Samus comes to encounter a Metroid hatchling. That hatchling, and the endgame narrative of Metroid: Samus Returns, is one of the most iconic moments in the Metroid franchise.
Super Metroid
Super Metroid is praised as one of the best Metroid games of all time. It was released in 1994 on the Super Nintendo. Today, Super Metroid is available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers within the library of classic games that can be played.
After Samus eradicated all but one Metroid from the planet SR388, she took the final Metroid hatchling to Ceres space station for scientific study. The hatchling is stolen by Ridley and taken to the home planet of the Space Pirates – Zebes. The Space Pirates have restored their operations on Zebes, after the destruction caused by Samus in the original Metroid.
The reunion of Samus on the planet of Zebes to rescue the Metroid hatchling returns several familiar enemies like Kraid, Mother Brain, and Ridley. Along the journey, Samus will again be plagued by the parasitic Metroids – proving that with the final Metroid hatchling, the Space Pirates have successfully revived the threat of this parasitic race of organisms.
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime was originally released in 2002 on the Nintendo GameCube and was the first 3D Metroid platformer. Since the original release, Nintendo has remastered the game and made it accessible to Nintendo Switch audiences looking to invest in the Metroid Prime series of games.
In Metroid Prime, Samus Aran arrives on the planet of Tallon IV, following a space encounter with Ridley that ended with both coming to Tallon IV. Tallon IV is a world that bears the ruins of the ancient Chozo society. The planet is also home to several Space Pirate research and experimentation sites. The Space Pirates have looked to harness a mysterious substance called Phazon, which has infested Tallon IV following a meteoric impact on the planet. Phazon is responsible for the end of the Chozo civilization on Tallon IV, and before the end of the Chozo, they contained the spread of Phazon.
The Space Pirates’ experimentation on Tallon IV has them extracting more Phazon to build up more weapon capabilities. The experimentation with Phazon also involves the usage of the parasitic Metroids to dire outcomes. From Samus’ exploration across Tallon IV, the core mystery with meteor carrying Phazon is uncovered, bringing with it some major revelations for the entire Metroid series.
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