Every Metroid Game Ranked Worst to Best

Metroid is simultaneously one of the most influential and underappreciated gaming franchises of all time, having a whole genre, Metroidvania, partially named after it, a genre which has only become more popular over recent years, and countless game developers siting the franchise as a primary source for why they even joined the gaming industry.

Through tumultuous development cycles, delayed games, highest highs and lowest lows, Metroid has become one of the longest running video game franchises, with the first of one of Nintendo’s major series (by influence, not by sales unfortunately) releasing back in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the most recent entry releasing this year, 2025, in December.

Despite being a franchise that has survived for nearly forty years, there are a surprisingly limited number of games, especially when it comes to hit Nintendo franchises. For instance, there are five mainline Metroid games, as opposed to fourteen mainline Fire Emblem games, twenty-one mainline The Legend of Zelda games, and twenty-four mainline Mario games, and twenty-eight mainline Pokémon games. And that number still stays small when accounting for all games including spin-offs, remakes, and everything else in between with every franchise, with Metroid only having fourteen (soon to be fifteen), Fire Emblem at twenty-two (with a twenty-third announced), The Legend of Zelda at forty-six, and both Pokémon and Mario at over a hundred each.

With all this in mind, it is just good to remember to celebrate the humble Metroid franchise and all of its games, of which while having lesser entries, there are no games that I would outright say are bad games.

14. Metroid Prime Pinball

As I said, there are no bad games and this is not a bad game, it’s just pinball. Well, that is not exactly fair to say. It is more of a pinball adventure, a retelling of Metroid Prime in a pinball form. While the actual pinball is fun, and there are bosses, which is interesting to see in a pinball game, it would be a lie to say that this game is anything more than just a novelty.

Metroid Prime Pinball is a game that is fun once, the first time played and beaten, but there will never be a lasting desire to pick up the game again, which is simply untrue for every other Metroid game. Yes, even true for the two that were likely expected to be in this spot.

Like I said, this is not a bad game, but it is the most bare bones and least Metroid game of the entire series. Is pinball fun? Absolutely. Is it more fun with an actual pinball machine? Also absolutely. Is this game an essential play for Metroid fans? Absolutely not.

13. Metroid: Other M

Now for the one nearly everyone probably expected to take this spot, Metroid: Other M is certainly the worst of what can be considered ‘true’ Metroid games. Yoshio Sakamoto, the man who created some of the best Metroid games, including the recent Metroid Dread, proved that even the greats can have missteps.

The gameplay itself is awkward, using mostly reused bosses, with the occasional uninspired new boss, and a strange hybrid gameplay that combines action, exploration, and cinematic set pieces clunkily, making the actual gameplay cycle feeling disjointed. Combine that with a hybrid 3rd person and 1st person shooting and exploring mechanic that simply does not feel natural.

As for the story, it takes too many cues from other, better games in the franchise, with cloned Metroids, an evil and secretive Federation sect, even the return of Mother Brain and Ridley, with the latter actually being a welcome edition as he had the second boss fight in the game, the best coming from the final secret boss. However, the game poorly characterizes Samus, making her a damsel in distress with no agency and no effect on the plot. Her dialogue is stilted, her actions hardly make sense, and all of the allure of the Bounty Hunter disappeared. Samus speaking is not inherently bad, as both 

Metroid Fusion and the Metroid Manga show off how great Samus speaking can actually be. Beyond this, Samus and the rest of the characters simply make dumb decisions throughout the plot. Furthermore, if Samus just never came to the Bottleship, the setting for this game, the plot would have ended in much the same way, and when the main character of any story can be removed, the story has failed.

12. Metroid Prime: Federation Force

Speaking of removing the main character, this game is the only one in the franchise where players do not control Samus, instead jumping into the shoes of nameless, characterless Federation soldiers dubbed the Federation Force. And here lies the first problem.

Samus is the main character of Metroid, and labeling a game as Metroid without her just does not work. But that is just marketing, as the game should have just been called “Federation Force.” What is not just a marketing technique is that there is absolutely nothing for players to attach themselves to with these soldiers, aside from some swappable voices.

The story itself is quite bare bones, unmemorable, and wholly unimportant aside from the last ending cliffhanger meant to set up Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Overall, the game reeks of missed potential. Focusing on Federation was a smart idea, and perhaps bringing in characters like Mauk and Kreatz from the manga, along with Adam Malkovich and Anthony Higgs from Metroid: Other M (yes, they are still good characters), or even using this game’s one and only unique character, Alex Miles, as the main character. As it stands, the story feels aimless and emotionally shallow.

The gameplay, however, is a bright spot, so long as the game is actually played with four people. This is not a single player game, even in campaign, despite the ability of being played like one. The levels feel disjointed, and the bosses drag on and on if played individually. But if played with friends, Metroid Prime: Federation Force can actually be a really fun time, and even has some great ideas, such as the segments where the mech suits, which all of the Federation Force members are piloting, must be abandoned and stealth becomes key. It is a gameplay mechanic expanded upon from Metroid: Zero Mission, and one that truly enhanced the experience, just like the game that it took inspiration from.

My hope is that Nintendo both sees the value in producing more Metroid titles, namely Metroid 6 and Metroid Prime 5, in the hands of Sakamoto and Retro Studios respectively, the people that know this franchise best, and that they are willing to expand the Metroid universe with a true spin-off title. A Federation Force game, dropping the Metroid Prime tag, and keeping both the multiplayer element and the switch between mech missions and mech-less missions would be a great game. And the key is that it would be mission based. The Federation Force would also need to be fleshed out as their own characters, with Anthony Higgs, in my opinion, being the perfect main character to headline the series. Imagine a mixture of Halo 3: ODST and Star Wars: Republic Commando set in the Metroid universe.

While I did not mean to make this an “If I Did…” entry, and I may do one for a full Federation Force centered game, this was all meant to show how this game is just one big showcase in missed opportunity and unmet potential.

11. Metroid Prime Hunters

Time for the first truly good Metroid game on this list, and it was mostly a multiplayer experience. That is where the core gameplay lies, in competitive multiplayer with multiple different modes. What surprised many, especially if they did not play Metroid Prime 2: Echoes multiplayer mode, is that Metroid is actually a great multiplayer game.

Every mode was fun and engaging, and the use of different hunters as the characters to pick, each with their own special weapon and alternate form, was an inspired choice that created an experience that is truly unlike any other multiplayer first-person shooter, and an experience I hope is brought back one day, perhaps as its own separate spin-off game using the Metroid Prime engine. To be honest, this game mode, on its own, could be Nintendo’s own hero shooter and I would be completely happy.

The single player mode of this game is a more classical Metroid experience, with Samus exploring areas in search of a secret weapon and encountering bosses, typically the other hunters, along the way, leading to a final confrontation. The story is basic, but nothing offensive, a true side story that neither detracts nor adds much to the Metroid universe aside from the hunters themselves, who are each unique and each has fascinating lore. Just like the multiplayer gameplay, my hope is that these hunters are expanded upon in future titles, even if in just a hero shooter. Although, one hunter, Sylux, is appearing in a big way in the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, so I cannot complain much.

Overall, Metroid Prime Hunters was a great multiplayer experience with a forgettable single player experience, that added fun new ideas, but is rather an unessential game for anyone who is not a Metroid superfan.

10. Metroid II: Return of Samus

The second ever Metroid game, if the title was not obvious enough, was an admirable follow up to the original Metroid, but it remains a dark horse in the franchise.

The game is great, but still heavily flawed. Firstly, the design for Samus and every creature received a major improvement from the original game, and the gameplay has been improved. However, the game has also become limited by the Game Boy system for which it was made.

The environments are lackluster, and the planet of SR388 feels rather lifeless, somewhat ironic considering that the game is about making a thriving planet and thriving species meet doom. The lack of unique bosses, instead opting for repeated metroid bosses aside from the Queen, also makes for an at times tedious experience when paired with the colorless experience.

The pacing of the game is also uneven, and oftentimes too slow, with exploration becoming confusing at times and frustrating at others Keep in mind, I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who neither grew up with Metroid nor even Nintendo as a whole, and despite being able to acknowledge the importance of this game, the flaws are still too great to ignore.

However, I must also say that this game has what I believe to be the second best ending of any Metroid game, and certainly superior to its own remake, despite that game being all around better. While Metroid as a franchise is about isolation and quiet, too many games quite literally end with a space station or planet exploding. This ending, however, was a calm and quiet that is too often lacking in finales of all sorts. My hope is that soon there will be another Metroid game that trusts itself to end not with a bang, but with contemplation.

9. Metroid

The original game that started it all. Some people may say it is a disservice to have this game so low due to the fact that it helped start an entire genre of video games, but instead I see this as a triumph for the series.

Metroid is one of the rare games on this list that I was actually able to play on its original console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the others before the Nintendo Switch being those for the 3DS, GameCube, and Wii, and yes, I am aware of that large gap, but I also have to admit that the only one of those consoles that I owned myself was the 3DS, the others being owned by generous friends.

All that aside, despite the game’s impressive difficulty, it is also still incredibly enjoyable to play. The game is fast paced, the exploration entertaining, the bosses challenging, and the enemies intuitive. And while many people can praise the twist of Samus being a woman and listing that as one of the reasons this game should be high on the list, it is a twist that no longer works, and so the game should stand on its own, which it does.

The faults of the game are faults of any first entry in a franchise: the game was inventing the wheel so it was a game with great innovations and great room for improvement, and quite honestly, the truest reason why this game does not rank higher is because the games that came after simply took what made Metroid great and improved upon them in every way. And that is what should be seen in any given gaming series.

8. Metroid: Samus Returns

The remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus improves on nearly every aspect of the original game, with one quite noticeable exception.

Starting with the gameplay, it has become fast paced, much more fluid, and all around more fun, taking notes from the best parts of many other Metroid games while also making some noticeable and advantageous additions, such as a new counter system and Aeion abilities which break up some of the monotony that plagued the original experience with this story.

However, one of the original game’s worst aspects still looms large, the repeated metroid battles. Yet this remake does do enough variation within the fights to make each individual battle mean more and feel like more of an accomplishment. The team at MercurySteam, the new developers of Metroid games, also added one of the best bosses in the entire franchise, the diggernaut.

With the praises done, I must address where this remake falters quite heavily, and that is in the ending. As I said previously, Metroid II: Return of Samus has a near perfect ending and is one of my personal favorites. This game instead falls into a bombastic trap which unfortunately plagues games that otherwise could do without. And while the secret boss, which I will not ruin here, is both fun and challenging, it both brings up questions in continuity and ruins the moment of contemplation that made the original game’s ending so effective.

7. Metroid Prime

Pushing Samus into three dimensions, Metroid Prime for many is either the best or second best game in the entire franchise, and yet for me, just like the original Metroid, while it should be praised for its innovations, is inferior to the mainline Metroid Prime games which improved upon this great foundation and simply are better games.

All of that is not to say that this is not a great game, because it absolutely is, and in fact, I do think that 3D Metroid in many ways is superior to 2D or 2.5D Metroid. The atmosphere, sense of isolation, and immersion that this game held was unlike any other game in the franchise, and only the other Metroid Prime games were able to realize those same emotions and true feeling of stepping into Samus’s armor.

However, the game is slower because of this perspective shift, both in combat and exploration, and quite frankly, the combat is simply not as fun as the mainline Metroid games. And while that is absolutely just a preference, this is a biased list where I am just giving an opinion. Furthermore, the map of the original Metroid Prime is also one that is not as intuitive when it comes to short cuts and backtracking as most other Metroid games.

But despite the game’s flaws, the transition from 2D to 3D was never better in any other Nintendo franchise, and it showed that both mediums have advantages over the other, showing how both are equally valuable. More than that, this game also had some of the best bosses in the franchise up to this point, an exciting and fun new take on Ridley, Samus’s arch rival, an interesting evolution on metroids, and the most fun that could ever be had with Samus’s main ability, the morph ball.

And more than most other Metroid games, even those that are higher on this list, Metroid Prime is one of the games that I enjoy returning to the most.

6. Metroid: Zero Mission

Proving that the original Metroid was always a great game, it just needed improved mechanics, this remake took all of the innovations from later entries in the franchise and brought them into this game.

The story is improved in every way, with new cutscenes, new bosses, and a whole new finale that made Samus the most vulnerable she had ever been, while also giving her one of her best arcs in the entire franchise.

Quite frankly, I do not have much to say about this game due to the fact that it did nearly everything right, and the only reason it is not higher on this list is simply because I enjoy the bosses, gameplay, and stories more in each game higher on the list.

5. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

Without a doubt, this is the most cinematic (without being overly so) game in the franchise, and is part of what makes me love this game so much, despite many other Metroid fans listing this trait as a major fault.

This game’s story is frankly unmatched, with the best Metroid villain in Dark Samus, and the introduction of likeable and tragic side characters in Samus’s fellow bounty hunters Ghor, Rundus, and Gandrayda. The relationship that Samus has with these characters and how their stories end is one of the best parts of the Metroid epic, and despite Samus not saying a word and her face not seen much, her emotions are felt throughout this entire story.

Add to this the looming threat of Samus being corrupted, the impending leviathans spreading across the galaxy, and some of the most fun planets to explore, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption remains one of the most engaging gaming experiences that can be had.

The biggest setback of this game is simply how easy the combat becomes, especially with hypermode taking away much of the challenge that makes Metroid games so fun to play. This can be solved by not using hypermode, and yet it is a built in and essential game mechanic during multiple different segments and boss fights.

I also have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of the Wii controls, despite them being wonderfully designed for the console. I much prefer a more classic controller, but this is rather a nitpick more than anything else, and an issue I hope to one day see solved in a future remaster.

4. Metroid Dread

The most recent Metroid game to be released is also one of the best. Continuing the mainline Metroid story, concluding the arc that began in Metroid II: Return of Samus, and canonically also being the most recent game, Samus shows that she can and should still carry a franchise and have more entries into her journey.

Helmed by Sakamoto and MercurySteam, the team behind Metroid: Samus Returns and the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games, this dynamic has proven to be a winner.

Firstly, the gameplay has never been better in any Metroid game that came before, building on what made previous games great and refining their own editions from their previous Metroid game. Without an overreliance on the counter system, more impactful Aeion abilities, superb exploration, and thrilling horror sequences with the E.M.M.I., the game is a blast from beginning to end.

The story is also one of my favorites, with the main villain, Raven Beak, being unmatched by all except for the famed purple space dragon, and Samus’s characterization is also treated with respect and is expertly crafted throughout the whole experience, with her emotions being clear and well shown and purposeful throughout. And finally, Samus has a voice that fans can get behind.

After hearing all of this, it may be tempting to put this game higher on the list, but the reason it is not is due to the games higher on this list bringing a greater spark than Metroid Dread did. But if this game is any sign of the future to come, I can only be excited.

3. Super Metroid

Everything there is to say about Super Metroid has been said, and yet I have not said anything, so I will still attempt to bring something original to the conversation.

This game was an innovation and standard setter for the entire Metroid franchise, introducing new abilities, exemplary boss battles, exploration that may still be unmatched, and a gut wrenching story never before seen in any Metroidvania before, and still hard pressed to see again.

The gameplay loop never leaves a dull moment, with the progression of Samus’s powers and the player’s skills lining up so perfectly with level, enemy, and boss design that a person cannot help but admire craftsmanship.

While many consider Super Metroid a perfect game, one of the greatest games of all time, and certainly the best Metroid game, but as you may discern by having this game not at the top of my list, I simply just resonate with two games more for their creative risks, stories, and gameplay.

2. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

The best of the Metroid Prime series and the darkest, this wonderful sequel did what all great sequels should do: expand on the greatness of the original.

The exploration of this game has been expanded between two mirrored worlds, one light and one dark, with dangers and excitements unique to both. Though many criticisms are thrown at this aspect of the game, it has actually remained one of my absolute favorite gameplay loops in the series. That said, the secluded light and dark beam ammo was a poor choice and is where I believe the true issues with the light and dark system lie.

As for the boss battles, this game has some of the best in the entire franchise, with Emperor Ing, Dark Samus, and Quadraxis being amazing standouts. And as I said before, Dark Samus is the greatest Metroid villain, and her path to greatness begins here, with the mystery of who she is and her intentions on the planet Aether being an engrossing throughline.

I must also mention V-Mos the Luminoth, a character I instantly became attached to. He is a tragic optimist, trying to save his people, save his planet, and even save Samus at times. Learning his backstory and the backstory of the Luminoth as a whole has remained one of my favorite pieces of lore in the franchise, and though incredibly unlikely, I would like to see V-Mos appear again in some way in another game.

As for the ending of this game, it is my favorite of any ending in the franchise, combining both the bombastic nature of most entries with the contemplation from Metroid II: Return of Samus, Samus’s send off in this entry is absolutely perfect. And without going into spoilers, this ending is also strangely optimistic for a Metroid game, the only game that I would say has a truly happy ending, which is ironic for what is certainly the darkest game in the franchise.

Despite my love for the ending, story, and V-Mos, there is still one game that I believe to be better.

1. Metroid: Fusion

The best game in the franchise, and what was for nearly two decades the last entry in the mainline series. Metroid: Fusion takes the biggest risks any Metroid game ever has, with a larger focus on story, vulnerability, and Samus as a character.

Isolation is a major subject throughout the entire franchise, and Samus’s isolation never felt more intense than in this game, where she is never actually alone. The A.I. known as A.D.A.M., based on the personality and memories of Adam Malkovich, assists Samus throughout the game, being her guide and her ally, and yet Samus must fight without her power armor, experience a change in her very DNA, as Samus is injected and saved by having her own DNA fused with a metroid’s.

Throughout the game, there is also a constant reminder of the previous strength of Samus through the haunting and hunting SA-X, a parasite that has taken Samus’s form and whose eventual boss fight is simultaneously one of the most challenging and most fun fights in the entire franchise.

The X-parasite as an enemy is all simply more fun to face off against than the metroids ever were with an incredible mechanic that strikes dread in the heart of the player, and continued to do so in this game’s long awaited follow-up. Of course, The Thing is also one of my favorite movies so an enemy inspired by the film would of course draw me in.

As for the overall gameplay, while it is more linear, the creativity in enemies and the less powered Samus, along with an increased paranoia, create for one of the best atmospheres and most fun exploration sequences to be had.

While many Metroidvanias and other Metroid games continue to take great inspiration from Super Metroid, as they should, I hope that what is the superior sequel receives the recognition it deserves and begins to have a greater influence.