Metroid was the 1986 Nintendo game that first featured the character Samus Aran.
Developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, Metroid places the player on the planet Zebes, where Samus battles Space Pirates and the parasitic Metroids. The game combines platforming, exploration, shooting, and backtracking through a connected world.
Samus’s identity was intentionally kept hidden during much of the game. Players who completed the game quickly could discover that the armored bounty hunter was a woman, an unusual and memorable reveal in 1980s action games.
Metroid is sometimes mistaken for its 1994 Super Nintendo sequel, Super Metroid, which expanded the series’ exploration formula. The original game introduced the series’ atmosphere, item-based progression, and isolated science-fiction setting.