Metroid

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Metroid
Developer: Nintendo R&D1 Publisher: Nintendo Platform: NES Released in JP: August 6, 1986 Released in US: August 15, 1987 Released in EU: January 15, 1988 This game has unused areas. This game has unused graphics. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has a prerelease article

The story of one girl and her highly advanced power suit borrowed from a dead civilization of birdmen. Also, there's no map. Have fun!

Debug Features

The NES version of Metroid contains a secret password, which enables several debugging features (the zeroes are optional):

NARPAS SWORD0
000000 000000

("NAR" refers to T. Narihiro, the programmer who converted the game from the FDS disk format to standard ROM)

This will send you to the start of the game with the following debugging features enabled:

• Infinite health (the tens digit of your health never changes; you can still get hit and take damage, it just won't have much of an effect)
• Infinite missiles (though you technically don't have any missile containers; this can lead to a crash in Tourian, as noted below)
• Ice Beam equipped (this uses the Wave Beam's graphic with the Ice Beam's palette, which never happens normally)
• All items obtained (sans missile containers and energy tanks)

PROTIP: If you intend to beat the game with this password, it would be wise to pick up at least one missile container first. If you kill a Metroid without obtaining a missile container, and it attempts to drop a missile pickup, the game will freeze. Alternatively, you can just avoid killing Metroids altogether. This glitch was not fixed in any of the later rereleases of the game (e.g. the one included with Metroid Prime), possibly because Nintendo is unaware of the code's existence.

Inaccessible Rooms

Two rooms cannot be accessed, both of them in Norfair. They're copies of rooms that exist elsewhere in the game.

The hall at the bottom of this screen isn't connected to anything and thus can't be entered.

The room to the left is, once again, not connected to anything.

Unused Rooms

In addition to the two rooms above, which are present on the map but can not be accessed, there are three rooms defined in the game that appear nowhere on the map.

This room is present in the room data for Kraid's hideout, but the pointer that should reference it instead points to the data for the next room. The room has no door bubbles and is not used in the game.

The hallway and elevator shaft are standard rooms in every level. The halls are used for palette transitions, and since these don't occur in Kraid's hideout, this unfinished hall does not appear anywhere on the map.

Like the hall in Kraid's hideout, this hall is unfinished and unused. Interestingly, this hall uses different graphics from the others. The dark gray squares inside the hall appear in front of Samus.

Save Function

The pads on the top left indicate space for a CR2032 battery.

Interestingly, opening up the Metroid cart reveals that it uses an NES-SNROM-0x PCB (x indicates the board revision). Among the five games that Nintendo published using this board, three of them used the battery backup space. Releases of Metroid outside of Japan did not have a save feature and opted for a password system, instead, as the Famicom Disk System version(s) relied on disk backup. The other game that didn't use a battery was Kid Icarus, which shared a similar transition from Japan. Metroid was the first NES title to use the SNROM board, which implies that they intended to have battery backup, but ultimately left out the battery, perhaps as a cost-cutting measure.

Unused Samus Tiles

Unique Left/Right Sprites

Unused	Used

Unused tiles for Samus, as well as the orientation of the used tiles, indicate that Samus was originally going to have unique sprites for facing left and right. There are tiles for running and shooting while running. The feet for the standing pose and gun for the upwards-aiming pose are also mirrored compared to the rest of the tiles in the pose. In the final version of the game, Samus uses the same sprites for both directions, but the arm on which the gun is located is inconsistent between poses.

Unused	Used

Oddly enough, the alternate tiles for suitless Samus seem to be from an earlier version of her running animation. Her hand is held in a different position, her hair is less messy as it waves, and her chest is flatter. As suitless Samus is unique to the later cartridge versions of the game, it's possible that the artist who initially drew the tileset was not aware that the alternate tiles were unused.

Samus	Suitless Samus

Interestingly, these unused tiles for both sets of unused tiles are located in the same location in the tilesets. This may very well be due to the confusing layout of the tiles. Her gun is also one pixel longer, making it more closely resemble her normal gun.

Alternate Foot

One tile, present in both Samus tilesets, is what appears to be an alternate foot for the facing-the-screen pose. Shown in this image are various attempts at reconstructing how the tile may have been used.

Teleporting Samus

Going...going...gone.

Tiles that appear to depict Samus teleporting in, or perhaps teleporting out. The upper leg tiles are missing from both tilesets. Interestingly, the tiles are also present in the FDS version, but in a different location. They were moved to where the LOADING text was located to make room for the power-up graphics.

Version Differences

Title Screen

FDS	NES

Select Screen

FDS	NES

The Japanese version features a File Select screen with three save slots, like "The Legend of Zelda." You can also see how many hours you have spent on your mission, where one hour of gameplay represents one 'day.' The NES version uses a password system, instead.

FDS Message and Loading Screen

When you start your game file or save your progress, the game informs you to change disk sides in katakana.

File:FDS Metroid Loading Message.png

After you have flipped the disk, a loading message appears in hiragana, translated as, "Please Wait."

Game Over

FDS	NES

In the NES version, the "Game Over" text was moved higher in frame and the spacing between the words was reduced.

The text was also given a colour palette that varies depending on which area in the game you die in.

FDS	NES

If you lose the game, or decide to quit, the FDS version provides you with an option to save your progress. The NES version, instead, gives you a password.

Cleared Game

The FDS version adds "money bag" graphics to the save slot, which indicates a completed game. When you finish the game in the NES version, the game starts over... though Samus retains all her power-ups, except for Energy Tanks and Missiles, for this second play-through. This is not the case in the FDS version, where you simply restart the game again with no power-ups.

Armorless Samus

If you finish the game under three hours in the NES version, you will start the second play-through with an armor-less Samus. The FDS version does not have this "bonus feature."

HUD

FDS	NES

The digits for energy and missiles have a blue dropshadow in the FDS version. This minor difference is also seen on the timer that appears in the escape sequence.

Mother Brain

FDS	NES

In the FDS version, a much larger part of the tank is destroyed while fighting Mother Brain. In the NES version, it was changed so that the tank only shatters near Mother Brain's vulnerable area.

Ending

FDS	NES

The color palette of the text in the ending message was changed from blue to yellow for the NES version. "IN THE SPACE" was also changed to "IN SPACE", but the Engrish is still hilariously bad.

End Credits

FDS	NES

The credits' blue palette was changed to cyan in the NES version, and MAIN PROGRAMMED BY was changed to MAIN PROGRAMMERS.

FDS	NES

TOHRYU MAKO and BENKEI were replaced with T.NARIHIRO, who converted the game to NES cartridge.

FDS	NES

CHIEF DIRECTED BY was changed to CHIEF DIRECTOR.

FDS	NES

The End had a slightly darker palette than the rest of the credits in the FDS version, with a PUSH START BUTTON message.

Other Differences:

• As the game is being stored on disk instead of cartridge, the Japanese version has short loading times when you go between the 5 areas in the game.
• Due to having extra memory provided by the FDS RAM adapter, the FDS version features enemies that behaves in a more random fashion. For example, the "Squeepts" in Norfair can change their height in between jumps, but the NES version would restrict the state of the enemy so that it could only jump at one set height that would be redetermined only when the enemy data leaves memory. This removed the unpredictability of certain enemies in the NES version.
• The FDS version also has far less slowdown than the NES version. This is most noticeable in boss battles, as well as much of "Tourian", the last area in the game.
• The NES version adds the ability to play as suitless Samus.

Audio Differences

Music

• The Title Theme and Ending Theme are much richer in their compositions in the Japanese version due to utilizing the system's wavetable sound channel.
• The Item Collection Theme and The Appearance of Samus also take advantage of the wavetable sound channel, making them sound quite different to the NES version.
• The Escape Theme is a little shorter in the FDS version, an extended section was added to the track in the NES version, a section that sounds similar to what the composer wrote for Kid Icarus.

Sound Effects

The FDS version also utilizes the system's wavetable sound channel for several sound effects:

• The bosses Kraid, Ridley and Mother Brain all sound different when they take damage, that is also the case with Metroids and other larger enemies.
• The alarm that is heard when the time bomb is activated is different.
• The sound of doors opening and closing is different.
• The sound effect for the Ice Beam and Wave Beam is different.
• The sound effect for the Screw Attack is different.
• The sound effect when Samus dies is different.
• The sound when Samus take damage is different.
• The warning signal when Samus energy is low is different.

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