The Game That Created a New Genre Came Out 32 Years Ago on SNES

It's rare for a game to be so revolutionary that it creates an entirely new genre. Super Metroid is just that special, though. The SNES classic came out on April 18, 1994, in North America. Over three decades later, it's still being imitated, but rarely duplicated.

Super Metroid crafted all of the traits gamers have come to know and love in the 2D adventure genre. The combination of platforming, defeating bosses, gaining new abilities, and returning to the same part of the map once your character is powerful enough has never been more focused and working in unison than in this game. Combined with the Castlevania series, Super Metroid is the game that gave credence and name to the Metroidvania genre.

Metroid has still been chasing this same level of quality since Super Metroid. The Metroid Prime series, specifically the first game in the series, is close to Super Metroid in quality. The first-person perspective might be a turn-off to more casual gamers, though. Super Metroid's 2D graphical style and the simple-to-learn controls make it easy to get into, but challenging to master.

Metroid is now more of a cult series in Nintendo's list of giant franchises. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond didn't do quite as well as some would have expected on the Switch and Switch 2. Metroid Dread from 2021 was the last 2D game in the series, and it sold much better. This shows the staying power of Super Metroid and the influence it continues to have on gamers to this day.

Hollow Knight: Silksong, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, SteamWorld Dig, and Axiom Verge all owe most of their mechanics and techniques directly to Super Metroid. These games are proof that not everyone wants an open-world game to explore.

Maps that are confined and force the player to navigate specific areas at certain times to reach where they need to go will always find an audience. 2D adventure games rely on the setting, atmosphere, and music to do all of the work. Super Metroid was the game that started it all, and even new fans who weren't around in the 1990s are discovering its greatness.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 1:42 AM.