A Completely Objective and Unbiased Ranking Of The Metroid Series That Will Definitely Not Anger Any Fans Whatsoever

Welp, 2025 is officially in the rearview mirror, which means we’ve somehow survived another trip around the sun without the sun itself getting bored and swallowing us whole. As we stumble blindly into 2026, I’ve been wondering how to best approach the new year. Should I start a vegetable garden? Learn a new language? No. Obviously, the correct answer is to dictate a hotly contested list of my opinions, which are worth absolutely nothing but will be treated with the gravity of a Supreme Court ruling. 📜 This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Metroid series, a franchise that has aged better than most of us and is definitely better than I have. Since I just finished reviewing Metroid Prime 4: Echoes (or Beyond, whatever Nintendo is calling it this week), I couldn’t possibly wait until the actual anniversary in August to force my subjective rankings on you, the unsuspecting reader. So, kick off your shoes, grab a snack, and prepare to yell at your screen, because we are ranking every single Metroid game from the absolute worst to the undisputed best. 🚀

Now, before you start typing your angry comments, let’s establish some ground rules. I’ve decided to focus on the “mainline” entries. Including every spinoff or obvious quality-improvement remake would be lazy—it’s like asking me to compare a Michelin star steak to a burger and then include a photo of the steak as a “remaster.” Metroid: Zero Mission is better than the original Metroid? Big if true! 🙄 However, I wouldn’t feel right calling this a definitive ranking without at least mentioning the honorable mentions, so I’ve arranged those from “meh” to “heck yeah” as well. And yes, I think all these games are mostly good. There’s no truly bad entry, just games that make you question your life choices.

11. Metroid: Other M 🤮

Metroid: Other M being dead last shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone with a functioning cerebral cortex. It is easily the most divisive game in the series, a title that did a lot of things right and approximately ten thousand things WRONG. Team Ninja’s take on the Metroid formula made the game feel more open and action-focused, which was cool if you enjoyed Ninja Gaiden but wanted Samus to be the one doing the backflips. 🥋

However, the game’s linear structure and the attempt to give Samus a voice caused the whole thing to unravel like a cheap sweater in a cat shelter. The story reduces Samus to an emotionless cypher who apparently can’t activate her own Varia Suit unless a big, strong man screams at her to do so. 🤬 Not only that, it establishes a murder mystery plot that goes absolutely nowhere and borrows elements from the Metroid manga without understanding why they worked. In the end, you’re left with a game that is fun to play but is a torture device to experience.

10. Metroid Dread 🏃💨

Prepare your pitchforks, because placing Metroid Dread this low might seem like bait. And yeah, it is. 🎣 I genuinely love Metroid Dread; it’s a tight, slick experience with intense moments. But my problem is that it feels less like exploring a planet and more like doing a really stressful parkour run. To me, Metroid games are defined by getting lost in a cave and finding a beam to open a blue door. It’s about the vibe, not the velocity.

While Dread does try to let you explore, it constantly stops you with Navigation Rooms that act like a GPS for people who get lost in their own hallways. 🗺️ It holds your hand more than a crossing guard. While there are some ways to sequence break (shoutout to the secret Kraid finisher), it’s just a far more straightforward experience than I wanted from the first 2D Metroid in nearly two decades. It’s a masterpiece of animation, but a bit of a failure at making me feel smart for finding a hidden item.

9. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond 🚀

If you read my review of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, you know my biggest bugbear with the game. It’s linear. Look, I love a linear game as much as the next guy, but if I’m playing a Metroid game, I expect to get lost at least three times before lunch. 🤷‍♂️ This game borrows heavily from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in its structure, which is fine for a fantasy adventure, but feels weird when you are a space bounty hunter in a power suit.

A lot of Metroid Prime 4 feels like half-confessions. It wants to be a cinematic blockbuster, but it’s wearing a Metroid skin suit. It’s an incredibly fun FPS, but it’s only a “sub-par” Metroid. It’s like ordering a pepperoni pizza and getting a delicious calzone instead. It’s good, but it’s not what I asked for. 🍕

8. Metroid (NES) 🕹️

Putting the game that started it all this low might seem controversial, but let’s be real. Metroid deserves credit for creating a genre and giving us Samus, but playing it today is an exercise in masochism. It’s a SLOG. It’s genuinely unintuitive, the controls are stiff, and it’s borderline unapproachable without a walkthrough or a direct line to 1986 Nintendo Power. 📞

Yes, it was revolutionary for its time, and yes, it gave us one of the first female protagonists in gaming (a rarity back then). But being revolutionary doesn’t automatically make it fun. Metroid is an amazing historical artifact, but it’s also a bad game by modern standards. It’s like trying to watch a silent film from 1920; you respect it, but you also want to gouge your eyes out after twenty minutes. 👀

7. Metroid II: The Return of Samus 📱

Similar to its NES predecessor, Metroid II is a game that benefits from innovation but suffers from being held back by the potato it was running on. As the first Metroid on the Game Boy, it’s impressive that they fit a whole planet in here. It’s also one of the best-looking Game Boy games, simply because they had to define Samus’s pixelated body to communicate suit upgrades. 👩‍🚀

However, the Game Boy’s limitations made the controls janky, and the world of SR388 is about as memorable as a wet napkin. Plus, every boss is just a Metroid. 🦇 A Metroid here, a Metroid there, a Metroid everywhere. While cool from a lore perspective, fighting the same enemy reskinned twelve times gets boring. It’s groundbreaking, sure, but it’s not a game I’m rushing to replay on Switch Online.

6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 💀

Metroid Prime 3 had big shoes to fill as the grand finale of the Phazon saga on the Wii. It’s held back slightly by the Wii’s obsession with “waggle,” but it’s still a high point. It was the first Prime game to feel truly expansive, taking the action to a galactic scale with multiple planets. 🌌

It also gave Samus a voice (finally!) and introduced other Hunters, making the universe feel less lonely. Credit where it’s due: the Wii Remote actually made the combat feel snappy and satisfying. The game starts with a high-octane boss battle against a corrupted Ridley, which is exactly the kind of “we mean business” energy I appreciate. It’s a great game, even if you do have to shake your remote to reload your missiles like you’re mixing a cocktail. 🍸

5. Metroid Prime: Hunters 📡

If you didn’t own a Nintendo DS, you missed out on the absolute fever dream that was Metroid Prime: Hunters. As a game, it’s kind of janky. The story is thin, and using the stylus to aim felt like trying to thread a needle on a rollercoaster. 🎢

But the concept? A full FPS Metroid in your pocket? Mind-blowing. The real star, however, was the multiplayer. It was the “showstopper,” offering unique hunters that made for chaotic matches. Getting it online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connector was a pain, but when it worked, it was magic. I used to watch the opening cutscene on loop just to see how good the graphics looked on a tiny screen. It was the little game that could, and it deserves respect. 👊

4. Metroid Fusion 🔗

I know what you’re thinking: “Why is Fusion above Dread?” Because Fusion, while linear, has a vibe that Dread tries to emulate but never quite captures. The introduction of the X-Parasite was genius—it’s The Thing in space. 👽

Samus fusing with Metroid DNA added a layer of vulnerability, especially with the extreme heat and cold zones. But the real star is the SA-X. The first time you see an unhindered, power-suit-wearing version of yourself stalking you through the halls? Pure terror. It evoked The Terminator—an unstoppable force that made you want to hide in a locker. The final boss battle against the SA-X is peak Metroid. It’s tense, atmospheric, and incredibly exciting.

3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes 🌑

When Metroid Prime dropped, we didn’t think a sequel could top it. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes basically said, “Hold my beer,” and doubled the size of the world by adding a Dark World. The world of Aether (and specifically the Dark Aether) was hostile and dangerous, adding a layer of tension to exploration that the first game lacked. ⛔

It streamlined the beams into Light and Dark varieties, making combat more tactical. It introduced Dark Samus, a villain that was conceptually similar to the SA-X but executed with a totally different flavor. Plus, it gave us the Screw Attack in 3D, which is always a reason to celebrate. It was bold, difficult, and rewarding—the perfect Metroidvania sandwich. 🥪

2. Metroid Prime 💎

I know I praised Prime 2 for being better, but Metroid Prime is my favorite game of all time, so I’m putting it here and you can’t stop me. 🛑 When this game launched on the GameCube, it felt like a miracle. Taking the 2D exploration of Super Metroid and translating it into a 3D FPS without losing the soul of the series? Retro Studios nailed it.

It maintains the isolation and atmosphere while adding layers of complexity. The Visor mechanics, the scanning, the way the world of Talon IV feels lived-in—it’s a masterpiece. It’s a spiritual reboot of Super Metroid that respects the source material while pushing the boundaries of what the GameCube could do. If you don’t like this game, I assume you hate fun. 😤

1. Super Metroid 🏆

While Metroid Prime is my personal favorite, Super Metroid is objectively the best. It is the defining SNES game, a title so polished it shines. From the moment you boot it up—the eerie silence, the dead scientists, the baby Metroid crying—before the iconic theme kicks in, you know you’re in for an epic journey. 🎶

It’s one of the best-looking games ever made, with controls that feel buttery smooth. It teaches you mechanics without words. Wall jumping? Shine sparking? The game teaches you through environment and experimentation, not a pop-up tutorial. The death of the Baby Metroid is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in gaming history, and it was achieved without a single line of dialogue. It’s a masterpiece of game design that I revisit every year. It’s not just a game; it’s an experience. 🌟

Honourable Mentions (Because I have a word limit)

• Metroid Prime Pinball – Imagine Metroid Prime, but Samus is the ball. Literally. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s a surprisingly solid pinball game. 🎱
• Metroid Prime: Federation Force – The game everyone hated because it wasn’t a “real” Metroid game. If you ignore the name, it’s a fun co-op shooter. Blast Ball was a banger. 🤖
• Metroid: Samus Returns – The 3DS remake of Metroid II that saved the game from the depths of Game Boy hell. It’s the reason Dread exists. 🔄
• Metroid: Zero Mission – The definitive way to play the original story. It’s what Metroid should have been in 1986. Short, sweet, and perfect. ✨