If you find yourself wondering what the best Metroid games are, we've been putting our heads together to decide exactly that.
From Samus' early days on the Famicom system, to the latest adventure, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - which just landed on the Switch and Switch 2 - the famous bounty hunter has starred in lots of memorable games over the years. Landing on just 10 is no easy feat, especially since Samus has brought us some of the best SNES games, not mention entries among the best GameCube games, the best GBA games, and the best Wii games, but we've settled on a ranking to celebrate the iconic series.
So, whether you're looking to get nostalgic, you're keen to discover what we think are the standout releases, or you're after some recommendations, read on below as we look back over the best Metroid games.
10. Metroid Prime Hunters
Platform: DS
Release year: 2006
Metroid Prime Hunters brought Samus Aran to the Nintendo DS and delivered some memorable multiplayer goodness. Pitted against rivals, you'd be racing to beat fellow bounty hunters to claim ancient artefacts, or face others as you investigate a strange telepathic message in a distant region of space.
Making use of the touch-screen for its FPS elements, Prime Hunters also featured a main adventure story mode across various planets in Samsus' gunship, and it's 3D style really jumped out of the handheld at the time. With a port over to the Wii U some years later, it's still one we look back on fondly.
9. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Platform: Switch / Switch 2
Release year: 2025
Samus Aran's latest adventure brings to life an atmospheric experience with immersive level design that really does look impressive - particularly on Nintendo's latest console. Following the iconic bounty hunter as she finds herself on the mysterious planet of Viewros, Samus is outfitted with new physic powers this time around as you fight against alien creatures and face another bounty hunter by the name of Sylux.
While the physic powers can be clunky to use at times, and the overworld where you can steer Samus' Vi-O-La motorbike feels quite empty. But there are some great moments that shine through, and its also very replayable. You can learn more in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review.
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Platform: Wii
Release year: 2007
The question of what's better, between Corruption and Echoes, will likely be argued until Samus Aran hangs up her Arm Cannon and calls it a day on hunting bounties. Metroid Prime 3 required the use of Wii motion controls for aiming, something I remain split on to this day.
But there is a good time to be had with Corruption, as developer Retro Studios changed up the established structure of the Prime games and pushed Metroid in a more overtly action-oriented direction as it sought to close out the trilogy. Corruption looks beautiful and moves breathlessly between set-pieces, so long as you can get a handle on the idiosyncrasies of the Wii Remote. In fact, we almost gave this game a perfect score in our Metroid Prime 3: Corruption review.
7. Metroid: Samus Returns
Platform: 3DS
Release year: 2017
Of all the Metroid games that were in the most need of a generous remaster, it was Return of Samus. In the 25 years that had passed, the series had moved on significantly from the Game Boy outing, leaving Metroid 2 as something of an outlier. Developer MercurySteam, fresh off of working on the Castlevania series, was tasked with modernizing Samus' return adventure for 3DS.
Metroid: Samus Returns isn't a remake, but rather a reimagining. The structure is similar, and it hits the key story beats, all while imbuing play with a suite of divisive modern features such as a Melee Counter, Aeion abilities, and free-aim support that would ultimately make their way into Metroid Dread.
6. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Platform: GameCube
Release year: 2004
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes had its problems, but then again, whatever game had to follow Metroid Prime was always going to be locked in a battle against unrealistic expectations. Echoes took the foundational design Retro Studios outlined with Metroid Prime and built upon it with haunting environments, challenging combat, an experimental light and dark mechanic, and an expanded suite of abilities.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes has a, shall we say, tedious late-game, but it isn't enough to diminish what is an otherwise spectacular sequel that did the impossible job of following one of the best GameCube games of all time. We also stand by our glowing Metroid Prime 2: Echoes review for this one.
5. Metroid Dread
Platform: Switch
Release year: 2021
A continuation of where Samus Aran's story left off 17 years prior, Metroid Dread could have gone either way for co-developers Nintendo and MercurySteam. What we have here is a long-overdue sequel that manages to not only capture the feel of the earliest Metroid adventures but also build upon them with the new combat and traversal mechanics introduced in Samus Returns.
Like we mentioned in our Metroid Dread review, this game isn't without its problems – controls are cramped on the Switch, and the bosses are a tedious nightmare. But when Dread settles into its rhythm, it offers an isolating, driven, and atmospheric adventure that conjures fond memories of both Metroid Fusion and Super.
4. Metroid Fusion
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release year: 2002
Metroid Fusion is as divisive as it is brilliant. Arriving the day after Metroid Prime launched on GameCube, Samus' first 3D mission that sought to push the iconic series into more adventurous territory, Metroid Fusion was a refinement of the style the 2D games were rooted in.
This Game Boy Advance classic was more linear than those that came before it, introducing a guided structure to help emphasize the perilousness of Samus' situation – as she's hunted mercilessly by SA-X, a clone of the fully-powered bounty hunter. What Metroid Fusion lacks in free-form exploration, it makes up for with streamlined controls, a killer story, and some of the best audio and visuals the series has seen to date.
3. Metroid: Zero Mission
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Release year: 2004
This is obviously up for debate, but there's an argument to be made that Metroid: Zero Mission is the finest remake Nintendo has ever commissioned. It's a retread of the original Metroid, bringing the improved controls and tighter pacing introduced to Metroid Fusion into a gorgeous expansion of the labyrinthian, atmospheric spaces introduced back in 1986.
A new environment, fresh mini-bosses, and a few memorable set-pieces helped enshrine Zero Mission as a classic that could appeal to players both old and new. All these years later, Metroid: Zero Mission is still one the tightest and smartest games in the series.
2. Metroid Prime
Platform: GameCube
Release year: 2002
Even after Nintendo demonstrated that it had an aptitude for guiding its biggest characters into the third dimension, few believed Samus Aran would find her way as easily as Mario and Link had done in the N64 era. And then Metroid Prime landed, proving that the first-person perspective was good for more than traditional shooters.
Developer Retro Studios did a truly wondrous job here, transferring the ethos of Super Metroid into a beautiful, intricately structured 3D world that was an utter delight to get lost in. Metroid Prime respected the legacy of what came before it and innovated upon those foundations without fear or hesitation.
1. Super Metroid
Platform: SNES
Release year: 1994
"Masterpiece." "Timeless." "One of the greatest video games of all time." These are just some of the things that you could – and should – say about Super Metroid. A true classic of the 16-bit era, Super Metroid is a solitary and isolating adventure that finds success in leaving Samus alone to explore a sprawling, suffocating, and hostile alien world.
That Super Metroid is able to accomplish so much, and tell such a resonant story, without a single spoken word is as impressive today as it was in 1994, as too is its tempered approach to progression and pacing. Getting lost on planet Zebes wasn't a problem in Super Metroid, it was the entire point. The lasting impression it made cannot be understated, earning it a place among our pick of the best games of all time.
For more great games to play right now, check out all the upcoming Switch 2 games and best switch games of all time.
