Metroid: Zero Mission - Thoughts

Metroid: Zero Mission was released in 2004 on the Game Boy Advance handheld console. In what is essentially a re-imagining of Samus’s first mission - her “zero” mission, if you will - Metroid: Zero Mission re-tells the story from the NES game Metroid. Zero Mission was conceptualized as a way to introduce new players into the Metroid universe without having to go back and play the NES version.

The game was pretty much universally loved by both critics and fans alike, with Zero Mission’s updated gameplay, remix of the classic score and new areas and story being some of the elements that were praised. Some people found it too short and the new content at the end disrupted the traditional feeling of what a Metroid game should be.

Revisions

• Updated the Where Can I Play This? section. I erroneously said that Zero Mission isn’t available on the Nintendo Switch Online service. It was in fact added in June of 2024

What I Liked 😃

Improved in Every Way

image: Nintendo Life

Metroid: Zero Mission wasn’t just a simple remake of the original Metroid — it was Nintendo R&D1 and Yoshio Sakamoto’s way of saying, "Let’s make this the way it was always meant to be." And honestly, they nailed it.

The first thing you’ll notice is the graphics. Going from the blocky NES visuals of 1986 to the colorful, detailed style of the Game Boy Advance in 2004 is like night and day. Samus looks awesome, the enemies are full of personality, and the environments finally feel like parts of a real alien world instead of just a series of random corridors. Everything — backgrounds, structures, creatures — has way more variety and detail now. Plus, Samus herself has a ton of new animation frames, which makes her movements way smoother and just plain cooler to watch.

Then there’s the map. Oh man, the map. If you played the original Metroid on NES, you know how brutal it was trying to navigate Zebes with no in-game help. You had to either draw your own map or memorize everything. Zero Mission fixes that in the best way: there's a mini-map right there in the corner of the screen, and you can also pull up a full-screen map whenever you need it. It’s such a welcome quality-of-life upgrade — it doesn’t take away the feeling of exploration, but it saves you from getting hopelessly lost (at least most of the time).

Another nice upgrade is the revamped user interface. In Zero Mission, you can easily check all the weapons and suit upgrades you've picked up. When you pause the game, there's a clean, simple screen that shows exactly what gear you have — like the Varia Suit, Morph Ball, Missiles, and all that good stuff. It’s super easy to see at a glance what you're packing and what you’re still missing. Compared to the original Metroid, where you pretty much had to keep it all in your head (or guess), this is a huge improvement that makes tracking your progress feel way more satisfying.

The music also got a complete overhaul. You’ll hear amazing remixes of classic tracks along with some brand-new ones. Sure, the GBA isn’t exactly known for having crystal-clear sound, but even so, the audio here is a huge step up from the NES beeps and boops. The soundtrack does an awesome job of setting the mood, whether you’re quietly exploring or battling one of the new, bigger, badder bosses.

And just when you think you’ve seen everything Zero Mission has to offer, it throws a huge curveball with its story.

New Story Elements

image: Sky Pirate’s Den

Spoiler warning for a 21-year-old video game, I guess.

Zero Mission doesn’t just improve the gameplay — it gives the story a major upgrade too. Whether it's the new intro cutscene or the revamped world layout, the storytelling feels way more deliberate and immersive. That alone would have been enough, but one of the biggest surprises in Zero Mission is that the story doesn’t end after you defeat Mother Brain.

In the original Metroid, once you fought your way through the brutal gauntlet to reach Mother Brain, blasted her in the face with missiles, and escaped the crumbling Space Pirate facility, you were done — roll credits. But in Zero Mission, after Samus escapes, things take a turn. She’s ambushed by Space Pirates, captured, and stripped of her Power Suit. What follows is an entirely new chapter where Samus has to survive using stealth, sneaking — or sometimes sprinting — past Space Pirates without her usual arsenal.

This new addition sparked some criticism from hardcore Metroid purists who didn’t love the sudden genre shift. But honestly, if you're open to the series trying something different, it ends up being a really cool twist. Sure, there were a few frustrating moments where I had to replay sections, but overall, the stealth segment added a tense, fresh feeling to the endgame.

I’ll admit, I didn’t fully understand the ending the first time through. Later, I found out that it actually ties into a Japan-only comic that explores Samus’s upbringing and the history of the Chozo. Not knowing that backstory didn’t ruin the experience for me — if anything, it made me even more curious and deepened my appreciation for the lore.

Better Control

image: IGN

One of the biggest gameplay improvements comes from Zero Mission being built for the Game Boy Advance. Right away, you can feel the difference — the controls are way tighter and more responsive compared to the NES original. I was honestly impressed by how smooth everything felt, especially for a handheld game.

Movement and combat are both super crisp. Jumping, aiming, and changing directions feel fast and natural, without the sluggishness that sometimes made the original Metroid a bit clunky to play. Even pulling off more complex maneuvers, like Shinesparking — where you have to chain a running speed boost into a precision jump — wasn’t nearly as frustrating as I expected. It still takes some timing, sure, but the controls are sharp enough that you feel like it’s your skill being tested, not you fighting the hardware.

The addition of small touches, like better air control during jumps and quicker ledge grabbing, makes navigating Zebes a lot more fun too. Everything just feels tighter and more responsive, letting you focus on exploration and action instead of wrestling with the controls. It’s one of those upgrades you really notice when you go back and try to play the older games afterward — Zero Mission just plays like a dream.

What I Didn’t Like ☹️

Shinesparking

image: Metroid Recon

One thing I want to call out specifically is the shinesparking and speed boosting mechanics. Overall, they’re a lot of fun and add a really cool sense of momentum to the way you move through Zebes. Getting a full run going and blasting through enemies and barriers feels incredibly satisfying, especially once you figure out how to chain it into hidden areas or secret item pickups.

That said, it’s not always perfect. Pulling off a shinespark — where you store up your speed boost and launch into a super-fast jump — can still feel a little finicky. You have to get the timing just right, and on a handheld like the Game Boy Advance with its small D-pad, it’s not always easy to quickly press the right button combination under pressure. The game doesn’t do a great job of explaining exactly how shinesparking works either, so unless you experiment a lot (or look it up), it’s easy to miss how powerful and important it actually is.

Later in the game, there are also a few optional item pickups that require some pretty ridiculous shinespark setups. We're talking pixel-perfect timing and quick directional changes that can feel more frustrating than fun, especially if you’re trying to 100% the game. In those moments, the otherwise smooth movement systems show a few cracks — it feels less like a test of exploration skills and more like fighting against the controls.

Overall Thoughts 🤔

Metroid: Zero Mission is a fantastic reimagining of the original Metroid. Nearly every aspect has been improved — from the graphics and music to the expanded story moments and vastly better controls. It absolutely accomplished its goal of serving as a new entry point for the series, especially for players who weren’t around back in the late '80s.

Honestly, unless you’re aiming to play every Metroid game for completion’s sake — which, let’s be real, I definitely am — there’s not much reason to go back to the original NES version. Zero Mission just does everything better. And even if you do want to experience where it all started, Zero Mission has you covered: after finishing the game, you unlock the full original Metroid to play right from the menu. It’s a perfect blend of honoring the past while making it way more accessible to new players.

Where Can I Play This? 🕹️

Zero Mission is somewhat easy to play in 2025. It is available on the Nintendo Switch Online service, which is a paid service Nintendo offers to play older games. It was available on the Nintendo Virtual Console but the eShop closed back in 2023. So, as of this writing, your best bet is to get the NSO service or buy the cartridge or emulate the game.

I played Metroid: Zero Mission physically on the Game Boy Advance. I got most of the collectibles (that didn’t require crazy Shinesparking) and finished the story.

Up Next 📅

Next up, I’m writing about a new series that I had been wanting to try for a long time. That series is Darksiders! We’ll be looking at the first game next time!