Even Metroid Prime, which launched literally the following day in North America, didn’t manage to capture that same feeling of dread (pun intended) despite its flashy 3D take on Samus’ previously untold misadventures. Time has told us many times that true terror in video games comes from distinct stylistic choices and meticulous game design, things that are often hard to nail down.
The story takes renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran to the planet SR388, where she’s attacked by parasitic organisms known as, simply, X. Her body is recovered and transferred to the Galactic Federation for medical treatment. They cure her with a vaccine made from Metroid cells; it gives her the ability to absorb X nuclei and even gain new powers – but also burdens her with some of the Metroids’ weaknesses. Meanwhile, the Biologic Space Laboratories (BSL) station that was studying her damaged suit goes silent, so off she goes to investigate and save the day.