Hyper Beam
Super Metroid originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1994. The game is universally praised for creating the exploration-platformer genre that would later go on to be named Metroid-Vania. Super Metroid capitalizes on the idea of loneliness. The player, as Samus Aran, is trapped on a derelict space colony. Alone and weak against an environment that want’s nothing more to open up Samus’ Power Armor like a can of tuna.
Roughly 95% of the game is spent narrowly scraping by enemy encounters, scrounging up enery to refill Samus’ health, and carefully placing missile shots so not to put any to waste. After surviving the horrors aboard the Ceres Space Colony, Samus is once again put face-to-brain with Mother Brain.
This time, Mother Brain has some new moves, and just before she can strike the killing blow against Samus, the baby Metroid Samus developed a close bond with sacrifices itself to protect her. The resulting explosion covers Samus in raw energy that alter’s her Power Suit, thus turning her into an unstoppable killing machine that will leave you shouting, “taste the rainbow,” to Mother Brain as you strike your mortal blow.
What makes the Hyper Beam so badass is it’s ability to make it feel like you turned the table on the game. Long gone are the days of scrounging for power ups and energy tanks to make it by. With the hyper beam, you are the one who sends enemies running for their lives. That is smart game design.
