THE LIBRARY

Every main Metroid box, documented: North American covers from the 1987 NES grey box to Metroid Dread and Prime 4 Beyond key art, with the editions in between.

Metroid from the 1986 Famicom Disk original to Prime 4 Beyond: the peaks, the two long silences, the 2002 double launch and the MercurySteam revival.

The complete Metroid census: all seventeen releases from the 1986 Famicom Disk original to Prime 4 Beyond, with platforms, developers and documented sales.

Metroid (1986) behind the scenes: R&D1 and Intelligent Systems, Yokoi producing, Kiyotake designing Samus, Hip Tanaka composing, and the mid-development twist.

Metroid Famicom Disk System vs NES: three save files against 24-character passwords, the extra sound channel, the siren countdown, and the missing suitless Samus.

Why the NES Metroid uses 24-character passwords: the battery budget went to Zelda, and the workaround produced JUSTIN BAILEY and NARPAS SWORD.

Samus Aran’s backstory documented: K-2L and its destruction, Old Bird and the Chozo adoption, the DNA infusion, and how the 2002 manga codified it.

Who designed Samus Aran: Makoto Kano created the character, Hiroji Kiyotake designed the suit, and the famous reveal was a mid-development suggestion.

Samus’s suit design evolution: Kiyotake’s 1986 original, the Varia silhouette fixed by Metroid II, Prime’s sculpture, the Fusion organism, the Zero Suit and…

What Metroid II (1991) added: the final Varia silhouette, battery saves, the Spider Ball, the Metroid life cycle and Queen, and the baby Metroid ending.

Why Super Metroid is a design landmark: teaching without text, the animal tutorials, environmental storytelling, and the EGM best-game-ever verdict.

How Super Metroid was made: R&D1 with Intelligent Systems, Sakamoto directing, Kano producing, Yamamoto humming themes on a motorcycle, and the 24-megabit cartridge.

Sequence breaking in Super Metroid explained: the wall jump and Shinespark the animals teach, early items, skipped bosses, and why the design tolerates it.

Why speedrunners race Super Metroid: the series’ timed endings since 1986, the categories, and GDQ’s Save the Animals donation war.

Why there is no N64 Metroid: Sakamoto’s controller objection, the outside studio that declined, and the eight-year gap Super Metroid left behind.

Metroid Fusion (2002) documented: the X parasites, the SA-X, Adam, the same-day launch with Prime, and R&D1’s final Metroid.

Metroid Zero Mission (2004): the first game rebuilt, the Chozo statue guidance, the Zero Suit stealth epilogue, and the unlockable 1986 original.

How Metroid Prime happened: Retro Studios’ cancelled projects, Miyamoto’s 2000 visit, the female-led prototype, and the

The Metroid Prime line complete: the Retro trilogy, Hunters, Pinball, Federation Force, the Trilogy steelbook, Remastered, and Beyond.

Why Metroid Prime 4 was restarted: the 2017 logo announcement, Bandai Namco’s shelved version, Shinya Takahashi’s 2019 admission, and the return to Retro.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (2025) documented: Viewros, Sylux, psychic abilities, the Vi-O-La, the Switch 2 edition, its timeline slot and first-month sales.

Metroid Other M (2010) documented: Sakamoto and Team Ninja, the NES-simple controls, the characterisation controversy, and the seven-year silence after it.

Metroid Samus Returns (2017): MercurySteam’s redirected pitch, the melee counter, Aeion abilities, and how the remake revived the 2D series.

Metroid Dread (2021): the twice-cancelled DS project, the E3 2009 prototype, the E.M.M.I., the saga’s finale, and the best-selling Metroid ever made.

Yoshio Sakamoto’s role in Metroid: 1986 character designer, director of Super Metroid and Fusion, producer of the MercurySteam era, and Dread’s stubborn father.