<!-- See WP:JFN --> is a 2004 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is a remake of the original Metroid (1986), with updated visuals and gameplay.

Like other Metroid games, the player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran. Samus travels to the planet Zebes after learning that the Space Pirates are experimenting with Metroids, hostile parasitic creatures, which they plan to use to take over the universe. The gameplay focuses on exploration, with the player searching for power-ups to reach previously inaccessible areas. The remake adds items, additional areas, mini-bosses, difficulty levels and a rewritten story that explores Samus's past.

Zero Mission received praise for its new content, graphics, gameplay and improvements over the original, but criticism for its short length. Nintendo Power named it one of the best Nintendo games. It was named the best Game Boy Advance game by GameSpot and the ninth-best by IGN.

As of February 2025, Zero Mission had sold over 439,000 copies in the United States and 69,000 in Japan. It was rereleased on the Virtual Console service for Wii U and the Nintendo Classics service for Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay

left|thumb|300px|Samus faces off against [[Mother Brain. The scene from Metroid is shown on the left, while Metroid: Zero Mission is on the right.]]

Metroid: Zero Mission takes place on Planet Zebes, a large, open-ended world with areas connected by doors and elevators. The player controls Samus Aran as she travels through the planet's caverns and environments, hunting Space Pirates. Along the way, the player collects power-ups that enhance Samus's armor and weaponry, as well as grant her special abilities. These abilities allow Samus to access previously inaccessible areas, so that the game can be played linearly or non-linearly. For example, the player may come across caverns that bypass certain sections, a method termed sequence breaking. To save their progress, players can enter either Save Rooms or Samus's ship on Crateria. As a remake of Metroid, Metroid: Zero Missions layout bears a resemblance to the original, and various powerups and items make reappearances from previous games in the series, with similar uses, effects, and appearances,

Completing the game unlocks an emulated version of the original Metroid. Zero Mission allows players to unlock the Metroid Fusion picture gallery by linking between Zero Mission and Fusion cartridges via the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable. a robot built in the likeness of Ridley. After defeating it, Samus escapes the planet using one of the Space Pirate's shuttles, while the Mothership self-destructs.

Development

thumb|left|upright|Yoshio Sakamoto in 2010

Metroid: Zero Mission was directed by Yoshio Sakamoto, who had worked on every Metroid game but Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). He was the only member of the original Metroid (1986) team to work on Zero Mission. While working on the concept for the next Metroid game after Metroid Fusion (2002), The development team decided to return to the roots of Metroid gameplay by creating a game based on the NES original. Sakamoto, noting that Fusions gameplay and structure were drastically different from previous games, wanted to "show people who had never played a Metroid game prior to Fusion, the roots of the Metroid franchise, that this is what Metroid is, this is the style of gameplay that Metroid sprang from [...] at the same time, retell the story of Samus's original mission". One of the biggest challenges that the developers faced was adding enough elements to make Zero Mission feel new, while keeping the spirit of the original Metroid. Zero Mission uses a rebuilt version of the game engine used for Fusion. It was released in North America on February 9, 2004, in Australia on March 19, in Europe on April 8, and in Japan on May 27. Zero Mission was the best-selling Game Boy Advance game in the United States in its debut month, selling 151,807 units, and was the third-bestselling game across all video game systems in that month. By May, sales dropped to seventh among Game Boy Advance games, with 31,619 copies sold and $938,681 in revenue. By February 2005, it had sold over 439,000 units in the United States and 69,000 in Japan. Zero Mission was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on June 19, 2014. This was followed by the release in Europe on March 12, 2015, and in North America on January 14, 2016. It was released for the Nintendo Classics service for Nintendo Switch on June 19, 2024.

Reception

Metroid: Zero Mission received "generally favorable reviews", according to Metacritic. In their March 2010 issue, they named Zero Mission the eighth-best game released on a Nintendo console in 2010s. Zero Mission was voted IGNs Game Boy Advance Game of the Month for February 2004, and IGN staff named it the best Game Boy adventure game of 2004 and the ninth-best Game Boy Advance Game. GameSpot also named it the best Game Boy Advance game of February 2004, and nominated it for the year-end "Best Game Boy Advance Game" award. Electronic Gaming Monthly also named it the best handheld game of 2004. During the 8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences named Zero Mission "Handheld Game of the Year". In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the 94th-best Nintendo game. Nintendo Power ranked it the best Game Boy Advance game in its August 2011 issue. In 2020, IGN named Zero Mission the fifth-greatest video game remake.

References

;Notes

;Citations

  • at the Metroid Database