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Metroidvaniarefers to a very specific style of platformer, either 2D or 3D, with a focus on free exploration and unlocking new traversal abilities along the way. This beloved genre draws lots of dedicated fans, from casual players to some of the world’s best competitive speedrunners.
Related:Genres Named After Video Games
The best way to understand Metroidvania is to understand the games that created the genre in the first place. Read on to find out the history of the Metroidvania, its defining characteristics, and some of the best games to play if you’re hoping to see what so many other players have come to love.
What’s The Difference Between A Platformer And A Metroidvania?
A platformer is any game that is primarily aboutmaneuvering a character through obstacles and enemies, usually by jumping, sliding, climbing, or other means of traversal. The character usually (but not always) has some sort of weapon that allows them to fight off enemies, and may gain access to new movement abilities as the game progresses. Classic platformers includemost Super Mario games,Banjo-Kazooie, and more recent hits likeCeleste.
Metroidvanias can be considered asubgenre of platformers.While most platformers consist of self-contained stages with clear start and end points, a Metroidvania tasks players withplatforming through a single, massive areasuch as a castle or an alien planet. The free exploration means that players can (and often will) encounter challenges that are too much for them, and will need tobacktrack to find new power-upsto access areas that they couldn’t previously reach.
Think of a Metroidvania as anopen-world platformer, and you aren’t far off!
Metroid
As you probably guessed, Metroidvania is a portmanteau of two classic game franchises,MetroidandCastlevania.The original Metroid, released in Japan for the Famicom in 1986 and the NES in North America and Europe in 1987 and 1988, respectively, was the first Metroidvania game.
Metroid’s approach to platforming was different from any other game at the time; as Samus, players couldfreely explore the planet Zebeswith no set path. However,some areas would be out of reachuntil Samus found new abilities or equipment; for example, once she gained the power to roll into a ball, she would be able to squeeze through tight passages that she couldn’t access before.
Whenever players found a spot they couldn’t reach, or a boss they couldn’t defeat, the solution was usually toexplore elsewhere and come back with new gear.The maze-like structure of the map also meant that players had to either memorize where they had been, or write it down.
Related:Metroid: Every Planet Samus Has Blown Up
Castlevania
Castlevania, another long-running series,released at around the same time as Metroidin every major market. The game, and the next decade’s worth of sequels, weretraditional platformers in every sense- albeit notoriously difficult ones that continue to challenge players to this day.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, only the handful of Metroid sequels - 1991’sMetroid 2: The Return of Samuson Game Boy and 1994’sSuper Metroidon the Super Famicom / SNES - used the series' signature style of free exploration. Castlevania also stayed in its own lane, but its titles for the Super Famicom and SNESdidn’t quite resonate with audiencesthe same way the original trilogy had done.
Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood(1993), originally a Japan exclusive for the PC Engine, experimented with giving players free exploration of separate stages, with multiple routes through each level. Its sequel, the PlayStation titleCastlevania: Symphony Of The Night(1997) opted to take the idea further, using Metroid’s formula to give players a vast, dangerous castle to explore.
Symphony Of The Night also incorporated RPG elements, letting player character Alucard level up and equip gear that would change his attack pattern and equipment. By eventually learning to use his vampire heritage totransform into a wolf, a bat, or even a cloud of mist,Alucard would be able to explore new areas of the castle as the game progressed.
Symphony Of The Night revitalized the Castlevania franchise, and most of the series' main-line gamesstuck to the Metroid formulafrom that point forward. Hence, the term Metroidvania was coined; the genre was no longer limited to simply Metroid, and so it wasnamed after both the franchise that started it and the one that popularized it.
What Are The Best Metroidvania Games?
If you’re hoping to try a Metroidvania for the first time, we’ve got a list ofthe best games for beginnersin the genre. When in doubt, you may always try a game from one of the two franchises listed above, or check out some of thebest Metroidvanias that aren’t Metroid or Castlevania,We also have lists breaking down the best Metroidvanias for specific consoles:
