One of the biggest announcements at E3 2021 took place during the Nintendo Direct presentation. It was at that show when Nintendo finally announced Metroid Dread, the first new 2D Metroid game in nearly two decades, serving as the fifth and final installment of the story arc that started with the NES original. Metroid Dread's announcement was met with much fanfare, with fans clearly excited to play a new main series Metroid game after so many years.
If social media is any indication, the excitement surrounding Metroid Dread seemingly saw an increase in Super Metroid players as some were inspired to check out Nintendo's sci-fi action series, either to revisit the classic game or experience it for the first time. However, it's safe to say that those who are new to Metroid may find it confusing. After all, Metroid Dread is billed as the fifth game in the Metroid series, yet there's multiple versions of previous Metroid games not to mention the Metroid Prime series and other spin-offs.
For those who don't know where to start, these are the four games with plots that tie directly to the events of Metroid Dread. Anyone wanting to make sure they're call caught up for Metroid Dread's story will want to make an effort to play these titles when they can.
Metroid: Zero Mission
The original Metroid game on the NES is available to play through the Switch Online subscription service, and so if fans can't track down a copy of the remake, Metroid: Zero Mission, it will certainly suffice. However, Metroid: Zero Mission is definitely the preferred way to experience the original Metroid, as it features some new gameplay sections, improved graphics, and various quality of life changes to make it generally more accessible.
The only problem is that Metroid: Zero Mission is not available to play on the Nintendo Switch. At the time of this writing, the only way to play Metroid: Zero Mission legally is to purchase the Game Boy Advance cartridge of the game, which isn't terribly expensive online, or buy the digital version through the Wii U Virtual Console. There have been rumblings that Game Boy Advance games will come to the Switch Online service at some point, but nothing substantial has actually materialized from those rumors.
Metroid: Samus Returns
Many of Nintendo's big games, especially in the 1980s, had basically self-contained storylines, but Metroid has always been an exception to that rule. Metroid 2: Return of Samus on the original Game Boy picks up right where the first game left off from a narrative standpoint. Those that still have a Nintendo 3DS can play Metroid 2: Return of Samus through the Virtual Console, but the best bet is to play the remake, Metroid: Samus Returns, instead.
Metroid: Samus Returns on the 3DS was one of the system's last major exclusive games. Unfortunately, no Switch version exists for Metroid: Samus Returns, so those interested will still need to make sure that they have a 3DS handy. Metroid: Samus Returns, like Metroid: Zero Mission before it, is a complete remake, offering vastly improved graphics, gameplay, and all kinds of other bells and whistles for fans to enjoy.
Super Metroid
Super Metroid is one of the easiest games that fans can get their hands on in anticipation of Metroid Dread, as it is readily available through the Switch Online subscription service as one of the free SNES games. Super Metroid is widely considered to be one of the best games in the series, if not the best. It helped innovate the "Metroidvania" genre, which remains hugely popular to this day. Picking up where the story left off in Metroid 2: Return of Samus, Super Metroid advances the plot forward significantly and tells a more engaging story.
Metroid Fusion
About eight years after the launch of Super Metroid, Nintendo followed it up with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion. The events of Metroid Fusion will lead directly into the story of Metroid Dread, so if there's one Metroid games that fans want to play to prepare themselves for Dread, then this is it. Metroid Fusion sees Samus content with an alien creature called X, which hunts her throughout a Biologic Space Laboratories station.
Samus Aran's cat and mouse game with X has already been compared to Metroid Dread's stealth elements, with Samus pursued by a relentless robots known as EMMI. Considering this, fans may want to make it a point to play Metroid Fusion before they play Metroid Dread, but the problem is Metroid Fusion's availability. Metroid Fusion is only playable on the Nintendo 3DS as part of the Ambassador Program, though it is available for the Wii U Virtual Console. As of this writing, there is no way to play Metroid Fusion on the Switch.
Do You Need to Play the Other Metroid Games Before Dread
While the four aforementioned Metroid games have stories that directly tie into Metroid Dread, there are a few other Metroid games. It's highly unlikely that any of them will be required playing for those who want to catch up to Metroid Dread's story. However, since Metroid Dread is chronologically the last game in the timeline, technically all of them precede it and some fans may feel the desire to play them.
Out of those, one can't go wrong with any of the Metroid Prime games, though stuff like Metroid Prime Pinball or Federation Force can be safely skipped. The divisive Metroid: Other M is something fans may want to consider checking out, as it takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, but even then nothing in that story will likely have any bearing on the events of the upcoming Metroid Dread.
Metroid Game Chronology
Luckily, the Metroid game release order more or less matches the story chronology when it comes to the main series of 2D Metroid games. Things become much messier when taking the various spin-off games and the Prime sub-series into account, not to mention the remakes. With that in mind, here is the chronological order of the currently available Metroid games for anyone that wants to play everything in order.
- Metroid/Metroid: Zero Mission
- Metroid Prime
- Metroid Prime: Hunters
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- Metroid Prime: Federation Force
- Metroid 2: Return of Samus/Metroid: Samus Returns
- Super Metroid
- Metroid: Other M
- Metroid Fusion
- Metroid Dread
As it stands, many of these Metroid games are only available on the consoles they originally released on or through the Wii U's Virtual Console service. That means those with only a Nintendo Switch are limited to playing the original Metroid and Super Metroid. All the other Metroid games will require additional hardware. With Metroid Dread's release date just a few months away, it seems unlikely that Nintendo will be bringing any of the other Metroid games to the Switch between now and then, but there's always a chance.
And even if one doesn't have time to play the other Metroid games but they still want to check out Metroid Dread when it releases, the game's story is unlikely to be a huge focus. It will definitely have narrative ties to its predecessors, but it's not the kind of game where players will be completely lost if they don't go back and play the older titles in the series.
Fans can expect to learn more about Metroid Dread as we near its launch this October.
Metroid Dread launches October 8, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
