If there's one thing that's readily apparent when looking at 25-year-old games, it's the lack of any sort of tutorial or guide. With the lack of guidance can come a sense of discovery or endless frustration. For most people, unfortunately, Metroid falls into the latter category.

The game plays cleanly: Samus can fire up or forward, and movement is more or less fluid. Less clean is the progression. Players are given no indication where to go or what to do; it's only through trial and error that one learns the rules of Metroid. For those who have a strong memory and have played the game before, they will likely enjoy this nostalgic trip to Zebes. For those new to the game, however, frustration is an absolute certainty.

Fortunately, even if this is your first experience with the original Metroid, chances are you have a little bit of context going in. Like later Metroid games, the original is built on a large map which becomes more and more open as you gain power-ups such as the Ice Beam, the Missile, and the Hi-Jump Boots. No auto-map is provided so players will either need to make either need to make their own as they go, or simply try to memorize the map, which is not an easy thing to do.

For those who remember the game clearly from its day in the spotlight, you'll enjoy taking another look at the game. Everyone else should be wary.