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I'm not someone who thinks Super Metroid is perfect exactly as it was 30 years ago - it's a masterpiece, for sure, but item cycling has always been a hassle, there's pretty significant slowdown in parts of it, once you save at the final save station you can no longer backtrack to gather more collectables you might have missed, the map system is largely useless for tracking collectables and can only show the area you're currently in, and the existence of the run button means you'll be holding that button down for the vast majority of your playtime while also having to work the jumping and shooting buttons next to it. The X-Ray Scope, which is mostly for new players, was also mapped to the run button, meaning that with it equipped you could only move slowly - and it's the last item in the item cycling, making it a hassle to select it.

Many of these issues are addressed here, at least somewhat, and yet because of other issues that Control Freak introduces, I can't recommend this hack, even with all the flaws I just laid out about the original. It is overall a fairly good hack. I'd like to be able to recommend it. But I can't bring myself to do it. That said, it's worth trying out anyway, because you may not find its issues as big of a problem as I do.

I like the GBA-style controls in the GBA Metroid games, but they're poorly implemented here. Taking damage resets your aiming angle, charge beam combos are done by pressing the button to cycle items which does still cycle your selected item, and using the "Brandish" button doesn't dispel your charge beam. The X-Ray Scope gets its own button, despite being the least essential item in the game and one only new players are likely to use, but the Grapple Beam is stuck in the item cycling with both types of missiles, and there is no cancel button so paying attention to what item is currently selected is vital. Running out of missiles or super missiles also does not automatically switch to the other one as you might expect from Zero Mission, nor does it result in using your equipped beams instead like it would if you ran out in vanilla Super Metroid. You need to release the Brandish button in order to fire your beams again. It's a small issue, but worth noting.

The Control Freak setup would work better in my opinion if the Brandish modifier also applied to the X-Ray Scope button and alternated between the scope and the grapple, allowing the item cycling button to only be between missiles and Super Missiles just like Zero Mission. This would be especially useful since once you have the space jump the grapple beam becomes mostly useless, yet it still remains as an item you have to cycle past. As is, the hack is a half-measure that doesn't really fix the item cycling problem from the original, it only makes it slightly better in some ways and slightly worse in others. That said, I think creating the ideal control scheme for Super Metroid might not be possible when limited to only the 8 buttons of SNES controllers.

Anyway, the fact that this Control Freak hack is not an optional part of Redux hurts the larger Redux hack a lot for me. I'm certainly not in love with the original controls, but they work better for me than this. As a huge fan of Metroid and of Super Metroid in particular, I regrettably can't recommend Redux in its current state to either new players or to fans looking to revisit it, at least not as a replacement or improvement to the original unmodified game.

But even though I wouldn't recommend it as an improvement or replacement, I will say that I still think it's worth checking out - after all, even at a leisurely pace, Super Metroid is a very short game. I forgot where to go a couple times and still came in under 3 hours. It's not a bad hack, it's just got some shortcomings in the control department.

There are some issues with some optional hacks as well. The heavy physics were better than I expected, it's always tricky changing the physics in a game even when its original physics are a bit weird. Super Metroid is well known for being very floaty with Samus. That said, one issue with heavy physics is that the wall jumps seem to have been boosted, at least when the high jump boots aren't equipped. This makes some sequence breaks much easier and other sequence breaks much harder, and it just feels off compared to either Super or Zero Mission.

Some of the optional Samus redesigns, I forget which ones, also had issues - one of them gives her Varia suit a shorter arm cannon by 1 pixel than her base power suit, at least in her front-facing sprite you'd see when on elevators or save stations. This is unlikely to be noticed though, I only saw it because I was zooming in on screenshots to compare before and after with the original suit designs. It's subjective for sure, but I also prefer her suits in the vanilla game, even if they could be a bit better. It's an optional patch though like heavy physics so that shouldn't be a problem for anyone interested in this.

Replaying Super Metroid with the Redux hack was a night-and-day experience for me. The vanilla game, while fun, struggled in a few key areas compared to its 2D successors on the GBA. Redux brings Super Metroid up to speed with those games, and allows it to truly shine in an age where many people's introduction to the series were those GBA titles. I don't have much to say that isn't already present in the hack's description, but I can assuredly say that this is an improvement over the original in every way. I can only recommend new players (and interested veterans) use the "Heavy Physics" and the "Save Stations Refill Everything" patches for an optimal experience. If you can get the "Dual Suit (Proper Power Suit)" and "Redesigned Samus" patches to work, I say go for those as well. I just had trouble getting them to work, unfortunately.

A Hack Project by #ShadowOne333 that magically but subtly changes a few things about the physics and aesthetic of Super Metroid. A Great way to re-play the Original. I also oped for the Hardmode, which was a happy challenge to a veteran of the game like myself.

I also added the Save Room Energizer and Samus Redesigned Patches. As well as the fabled Spazer(Wide) + Plasma beam patch, and it was amazing to use. I think they also scaled the power with it as well. It is a Boss Destroyer, which gave it an amazing feel of progression on Hardmode, going from getting my ass kicked by Bomb Torizo, to wiping the floor with Golden Torizo.

Thank You so much for everything you did for the hack from the charge beam collecting pickups, ballsparking, tweaking the map, making the run button optional, item collection rate and game time on the pause screen (Samus), etc. I really appreciate it. There are a couple of improvements I want to see in the next version of this hack. I want four more missile expansions to the game so that the game total of missiles is 250 instead of 230. I also want the mini-map to be able to display circles for items.

The hack is very cool, graphics are great, the sound is unchanged, but Super Metroid doesn't need new sounds anyways, it's almost the best vanilla romhack for Super Metroid, only behind Project Base 0.8.1, in my opnion. But, there is one problem : Why did you make Control Freak obligatory in this hack? I know it's the GBA controls, blah blah, but some people don't have a controller, and this makes the game harder in the not-so-cool way, at least in some people's opnion, personally, I just prefer the original controls, so.. could you make a OPTIONAL patch to remove Control Freak, pretty please?

And if you do that, thank you very much.

To me, Super Metroid is one of the best games of all time, but with Redux it's *the* best game of all time.

The countless general changes are great already, adding a LOT of improvements and polish to an already amazing game. But most important to me is the "Heavy physics" patch which eliminates the original's floatiness and makes it so much faster and tighter. I used to think Zero Mission had better movement than Super, but now Super is so good that whenever I play ZM I wish it felt as good as this.

The other patch I use is the one that skips the intro section, very nice.

I've already played through dozens of times with this hack (no bugs/issues so far) and it's just so good. I use the same sequence breaks as in the original without issues (shorter speed booster distance makes shinesparking easier, actually-but you can disable that with another patch if you want).

I can hardly go back to playing the original. By far the best ROM hack I know of.

Redux is simply an awesome way to experience Super Metroid, especially if you are coming from the GBA games or are unfamiliar with metroidvanias. Though the map changes may seem small, they are a great benefit. No longer do you have to remember exactly 'where was that one orange door I wanted to go back to?' With the stock Super Metroid map, that information isn't shown on the map, but you can see door colors on the redux map(just like the GBA games). The controls are also a great improvement, making missile use easier. The missile stations being refill station just feels like how the game should have always been. The wider x-ray makes scanning less tedious. Several other patches have improved elevator speed like redux does, however, redux is the only one where the speed doesn't feel jarring. I love how many optional patches are available, letting you play how you want. I recommend Skip Ceres for people experienced with Super Metroid. If you struggle with this game, the "Save Station Refill Everything" is also nice to have, though I think most players don't need it.

I haven't played Super Metroid in years, so when I learned about Redux I was pumped. This is a great way to relive (or to discover) the game. The QOL improvements are fantastic, but not over done. I feel that this is a more accessible version (don't get me wrong, SM is one of my absolute favorites!) especially when it comes to controls. I love the aim locking feature especially. I highly recommend setting up the optional widescreen SMC. I had some trouble getting it going at first, but did my homework on setting up patches and I'm very impressed. Great work guys!

This one is great for the people that are used to the gameplay mechanics from Zero Mission or Fusion. For example the bomb mechanic revealing blocks, map has color door indicators and missing items indicators. You can also remap all buttons in-game, I know you can do this in most emulators, but it's a nice addition. It also has a permanent toggle for running, so just flick it on in the options menu and you are done with holding a button to run. Or if you want you can make it a toggle button. There is even a patch to make the game widescreen (this does require a specific emulator though). Just check out the full list in the link on romhacks.

It also has (imo) 3 great optional patches:

"Heavy Physics.ips" (From GBA Style): This will make it so that Samus now lands faster and with more gravity to her, similar to that of the GBA Metroids. = I personally really like the removal of slow floating Samus. But to be fair it made some platforming kinda harder where the floating helped.

"Save Stations Refill Everything.ips": Save Stations will now refill both Energy and all Weapons (by Adamf). In my book an absolute must! = This removes any need for grinding random life and amo when you are way out where there is no ammo/life recharge stations.

Samus sprite rework to make her look more in the style of the GBA Metroid games. = I just like the look more, so I also went with this patch.

TL:DR IMO the best way to experience the game for the first time! It stays 100% true to the original with just adding QOL improvements. Even great for vanilla replays!

The QoL features are great, but would have been nice to make walljumping more consistent & easier (walljumping was literally hit or miss with multiple attempts) But my main concern is that the Reserve Tanks are bugged. Ridley had somehow caused enough damage to cause my Reserve Tanks to kick in, but afterward, my Reserve Tanks were GONE! As if I never collected them.

I went back to where one was found in Green Brinstar & it wasn't there. My item % total said 100% on the menu screen, but I beat the game, the ending % total says 96%. Even though the menu said 100%, this means that the Reserve Tanks were removed & the item % reflected that between the last time I checked & the credits sequence.

UPDATE: The Reserve Tank issue has been resolved, but the galaxy is still NOT at peace. Another issue that I had a problem with is the Aim Lock feature, which annoyingly wouldn't let change my aim from UP. Once your aim is pointed up, it's difficult to get it to point it diagonal without letting go of R.

I would like to see this issue get resolved as well.

The upcoming release of Metroid Dread made me realize I never played Super Metroid. So, it was high time to fix that. After enjoying the heck out of Zelda 2 Redux, I was overjoyed to discover that ShadowOne created a Redux version for Super Metroid too.

Super Metroid Redux hits the same high quality bar as Zelda 2 Redux. Loads of QOL changes that improve the game in every aspect. As a first time player it all felt very smooth and natural. I was used to the interface of Metroid Fusion, so I felt right at home with Super Metroid Redux. Comparing it to some YouTube walkthroughs of the vanilla version, made it very clear how much faster Redux is, thanks to shorter loading times and sped up animations.

The main game changer for me is the detailed map you have at your disposal. The vanilla map is pretty bare bones and the lack of doors makes it a lot harder to find your way around. I imagine it would've taken me a lot more time of aimlessly walking around, with the vanilla map. Super Metroid has a lot of backtracking, but thanks to the new map, you'd always find a clue to where you could go. Just like we are used to these days with the modern Metroidvania's.

Overall Super Metroid still stands as an excellent game to play for the first time in this day and age. ShadowOne's work on Redux has ensured that Super Metroid will be enjoyable for generations to come!

Not much to say, this hack is a meticulous polish of anything and everything that was outdated about the original. Whether a new or returning player, you should be playing this version.

Widescreen and a plethora of options including improved controls makes this IMO the best way to play the game in 2020. I didn't use the GBA physics, as I found them too fast, but everything else was a great addition. The map is a particularly handy improvement. A sincere thank you to everyone involved and their hard work.

This full hack looks quite nice and interesting but, unfortunately, it is not playable with just the keyboard. As i do not have a gamepad this hack is not accessible to me, which is a pity. The problem is that keyboards allow only up to 3 simultaneous key presses and, control-freak requires 4. So one cannot fire missiles while jumping and moving around for example. For Metroid, that renders the game impossible to be played. I thought it was worth being noted in a review. i would like to suggest adding *optional* IPS to remove control-freak to let everyone discover and enjoy this work.

The laundry list of convenience this and its optional hacks bring is full of things I always wished Super Metroid had and a whole lot more I never even knew I wanted, with all of it rolled into a simple file with a few optional files for players to customize their experiences with.

The crown jewel here is the (optional) widescreen compatibility patch which extends the visible parts of large rooms and can even draw sprites in that space with some collision. It isn't perfect, and many secrets are spoiled by this extra visibility, but it's still impressive and despite its shortcomings, makes for a more engrossing experience.

The only criticism I would level is that moonwalking has been removed. Not toggleable in a menu, not restorable with an optional patch, just removed. I like being able to lock in my aiming direction even while moving in the opposing, but I guess other players aren't as much of a fan as I am.

Super Metroid is always a good time and these enhancements only make it even better. If you want to revisit one of the best games ever made, there's few better ways to do it than with this patch.

I tested this out on bsnes-hd, in 16:9 mode, I really enjoyed it because I haven't played super metroid in awhile. With the widescreen mod you can really shoot across huge distances :D A few issues to note. 1. the xray scope doesn't always look right in some areas (like norfair and tourian). Most of the changes were really nice. 2. The changed controls configuration (samus returns style hold L to fire rockets thing) really doesn't suit the bosses in Super Metroid. GBA control setup is good for fighting the metroids in tourian, but I would prefer original super metroid controls for the boss fights and grapple block jumps.

I found no real use for ball-dash, but it was cool to see it added to the game. Wall jumping was found to be incredibly easier, as i was able to scale up walls almost as easily Mega Man X. You can hyper jump somewhat easier too. Give it a try!

I tried Super Metroid GBA Style a little while ago, and I just could not get into it thanks to the heavier physics. To see all of the GBA Style features, with the heavy physics as an option, has made me look at it with brand new eyes, and I adore it. Features like having doors highlighted on the map, and uncollected items appearing as circles, are great QOL features. I appreciate the hack author's efforts to backport Project Base 0.7.3 features into this, considering the only available gameplay-only version of PB is 0.7.2. This is an excellent vanilla+ version of Super Metroid and I highly recommend it.

Hands down the best way to play Super Metroid in this day and age after countless playthroughs in the past. Also great for newcomers who never played this game before. It's full of quality of life improvements that makes the game more convenient to play. I'll never play the original Super Metroid ever again. This redux hack is a compilation of all the best improvements put into one patch. The author was kind enough to offer lots of optional patches to customize what you want. It's things like this that shows that the creator cares a lot for the users. One of my favorite optional patches is the one that skips the intro sequence on Ceres station, it's immensely helpful for replaying the game. Just keep in mind that there's also a cheat code that does the same thing if you didn't want to patch the rom permanently. Overall this hack is definitive, get it now and integrate it into your game collection.

I'm a fan of the author's redux patches for several games. Anything with the name ShadowOne333 is worthy of an improvement hack and I highly recommend them. Like the Zelda ALTTP Redux hack for example.