Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who travels to planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid creature stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley.įollowing the established gameplay model of its predecessors, Super Metroid focuses on exploration, with the player searching for power-ups used to reach previously inaccessible areas. It is the third installment in the Metroid series, following the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Super Metroid is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994.