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Metroid has no objectively correct ranking: a critic-score list and a list that prizes exploration, atmosphere, or pacing can reach different conclusions. This ranking weighs those qualities across the 2D adventures, the first-person Prime games, remakes, remasters, and substantial spin-offs. It ranks each distinct game once; compilations and ports are not separate entries.
How this ranking works
Metacritic’s comparison covers 13 releases, including remakes, remasters, and spin-offs, but excludes the original Metroid, Metroid II: Return of Samus, and Super Metroid because they predate the service. Its Metascores are critics’ review aggregates, not player ratings or objective measures of quality. The ranking below uses those scores as one reference point, then makes room for the early games and weighs exploration, combat, pacing, atmosphere, and how well each format serves the series.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
![Metroid Dread - Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51P6S+gwsJS._SL160_.jpg)
|
Metroid Dread - Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code] | Buy on Amazon | |
| 2 |
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Metroid Prime Remastered - Nintendo Switch | $39.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition | $49.90 | Buy on Amazon |
Scores shown are the Metascores listed on Metacritic’s Metroid ranking page. Equal scores are not treated as proof that two games are equal; their order here reflects editorial judgment.
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Every Metroid game ranked
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Metroid Prime: Federation Force
A cooperative first-person shooter built around missions and team play is a long way from the solitary exploration that defines most of the series. Its format can work as a co-op spin-off, but it is the least satisfying fit for players looking for the familiar mix of isolation, discovery, and ability-gated exploration. Metascore: 64.
#1 Best Overall
Metroid Dread - Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]- Join Samus Aran in the first new 2D Metroid story in 19 years
- Explore planet ZDR’s many environments as you investigate a mysterious transmission
- Deadly E.M.M.I. robots, research machines, pose a threat more intense than ever
- Feel Samus’ power grow as you gain maneuvers and abilities like the new Spider Magnet
- Power up and return to previous areas to find new paths and secrets
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Metroid: Other M
Other M is an action-focused 2D/3D hybrid that puts more weight on cinematic storytelling and characterization than the series usually does. That emphasis often interrupts the momentum: Metacritic’s review summaries note criticism of its story delivery and lengthy unskippable scenes. Metascore: 79.
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Metroid Prime Pinball
This pinball spin-off translates Prime-themed settings and imagery into tables rather than an exploration adventure. It is a more coherent genre detour than a failed attempt to reproduce the main series, but its appeal is necessarily narrower. Metascore: 79.
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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
The newest mainline Prime release in this ranking retains the first-person branch’s world and combat, but its reception signals a compromise between discovery and direction. Metacritic’s reviewer summaries include objections to hand-holding that reduces the pleasure of finding a route independently. That tension places it below the strongest entries, though its 78 Metascore is not a verdict that it has nothing to offer. Metascore: 78.
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Metroid II: Return of Samus
The original Game Boy adventure is a compact, often stark hunt through SR388. Repeatedly tracking down Metroids gives the journey a clear shape and a strong sense of escalation, but the monochrome screen and limited map support make navigation harder than in later games. It remains an important step in the series’ evolution, even if later versions make its world easier to revisit.
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Metroid
The NES original established the core pleasure of exploring a hostile, interconnected world while gradually gaining the tools to reach new areas. Its freedom can also mean getting lost without much help, and its age shows in the friction of navigation and presentation. It belongs in a complete ranking, but for most newcomers its influence is easier to appreciate after playing a more readable later entry.
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Metroid Prime Hunters
Hunters adapts first-person Prime play to the Nintendo DS and gives the series a more combat-heavy, portable shape. Its distinct hunters and multiplayer focus make it an interesting branch, but it offers less of the sustained environmental discovery that makes the strongest Prime games memorable. Metascore: 85.
Rank #2
Metroid Prime Remastered - Nintendo Switch- Become intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran and explore an alien planet in this critically-acclaimed first-person adventure
- Use and upgrade abilities like the Morph Ball, Missiles, and an array of beams to survive the harsh environments and lethal creatures of the planet Tallon IV
- Gain abilities and revisit areas to uncover the different routes and secrets hiding in a beautiful-yet-threatening interconnected world
- Scan your surroundings to gather information about the planet’s history and the creatures that call it home or to reveal enemies’ weak points
- Choose from multiple control options and experience revamped graphics, sound, and unlockable art in this remastered classic
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Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The sequel deepens the first-person formula with a more demanding world and a heavier atmosphere. Its challenge and combat can be rewarding, but Metacritic’s summaries also note reviewer concerns about difficulty. That sharper edge makes it less welcoming than the series’ best entry points, even as its ambition and sense of place earn it a high position. Metascore: 92.
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Metroid: Samus Returns
This 3DS remake of Metroid II modernizes the original’s hunt with more expressive action and clearer presentation. The counter-focused combat gives encounters a deliberate rhythm, though its repeated confrontations can feel less fluid than the best entries’ movement-first play. It is a substantial reimagining, not a separate story from the original. Metascore: 85.
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Metroid Fusion
Fusion trades some of the series’ open-ended wandering for a more directed, story-led route through a research station. GamesRadar praises its story, and that narrative focus gives the adventure urgency and personality; the corresponding trade-off is less freedom to get lost than in Super Metroid. It is one of the best choices for players who want a strong story and purposeful pacing. Metascore: 92.
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Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Corruption brings the first-person trilogy to a more cinematic, character-driven close. Its structured progression makes the journey accessible, although it gives up some of the lonely, self-directed exploration that defines the best of Prime. It remains a polished and substantial 3D adventure. Metascore: 90.
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Metroid Prime Remastered
This remaster of the original Metroid Prime is a distinct release, not a new game in the series’ story. It retains the original’s carefully connected world and first-person exploration while refreshing its presentation. Its 94 Metascore is higher than the original’s 97 only in the sense of release-specific critic aggregates; the numbers do not establish that the remaster is a better game. Metascore: 94.
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Metroid Dread
Dread brings the 2D branch into a fast, modern action game, with responsive movement and tense pursuit sequences. Its punishing bosses are a real part of its character, not a minor obstacle, so it suits players who welcome demanding fights more than those seeking a relaxed exploration pace. Metascore: 88.
Rank #3
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition- Nintendo Switch 2 features Aim with a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse Experience enhanced resolution, framerate, and load times in the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of the game
- Explore a mysterious planet to find your way home Deadly sharpshooter Sylux has finally caught up with renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran! After an unexpected accident in the wake of their clash, Samus finds herself transported to Viewros—a mysterious planet once inhabited by an ancient race. Now she must explore this planet, all while battling the strange creatures that inhabit it, to find her way home.
- Scan your surroundings for clues, make the most of your equipment and weapons, and use Samus’s newfound psychic abilities—and her technologically advanced bike, the Vi-O-La—to traverse and explore the environment. Operate mechanisms, control your charge beam, and more—you’ll need every tool at your disposal to survive and escape Viewros!
- Play with mouse controls, enhanced visuals, and two different display modes—only on the Nintendo Switch 2 system Aim with a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse! The Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition game also features enhanced resolution, framerate, and load times.
- Two display modes let you choose how to experience the adventure. Enjoy more detail in Quality Mode, which runs at 60 frames per second in 4k while docked and in 1080p while in handheld, or prioritize super-smooth action with a higher frame rate in Performance Mode, which runs at 120 frames per second in 1080p while docked and 720p in while in handheld. Both choices are HDR compatible.
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Metroid Prime
The original Prime is the strongest first-person translation of the series’ exploration ethos: scanning, environmental clues, and a connected world make looking closely as important as aiming. Metacritic’s 97 is the highest score in its comparison. GamesRadar instead places Super Metroid first, underscoring that a critic aggregate and a curated ranking reward different qualities. Metascore: 97.
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Super Metroid
Super Metroid is the best overall expression of the series’ 2D identity: its isolated world invites experimentation, and its deliberate pacing lets discoveries feel earned. GamesRadar ranks it first, emphasizing the value of being allowed to get lost rather than constantly directed. It sits at the top here because that freedom, atmosphere, and sense of place remain the series’ most compelling combination.
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Metroid: Zero Mission
This remake of the NES original preserves its foundational journey while rebuilding it into a tighter, more readable adventure and expanding the experience. GamesRadar highlights its pacing and expansion; those strengths make it an especially accessible way to encounter the original game’s premise. It ranks just below the series’ landmark explorations because its polish and guidance are less surprising than Super Metroid’s greater sense of discovery. Metascore: 89.
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Which Metroid game should you start with?
- For 2D exploration: Start with Super Metroid if you want freedom to explore, or Zero Mission if you prefer a tighter, more guided version of the original premise.
- For a story-led 2D game: Choose Fusion; it prioritizes narrative and directed progression over open-ended wandering.
- For first-person exploration: Play Metroid Prime Remastered for a refreshed version of the original 3D adventure.
- For modern action and tough bosses: Choose Dread if you are comfortable with punishing encounters.
- For co-op or a genre detour: Federation Force and Prime Pinball are spin-offs, not representative starting points for the main series.
Where to play the current and classic games
Nintendo UK’s guide, published 19 January 2026, lists Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Metroid Prime Remastered, and Metroid Dread among Switch-family entries, and notes classic games through Nintendo Classics for Nintendo Switch Online members. That is UK-specific availability information; check Nintendo’s regional guide for the relevant console and subscription details, since catalog access can vary by region and service.
For broader context, GamesRadar’s curated top ten puts Super Metroid first, while Metacritic’s score-based list puts Metroid Prime first among the titles it scores. Neither ranking makes the other wrong: one is an editorial selection, the other an ordered view of critic aggregates, and Metacritic’s list does not include the three earliest games.
Quick Recap
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