What's also kinda funny is that there's another moment like this in Metroid Prime, where you have to powerbomb a glass tube in Magmoor to get to an optional power up, and the exact moment I saw it I thought back to Super Metroid and knew exactly what I needed to be on the lookout for
It's kind of become a stock puzzle in Metroid games. Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission also had a power bombable tube as well, and I'm pretty sure Dread had one as well. In most of the post-SM examples part of the tube is made out of power bomb blocks (or is scannable in the case of Prime) so it's not as obtuse of a puzzle.
Footnote: A truly bizarre commercial for Super Metroid featured a quick shot of Samus Power Bombing the glass tube. I decided against including it in the video because that would have been a separate marketing team that made the commercial and not the original developers. Also: Some people claim that breaking the tube is featured in the eye-catch mode on the title screen but I couldn’t get it to play. Maybe it is and it just didn’t trigger for me; after 20 minutes I called it quits. The clip could still be in there, though. Watching from the shadows. Laughing.
i was waiting for you to talk about how almost all of us actually figured it out. Was that eye catch mode. It shows her power bombing that room among other interesting things.
It's true! I heard it was in the demo play mode, but my original SNES cartridge was broken. Lucky for me, someone who lived near me had it on Switch so I broke in and stole it.
Story Time: Super Metroid is the first game I ever experienced "true horror" in a video game. I had seen horror adjacent kiddy films like "Ernest Scared Stupid" or "Gremlins" and while those would get a jump out of little 8-year-old me, the fact it was on the TV meant I could simply look away at any scenes that were a bit too much for me. However, after descending into the depths of the strangely quiet Planet Zebes, there's a moment that breaks how video games are "supposed" to work in a way I had never experienced before. After collecting the morph ball and missiles, you make your way back towards the surface and crawl into a small crevice. After going a couple screens over you find the Morph Bombs. I turn to leave... and the door closes. "Strange... It's locked? Did I take too long? How am I supposed to get out?" I run back and forth shooting the door and the ceiling to no effect. Randomly I mash inputs for a few seconds in confusion before suddenly- The Choso Statue comes to life and begins attacking me?! I panic. I fire my remaining missiles but miss. I realize I'm gripping the controller so hard I'm accidentally pressing the R button and launching my shots diagonally. I try and fail to avoid it's attacks, I don't know when to jump. I'm taking hit after hit. The game starts to beep the low health warning at me! I don't know what to do! But... BUT I CAN'T LOOK AWAY because I need to see what's happening to react! WHY DID THE STATUE COME TO LIFE?! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" I take that final fatal hit and I see the death animation for the first time. I turn off the game and decide I want to play something else. I have nightmares later that night of the statue coming to life and chasing me. The emersion of the original Super Metroid is the first time I felt that barrier of the screen between me and the character in the game melt away. That wasn't Samus trapped in that room with the Choso Statue come to life: That was me in there fighting for survival. Years later, obviously I now recognize how silly that seems as the statue is barely a challenge. I've long since gone back and beaten Super Metroid several times over, even achieving the Sub-3 hour 100% completion run. But that moment lives rent free in my head as the most impactful moment of the game and is probably the reason I love horror games so much now as a means to try and recapture that feeling.
Damn, hearing that made me remember the first time I got to that part in SM as well, scared crapless; I could barely fall asleep that night, and the music haunted me for weeks. At some point (years later iirc) I got back to the game having completely forgotten about it and had a blast exploring through the world, and I've been a giant fan of metroidvanias ever since.
I never got far in the first game that scared me as a kid. Jurassic Park on the SNES. Specifically, the first-person sections when you're inside buildings. There's no power at first and you got raptors and other things lunging at you.
Mega Man 4 in particular, but all of the Mega Man games have a few very tight jumps, both in distance and hazards. Adult me, veteran of videogaming, has no trouble marching out to the very last pixel needed to make a jump. Who cares if 80% of Megaman's body is floating over instant death like a Looney Tunes character? Child me, that's who cares. Hands sweating, heart pounding, eyes held wide open as I try to make a long jump off the _rounded_ corner of a bone platform long before I learned that the game doesn't necessarily care what the ledge looks like and calculates footing as if it were a square corner. "I don't want to walk off the edge!" **jumps too early and falls in the pit** (This particular jump is in the top half of the screen, so I got to watch Megaman fall all the way down every time.) Not horror in my case, but terror all the same.
I think "invisible locks" are the secret sauce that make this game so good. compared to contemporary metroidvanias, there's a lot of moments in this game where you kind of have to stumble around and discover what to do, even though you already have all the tools needed. makes the world truly feel mysterious and alive.
@@Sing_LoveWRS There's a lot of metroidvania out there (and a lot of games across genres) that don't really take enough advantage of the *invisible* lock. Even Metroid Dread introduces a ton of new visible lock types with all the new doors (homin missile, wide beam, wave, etc.). Visible locks are super easy to use in a metroidvania cuz all they ask of you is to recognize which key you need, but actually designing an obstacle that makes you use your keys in creative and unexpected ways takes a lot more consideration.
@@Sing_LoveWRS a lot of modern metroidvanias are mostly just "visible locks", and very little "invisible" I imagine it's much easier to design a game that way, which is why so many indie developers choose that path. edit: but in a weird way yes, you're kind of right, considering this is the game that all metroidvanias are built off of.
@@1gnore_me. A recent metroidvania/metroidbrainia that actually does invisible locks well is probably Animal Well and another older one is Tunic, but these are currently few and far between.
The fake wall at the end of Lower Norfair that doesn't appear on the X-Ray visor is probably my favourite prank in the game. It deliberately punishes players who rely on the X-Ray visor to find secrets. If you rely on vibes, it's clear there is a secret in that room and there has to be because there's no other way out of Lower Norfair, but if you stubbornly follow the rigid logic of whether the visor can see it you will get tripped up. I love the irony that a less completionistic player who never got or used the visor is more likely to sus out the fake wall.
Xray doesn't work in that room at all. It has something to do with the firefleas that will cause the room to gradually get darker the more of them you kill. So there's a technical reason why it won't work. Why Nintendo decided to still keep TWO false walls in that room? Beats me.
@@therwferyeah, it likely wasn’t intentional, just a glitch that no one caught before release. Although, it’s getting me to wonder too much. What if we edited breakable blocks into a different room with firefleas? Would they show up or is it just phantom walls that don’t? Or conversely, if we added firefleas to rooms with breakable blocks?
That fake wall had me confused for 25 minutes. I was standing in the very room for a while thinking about where it could be when I noticed the wall looked *really* fake and walked right through. I felt like a complete idiot, but also appreciated the game design a ton when it happened.
@@trogdortamer48I find that hard to believe tbh. far as i know the camera doesnt shift until you find it so theres no real indication. You're way more likely to not realise there is any indication, spend 2 hours looking, coming back here and stumbling into it on accident, extremely annoyed.
And interesting one to add where super metroid breaks it's own rules is the bosses, pretty much every one the normal rules/damage values don't apply. The Ridley fight in particular is interesting though. On top of super missiles actually doing double damage to him, Ridley doesn't die when you damage him enough to deplete his HP, he can actually keep attacking indefinitely at 0 hp if you dodge his swoops with the intent being for him to die while about to either kill or severely damage the player (and you CAN die when he's technically already dead). It makes the fight a bit more "dramatic" and tense as it's not just a clearcut "ok, i did 18k damage and he blew up". Other fights like golden torizo with his missile catching, the the croc/draygon ones mentioned in the video just kept the bosses all feeling fresh in the game, something you don't often see, they basically all had SOME gimmick.
Golden Torizo plucking your Super Missiles out of flight is one of my favorite boss moves, in part because you don't appreciate until/unless you actually notice WHAT he's throwing back at you. (He also just sidesteps normal Missiles whenever possible; your Charge Beam is the only reliable method to hit him)
Back in the day, my friend used to tell me about Ridley : "there's no strategy to kill him." About the Golden Torizo, hitting him relentlessly with the charged Plasma Beam will do the job nicely.
You can spam super missiles too, if you have enough ammo and HP; he won't grab a super missile when he's already in the process of grabbing and tossing one. Helpful when playing Super Metroid randomized and you don't have a good beam charge combo.
Don't forget about Phantoon. Somewhere, possibly the manual or strategy guide, says his weakness is super missiles. Technically true, but as I kid I didn't realize that super missiles cause the enrage, and you can skip it completely by using regular missiles, so for me every Phantoon fight featured several enrages and it was much more difficult.
Hold on, the key to breaking the Maridia tube is using a power bomb, _and then standing up?_ Because, that would explain a _lot._ I vividly remember, as a kid, seeing the already broken tube up above and thinking, "I wonder if the other tube is breakable," and then trying to break that tube. This included using a power bomb, but I think there's a good chance that, after using said bomb and waiting, I left the room _while still in ball form._ Because of that, I "knew" that power bombs did NOT break the tube, so I didn't try using power bombs again. Despite this, I still had an inkling that tube was important somehow. Eventually, on Christmas Eve 2001, the day before we got our Gamecube, my brother power bombed the tube, and then apparently stood up, because he broke the tube. We finished the game that night in a lengthy session. To this day, on Christmas Eve, as a tradition, I'd boot up a save file and complete the last leg of the game, just doing Lower Norfair and Tourian. Can someone confirm that power bombing the tube and then NOT standing up does nothing? Because I could never understand why the tube didn't break all those years ago when I'm sure I power bombed it, but then it did break on that one Christmas Eve.
You don't have to stand up to break the tube, that room is just part of maridia and not brinstar and I'm pretty sure leaving the room before the bomb exploded just unloaded maridia and thus never played the sequence for the tube to explode.
no, you just need to move at all after the bomb animation is over and it will break the tube. leaving either left or right before the bomb animation is over will not break the glass, and touching /NOTHING/ after the bomb will delay the glass break, which looks a bit silly
Can i ask you which other games are in your absolute top ? Please, after Castlevania, silent hill, resident evil, i've stopped playing games 20years ago, but i'm now regaining curiosity, maybe there's another absolute mysterious game, not dead space, not dark souls, maybe somerhing occult ?
I'm gonna be 100% real, as someone who played this game on the SNES in the 90s without internet or nintendo power, my 5 year old mind found this Tube Puzzle to be intuitive to try Power bombing the tube. it was probably one of the first things i did after obtaining power bombs. i know i blew it up before getting the Gravity Suit cuz i saved down below and it was difficult to get back up as a kid lol. years later, i hear everyone says this is a cryptic puzzle, but idk, the invisible left wall at the very end of Lower Norfair was the one that got me as a kid. i always walked backwards out of norfair because of it. its the only wall that didnt go invisible when you use the X-Ray Scope.
Yeah, the invisible exit from Lower Norfair (assuming you didn't want to brave that HUGE cavern now-filled with acid) is probably one of the "worst" puzzles in the game. Part of it is because your X-Ray visor doesn't work in any rooms with the light bugs, and by this point you _probably_ have the Wave Beam meaning you can't just shoot the wall (with your beam) to test if it's real.
@@MechaG Who even does that? Alternatively, you could fire Missiles/Super Missiles to check the wall, and you aren't exactly UN-trained on invisible passages in walls ... but at the same time, you're probably acclimated to revealing these with the X-Ray scope, only to find one of the rooms where the scope legitimately doesn't work.
The glass tube stumped me as a kid - I had played that game many times over, and got as far as breaking the tube, then never could figure out what to do next. And later I'd restart and play it again up to that point. It was like that for years. I had tried breaking it - it was glass - but my missiles didn't do anything. I never thought to use power bombs on it. I gotta say, when I finally did break it it, it was an amazing moment in my life - the shattering of the glass has left an imprint on me, and all of a sudden a whole second half of the game was unlocked, unexplored. And looking back, I could see how they were trying to hint at it being a breakable tube (with the other tube being broken). Still don't like the tube though :) The invisible wall in lower norfair stumped me too - I always just went back through the lava-filled room to escape. I actually thought it was really cool that the game required you to swim through lava to get out - until I eventually learned that there was another way. Shame.
Oh my fucking god it IS the tube. I was thinking there's no way it's the glass tube to Meridia but that's literally my favorite moment and so memorable.
That’s fair, it’s a really cool moment. This is tangentially related, but I’d like to share what I think is the best moment in metroid zero mission (spoilers for endgame). After you beat mother brain and crash land the game really drives home how powerless you are in the situation, having to hide from all the zebesians and only being able to stun them is a lovely stealth section. But killing the ruins test and gaining your power suit feels so good, the music turns from dreadful to bombastic and the once deadly zebesians are pathetic. It’s great.
There was a 4chan thread long time ago about this same glass tube. One half talked about how obvious it was. The other half talked about how was anybody supposed to know by themselves without a guide.
Yes, i got stuck in that part because if you bomb or missile the glass, it doesn't show to be a breakable tile, which is an inconsistency with previously established rules.
The people who have problems with SM's game design being obtuse are playing it in the context of being a gamer in 2024 not 1994. In 1994 that game was your only piece of media / entertainment for at the very minimum, the week, and more than likely a month or two. You didn't have a million different things competing for your attention plus access to every game thats ever been made for the past 40 years at your fingertips - which means you sat down with this game and exhausted every possibility for days and weeks, and came back to it again and again if you hit a dead end. People nowadays tend to reach the conclusion "this is stupid, f**k this" after about 5 minutes even knowing what they are playing is supposed to be one of those "where the hell do I go" type of exploration games. The Maridia tube doesn't become your obvious progression step until you've already looped back around from the other side of Wrecked Ship across the limited parts you can access of Maridia pre-tube-break possibly several loops of the entire accessible world. You do also get the hint on your mini-map of being in a map square that is open on the top and bottom.
Yes today has a huge problem with offering too much entertainment, and slower paced games get shafted now easily because people want to play the game not be put to sleep. I try to give games a few deaths of a chance when playing it, even older games but there's so many good games that putting up with mediocre games is not worth it for most people or games that don't mesh with the style you enjoy. @@douglasmurphy3266
@@douglasmurphy3266this is answer I always give people when then I say Zelda 1 is too cryptic and you can’t beat it without a book. You exhausted every possibility and also discussed things on the playground and traded secrets.
I was obsessed with this game when i was a kid. Seeing it be prasied year after year just feels like a pat on the back for kid me who was so obsessed with no one to share this obsession with.
I think this is a difference in the language of how games communicate things between then and now. when I first played the game back when it came out, the very first thing I did when I got the power bombs was bee line straight to that tube to try and blow it up. It was 1 part intuitive and 1 part rule of cool. My younger brother also had the same reaction. In fact, of several friends who played through the game at that time, I think only one of them had to have it explained to them. I don't think any of us were particularly good at games. It's a fundimental change in the way people expect games to communicate with them. there tended to be a lot more obtuse puzzles in games that you just had to figure out. I think that's part of it. But the other part is that similar games these days are expected to have proper signage to TELL you what power to use and to break the rules like that could be considered frustrating and possibly even bad game design. A certain level of detatchment is expected. viewing it as a game instead of an adventure. Looking at it as a game, it doesn't make sense. it's a set piece. nothing like it in the game is distructable. it's just part of the background. But if you let yourself be absorbed into the game, it's a giant glass tube! *Of COURSE* you're going to try blowing it up with the giant explosives you just got? Why would you not?! It's gonna be sooo cool!
I'm so glad you made this video and captured this moment. I read the title and my mind immediately went to this glass tube moment as my 17 year old self was super proud when I figured this puzzle element on my own way before the internet existed. I recall at one point, getting stuck and had no other way to go; looking at the other room with the exploding tube is what guided me to use a bomb but I did it out of sheer "I ran out of every single idea I can think of" when it exploded it felt so grand and alive just as you describe it. Thanks again for making me relive the moment.
One thing he didn't mention is that there is a platform above the glass tube that sure looks like one you could jump to and another just visible below. Those are how I figured out that the tube could probably be broken.
What i love about Super Metroid is how it teaches and also expects the player to problem-solve with the power-ups you've obtained. By the time you get to the glass tube, the game has taught you to 'be curious'. By being curious, you're testing out new power-ups in places you've been before loads of times, but combing through it carefully for secrets. And curiosity is a skill good games will teach you early on in life, because then it's something you apply in other games or even real life puzzles. A game that holds your hand entirely is not strengthening your natural curiosity for things.
The one moment that spoke to me with awe was finding that one dead soldier before entering Kraid's lair. For months I fret over who that was, could I have saved them? Was I too late. And apparently no one really knows who they were to this day.
I think I agree that this is a cool moment, but I also think it’s inherently flawed. Maybe I’m biased bc I had to look up the answer, but my thoughts are this: I could tell that it was a room that had more to it than we could see, but I figured we’d enter from either the top or bottom, with the tunnel being a foreground piece. I almost like the idea of “things work like we expect in real life” as the solution bc it is clever, but why then would a normal bomb not do the trick? I do think that if you’re paying enough attention to notice the other room having a broken tunnel than it becomes a lot better bc you know (or at least have a guess) that the intact tunnel can also be broken, but idk. At least it’s not the invisible wall in Ridley’s layer
The invisible wall there is actually a flaw in the games programming. X-Ray scope couldn’t function in rooms that had lighting effects, like the bugs. So the unfortunate technical programming issue had a problematic effect on the progressional path forward.
I love this moment too just because of how much the world opens up to you once you actually figure it out, the devs clearly picture is a big reveal on the entire underwater the section of the game really feels like a oh s*** just got real moment. The fact that it's possible to clear the entire underwater section without the gravity suit too makes it all the more cool to me, like you're exploring uncharted dangerous territory early by choice on repeat playthroughs. What I love about this game all the little things, the little bugs that's got her away from you, the beautiful music, and a real sense of atmosphere, I think this one moment is the things that take out to me the most about this game, it really establishes the fact that this game tells a beautiful and personal narrative without even a single line of dialogue that's always stuck with me
Man, this part stumped me in the 90's to the point of absolute exhaustion and frustration. I'm not sure how I eventually figured it out, it was either a friend who told me, or eventually an online guide, but I couldn't for the life of me figure this out for myself as a kid.
This video is like listening to a deep dive of the album that has been your favourite since your formative years. Listening to someone describe every nook and crany that you know so well hits the exact spot, and it's clear that they obviously just get it - exactly the way you've gotten it. Every coveted, personal gem. Listening to the sounds and descriptions is pure validation where none needed exist before. Thank you for bringing this unexpected moment of absolute joy to this old gamer's ears, and young gamer's heart.
This fucking glass tube.. It's really the only time I got completely stuck in Super Metroid. In Metroid Prime Remaster, the first time I saw myself running through a tube-like struckture I'm like "I'm gonna bomb that thing to shreds as soon as I can".. and it worked.
this is really funny because my experience with the glass tube was just “huh, there are platforms there. i wonder if the power bomb cracks anything? oh. cool.”
I love how this game came out when I was in high school and it’s still being analyzed today to such a degree. There’s just so much that can be said about this work. It speaks volumes and tells us just how it has stood the test of time. Great video!
I unironically was thinking sarcastically the glass tube in meridia being the special moment, come to find out it is. Im not even upset youre just right
I can't believe this. When I saw the thumbnail this was the moment I immediately thought of. The very first time I experienced it I went online to see if anyone else was as blown away as I was, but I was disappointed by the lack of people talking about. I'm so glad this video exists.
Wonderful breakdown, and I really love your point of how the game asks you to treat it as reality in some places. I remember figuring this out pretty much instantly because I simply thought "huh, a tunnel made out of glass, I wonder if I can break it."
I played metroid zero mission before I got to play this. In that game, there's a glass tube that goes from the space pirate ship to the chozodia ruins. I remember deciding to powerbomb it thinking there's no way it will work, but to my surprise after a moment of silence, it did! I was blown away. Then when I played super metroid, I saw that glass tube and immediately knew what I would have to do later. I think the reason why it works so well without being too difficult is because it has this sort of "gun on the wall" appearance. It's a big old conspicuous piece of glass whose appearance subtly yet unambiguously screams "im going to shatter into a million pieces later"
Metroid is my favorite saga of video games, and it surprises me how much it has influenced me over the years. I remember this moment while visiting Buenos Aires for the first time, we were on our way to the next connection, and even when I was told to go to the right to continue in the correct path, I looked to the left. I was asked "Why do you always look to the left? What's more, why do you always try to go to the left?" and I responded "I just learned to always check every path. It's instinct." Metroid taught me to be an explorer. It's the same everywhere, in the office I'm known for "thinking outside the box" all the time, but for me, I just grew up figuring out how to make the unconventional work.
9:20 - Ok, well let me stop you right there. It doesn't lie to you, it doesn't omit anything. There's a room WITH LITERALLY THE SAME TUBING BUT BROKEN that has a hole in the floor that leads you RIGHT BACK TO THE OTHER INTACT TUBE. You could only get the hint from looking at that room if you entered Maridia "the intended way" which is through the shipwreck. They didn't want you accessing Maridia early without the Gravity Suit, that you get in the Wrecked Ship, because going UP through Maridia without the Gravity Suit if you don't know what you're doing is HELL.
I vividly remember 8 year old me being totally stumped at the part when you’re supposed to break that tube. I eventually figured it out, but I was stuck on that part for longer than any other part in Super Metroid.
I played this game blind recently and this tube was probably the most defining moment from my playthrough. I was properly stuck, trying everything I could think of to get further into Maridia or Lower Norfair. I x-rayed just about every wall, I tried jumping through walls anyways even if they had nothing, but after 2 or 3 hours of making no progress, I was out of ideas. I thought it was most likely that the area around the tube had to have some entrance that I missed, so I returned there once again. I inspected the glass tube and the neighbouring rooms with the x-ray probably for the 5th time, found nothing, and then, just for 1 brief moment, I thought to superbomb the glass tube to see if it would break, much like how Portal asks you to break glass tubes that just look like part of the environment. And then it actually WORKED. I absolutely LOST MY MIND. What a game.
I think for a puzzle like this to be truly great, the possibility of someone missing it must be real. It sucks for those who miss it, but for those who get it you can realistically imagine yourself missing it, and therefore feel good about getting it.
Holy crap. Dude. You have some of the best, most well-made videos I've ever watched. Its crazy how much effort you put in, its awesome to watch your channel!
When I first got Super Metroid on the SNES I loved it but I got unbelievably stuck by not realizing the tube was an invisible wall. I probably spent hours going all over the map looking for a way and eventually gave up. It wasn't till I loaned the game to a friend that he discovered the wall and I was finally able to progress.
It's a game that i completely missed when it came out but the Metroid series has become one of my absolute favourites. Super Metroid is absolutely timeless.
What a fantastic video! I've always loved the Maridia Tube for some reason, but I never gave it much thought why I thought it was so special and you put it perfectly; It's because it's this moment where Super Metroid breaks the rules of being a video game specifically to transcend into a world that feels real and alive.
It felt so good figuring this out without a guide. I was wandering around and then reached the tube and said "Why did they add this glass tube? there's literally nothing here and it takes sometime just to load it" so I just put a power bomb and was surprised when it worked. I really love how many "wait, I can do that?!" moments are in this game.
Watching the video at first I thought it was very similar to Game Maker's Toolkit's Super Metroid Boss Keys video, but after finishing it I think this video highlights something that really should have been mentioned more in his video on the game. I now think this and his video are required viewing when understanding Super Metroid's Game and World Design.
I honestly figured this out right away from seeing the commercial for the game a bunch of times before getting the game. In the commercial it shows Samus using the power bomb on the glass tube, and although it doesn't show it shattering, it did make me try the same thing the very first time I entered the glass tube with powerbomb equipped. I was very surprised when I saw it break.
Super Metroid is the greatest video game of all time, if ya ask me. I've played it literally hundreds of times. Just did 2 map randos, and finished up playing a SM hack over the weekend. I always get excited when I see a new video about it, and this one was really fun to watch! Thanks
I'm so happy that you highlighted the shear joy that is figuring out the glass tube for the first time. When I saw this video's thumbnail I literally thought to myself "I hope it's the tube in Maridia, that's an awesome moment." Watching people organically figure it out is one of the most satisfying things this game can bring. Great job on this video, looking forward to more from you!
As a kid I figured out the glass tube on my own. I have no idea how anyone was supposed to figure out the grapple beam trick with Draygon on their own.
This video explains my thoughts on the game in a way I could not have found a way to say. These are some of my fondest memories from a videogame, the eureka moments there left a mark. Good video, good editing, good structure.
The point about the balance between mystery and intuition is spot-on. There are other titles in the genre, even very well regarded ones, that I think fail to get this balance right and end up frustrating to explore in an otherwise well-designed game.
The way you describe the trick against Draygon makes it sound so cinematic…I can just imagine Samus struggling to aim as Draygon tears at her suit, until her grapple beam finally strikes the open current, frying the massive aquatic beast and breaking Samus out of its grasp…I’ve done that trick every time I fight them, but you made it sound so much more epic than I could’ve imagined.
The Paper Mario video came up in my suggestions today and I’m just now discovering these video essays. Wow, they really capture my favorite video game design in my favorite games. Can’t wait to binge these. Keep it up!
Great video! Yeah man, I got to that room and immediately thought something was unique about it. Everything you said breaks down seconds of logical reasoning to try and blow up the glass. Brilliant.
The map of Maridia provides one more clue that there's something beyond its glass tube. I remember backtracking to see if I missed anything else in Maridia such as another path in the previous room to go around the tube; a hint from GameFAQs confirmed my other idea that breaking the tube was the way forward.
By itself that room would be quite cryptic (ignoring the obvious platform above the glass tube), but everything the game teaches you up until that point makes the puzzle pretty obvious. I love this game and Metroid as a whole, it's a franchise full of insane game design
Solid. I remember stumbling across this as a kid. I don't think I was trying to solve any puzzle, I was just messing around. Super bomb in the tube. When the glass broke... it was a gasp inducing, oh my gosh moment. Dude, what?! All the little things you pointed out are exactly what made/make Super Metroid great
Hello im Alberto Manzano and i had the honor to be able to contribute in working on Metroid Prime as an Environment Artist, it has been my dream since childhood! I love Metroid and I even think games like Dark Souls wouldnt even exist without it!
I've been playing Metroid games for as long as I can remember and I'm today years old when I learned that the "keys" you need have the color of the locks on them....
I had this bookmarked while playing the game and I figured this out this morning before finally deciding to watch. It was so satisfying to stumble upon the solution after feeling lost for so long.
When I saw the title of the video, this was quite literally the moment I expected you to talk about. To this day, I still feel extremely ashamed of myself for getting stuck by that glad tube as a kid. I had to wait until thy next time my mom went to Walmart so o could go find the super Metroid strategy guide in the electronics department and read what I was supposed to do next. Then when I found out about the tube being shattered by power bombs, I swear that I tried that and it didn't work. But clearly I hadn't. I still get really upset with myself to this day for needing to read a guide. I was stuck for days on that tube.
I loved the original on the NES. I was 12 years old when I played it. I was stoked when I found out there was going to be a Super Metroid. I remember the day I bought it. It was a warm spring day. I remember when I left the store I sat in my car and read the manual before racing home to play it.
As a kid, I remember being stuck on this puzzle for months. In fact, I even believed I stuck myself on this situation by accident, and I decided to restart the game from scratch. It was only on my second playthrough I realized there was a secret around Maridia, allowing me to access the rest of it, but even then, I had to first pay attention to the broken tube, and only then, consider ignoring the rules of Super Metroid to find the solution. I was something quite unique in my life.
I actually never thought too much about that glass tube. I found out about breaking it from a gaming magazine, but after the fact, saw the other room with the already broken one and looking at the twisted metal, it was clear something exploded in there. That was when I put two and two together and realized that was the in game hint for it, but I've never been the best at solving those types of puzzles anyway.
That was the moment for me. I played this back in the era before walkthroughs. I was wandering aimlessly for hours and hours. Eventually figured it out by accident. It blew my mind.
Well said "too cryptic". I did it by mistake and the moment i saw the glass shattering into pieces it was like a horror scene. The same with the Chozo Statue where you need to throw yourself as a ball in his hand. I got stuck for 2 weeks in 2004 without a guide at that part. I did it by mistake but i thought that i got stuck. 2 weeks later i did the same think but i didn't load the game and then the statue started moving. The file rom was broken and i couldn't finish the game because i got stuck at the door before Mother Brian. I finish the game some years later anyway. A true masterpiece.
When I played this game on a snes emulator when I was young I spent days searching the entire map to try and figure out where to go next. I found heaps of secrets that I had originally missed. I ended up having to search the internet to try and find out where to go and powerbombing that glass tube was what I had missed over and over. This was years before you could just look for a walkthrough easily. It should have been obvious as a bit later in the map they give you a clue about it when there is another glass tube that is already smashed. I have never forgotten that moment.
It’s funny someone made a video about this. I remember when I first got the power bomb, I was ten or eleven, and I immediately thought of that glass tube. It wasn’t made of any specially designated bomb tiles, but the intuitive guess felt right. That’s well done immersion.
I really appreciate the thorough and thoughtful discussion of this tube. I don't remember how I first figured out the tube but it has always stuck in my head as "unfair". The tube has always bothered me as the only inexcusable flaw in an otherwise perfect game.
“This is a glass tube.”
“Dear god.”
“There’s more.”
_“No.”_
"It contains a passage to Maridia"
@@Roiadas "Impossible."
“You teleport as much bread as you want, soldier.”
@@HeliosEclipsed *opens fridge* KILL ME! *closes fridge*
So we're fine. Long as nobody cloned any Metroids.
What's also kinda funny is that there's another moment like this in Metroid Prime, where you have to powerbomb a glass tube in Magmoor to get to an optional power up, and the exact moment I saw it I thought back to Super Metroid and knew exactly what I needed to be on the lookout for
The one beam upgrade that I missed 😓
@@Commander-peepers The Ice Spreader.
It's kind of become a stock puzzle in Metroid games. Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission also had a power bombable tube as well, and I'm pretty sure Dread had one as well. In most of the post-SM examples part of the tube is made out of power bomb blocks (or is scannable in the case of Prime) so it's not as obtuse of a puzzle.
@@anthonysorrentino4441 ye that one
@NomicFin there's a similar one in Prime 2 in Sanctuary Fortress
Footnote: A truly bizarre commercial for Super Metroid featured a quick shot of Samus Power Bombing the glass tube. I decided against including it in the video because that would have been a separate marketing team that made the commercial and not the original developers.
Also: Some people claim that breaking the tube is featured in the eye-catch mode on the title screen but I couldn’t get it to play. Maybe it is and it just didn’t trigger for me; after 20 minutes I called it quits. The clip could still be in there, though. Watching from the shadows. Laughing.
It is, I've seen it with my own eyes playing on my Switch before it got stolen.
i was waiting for you to talk about how almost all of us actually figured it out. Was that eye catch mode. It shows her power bombing that room among other interesting things.
Interesting, because that is how I found out about shinesparks, in Zero Mission, long after I beat it.
Crystal flash and beam combos, too. SM doesn’t care if you find all its secrets.
It's true! I heard it was in the demo play mode, but my original SNES cartridge was broken. Lucky for me, someone who lived near me had it on Switch so I broke in and stole it.
Story Time: Super Metroid is the first game I ever experienced "true horror" in a video game. I had seen horror adjacent kiddy films like "Ernest Scared Stupid" or "Gremlins" and while those would get a jump out of little 8-year-old me, the fact it was on the TV meant I could simply look away at any scenes that were a bit too much for me. However, after descending into the depths of the strangely quiet Planet Zebes, there's a moment that breaks how video games are "supposed" to work in a way I had never experienced before.
After collecting the morph ball and missiles, you make your way back towards the surface and crawl into a small crevice. After going a couple screens over you find the Morph Bombs.
I turn to leave... and the door closes. "Strange... It's locked? Did I take too long? How am I supposed to get out?" I run back and forth shooting the door and the ceiling to no effect. Randomly I mash inputs for a few seconds in confusion before suddenly-
The Choso Statue comes to life and begins attacking me?! I panic. I fire my remaining missiles but miss. I realize I'm gripping the controller so hard I'm accidentally pressing the R button and launching my shots diagonally. I try and fail to avoid it's attacks, I don't know when to jump. I'm taking hit after hit. The game starts to beep the low health warning at me! I don't know what to do! But... BUT I CAN'T LOOK AWAY because I need to see what's happening to react! WHY DID THE STATUE COME TO LIFE?! THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!"
I take that final fatal hit and I see the death animation for the first time. I turn off the game and decide I want to play something else. I have nightmares later that night of the statue coming to life and chasing me.
The emersion of the original Super Metroid is the first time I felt that barrier of the screen between me and the character in the game melt away. That wasn't Samus trapped in that room with the Choso Statue come to life: That was me in there fighting for survival.
Years later, obviously I now recognize how silly that seems as the statue is barely a challenge. I've long since gone back and beaten Super Metroid several times over, even achieving the Sub-3 hour 100% completion run. But that moment lives rent free in my head as the most impactful moment of the game and is probably the reason I love horror games so much now as a means to try and recapture that feeling.
Damn, hearing that made me remember the first time I got to that part in SM as well, scared crapless; I could barely fall asleep that night, and the music haunted me for weeks.
At some point (years later iirc) I got back to the game having completely forgotten about it and had a blast exploring through the world, and I've been a giant fan of metroidvanias ever since.
I never got far in the first game that scared me as a kid. Jurassic Park on the SNES. Specifically, the first-person sections when you're inside buildings. There's no power at first and you got raptors and other things lunging at you.
Mega Man 4 in particular, but all of the Mega Man games have a few very tight jumps, both in distance and hazards. Adult me, veteran of videogaming, has no trouble marching out to the very last pixel needed to make a jump. Who cares if 80% of Megaman's body is floating over instant death like a Looney Tunes character?
Child me, that's who cares. Hands sweating, heart pounding, eyes held wide open as I try to make a long jump off the _rounded_ corner of a bone platform long before I learned that the game doesn't necessarily care what the ledge looks like and calculates footing as if it were a square corner. "I don't want to walk off the edge!" **jumps too early and falls in the pit** (This particular jump is in the top half of the screen, so I got to watch Megaman fall all the way down every time.)
Not horror in my case, but terror all the same.
Did you play metroid dread btw ? The emmi really make us feel dread
@@PrintThem Yup. It was my GOTY and may be my favorite Metroid even over Super. My one complaint is the OST.
I think "invisible locks" are the secret sauce that make this game so good. compared to contemporary metroidvanias, there's a lot of moments in this game where you kind of have to stumble around and discover what to do, even though you already have all the tools needed. makes the world truly feel mysterious and alive.
...
Isn't that _literally_ what the entire genre is built on though?????
@@Sing_LoveWRS There's a lot of metroidvania out there (and a lot of games across genres) that don't really take enough advantage of the *invisible* lock. Even Metroid Dread introduces a ton of new visible lock types with all the new doors (homin missile, wide beam, wave, etc.). Visible locks are super easy to use in a metroidvania cuz all they ask of you is to recognize which key you need, but actually designing an obstacle that makes you use your keys in creative and unexpected ways takes a lot more consideration.
@@Sing_LoveWRS a lot of modern metroidvanias are mostly just "visible locks", and very little "invisible"
I imagine it's much easier to design a game that way, which is why so many indie developers choose that path.
edit: but in a weird way yes, you're kind of right, considering this is the game that all metroidvanias are built off of.
@@1gnore_me. A recent metroidvania/metroidbrainia that actually does invisible locks well is probably Animal Well and another older one is Tunic, but these are currently few and far between.
Love ur vids!!
The fake wall at the end of Lower Norfair that doesn't appear on the X-Ray visor is probably my favourite prank in the game. It deliberately punishes players who rely on the X-Ray visor to find secrets. If you rely on vibes, it's clear there is a secret in that room and there has to be because there's no other way out of Lower Norfair, but if you stubbornly follow the rigid logic of whether the visor can see it you will get tripped up. I love the irony that a less completionistic player who never got or used the visor is more likely to sus out the fake wall.
Xray doesn't work in that room at all. It has something to do with the firefleas that will cause the room to gradually get darker the more of them you kill. So there's a technical reason why it won't work. Why Nintendo decided to still keep TWO false walls in that room? Beats me.
@@therwferyeah, it likely wasn’t intentional, just a glitch that no one caught before release.
Although, it’s getting me to wonder too much. What if we edited breakable blocks into a different room with firefleas? Would they show up or is it just phantom walls that don’t? Or conversely, if we added firefleas to rooms with breakable blocks?
That fake wall had me confused for 25 minutes. I was standing in the very room for a while thinking about where it could be when I noticed the wall looked *really* fake and walked right through. I felt like a complete idiot, but also appreciated the game design a ton when it happened.
@@trogdortamer48I find that hard to believe tbh. far as i know the camera doesnt shift until you find it so theres no real indication.
You're way more likely to not realise there is any indication, spend 2 hours looking, coming back here and stumbling into it on accident, extremely annoyed.
Yeah my first time through I missed the xray visor until near the end
And interesting one to add where super metroid breaks it's own rules is the bosses, pretty much every one the normal rules/damage values don't apply. The Ridley fight in particular is interesting though. On top of super missiles actually doing double damage to him, Ridley doesn't die when you damage him enough to deplete his HP, he can actually keep attacking indefinitely at 0 hp if you dodge his swoops with the intent being for him to die while about to either kill or severely damage the player (and you CAN die when he's technically already dead). It makes the fight a bit more "dramatic" and tense as it's not just a clearcut "ok, i did 18k damage and he blew up". Other fights like golden torizo with his missile catching, the the croc/draygon ones mentioned in the video just kept the bosses all feeling fresh in the game, something you don't often see, they basically all had SOME gimmick.
Golden Torizo plucking your Super Missiles out of flight is one of my favorite boss moves, in part because you don't appreciate until/unless you actually notice WHAT he's throwing back at you. (He also just sidesteps normal Missiles whenever possible; your Charge Beam is the only reliable method to hit him)
Back in the day, my friend used to tell me about Ridley : "there's no strategy to kill him."
About the Golden Torizo, hitting him relentlessly with the charged Plasma Beam will do the job nicely.
Ridley only tries to grab you 10 times after you deplete his HP, if he's unsuccessful he'll die alone in the middle.of the screen.
You can spam super missiles too, if you have enough ammo and HP; he won't grab a super missile when he's already in the process of grabbing and tossing one.
Helpful when playing Super Metroid randomized and you don't have a good beam charge combo.
Don't forget about Phantoon. Somewhere, possibly the manual or strategy guide, says his weakness is super missiles. Technically true, but as I kid I didn't realize that super missiles cause the enrage, and you can skip it completely by using regular missiles, so for me every Phantoon fight featured several enrages and it was much more difficult.
The glass tube is the exact moment I was thinking of. A shattering of convention
"Shattering", eh?
The importance of not telling the player explicit information, made manifest.
Hold on, the key to breaking the Maridia tube is using a power bomb, _and then standing up?_ Because, that would explain a _lot._ I vividly remember, as a kid, seeing the already broken tube up above and thinking, "I wonder if the other tube is breakable," and then trying to break that tube. This included using a power bomb, but I think there's a good chance that, after using said bomb and waiting, I left the room _while still in ball form._ Because of that, I "knew" that power bombs did NOT break the tube, so I didn't try using power bombs again. Despite this, I still had an inkling that tube was important somehow. Eventually, on Christmas Eve 2001, the day before we got our Gamecube, my brother power bombed the tube, and then apparently stood up, because he broke the tube. We finished the game that night in a lengthy session. To this day, on Christmas Eve, as a tradition, I'd boot up a save file and complete the last leg of the game, just doing Lower Norfair and Tourian. Can someone confirm that power bombing the tube and then NOT standing up does nothing? Because I could never understand why the tube didn't break all those years ago when I'm sure I power bombed it, but then it did break on that one Christmas Eve.
You don't have to stand up to break the tube, that room is just part of maridia and not brinstar and I'm pretty sure leaving the room before the bomb exploded just unloaded maridia and thus never played the sequence for the tube to explode.
no, you just need to move at all after the bomb animation is over and it will break the tube.
leaving either left or right before the bomb animation is over will not break the glass, and touching /NOTHING/ after the bomb will delay the glass break, which looks a bit silly
Yep based on my experience with the game you just have to not leave too early. I could imagine doing that as a kid and getting lost in the same way.
@@MapCRimSoNCobRa117 As much as I think this is visually cool, I think the Power Bomb should instantly cause a crack so the player knows to wait.
...and? 🙄
Fab. Another well written and well presented breakdown of one of the greatest games of all time. Can't get enough of these - well done!
Can i ask you which other games are in your absolute top ? Please, after Castlevania, silent hill, resident evil, i've stopped playing games 20years ago, but i'm now regaining curiosity, maybe there's another absolute mysterious game,
not dead space, not dark souls, maybe somerhing occult ?
shoutouts for saving the animals at 14:33🙏
let out a sigh of relief
It was so dark I didn't even realized he saved them
I was watching specifically for it. Good man.
@@distorted_heavy she samus is a girl
I'm gonna be 100% real, as someone who played this game on the SNES in the 90s without internet or nintendo power, my 5 year old mind found this Tube Puzzle to be intuitive to try Power bombing the tube. it was probably one of the first things i did after obtaining power bombs. i know i blew it up before getting the Gravity Suit cuz i saved down below and it was difficult to get back up as a kid lol.
years later, i hear everyone says this is a cryptic puzzle, but idk, the invisible left wall at the very end of Lower Norfair was the one that got me as a kid. i always walked backwards out of norfair because of it. its the only wall that didnt go invisible when you use the X-Ray Scope.
Yeah, the invisible exit from Lower Norfair (assuming you didn't want to brave that HUGE cavern now-filled with acid) is probably one of the "worst" puzzles in the game. Part of it is because your X-Ray visor doesn't work in any rooms with the light bugs, and by this point you _probably_ have the Wave Beam meaning you can't just shoot the wall (with your beam) to test if it's real.
@@Stratelieryou can just turn off the Wave Beam
@@MechaG Who even does that? Alternatively, you could fire Missiles/Super Missiles to check the wall, and you aren't exactly UN-trained on invisible passages in walls ... but at the same time, you're probably acclimated to revealing these with the X-Ray scope, only to find one of the rooms where the scope legitimately doesn't work.
I immediately knew I needed the bomb too back in the 90's.
The glass tube stumped me as a kid - I had played that game many times over, and got as far as breaking the tube, then never could figure out what to do next. And later I'd restart and play it again up to that point. It was like that for years. I had tried breaking it - it was glass - but my missiles didn't do anything. I never thought to use power bombs on it.
I gotta say, when I finally did break it it, it was an amazing moment in my life - the shattering of the glass has left an imprint on me, and all of a sudden a whole second half of the game was unlocked, unexplored. And looking back, I could see how they were trying to hint at it being a breakable tube (with the other tube being broken).
Still don't like the tube though :)
The invisible wall in lower norfair stumped me too - I always just went back through the lava-filled room to escape. I actually thought it was really cool that the game required you to swim through lava to get out - until I eventually learned that there was another way. Shame.
Clicked for Metroid, stayed for a good little video essay.
Oh my fucking god it IS the tube. I was thinking there's no way it's the glass tube to Meridia but that's literally my favorite moment and so memorable.
It's a tube in'it.
This is also my favorite moment. It's my favorite place on Zebes.
That’s fair, it’s a really cool moment.
This is tangentially related, but I’d like to share what I think is the best moment in metroid zero mission (spoilers for endgame). After you beat mother brain and crash land the game really drives home how powerless you are in the situation, having to hide from all the zebesians and only being able to stun them is a lovely stealth section. But killing the ruins test and gaining your power suit feels so good, the music turns from dreadful to bombastic and the once deadly zebesians are pathetic. It’s great.
Didn't that game come out like 20 years ago?
@@Sing_LoveWRS 2004. Ten years after Super Metroid.
@@R3SerialDreams Yeah 20 years then, wild
To this day zero mission is my favorite Metroid.
The fact that the room clearly connects above and below is another way to entice the player to do something with it
There was a 4chan thread long time ago about this same glass tube. One half talked about how obvious it was.
The other half talked about how was anybody supposed to know by themselves without a guide.
Yes, i got stuck in that part because if you bomb or missile the glass, it doesn't show to be a breakable tile, which is an inconsistency with previously established rules.
The people who have problems with SM's game design being obtuse are playing it in the context of being a gamer in 2024 not 1994. In 1994 that game was your only piece of media / entertainment for at the very minimum, the week, and more than likely a month or two. You didn't have a million different things competing for your attention plus access to every game thats ever been made for the past 40 years at your fingertips - which means you sat down with this game and exhausted every possibility for days and weeks, and came back to it again and again if you hit a dead end. People nowadays tend to reach the conclusion "this is stupid, f**k this" after about 5 minutes even knowing what they are playing is supposed to be one of those "where the hell do I go" type of exploration games. The Maridia tube doesn't become your obvious progression step until you've already looped back around from the other side of Wrecked Ship across the limited parts you can access of Maridia pre-tube-break possibly several loops of the entire accessible world.
You do also get the hint on your mini-map of being in a map square that is open on the top and bottom.
Yes today has a huge problem with offering too much entertainment, and slower paced games get shafted now easily because people want to play the game not be put to sleep. I try to give games a few deaths of a chance when playing it, even older games but there's so many good games that putting up with mediocre games is not worth it for most people or games that don't mesh with the style you enjoy. @@douglasmurphy3266
@@douglasmurphy3266this is answer I always give people when then I say Zelda 1 is too cryptic and you can’t beat it without a book. You exhausted every possibility and also discussed things on the playground and traded secrets.
@@Hegaems well the right way to go about it is not to enter Maridia from the tube anyway
I was obsessed with this game when i was a kid. Seeing it be prasied year after year just feels like a pat on the back for kid me who was so obsessed with no one to share this obsession with.
I think this is a difference in the language of how games communicate things between then and now.
when I first played the game back when it came out, the very first thing I did when I got the power bombs was bee line straight to that tube to try and blow it up.
It was 1 part intuitive and 1 part rule of cool.
My younger brother also had the same reaction.
In fact, of several friends who played through the game at that time, I think only one of them had to
have it explained to them.
I don't think any of us were particularly good at games. It's a fundimental change in the way people expect games to communicate with them.
there tended to be a lot more obtuse puzzles in games that you just had to figure out. I think that's part of it. But the other part is that similar games these days are expected to have proper signage to TELL you what power to use and to break the rules like that could be considered frustrating and possibly even bad game design.
A certain level of detatchment is expected. viewing it as a game instead of an adventure. Looking at it as a game, it doesn't make sense. it's a set piece. nothing like it in the game is distructable. it's just part of the background.
But if you let yourself be absorbed into the game, it's a giant glass tube! *Of COURSE* you're going to try blowing it up with the giant explosives you just got? Why would you not?! It's gonna be sooo cool!
I'm so glad you made this video and captured this moment. I read the title and my mind immediately went to this glass tube moment as my 17 year old self was super proud when I figured this puzzle element on my own way before the internet existed. I recall at one point, getting stuck and had no other way to go; looking at the other room with the exploding tube is what guided me to use a bomb but I did it out of sheer "I ran out of every single idea I can think of" when it exploded it felt so grand and alive just as you describe it. Thanks again for making me relive the moment.
One thing he didn't mention is that there is a platform above the glass tube that sure looks like one you could jump to and another just visible below. Those are how I figured out that the tube could probably be broken.
What i love about Super Metroid is how it teaches and also expects the player to problem-solve with the power-ups you've obtained. By the time you get to the glass tube, the game has taught you to 'be curious'. By being curious, you're testing out new power-ups in places you've been before loads of times, but combing through it carefully for secrets. And curiosity is a skill good games will teach you early on in life, because then it's something you apply in other games or even real life puzzles. A game that holds your hand entirely is not strengthening your natural curiosity for things.
The one moment that spoke to me with awe was finding that one dead soldier before entering Kraid's lair. For months I fret over who that was, could I have saved them? Was I too late. And apparently no one really knows who they were to this day.
I still love speed running this game on the Switch. 1 hour 25 minutes 69% items
I think I agree that this is a cool moment, but I also think it’s inherently flawed. Maybe I’m biased bc I had to look up the answer, but my thoughts are this: I could tell that it was a room that had more to it than we could see, but I figured we’d enter from either the top or bottom, with the tunnel being a foreground piece. I almost like the idea of “things work like we expect in real life” as the solution bc it is clever, but why then would a normal bomb not do the trick? I do think that if you’re paying enough attention to notice the other room having a broken tunnel than it becomes a lot better bc you know (or at least have a guess) that the intact tunnel can also be broken, but idk.
At least it’s not the invisible wall in Ridley’s layer
The invisible wall there is actually a flaw in the games programming. X-Ray scope couldn’t function in rooms that had lighting effects, like the bugs. So the unfortunate technical programming issue had a problematic effect on the progressional path forward.
Interesting, never knew that
Because regular bombs aren't nearly as big or powerful.
I love this moment too just because of how much the world opens up to you once you actually figure it out, the devs clearly picture is a big reveal on the entire underwater the section of the game really feels like a oh s*** just got real moment. The fact that it's possible to clear the entire underwater section without the gravity suit too makes it all the more cool to me, like you're exploring uncharted dangerous territory early by choice on repeat playthroughs. What I love about this game all the little things, the little bugs that's got her away from you, the beautiful music, and a real sense of atmosphere, I think this one moment is the things that take out to me the most about this game, it really establishes the fact that this game tells a beautiful and personal narrative without even a single line of dialogue that's always stuck with me
Man, this part stumped me in the 90's to the point of absolute exhaustion and frustration. I'm not sure how I eventually figured it out, it was either a friend who told me, or eventually an online guide, but I couldn't for the life of me figure this out for myself as a kid.
This video is like listening to a deep dive of the album that has been your favourite since your formative years. Listening to someone describe every nook and crany that you know so well hits the exact spot, and it's clear that they obviously just get it - exactly the way you've gotten it. Every coveted, personal gem. Listening to the sounds and descriptions is pure validation where none needed exist before. Thank you for bringing this unexpected moment of absolute joy to this old gamer's ears, and young gamer's heart.
i’m a simple man, i see an im a dot video on my favorite game of all time and i click it
There would be no metroid-like games if Super Metroid did not exist.
This is, by far, my favorite of the entire genre!
This fucking glass tube..
It's really the only time I got completely stuck in Super Metroid. In Metroid Prime Remaster, the first time I saw myself running through a tube-like struckture I'm like "I'm gonna bomb that thing to shreds as soon as I can".. and it worked.
this is really funny because my experience with the glass tube was just “huh, there are platforms there. i wonder if the power bomb cracks anything? oh. cool.”
I love how this game came out when I was in high school and it’s still being analyzed today to such a degree. There’s just so much that can be said about this work. It speaks volumes and tells us just how it has stood the test of time. Great video!
I unironically was thinking sarcastically the glass tube in meridia being the special moment, come to find out it is. Im not even upset youre just right
Super Metroid is a work of art. It is perfection without a single wasted pixel.
I can't believe this. When I saw the thumbnail this was the moment I immediately thought of. The very first time I experienced it I went online to see if anyone else was as blown away as I was, but I was disappointed by the lack of people talking about. I'm so glad this video exists.
Wonderful breakdown, and I really love your point of how the game asks you to treat it as reality in some places. I remember figuring this out pretty much instantly because I simply thought "huh, a tunnel made out of glass, I wonder if I can break it."
I played metroid zero mission before I got to play this. In that game, there's a glass tube that goes from the space pirate ship to the chozodia ruins. I remember deciding to powerbomb it thinking there's no way it will work, but to my surprise after a moment of silence, it did! I was blown away. Then when I played super metroid, I saw that glass tube and immediately knew what I would have to do later. I think the reason why it works so well without being too difficult is because it has this sort of "gun on the wall" appearance. It's a big old conspicuous piece of glass whose appearance subtly yet unambiguously screams "im going to shatter into a million pieces later"
Metroid is my favorite saga of video games, and it surprises me how much it has influenced me over the years. I remember this moment while visiting Buenos Aires for the first time, we were on our way to the next connection, and even when I was told to go to the right to continue in the correct path, I looked to the left. I was asked "Why do you always look to the left? What's more, why do you always try to go to the left?" and I responded "I just learned to always check every path. It's instinct." Metroid taught me to be an explorer.
It's the same everywhere, in the office I'm known for "thinking outside the box" all the time, but for me, I just grew up figuring out how to make the unconventional work.
It actually WAS the moment I was thinking of.
9:20 - Ok, well let me stop you right there. It doesn't lie to you, it doesn't omit anything. There's a room WITH LITERALLY THE SAME TUBING BUT BROKEN that has a hole in the floor that leads you RIGHT BACK TO THE OTHER INTACT TUBE. You could only get the hint from looking at that room if you entered Maridia "the intended way" which is through the shipwreck. They didn't want you accessing Maridia early without the Gravity Suit, that you get in the Wrecked Ship, because going UP through Maridia without the Gravity Suit if you don't know what you're doing is HELL.
I vividly remember 8 year old me being totally stumped at the part when you’re supposed to break that tube. I eventually figured it out, but I was stuck on that part for longer than any other part in Super Metroid.
I played this game blind recently and this tube was probably the most defining moment from my playthrough. I was properly stuck, trying everything I could think of to get further into Maridia or Lower Norfair. I x-rayed just about every wall, I tried jumping through walls anyways even if they had nothing, but after 2 or 3 hours of making no progress, I was out of ideas. I thought it was most likely that the area around the tube had to have some entrance that I missed, so I returned there once again. I inspected the glass tube and the neighbouring rooms with the x-ray probably for the 5th time, found nothing, and then, just for 1 brief moment, I thought to superbomb the glass tube to see if it would break, much like how Portal asks you to break glass tubes that just look like part of the environment. And then it actually WORKED. I absolutely LOST MY MIND. What a game.
It is actuallly impossible for i_am_a_dot to not make a banger video
When playing , this was intriguing, super rewarding, and easy to notice 🥰.
Great analysis.
Other than the already broken tube, the biggest clue for me was the two platforms outside of the glass
NO WAY I ACTUALLY GUESSED THE EXACT ROOM!
I think for a puzzle like this to be truly great, the possibility of someone missing it must be real. It sucks for those who miss it, but for those who get it you can realistically imagine yourself missing it, and therefore feel good about getting it.
10:24 Thank you, everyone gets that wrong but you got it right!
Holy crap. Dude. You have some of the best, most well-made videos I've ever watched. Its crazy how much effort you put in, its awesome to watch your channel!
When I first got Super Metroid on the SNES I loved it but I got unbelievably stuck by not realizing the tube was an invisible wall. I probably spent hours going all over the map looking for a way and eventually gave up. It wasn't till I loaned the game to a friend that he discovered the wall and I was finally able to progress.
It's a game that i completely missed when it came out but the Metroid series has become one of my absolute favourites. Super Metroid is absolutely timeless.
I was recommended this video. And the quality of editing is immaculate. Great job.
Having played this in the 90s, the first time that tube shatters is pure gaming joy. ❤❤❤❤❤
What a fantastic video! I've always loved the Maridia Tube for some reason, but I never gave it much thought why I thought it was so special and you put it perfectly; It's because it's this moment where Super Metroid breaks the rules of being a video game specifically to transcend into a world that feels real and alive.
It felt so good figuring this out without a guide. I was wandering around and then reached the tube and said "Why did they add this glass tube? there's literally nothing here and it takes sometime just to load it" so I just put a power bomb and was surprised when it worked. I really love how many "wait, I can do that?!" moments are in this game.
Watching the video at first I thought it was very similar to Game Maker's Toolkit's Super Metroid Boss Keys video, but after finishing it I think this video highlights something that really should have been mentioned more in his video on the game. I now think this and his video are required viewing when understanding Super Metroid's Game and World Design.
You didnt even mention the music and atmospheric noises. That wasnt the goal but it is another amazing part of this masterpiece.
I honestly figured this out right away from seeing the commercial for the game a bunch of times before getting the game. In the commercial it shows Samus using the power bomb on the glass tube, and although it doesn't show it shattering, it did make me try the same thing the very first time I entered the glass tube with powerbomb equipped. I was very surprised when I saw it break.
Super Metroid is the greatest video game of all time, if ya ask me. I've played it literally hundreds of times. Just did 2 map randos, and finished up playing a SM hack over the weekend. I always get excited when I see a new video about it, and this one was really fun to watch! Thanks
If you think Super Metroid is the greatest video game of all time, people probably tell you often that you are very smart.
I'm so happy that you highlighted the shear joy that is figuring out the glass tube for the first time. When I saw this video's thumbnail I literally thought to myself "I hope it's the tube in Maridia, that's an awesome moment." Watching people organically figure it out is one of the most satisfying things this game can bring. Great job on this video, looking forward to more from you!
As a kid I figured out the glass tube on my own. I have no idea how anyone was supposed to figure out the grapple beam trick with Draygon on their own.
This video explains my thoughts on the game in a way I could not have found a way to say. These are some of my fondest memories from a videogame, the eureka moments there left a mark. Good video, good editing, good structure.
The point about the balance between mystery and intuition is spot-on. There are other titles in the genre, even very well regarded ones, that I think fail to get this balance right and end up frustrating to explore in an otherwise well-designed game.
The way you describe the trick against Draygon makes it sound so cinematic…I can just imagine Samus struggling to aim as Draygon tears at her suit, until her grapple beam finally strikes the open current, frying the massive aquatic beast and breaking Samus out of its grasp…I’ve done that trick every time I fight them, but you made it sound so much more epic than I could’ve imagined.
I just want to say that your essays are my favourite gaming content on RUclips.
I’m so bewildered on how you made such an entertaining vid on just the glass tube
The Paper Mario video came up in my suggestions today and I’m just now discovering these video essays. Wow, they really capture my favorite video game design in my favorite games. Can’t wait to binge these. Keep it up!
Great video! Yeah man, I got to that room and immediately thought something was unique about it. Everything you said breaks down seconds of logical reasoning to try and blow up the glass. Brilliant.
The map of Maridia provides one more clue that there's something beyond its glass tube. I remember backtracking to see if I missed anything else in Maridia such as another path in the previous room to go around the tube; a hint from GameFAQs confirmed my other idea that breaking the tube was the way forward.
By itself that room would be quite cryptic (ignoring the obvious platform above the glass tube), but everything the game teaches you up until that point makes the puzzle pretty obvious. I love this game and Metroid as a whole, it's a franchise full of insane game design
"Influential pieces of software." I don't think I've ever heard a magnum opus described that way.
i love these long-ish form video essays about video games. nice work on this one!
I've seen a lot of Super Metroid videos. This is an excellent break-down. 👍
Solid. I remember stumbling across this as a kid. I don't think I was trying to solve any puzzle, I was just messing around. Super bomb in the tube. When the glass broke... it was a gasp inducing, oh my gosh moment. Dude, what?! All the little things you pointed out are exactly what made/make Super Metroid great
Hello im Alberto Manzano and i had the honor to be able to contribute in working on Metroid Prime as an Environment Artist, it has been my dream since childhood! I love Metroid and I even think games like Dark Souls wouldnt even exist without it!
I've been playing Metroid games for as long as I can remember and I'm today years old when I learned that the "keys" you need have the color of the locks on them....
I was randomly recommended this video, thanks for making it. subscribed!
I had this bookmarked while playing the game and I figured this out this morning before finally deciding to watch. It was so satisfying to stumble upon the solution after feeling lost for so long.
When I saw the title of the video, this was quite literally the moment I expected you to talk about. To this day, I still feel extremely ashamed of myself for getting stuck by that glad tube as a kid. I had to wait until thy next time my mom went to Walmart so o could go find the super Metroid strategy guide in the electronics department and read what I was supposed to do next. Then when I found out about the tube being shattered by power bombs, I swear that I tried that and it didn't work. But clearly I hadn't. I still get really upset with myself to this day for needing to read a guide. I was stuck for days on that tube.
I loved the original on the NES. I was 12 years old when I played it. I was stoked when I found out there was going to be a Super Metroid. I remember the day I bought it. It was a warm spring day. I remember when I left the store I sat in my car and read the manual before racing home to play it.
As a kid, I remember being stuck on this puzzle for months. In fact, I even believed I stuck myself on this situation by accident, and I decided to restart the game from scratch. It was only on my second playthrough I realized there was a secret around Maridia, allowing me to access the rest of it, but even then, I had to first pay attention to the broken tube, and only then, consider ignoring the rules of Super Metroid to find the solution. I was something quite unique in my life.
This was wonderful. Great vid. Great talking points man. Stoked for more.
For me in the kid it was the map with the open walls. Thats what made me keep coming back there.
I couldn't figure this out without a guide. I ended up wandering back and forth aimlessly
The first time I got to that part of the map with the tube I think I just stopped and stared for a few minutes, the beauty just kind of overwhelmed me
honestly when i broke the tube i was just shocked. i honestly was just screwing around and thought "hmm, glass is explodable" and then it was
I remember figuring this out when I was 13. It was definitely an amazing moment in gaming for me.
I actually never thought too much about that glass tube. I found out about breaking it from a gaming magazine, but after the fact, saw the other room with the already broken one and looking at the twisted metal, it was clear something exploded in there. That was when I put two and two together and realized that was the in game hint for it, but I've never been the best at solving those types of puzzles anyway.
Bombing the "Glass Tube" was actually hinted by Nintendo themselves in the Super Metroid commercial if you recall watching it.
Omg thank you. came to the comments for this, now I know I'm not fabricating a memory
That was the moment for me. I played this back in the era before walkthroughs. I was wandering aimlessly for hours and hours. Eventually figured it out by accident. It blew my mind.
I always refer to breaking the glass tube as being this game's greatest "OHHHHHHH" moment!
Well said "too cryptic". I did it by mistake and the moment i saw the glass shattering into pieces it was like a horror scene. The same with the Chozo Statue where you need to throw yourself as a ball in his hand. I got stuck for 2 weeks in 2004 without a guide at that part. I did it by mistake but i thought that i got stuck. 2 weeks later i did the same think but i didn't load the game and then the statue started moving. The file rom was broken and i couldn't finish the game because i got stuck at the door before Mother Brian. I finish the game some years later anyway. A true masterpiece.
When I played this game on a snes emulator when I was young I spent days searching the entire map to try and figure out where to go next. I found heaps of secrets that I had originally missed. I ended up having to search the internet to try and find out where to go and powerbombing that glass tube was what I had missed over and over. This was years before you could just look for a walkthrough easily. It should have been obvious as a bit later in the map they give you a clue about it when there is another glass tube that is already smashed. I have never forgotten that moment.
It’s funny someone made a video about this. I remember when I first got the power bomb, I was ten or eleven, and I immediately thought of that glass tube. It wasn’t made of any specially designated bomb tiles, but the intuitive guess felt right. That’s well done immersion.
I had access to the game for a few days in 1994 or 95 and the glass tube was literally my stumbling block.
This is a really good positive breakdown of Super Metroid! It makes me tempted to play the game someday.
I really appreciate the thorough and thoughtful discussion of this tube. I don't remember how I first figured out the tube but it has always stuck in my head as "unfair". The tube has always bothered me as the only inexcusable flaw in an otherwise perfect game.
The glass tube was the first thing that came to my mind, its just so satisfying to figure out.