What is a Metroidvania

Most genres in gaming are clearly defined. You have shooters, platformers, puzzlers and sports
games. These genres can often be broken down into subgenres and even sub subgenres. First person
shooters, third person shooters and cover based shooters are specific examples in that umbrella
genre. The puzzlers have their point and clicks, while sports games are divided into games that
cover a variety of... well, sports. But what is a Metroidvania? Is it an umbrella genre, a subgenre, or
a sub subgenre? Or can it be all? I shall delve into discussing just what makes a Metroidvania.
In order to describe just what a Metroidvania is, we shall first take a trip back to its origin. While it
remains hard to deduce what the very first game in its genre was, some would make a good
argument that Shamus was the progenitor), Metroid was the game that brought it to the minds of
many people, as well as forming the word's prefix. Metroid was effectively a platformer, but not just
any platformer. It was a platformer that allowed you to move left as well as right, at the very start.
This was unheard of at the time. Instead of progressing from left to right for the duration of the
game, players often had an option of choosing directions, and were frequently encouraged to
backtrack over previously traversed terrain. The backtracking usually came as a result of the
character acquiring new powers and returning to use them to gain access to new areas that would
have been barricaded off or un-traversable up to that point. This formed the modus operandi of
travel for the bulk of the game, and subsequent Metroid games to follow. Indeed, the first Metroid
was but a small stepping stone for what as to follow in the series, and for the genre as a whole.
The sequels to Metroid, gradually improved the formula and many other games took inspiration
from the series and had similar styles of gameplay. However, it wasn't until Castlevania: Symphony
of the Night was released, in 1997, that the term Metroidvania came about. From then on, the
expression became synonymous with 2D games that featured platforming, power ups and
backtracking. Defining it this easily, could be seen as a misnomer, however, and a little too
conservative.
While the Metroid series had up to this point, been primarily based around 2D platforming, that all
changed in 2002, with the release of Metroid Prime. While Metroid Prime had (and still sometimes
is) referred to as an FPS, the truth is, it happened to be merely an FPS themed 3D Metroidvania.
The gameplay that featured in the previous 2D iterations of the series, had been effectively and
efficiently carried over into 3D. The power ups, platforming, backtracking and all the ingredients
that made the previous games what they were, continued to exist in 3D. The shooting was just a
tertiary feature, and in many cases, could be ignored, as the player frequently had the option of
bypassing enemies. This type of gameplay also carried over to the Prime sequels. This shift
broadened people's scope of what a Metroidvania is supposed to be, but defining it still wasn't so
simple.
While many other Metroidvania, or Metroid esque games followed since then, few happened to be
in 3D. This helped to seal conservative minds, that Metroidvania are supposed to be exclusively
defined as 2D platfomers.
While most Metroidvanias continued to be 2D, a few 3D exceptions popped up over time. Not only
that, but some even happened to be released before the Metroid Prime series. One such example is
Exhumed. This is a criminally underexposed and under-appreciated Playstation 1 game, that
actually pioneered a very similar type of gameplay that Metroid Prime became known for, 6 years
later. It featured all the ingredients that made that game what it was, despite having a number of
differences. Unlike MP, Exhumed didn't have a wholly connected world. It was level based, as the
PS1 would have had serious trouble rendering such a world properly at the time. The gameplay had
more of a focus on shooting too, and enemies generally needed to be defeated, rather than bypassed.

While the game was level based, it did still involve backtracking to previous levels to open up new
areas, once the relevant power ups were obtained. Some of these abilities mirrored those in the
traditional 2D Metroidvanias, while others stand as being unique, to this day.
While Exhumed was quite similar to Metroid Prime in its mechanics, while predating it, another
game, by the name of Soul Reaver, was also released during the PS 1's life cycle. This game was
not that similar to MP or Exhumed, but it still has several elements that could quite easily define it
as a Metroidvania. It was a third person 3D game, that featured platforming, as well as power ups
that allow you to go back and progress, in the same way as the other games. There was a focus on
melee combat and puzzle solving also, but those are elements that are easily interchangeable with
different genres anyway.
Several 3D games since then had what could be classed as Metroidvania elements, but few stood
out as true 3D Metroidvania games. They happened to be primarily defined by other features, with
the established Metroidvania mechanics acting as secondary or tertiary features of gameplay.
Batman: Arkham Asylum is a game that could be considered a contentious Metroidvania. It has
upgrade mechanics similar to those in the Metroid games and its share of backtracking. But it's also
a game with a strong focus on melee combat and stealth. Both of which often take precedence over
the Metroid mechanics. So defining it is more difficult. Other games that feature Metroidvania
mechanics but also place heavy importance on other styles of gameplay, are the Tomb Raider reboot
and Alien Isolation. Both those games have you backtracking with newly discovered abilities, and
Tomb Raider has platforming, but Alien Isolation is primarily a horror game based around stealth
mechanics, where as Tomb Raider has a rather heavy focus on shooting. The Metroidvania aspect
still stands out though. There are other games that also feature them, but they are even more
marginalised, such as Bioshock, Dead Space and System Shock 2. They have far too little
importance in those games to be classed as such.
While platforming has been established being part of a lot of Metroidvania, it seems somewhat
small minded and unproductive to state that it needs to be a requirement in defining the genre, just
as much as its perspective. Several games even feature automated platforming, which opens up
another can of worms in defining what true platforming is. One thing that has stayed constant
throughout all the aforementioned games, is the power ups and backtracking. A Metroidvania game
needs to feature both, right? It's not quite that simple either. This is where the true ambiguity arises.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a key game in defining what Metroidvania is, didn't just have
power ups to open up previously inaccessible areas, and backtracking, it also had RPG elements.
You could level up your character and this levelling up allowed you to dispatch enemies in an easier
manner than you previously could. It had nothing to do with your navigation through the
environment, but it was an important part of the game nevertheless. The game is also renown for the
large castle itself, with its intricate design, that you explore at your own pace.
With all this taken into account, it's now time to focus on a different game. That game is Dark
Souls. Dark Souls doesn't feature the power up system that's established as being a key component
of Metroidvania. What it does have however, is a rich, sprawling, intricate and diverse world that
shames all Metroidvania that preceded it, including the lush, vibrant world that is Tallon IV of
Metroid Prime. Not only this, but your progression through its world, is very similar, and the game
happens to feature RPG mechanics in the same vein as Symphony of the Night, except they are
more tied into your progression in Dark Souls. You are thrown into a vast world, and left to figure
out where to go yourself, while not being given much exposition on anything. It appears there are
many paths open to you, right from the offset, but realistically, there isn't. There are super hard
enemies that you will come across very early on, and while it's possible to beat them, they are much
better off avoided until later, when you are stronger and more capable of tackling them. While it

may seem that you are absolutely forced to ignore the seemingly inaccessible areas in Metroid and
Castlevania, it is still possible to progress through them straight away, due to a little thing called
'sequence breaking'. It's not something that's recommended for first time players, but the
opportunity is still there for those who want to avail of it. It's quite comparable to your progression
in Dark Souls.
While collecting actual keys, is traditionally not the way in which progression in Metroidvania
occurs, the manner and frequency at with you get them to progress, in Dark Souls is similar to how
a game like Metroid Prime paces itself regarding the acquisition of power ups. You even get a lot of
them from beating bosses, as you get most keys from beating bosses in DS, before you backtrack to
a completely different part of the game's world, to explore the new area.
While vast, initially daunting worlds do not feature in all Metroidvania, they do feature in what are
arguably the two best 2D iterations Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. Metroid Fusion
and Metroid Prime 3 are largely linear and feature much more exposition than the titans of the
genre, yet they are still classed as Metroidvania. Isn't it only fair that a game which lacks one
established key element of what defines them, but has what arguably encapsulates the best entries in
the genre have, should fulfil enough criteria to be called a Metroidvania? I think so.
Regarding the power ups themselves; just what constitutes such abilities? In many cases they
simply act as glorified keys. In much of Metroid, you shoot colour coded doors with the relevant
beams to open them. This is not too dissimilar to unlocking doors in a game with traditional
exploration. A recent game on the iPad, called Republique, your progression is often based around
technology. You don't open doors with keys or keycards. You unlock clearance levels by hacking
into systems. This allows you to progress through areas you previously couldn't. Sometimes after
you do acquire the upgrades, you engage with a puzzle or challenge, before you complete the areas,
which could be likened to your progression with specific power ups in previously mentioned games.
So, that's my thoughts on Metroidvania, and what constitutes it. The prevalence of all the mentioned
components, and how they coalesce are what defines whether the game is Metroidvania,
Metroidvania esque, or not Metroidvania at all. There may still be some ambiguity, but that can
apply to other genres too.