Super Metroid

Controls

Samus can run, jump, crouch, and fire a weapon in eight directions, and can wall-jump to reach higher ledges. A notable ability is "walking backwards while firing or charging her weapon" — informally called the "moonwalk," referenced by Nintendo as inspired by the dance move of the same name. Key traversal/combat items acquired over the course of the game include: the Morph Ball (rolling into tight spaces; required to plant Bombs once the Bombs upgrade is found), Spring Ball, Space Jump, the Speed Booster (a high-velocity dash that can break certain barriers), the Grapple Beam (for swinging across gaps), and the X-Ray Scope (reveals hidden items/passages).

Regions

The game's world (planet Zebes) is divided into named regions covered separately in guides: Crateria, Brinstar, Norfair, Wrecked Ship, Maridia, and Tourian, following an intro sequence at the Space Colony Ceres. Because most items in later regions require an ability gained in an earlier region (e.g., needing Bombs or the Speed Booster to reach later item caches), the natural progression order is broadly Crateria → Brinstar → Norfair/Wrecked Ship → Maridia → Tourian, though Super Metroid is explicitly designed to allow considerable non-linear backtracking and early sequence breaks once enough movement items are collected.

Progression / Required Objectives

Four major bosses — Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Ridley — must all be defeated before the path to Mother Brain opens in Tourian. Kraid is fought in Brinstar, Phantoon is the boss of the Wrecked Ship (intended to be cleared before deep exploration of Maridia), Draygon is Maridia's boss, and Ridley is fought in Norfair (Ridley's lair). The game does not strictly enforce the order in which these four bosses are defeated; progression through the interconnected map naturally guides most players toward a particular order, but multiple valid sequences exist.

Bosses

Kraid — Brinstar. Phantoon — Wrecked Ship. Draygon — Maridia. Ridley — Norfair. Mother Brain — Tourian; fought last, after all four other bosses are defeated and the path into Tourian opens.

Completion Path

• Escape the opening Ceres Space Colony sequence (a timed escape after a brief scripted encounter).
• Explore Crateria and Brinstar to acquire the Morph Ball, Bombs, and early beam upgrades, opening paths into Norfair, Wrecked Ship, and Maridia.
• Defeat Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Ridley (in any order the map allows).
• Once all four are down, the route into Tourian opens; defeat Mother Brain to complete the game.
• The game tracks completion time and gives different endings depending on how quickly the game is finished — the best-regarded ending requires finishing in under three hours — and rescuing the friendly creatures Dachora and Etecoons along the way affects which ending variant plays.