Play Super Metroid Zebes Returns Online

Super Metroid Zebes Returns is one of those fan-made games that actually gets it right—it feels like stumbling onto a lost SNES cartridge that somehow slipped through the cracks back in '94. The moment you drop into Zebes again, that eerie hum of the planet wraps around you, and suddenly you're back in that tense, lonely headspace where every new corridor could hide a missile upgrade or a lurking nightmare.

The controls are spot-on, just like the original, but with little tweaks that make wall-jumping feel less finicky (thank god). And the new areas? They fit so naturally you’ll forget they weren’t always there. I got stuck for way too long in some crumbling ruins before realizing the floor wasn’t just decorative—classic Metroid troll logic.

If you’ve played Super Metroid to death, this is the closest thing to reliving that first playthrough. Even the music cues hit the same way, right down to that little adrenaline spike when you barely escape a boss room with 5 energy left. It’s the kind of love letter that makes you want to call in sick and marathon it in one sitting.