The Metroidvania Is Decades Old, But One Year In Particular Is The Undisputed King

The useful part

As the two series most responsible for creating the "metroidvania," we're taking this occasion to take a comprehensive view of the popular genre. Metroidvanias have been around for decades, with numerous high points over those years. Super Metroid–which set the template for the beloved (and much-iterated-upon) formula–hit the SNES in 1994.

How it works

• Symphony of the Night–which established a bold, non-linear direction for the series and helped pioneer the genre–followed in 1997.
• Metroid Prime–which proved this kind of game could work in 3D–touched down on the GameCube in 2002.
• Silksong–which put metroidvanias at the center of gaming culture for one of the only times in their history–hit in late 2025.
• Though all of those titles have been and will be beacons for developers who came after, they were lonely lights.
• When metroidvanias had a moment in 2002, it was entirely driven by the Metroid series itself, as the GBA title Metroid Fusion launched the same day as Prime.

Details worth keeping

The original Metroid and Castlevania both turn 40 years old this fall.