Metroid

Metroid dropped bounty hunter Samus Aran onto Planet Zebes in 1986 with a structure almost nothing else on NES was doing — a sprawling, interconnected map with no level select and no clear direction, just corridors, hidden Morph Ball tunnels, and item pickups that quietly unlock entire new regions once found. It's the game that gave the "Metroidvania" genre half its name, decades before anyone called it that.

The reveal that Samus is a woman under the Power Suit — visible only if you beat the game fast enough to earn one of the better endings — was a genuine surprise in 1986 and became one of gaming's most referenced twists. Getting there means surviving Norfair's lava corridors, Kraid's and Ridley's boss lairs, and a final confrontation with Mother Brain, all without a map screen to lean on.

This page hosts the verified Metroid ROM, built for Delta Emulator's NES core on iPhone — load it directly with no BIOS file or extra setup required.