Play Metroid: Zero Mission (iQue) (GBA)
Game Introduction
Metroid: Zero Mission is a masterful remake of the original NES Metroid, released in China by iQue. Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she infiltrates the planet Zebes to destroy the Mother Brain and the Space Pirates. This GBA version drastically enhances the original with updated graphics, new items, and an expanded map. It also introduces a brand-new epilogue chapter where Samus, stripped of her Power Suit, must use stealth to infiltrate the Space Pirate Mothership. Combining classic exploration with modern gameplay mechanics from Metroid Fusion, it is considered one of the best action-adventure games on the platform.
Gameplay
Game Overview
Metroid: Zero Mission is Nintendo R&D1's remake of the 1986 NES Metroid, rebuilt on the engine from Metroid Fusion and directed by Yoshio Sakamoto. It released in North America on February 9, 2004. Samus Aran infiltrates the planet Zebes to destroy Mother Brain and the Space Pirates. The skeleton of the original map survives, but every visual was redrawn and new areas, new abilities and a completely new final chapter were added. iQue brought the official Simplified Chinese version to mainland China on June 15, 2005.
Core Gameplay
It runs on the usual ability-gated loop: morph ball, bombs, hi-jump boots, ice beam, wave beam, plasma beam, super missiles, screw attack and speed booster open up the map piece by piece. Bosses run from Kraid and Ridley to Mother Brain, and they hit hard. Beating the game unlocks a new epilogue chapter: with her Power Suit destroyed, Samus is left in the Zero Suit with a small pistol and has to sneak through the Space Pirate Mothership, avoiding patrols rather than fighting them, to reach her ship.
The Official iQue Chinese Release
This is the officially licensed Simplified Chinese edition published by iQue in mainland China, not a fan-made ROM patch. The differences matter: fonts and terminology were standardised by Nintendo's localisation, so menus, navigation room instructions and story text are consistent, properly proofread Chinese; the cartridge, manual and packaging all came through official retail channels. The Game Boy Advance is not region locked, so an iQue cart runs on any GBA or GBA SP. Fan translations vary in quality, disagree on terminology and often ship with machine-translated text and display bugs. For Chinese-speaking players, this is the least painful way to follow Samus's original mission.
Game Tips
- Official Simplified Chinese release published by iQue in mainland China on June 15, 2005
- Standardised terminology and fonts, with menus, navigation room orders and story fully localised
- A full remake of the 1986 NES Metroid with redrawn art plus new areas and abilities
- A Zero Suit stealth epilogue unlocked after the credits, played by evading rather than shooting
- Ability-gated progression: ice beam, wave beam, plasma beam, super missiles, speed booster
- Unlockable port of the original NES Metroid after finishing the game
- The GBA is region free, so the iQue cartridge runs on any GBA or GBA SP
Frequently Asked Questions
The iQue release was translated and published officially, with fonts, terminology and layout checked and standardised, so story text and navigation room orders are consistent, proofread Simplified Chinese on a legitimate retail cartridge. Fan translations patch the ROM, disagree on terminology between groups, and often come with machine-translated text plus overflow or garbled characters.
Eight to ten hours on a first run including the stealth epilogue. Once you know the map, a speedrun drops under an hour, and 100% item collection takes three to four hours.
No. This is a full remake of it: the map skeleton carries over but everything else was rebuilt, and finishing the game unlocks the original NES version for comparison.
Save rooms write directly to the cartridge chip. No passwords, no battery to replace, and nothing is lost when the system is switched off.
Fairly friendly by series standards, with Easy, Normal and Hard options. Navigation is clearer than in the 1986 original, and the real difficulty spikes are the boss fights and the final stealth section.
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