Metroid Prime 3: Corruption just released for Nintendo Wii, and that birthed inside me a craving to once again play through one of my favorite games.

I just got done beating Metroid 1 on NES (Using my DS, I unlocked it on Metroid: Zero Mission) and I beat it in under an hour. Netting me the special "Samus in a bathing suit" ending.

Before I get to the main point of my editorial, let me gush a bit.

Metroid is such a great game. It is so well designed that it still impresses me to this day. The game is fun, totally challenging, and just nails the otherworldly atmosphere so well, which is incredible given the 8-bit hardware. And it still surprises me how difficult the original Metroid is.

It's crazy because I am a veteran Metroid player. I know where all the stuff is located . . . well pretty much, although sometimes I vaguely forget or get places mixed up, and so I have to play through it again to refresh my memory. And even then I still manage to get lost. I always have trouble remembering exactly where certain power-ups or Missile Expansions are located, no matter how many times I've beaten this game. And each time I always require a bit of experimentation, blowing up certain blocks, checking certain walls and floors, before it all comes back to me.

Metroid really taxes your brain. Because you have to take note of what direction you are heading in and which doors you have or have not entered, at all times. If you don't it is really easy to get lost. I know the basic layout of Zebes, but once I get into the green colored section of Brinstar (where you find the Screw Attack) or Ridley's Hideout, I can get lost pretty easily; even when I am keeping track of my location and I know the general layout pretty well.

It's just incredible how well designed the game is. The world is huge, and you really gotta know what you're doing if you are to get the best ending. It holds up super well, even in the year 2007.

Now to my main point. Beating Metroid with the best ending got me to thinking, gameplay . . . is like an art form. Yes I'm serious. Think about what it takes: the skill involved, how much the mind is processing inside the head of the player playing, and how smooth it is if you are an expert. Obviously you can't apply this to every game out there. But it does apply to many games I can think of, and right now Metroid is my example.

My brother was watching me play, and he remarked that all he sees is doors, blocks (I think he meant to say "platforms") and enemies. He has no idea where I'm going or what I'm doing.

But in MY head, I'm planning it all out. I'm rushing against the clock (cause I want to get the best ending), and therefore my every move is calculated. And I curse myself every time I mess up and do something that wastes those precious minutes. To the untrained eye, I'm just jumping from platform to platform and shooting stuff. But inside my brain, I've already got the next hour or so planned out, and I know exactly where I'm going and why I'm retrieving that specific item at that specific time.

It's like a dance . . . Those that know what they are doing will make all the right steps and if done right, it will be smooth and pleasing to watch. But if done wrong, if mistakes are made, then the dancer stumbles, and the dance looks a bit uglier, especially to those trained in this art form.

When Samus hits that enemy or falls into that pit and has trouble getting back onto the platform again, those who are "in the know" will cringe. Because they know that it's basically an hour of that player's life "wasted" if he doesn't in fact get the best "under an hour" ending he is striving for. But of course, if he fails, he'll simply try again, until he perfects it. And each time he does, he'll get better and better at it. Each time going faster and making fewer mistakes.

And that, my friends, is the beauty of video games. From Metroid to Halo, games are like an elaborate, complex dance in the hands of the right players.

Note: I am not just talking about speed runs in the above. I wasn't attempting a speed run, but simply attempting to get the best ending in Metroid 1, which requires you to beat the game in under an hour. Incredibly difficult for all but the best players. But no problem for speed runners I imagine.