Metal Storm (1991). Play online

Summary

I fell for Metal Storm the moment I discovered its gravity‑flip core – pressing Up and Jump instantly roams the M‑308 Gunner between floor and ceiling, turning every corridor into a spatial puzzle rather than a straight‑line platformer. Six stages split into double acts and a final boss rush keep you juggling laser emitters, crushing blocks and screen‑wrapping tunnels, while the limited Power Beam, Shield and Gravity Fireball force you to master movement over brute force.

The cartridge’s custom mapper unlocked near‑unparalleled parallax scrolling on the NES, giving the backgrounds a surprising depth that still dazzles in 8‑bit form. Massive, fluid sprite work evokes classic mecha anime, and the distinctive “flip” SFX cuts through a score that, while forgettable, never masks the visual brilliance. An Expert Mode re‑imagines the whole run with stripped‑down power‑ups and redesigned enemy patterns, turning the game into a true “Kaizo‑level” challenge.

Released in early ’91, Metal Storm sank commercially amid the shift to the SNES, yet relentless praise from outlets like Nintendo Power and modern retrospectives have crowned it a hidden gem. A limited 2019 re‑issue by Retro‑Bit solidified its cult status, making the original cart a prized collector’s item.

Storyline

Set in the year 2501, humanity has spread across the Solar System.
A defense outpost on Pluto houses a robotic laser cannon designed to shield Earth from alien attacks, but the weapon goes rogue and begins wiping out worlds, most recently targeting Neptune.
Earth’s fleets cannot engage the base’s self‑destruct, so the player pilots the M‑308 Gunner, the most advanced combat mech, to infiltrate Pluto and manually activate the destruction sequence before the cannon can reach Earth.
After battling through the malfunctioning defenses and defeating the final boss, the leaders of Earth bestow immortality on the M‑308 Gunner and assign it the permanent role of safeguarding humanity from any future threats.