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

The original Metroid and Castlevania both turn 40 years old this fall. As the two series most responsible for creating the “metroidvania,” we’re taking this occasion to take a comprehensive view of the popular genre. This is Metroidvania Week. 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. Castlevania: 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. And Hollow Knight: 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. There were no other games released in 1994 that could join forces with Super Metroid; nothing to help Symphony of the Night make like its famous castle and turn the gaming world upside down. When metroidvanias had a moment in 2002, it was entirely driven by…