Sizing Things Up

The first thing we have to assess is the screen size differences. So let's take a look at the working areas of both M1 (NES Metroid) and M3 (Super Metroid) respectively.

We can notice from this image that the screen is 16x15 tiles. If each tile is 16x16, then we end up with 256x240. Our total pixel area ends up being 61,440.

Ok then, let's look into Super Metroid. I chose that screen because there is an existing analogue in the game that we can just work with without any modifications.

This image shows something a bit different. While the X axis is still at 16 tiles, the Y axis is actually at 12. This would be a bit surprising if this was all you saw but in Super Metroid (M3), the energy and map has its own section instead of being overlaid. I bet you never would have guessed that while you were playing Super Metroid, you were actually playing on a smaller screen than the NES Metroid.

Going back to the dimensions, if we have a 16x12 screen, we have a 256x192 screen. Our total pixel area is 49,152.

If M1's total area was 61,440 and M3's total was 49,152 then we have a difference of 12,288 pixels.

At any rate, this topic does require a revisit because there is so much hinging on the concepts derived from it. We will have to look at the size of Samus in her various forms and then the size of enemies in their various poses against their respective counterparts. As for the tiles themselves, they are all just 16x16 pixel tiles as you would expect.