Track of the Week: Brinstar Theme (Metroid Prime Pinball)

This issue is all about spin-off games, and you know what spins? Morph balls. Yes, this week’s track of the week comes from the only spin-off the Metroid series has ever had, Metroid Prime Pinball for Nintendo DS. Metroid was never the type of franchise to ever warrant a pinball game, but 2005 was a different time. Samus was definitely coming into her prime in the middle of the last decade, so to speak, with an astounding 7 games from the years of 2002-2007. Seems like a distant dream now. Every Nintendo star needs a spin-off game, and Metroid Prime Pinball had to be the one. While the game was neither necessary nor anticipated, it ended up being better than it had any right to be. It’s probably up there with the best pinball games of our time. Plus, it came with a DS Rumble Pak– a woefully underused novelty.

But right, this is Track of the Week. I present to you all the rendition of the famous Brinstar Theme that plays on the pinball version of the Space Pirate Frigate. This classic melody has been remixed in nearly every Metroid game to date, but the rock flair given to it by MP Pinball makes it one of the best. You might also recognize that this theme was reused in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In that version, it was remixed to include the old 8-bit tune and a narrator called out a battle cry at the beginning. “Samus is under fire! She’s sent an emergency directive! Join the fight!” Brawl also had another Metroid anthem with an added narrator– the Metroid Prime title theme. Why do I bring this up? Because the word “Zebes” was pronounced out loud, proving once and for all that the planet is spoken like “Zebiss” and not “Zeebs,” as I thought for the longest time.