Metroid

Metroid is a platform shoot em up by Nintendo that was released on their Playchoice 10 machine in 1987.

You play as Samus Aran, a space-traveling bounty hunter who has been assigned by the Galactic Federation to investigate a band of Space Pirates on the planet Zebes. The Space Pirates invaded a deep-space research ship and stole an unknown, yet destructive life-form that can absorb life energy and rapidly multiply. The life-form is codenamed ‘Metroid’.

As Samus you must infiltrate the planet and destroy the Mother Brain controlling the pirates before the Metroid can be used as a weapon. Along the way, Samus can acquire weapons to help her through the cavernous maze, and to defeat all hostile creatures (both pirates, and indigenous) along the way. Much of the game is based on discovery – such as secret passageways, and retracting your path to find areas using new abilities.