You don't send a man to do a woman's job... - Metroid. Games with the most shocking endings

In 2007, Game Informer called the ending of the original Metroid the most surprising plot twist in the history of video games. UGO.com, in turn, described it as the largest "jaw drop" of digital entertainment. There were also statements such as "the most important moment in Nintendo's history," "a refreshing experience and the top 3 biggest tough guys in video games". Considering that were talking about a Nintendo from mid 80s, most of you would probably ask: "What's the big deal?"

Metroid is a rather typical scrolling platform shooter. We jump, shoot, defeat cosmic pirates as a galactic, exoskeleton-clad bounty hunter with a whole lot of deadly weapons. There were plenty of such games, even Metroid itself has seen countless installments and remakes - so where is the shocking twist? After we accomplished some actions during the game, Metroid displayed a primitive cut-scenes, i.e. a low-pixel animation as the ending. The hero of the game revealed their true face at that time and it turned out that the armoured bounty hunter is a long-hair redhead girl in a bikini – Samus Aran.

It was a shock all across the board. In the times of movies such as Rambo, Commando or Missing in Action, it suddenly turned out that the space tough guy is a woman. The developers later confessed that they were inspired by the character of Ripley from Alien, played by Sigourney Weaver and actress Kim Basinger from the erotic thriller 9 1/2 weeks and the comedy My Stepmother is an Alien. For many, Samus Aran has become one of the most iconic heroines of video games.