It's been thirty-five years since Nintendo released the original Metroid, and since then the franchise has gone to sport sequels, interquels, remakes, and spin-offs.  That's a lot of territory for what essentially boils down to four (soon to be five) games that make up the central plot of the series.  On this week's podcast, we're celebrating Metroid's big anniversary with a look back at the games, how they fit together, which ones we played over the years, and what's coming up next.  Join us for an hour of discussion. Download this week's episode directly from PTB, listen with the player below, find us on Stitcher, subscribe via iTunes, Amazon Music Podcasts, and Google Podcasts, toss this RSS feed into your podcast aggregation software of choice, and be sure to catch up on past episodes if you're joining us late. Remember that you can reach us via , you can leave a message on the Power Button hotline by calling (720) 722-2781, and you can even follow us on Twitter at @PressTheButtons and @GrundyTheMan, or for just podcast updates, @ThePowerButton. We also have a tip jar if you'd like to kick a dollar or two of support our way. 

While Nintendo's Metroid series has taken several years-long breaks over the years while other franchises like Super Mario appear annually in some form, the heroic Samus Aran has popped up in other places where you wouldn't really expect her while her own series is on hiatus.  From puzzle games to racing games to pinball games, she's turned up to give players a smile.  The Metroid Database has chronicled these cameos from 1987-2016 across multiple consoles and even into some third-party games where she and her enemies really shouldn't belong without permission.  Most fans remember her playable appearance in Galactic Pinball for the Virtual Boy, but my favorite cameo has to be Super Mario RPG.  Backtrack to the Mushroom Kingdom at a specific point in the story and you'll find Samus in bed at the castle where she says she's resting up for Mother Brain.  She's gone soon after.  Wherever she went this time, I hope she was successful.