Metal Storm (video game)

Metal Storm is an action-platform video game developed by Tamtex and published by Irem for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Irem released it in North America in February 1991 and in Japan on April 24, 1992. The game is defined by its central mechanic of the player's ability to reverse gravity at will, upon which all of its levels and challenges are built.

Its release garnered positive reviews and significant promotional support, including a cover feature in Nintendo Power. However, it was a commercial failure, largely attributed to its release at the end of the NES's lifecycle, as the market shifted to highly-anticipated 16-bit consoles like the Super Nintendo Entertainment System launching later that year.

In the years following its release, Metal Storm was critically reappraised through multiple eras of acclaim. It was first championed as an "unsung hero" by publications in the early 1990s and was later rediscovered by Internet-era retro gaming communities. Critics have consistently praised its innovative gameplay and technical feats that push the NES's limits, such as simulation of parallax scrolling. In 2019, its official re-release made the definitive Japanese version of the game widely available for the first time.