Awhile ago, Hugo Bille at Gamasutra wrote an in-depth analysis of the level design of Super Metroid, particularly how it runs on certain player tics from the first game, expects you to probably have witnessed certain things without necessarily depending upon it, and even subconsciously leads the player to what to do next.
http://gamasutra.com/blogs/HugoBille...er_Metroid.php
This is an invaluable read to game designers.