I was born in 1995, a time when the bit wars were over and arcade cabs were on the decline in favour of the video games you didn't have to lave your house for. But at 5 years I didn't know about any of that, all I knew was that my Aunt and her Boyfriend had a PS1 and it was. Awesome

At the time me and my brother woudl literally just tap that X and keep the rockets flying, while the adults in the room moved us.

This was my earliest memory of gaming. But I don't just rate it for nostalgia. I've plaued the game since those sweet memories over two decades ago and this still feels like one of the best way to experience thsi timeless classic. Sure I never played on a cab on a lazy Sunday afternoon in a neon-lit 1980s arcade. But until time travel truly is a thing. This is it.

Eventually that very same Playstation became mine and as I sit looking at a PS5 with SSD, lightning fast load times and graphics that look like they are taken straight from real life; we've come a long way. I wasn't there right at the start, but as is the case with many of you there's a love and passion for this hobby.

But it all starts somewhere.

I really hated this expansion at first due to the survival mode. It's really hard and found it frustrating. I'm a trophy hunter though so a friend and I kept trying to the point we were addicted once we learned the best equipment, combos etc. It forced us to try weapons and items we never bothered before finding some of them amazing. By the time we stopped playing we could make runs to level 15 - 17 without issue.

It's a hard one to recommend though as I can see how people could bounce off it but we had a great time with it after a rough start.

This dlc adds Survival mode (An endless roguelike), New bosses and their respective weapons/mods on kill, and finally armor skins.

Survival mode is great to try out builds, weapons and it's genuinely fun, but it is also the main way to farm for Glowing Shards which are used to buy armor skins. You need a total of 550 shards to buy them all and you get like 10 per boss. You need to buy them if you want to get all the achievements so be prepared to listen to podcasts or watch video essays on the background because you're gonna spend a lot of time in this one. If you need some help, my favorite build is mod generation summoner.

The new bosses, mods and weapons and incredibly good and unique to the point they make the base game stuff feel boring in comparison.

The expanded Corsus Adventure mode is honestly really great, as it was an area that was quite lacking in the base game.

Overall a recommended dlc but dear god the grind for all the armor skins is quite a lot

I decided to finally try finishing this game after watching Stephen Georg stream it. I knew about all the game's issues going in and, in spite of all its flaws, I surprisingly enjoyed this game? In fact, it might be one of my favorite NES titles I've completed so far?

Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of annoying things about the game. The level design can be very frustrating as several rooms are essentially just copy-and-pastes of each other, so it's easy to get lost even if you are trying to map out the game yourself. The platforming can also be tiresome, largely thanks to the controls of this game. There's also this silly thing that happens sometimes where an enemy will collide with you the moment you enter a new room, so you are unable to dodge it and have no other choice but to take damage.

However, the overall premise of the game is phenomenal, and an excellent entry to the Metroid series. Metroid (or NEStroid, as its fans like to call it) truly captures an age of video games where they were extremely demanding, but the pay-off was well worth it. I'd even argue that the gradual progression into the game already feels rewarding enough: unlocking certain power-ups and finally being able to go through the maps with ease made the game so much more fun to play.

There's also the exploration aspect of the game. I initially found the idea of playing the game blind and creating your own map to be very absurd and tedious, but I decided to try it after getting to the second level and actually enjoyed it. I do think it's still helpful to consult a walkthrough on your first playthrough (I personally really liked Gravel Studios') as it can be a lifesaver when you're stuck, but I would advise doing so as a companion to making your own map. It truly adds to the game's immersion to try mapping out the game yourself: I felt like Samus Aran, venturing into the far reaches of Planet Zebes alone on a dire mission to defeat the Mother Brain.

There are a multitude of other things justifying why I enjoy this game so much: the timeless soundtrack that continues to be one of Nintendo's best, the environmental storytelling that makes you eager to learn more about the world of Metroid, Samus as a character and why she is one of the most important video game characters ever created, but I would be here all day if I had to explain them. But Metroid is arguably my favorite NES entry to a Nintendo franchise (dare I say I prefer it to the original Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. games). It's by no means perfect - but ironically, these imperfections, along with the game's own strengths, make it a very unforgettable and beloved game for me.

While Swamp of Corsus is a "sure, why not" dlc, I feel like Subject 2923 is a must have DLC.
Remnant's story is told quite vaguely but not in a cool dark souls way, but rather in a poorly presented way. This dlc adds a new area with quite a bit of actual story that has a huge impact towards us and the universe, serving as an epilogue rather than just logs talking about some dude that got crazy and I really am thankful for that.

The DLC features 2 world bosses and 4 dungeon bosses.
The 4 dungeon bosses are quite good but they can very easily kill your survival run if you have Swamp of Corsus.
The world bosses are quite interesting and fun, although the final boss is a bit buggy if you try to interact with things too fast.
The items, armors and weapons this dlc adds are also really fun and I've added a few of them in my arsenal.

I expected little from this dlc but I came very surprised. Beated it in 7 hours with my girlfriend and we're both more than satisfied with the DLC.

It's fantastic but too hard and mostly for things that require insane routing of not just level layouts, but unpredictable physics-based environmental hazards - which is still 100% more learnable than the average gradius game because you RESPAWN WITH OPTIONS INTACT but still makes this a mind-numbing and cruel torture once you get to the back half of the levels. Treasure outdid their Konami associates but I'm starting to think their panache for genre-defying gimmicks is ill-fitting for the strictness that shmup design requires.