While not "good" by today's standards, and far from the very best NES game, I struggle to think of another game for the system which is this ambitious. A case could easily be made that this is the first "open world" game and while the limitations of its hardware hold it back from ever reaching the heights it so confidently reaches for, the effort is so obvious and commendable.

This game also forces me to truly understand the absolutely massive hardware gap between Nintendo's first and second platforms. Playing Super Metroid and seeing the full artistic vision that this game could only hint at, running smoothly with little to no slowdown, is nothing short of miraculous. It makes me yearn for that feeling of a true generation-to-generation hardware leap we really don't get anymore.

A very good game in its own right, though nearly impossible without a guide, which I will shamelessly admit to using at various points.