My opinion on this game did probably the biggest 180. At first, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the more on-rails approach this game has become notorious for. However, in hindsight, while Metroid Fusion's formatting takes it out of the running imo for the best metroidvania or the best Metroid, the way that this game subverts the established formula to fit the story/atmosphere is very well executed. The game is overall really solid and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Here's some random gripes though:
- I had to consult a map every now and then because the routes you are expected to take to your objective can be painfully obtuse. While it can be argued that you are expected to take notice of your surroundings already, it is a principle of good design to make the way progess to be clear and intuitive, and Fusion has a handful of times where it fails to meet that principle.
- This game tends to discourage non-story-related backtracking, which is fine in concept, but it is also frustrating when the game relatively often locks you out of areas temporarily. Have fun waiting until the last minute to get every upgrade, just to learn that 90% of the game is locked away permanently (still a tad upset).
- Fusion's bosses aren't that good. Either they are pathetically easy, or they are kinda bullshit. I want to focus on the latter, because that it a bold take. A lot of Fusion's harder bosses felt like a mix of two issues, speed and an overabundance of active hitboxes. Samus is not super nimble, and she can't avoid enemies on a dime. However, bosses like Serris and SA-X move just fast enough that they make dodging feel proactive instead of reactive. It feels like bosses like these were designed for a game with a faster character. When it comes to an overabundance of active hitboxes, it comes down to bosses taking up an obscene amount of the screen, like Nettori, Nightmare, and the Omega Metroid. With Nettori in particular, it is excruciating to get through that fight without taking a truckload of damage. When ~70%-80% of the screen hurts you, it makes for some annoying-ass encounters.

I did it , I finally completed xc3 ! a delay spanned over 3 months cause i had my college to attend to , and yuzu broke down multiple times ( at some point even straight up glitched so bad i was thinking of dropping this ) but amidst all that here we are ! What a ride it has been , I was sold to this game by around chapter 1 , not completely but it sucked me in. I loved the plot , and the overall theme they were going for ( forgot to mention but no major game breaking spoilers in this review ) it kinda resonated with me , cause i am right now going through something similar. loved the cast , i think there arent any bad or bland characters had such but like some were quite generic , and while i do have some qualms over how the bond episodes kinda get flat ignored while talking about the main story or how the final dungeon kinda sucked it was overall a pleasant experience. I'm glad i got to play this and experience this. Might not be my favorite xenoblade title , but it has certainly awaken some appreciation for the other titles which i did drop but i'm planning to go back and pick em up. Not now , ofcourse and i wont be planning to play the dlc as of now , i want to go through the other titles first for the optimal experience. nonetheless a solid game , which most jrpg fans can get behind and ofcourse monolithsoft fans too. 8/10 from my side its been fun. special thanks to @JB for recommending this to me.

Attempting to play this again was realizing how despite an increase in scope and new gameplay mechanics, this game has some of the most ungodly frustrating dungeon design I have ever witnessed. They are massive, nondescript labyrinths that are absolute slogs to traverse. Ys 1 may have had god awful bosses, but at least its three dungeons were competently designed. You NEED GameFAQ's open for this game, which is something I happily don't have to say for Ys 1 (outside of maybe two or three instances). While there is still a decent game buried underneath all the bullshit this game throws at you., all that bullshit makes for some very heavy detractors from the game's overall experience.