Extremely ambitious and (for the most part) well-executed. It's all been thoroughly written about, so I'll just say - exploring and battling was thrilling and always made me want to see what was next.

There's tons of valid, thoughtful criticism out there on this game. But for any game receiving lots or praise, there's an interesting phenomenon where the intensity of the contrarian reviews and ratings escalate in proportion with the hype. The extreme ones range from 'reaching' to 'facepalm-inducing', which makes them fun to read. My favorites:
-"BG3 is different than tabletop DnD" - sure, TTrpgs have infinite possibilities and nuance and BG3's are finite and sometimes more "on tracks" than they appear. But this applies to all Crpgs, so...valid, but not helpful for folks who like video games
-"I save-scummed and trivialized the probability mechanics that the entire game is based on" - Yeah, that does sound awful.
-"I killed everybody and I'm sad now" - Alas, if you play totally straight with no reloads, you'll certainly get into some fights you don't mean to. But murdering constantly by accident doesn't seem plausible (although it does seem hilarious).
-"The choices for relationships and romance are part of a perverted agenda by the developers" - I don't know what to say. Except that this is definitely true and after playing I can only be aroused by demonspawn-on-gnome porn.

-The gear system, plus all the items and upgrades, are excellent in-game difficulty sliders. My approach was to abstain from the gear system as much as possible - only using it if I began to grind my teeth and curse at the screen. In most cases, the tricky stuff like torch man's stage or the Orange Demon felt like combat puzzles that weren't overwhelming once I "solved" them with strategy. I sometimes used it for a few attempts, but then died and tried it raw. In some cases, like Wily 1 or some of the bosses, I did use the gear every time and never looked back. Plenty of challenge - I never felt cheated out of the full Mega Man experience. Plus, there's always trophy hunting if you wanna raise your blood pressure more.
-The MM8 style boss encounters and cornball taunts are just chef kissing fingers gesture.
-Almost everything in Bounce Man's stage is made of rubber (including most of Bounce Man), EXCEPT FOR the balloons, which are made of metal. And the float.
-Hey so anyone find young Dr. Wily sexy? Hah, yeah...me neither...

In Kakariko village, there's an elderly gentleman who punishes you for treading on his property by forcing you to listen to tedious schpiel. So the developers understand that dull, pointless interruptions are the opposite of fun. Why, then, are they punishing me every time I FIND, ENTER, and COMPLETE a shrine? Every time I get a stat upgrade? Talk to a stable proprietor? Activate a lightroot? Complete any phase of a labyrinth or temple? Find or use a skyview tower? It's a good game, but Jeez Luise! This coulda been a 4, easy.

My friend Eric bet me that he could beat me in the clay pigeons mode. He kept cheating and getting closer to the screen but when I called him on it he was like "No, I'm just aiming, I'm just aiming!" and I was like, I'm not an idiot, Eric, you're not fooling anyone. So I started doing the same thing, but then he told his Mom that I was the one cheating! And then Eric's Mom said Eric can put the Zapper closer because he has longer arms, it's like a basketball player being taller than other players. So we played with Eric cheating and I won anyways and he kept saying stuff like "well I'd rather lose Duck Hunt than not have a Dad" and "I bet you just play Duck Hunt your whole life, that's why you have no Dad" and I'm confused because my Dad's at home and he's fine. Eric's current relationship status is Divorced.

"Hey cool a new Punch-out game. It's 2009, I wonder if they dialed back the stereotypes"

Mac Uppercuts a french boxer, croissants explode out of him

"Oh"

I'd give this game a 4 for each individual aspect (platforming, exploration, combat) but the integration and packaging of the content are so good, it's slightly better that the sum of its parts. Most of the combat and traversal abilities feel useful, and many evoke that Super Metroid-y, gleeful feeling that you'll finally be able to access that new area, grab that item, or beat that boss. The end-game challenges, reminiscent of Wiley's fortress and boss rushes after Megaman has fully self-actualized, were the highlight. Boss rushes in particular were fun to dissect and master. I found uses for some charms I had written off as "not my style" to counter some of the unconventional boss mechanics. My only gripes:
-The repeated backtracking. I get it - a fast-travel mechanic that's too liberal can erase the environment, but this was excessive.
-Some of the charms seemed worthless, even after strategizing for boss, combat, and platforming rushes.
-In the name of decency and civility, make geo-sucking ability automatic.

This ost is a hidden gem and some of David Wise's best work. The highlight is the title track with its heavy stoner rock vibes and satisfying dynamics. The level themes channel classic rock, and the "game over" theme weaves major and minor 7ths into a bittersweet nostalgic number. Wise was one of the few NES composers who effectively used the triangle synth channel for an instrument other than bass. The harmonized leads with two disparate voices (square and triangle) was unique, and the fuzzy square bass was warm and heavy.

The game itself was stinky bucket of chum.

A breakthrough for gaming, unforgettable if you played it in the 80s, and loads of fun even today. There are a bunch of detailed reviews already, so here are some odd similarities with Dark Souls:

1. It's notorious for being tough, but compared to other games its difficulty is only moderately high (this isn't a flex, they're both very difficult for me! But there are much tougher games out there).
2. Much of the difficulty is easily overcome with knowledge plus simple strategies. An example (aside from boss weaknesses) is a tricky platforming section in Heat Man's stage can be skipped with item 2 (I'm convinced every kid did this in 1989 and felt like a genius). It's an obvious strat once you know item 2 exists, but if it's your first playthrough you probably won't. Similarly, knowledge of the rusted iron ring in Dark Souls eases the pain in Blighttown and Sen's fortress, but it's easily miss-able.
3. Metal blade = magic build.
4. Several late-game segments seem rushed and unfinished (Wily 4, Tomb of Giants).
5. There's even a cheap puzzle boss in each game (Boobeam trap, Bed of Chaos). Granted, Bed of Chaos is more frustrating, but arriving at the Boobeam trap without full Crash Bombs only to discover I'm doomed would certainly make me sling a few fuck-words.
6. The final boss is kind of a pushover.
7. Both games launched their series' to legendary status.