Genuinely a pretty incredible portable-ization of the Metroid formula. It never crossed my mind that this game would feel so linear and mission based, but the story really pulls everything together in a super interesting way, which is something I haven't been able to say about a Metroid game really. Sure, the atmosphere and aesthetics are usually on full blast with this series, but this really brings the entire thing to a full on space epic, with character motivations, backstories, and plot. Plot! In a tiny GBA cartridge meant to be played on a handheld without a fucking backlight! The game is also just gorgeous. Nintendo did their absolute damnest to make the colors and art direction of each area pop, and feel unique. The conceit that this entire station was a galactic nature preserve is such a fascinating concept, and the infestation of the X parasites leads to some genuinely incredible and horrifying enemy design. It's also the snappiest set of controls the series has had yet. Something as simple as grabbing onto ledges became instantly gamechanging, with traversal and discovery finding new avenues and still feeling fresh after 4 games. The upgrades themselves feel much more organic with their depiction in this game, and pacing of upgrades is especially excellent. Previous games felt a little bit like each weapon or method of movement was put on full blast before moving to the next, at least if you always sought out the items at your earliest convenience, which I would always do. Oddly enough, having less player freedom (which I usually advocate against), completely turns this system on its head.

Is it better than the series bastion of creative inspiration and quality, Super Metroid? No, probably not. That game still has the absolute best all around presentation of this formula, which is rare for an entry that basically cements the formula itself. The fact that it was Nintendo's first real go with all of these ideas, and the fact that it ended up being the crown jewel of the Super Nintendo puts it pretty solidly above Fusion for me. Fusion is still a triumphant effort though, and one I definitely see myself returning to.

Maybe my favorite game of this entire generation. I was a little too young to see a lot of the flaws that this game very proudly wears on its sleeve upon my initial playthrough, but its been a few years, and my love for this game is still so, so strong. Something that sprung out at my that I wasn't really expecting was that Zebes still felt so familiar to me. These areas are immaculately constructed to balance that need for fun gameplay and a need to feel immersed in an alien world. The shattered nature of the map in comparison to the original is so striking. Some areas bend and twist into each other, while some have these simple, yet still interconnected maps that shoot you back out just where you forgot you might've needed to go. The creature design is also on another level. Nintendo has always hit that shit out of the park, but this is truly an A+ job on that front alone. One off helpful creatures like the Shinespark bird and the Walljump things are obvious standouts, but even the robot that completely organically destroys part of the level to help lead you to a collectible, and the turtle with its babies still stick out perfectly in my mind. Ridley and Kraid went from Kindergartener sketch to full fledged pulpy space monsters, and the Mother-Brain encounter with the return of the baby Metroid is one of the greatest pieces of wordless storytelling in any video game. This is a piece of media that just perfectly understands environmental storytelling, and I love that so much. The waterlogged pirate ship makes for an awesome setpiece, and their unrelenting search for Samus and the Metroid makes the mission seem all the more palpable and important. I touched on this earlier, but the fact that this map loops back into itself in so many legitimately helpful ways was groundbreaking. The original felt like a lot of areas with nearly identical aesthetics and art direction, just filtered through one of those boxes of four crayons you'd get in preschool. The power of the SNES gave Nintendo the ability to go hog-wild with different feels for each of the areas, with everything brought together by that familiar metallic sheen of the Chozo, omnipresent and inescapable.

I feel as if I'm kind of beginning to rant about why this game is so spectacular, and you've probably heard it all before anyway. Play the damn thing.

An incredible amount of promise and creativity crammed into a such a janky and poorly aged cartridge. Hundreds of tiny elements would be tweaked with the next home console entry, like aiming, enemy placement, environment, and especially the music. The tracks here are super barren, which suits the setting, but I can't imagine hearing those same droning blorps and whooshes over and over in the eighties. Despite the limited avenues for creative expression, Zebes still feels like a solid take on a subterranean alien world. It's literally bursting at the seams with enemies, which is incredibly annoying for gameplay, but makes sense within the world the game creates. It's with all of that praise in mind that I say that this game is still pretty bullshit from front to back. Incessant backtracking through identical corridors and seemingly endless vertical rooms. Copy pasted enemy placement, moronic decisions like making multiple Ice Beam locations, and the final fight, which, even by bullshit NES standards, is stunningly unfair, and just not satisfying.

Metroid is a game that wants to feel alive, like the cartridge itself is teaming with extraterrestrial creepy crawlies, just waiting to be blown away in that and sick gaming system. That illusion would have to wait though. 8 years to be specific.

Overly long and painfully repetitive. Everything up until Ravenholm is pretty fun, and the second to last chapter is pretty enjoyable, but this rest is your standard garbage, boring, silent protagonist FPS. The only really exceptional thing about it is the art direction and worldbuilding which are on another level if I'm being honest. Maybe if the game wasn't confusing and terrible on a technical level I might enjoy moving through this place. The age on everything just shows so much that it's hard to take seriously.

At this point I think Valve has made a single great game and everything else has been severely disappointing.

I've noticed with some of my favorite pieces of media, I initially dip my toe into the franchise or property and end up disliking it, and only when returning months later do I end up loving it. That happened here to a shocking degree. I initially thought I needed a shield to play this game because I was a pussy wanting to hide from the enemy attacks rather than just dodging and hitting, the basis of all Souls-likes. I think even with a shield (and apparently they do exist in the game), the combat would be unchanged. The way these attacks ebb and flow aren't based around finding opportunities to hit the enemy, but rather creating the opportunity yourself. That's what makes this game tick. The story is pretty vacant like all of these games, but that's what VaatiVidya exists for. I know I might be the only person on the planet that thinks this, but Bloodborne is a good-ass game.

A game that acts as foundation for something bigger and better found in Persona 5, but this game still knocks it out of the ballpark in nearly every aspect. The soundtrack is probably the greatest ever in a video game hands down. The characters and setting feel extremely legitimate given the nature of the game at hand. The game has such an intense feeling of sonder, and yes I did spell that correctly. The only real blemish is that it goes on about two dungeons too long. You should never want a game you're enjoying to be over, but I felt a wave of "thank fucking christ" when I saw those credits roll. I know I have more to say about this game, but I have neither the time nor capacity to write something that huge and conclusive right now, so I might revisit this topic in the future.

For now I'll give it a decently low 10/10.