I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again


NES games are an important part of video game history, without them we wouldn’t have most video games today, so they should be respected.
However, they should be treated more like artifacts in a museum, you should look at them, learn about them and what they inspired, but you shouldn’t play most of them.


Metroid 1 was ambitious for the time it came out in, it’s lead to a great series full of many spectacular games, and a whole ass genre of video games that are still made to this day, however it is very much held back by the technology of the time, the fact that there’s no map also just really hinders the game.


It’s an alright game, archaic, and I would probably recommend playing zero mission instead just to get a better experience but uh, well I haven’t played that one, I have 0 access to it and I would’ve probably skipped this one if I did have access to it.


Welp, onto Metroid II

Now this, this is where this series started flourish.


Super Metroid is a fantastic game, the mood and atmosphere is top notch, the gameplay is a little bit clunky at first but is very satisfying once you get the hang of it, the bosses are great, the wordless storytelling is spectacular, it’s all around a great package.
I want to talk about the final boss, I thought this shit was just gonna be a repeat of Metroid 1’s final boss, but then mother brain turned into that weird giant mech body thing, shit had me blown away.
I also love how this battle is almost basically like a cinematic, you get stunned once you deal enough damage and mother brain is about to finish you off, then the big baby Metroid comes in last second and saves you, which i feel really pays off what they set up with the baby in Metroid II, but sadly mother brain kills the baby, but no before it gives samus some superpowers, THEN YOU FUCKING GO BALLISTIC ON MOTHER BRAIN, it’s such a satisfying payoff, and a nice way to end the game.

Now the question is, do I think this is the best in the series, and the answer is a solid I don’t know, personally I think the controls hold it back a little, cause I mean, it’s never reaching them Dread controls, and while this game has fantastic atmosphere and a great soundtrack, wouldn’t say it’s as good as Metroid Prime in that regard, still though, I need some time to think about it and just mull it over.

Also here’s something kinda odd, why is it that Mario, Zelda, and Metroid have kinda the same pattern with their first three entries, think about it
Super Mario Bros 1 established a foundation for what the franchise is, Super Mario Bros 2 is that weird middle child which is liked by some but ignored by others, and then Super Mario Bros 3 is considered a masterpiece by many and established almost every single thing this franchise is known for.
The Legend of Zelda established a foundation for the franchise, Zelda II was that weird middle child that some appreciate but others ignored, and A Link to the Past is considered a masterpiece by many that established almost everything the franchise is known for.
Metroid 1 established a foundation for the series, Metroid II is that weird middle child that some appreciate while others ignore it, and Super Metroid is considered a masterpiece by many that established a lot of what this series is known for.
It’s kinda cool that all these Nintendo franchises basically started out and grew up the same.


Alright, next is Fusion

All the bad stuff I’ve said about this game in the past year



I take it all back

Metroid Dread is a superb game



It builds on everything that the previous games established storywise and gameplay wise, the controls are super tight and easily the best the series has to offer, absolutely thrilling bosses, fucking beautiful graphics, and overall just a really great experience.
The one thing I’ll say this fails on compared to the other Metroid games is the atmosphere, it’s still there, helped tremendously by how beautiful the game looks, but what I think holds it back compared to like Super Metroid is the soundtrack, it’s just kinda forgettable, no track really pops up in my mind aside from the intro theme (which is in every game) and the third phase of the final boss theme.
Oh speaking of, I praised Super Metroid’s final boss a lot, buuuuuut this game’s final boss is just far superior in like every way, maybe except for the cinematic aspect (which even then this fight still excelled at that), it’s an enormously challenging fight even for this series standards, I love how this is the first fight in the series where you finally face an opponent who’s superior to you, I mean before the only ones who came close were like SA-X who was just equal to samus at full power, and I guess Dark Samus idk I haven’t played Prime 2 or 3, but this fight definitely proves why this opponent is just vastly superior to you, it’s a three phase gauntlet that never slows down at any point, the only way to win is to focus, learn, and ultimately get good.


Metroid Dread is phenomenal, and a fantastic way to end my adventure into this series’ 2D entries.
Now onto the 3D ones, starting with Metroid Prime.

Well, this is perfection

Whenever I feel stressed, I usually either boot up the Wii, or turn in the switch to play this game, it just calms me down, it’s an absolute blast from start to finish, everything is perfect, especially the soundtrack.

This game gives me the biggest nostalgia boner of all time, and I think it’s still a masterpiece