It's Super Metroid.

It has some clunky controls, some moments of confusing design, and a severe lack of QoL enhancements, but it's Super Metroid. It's 29 years old and still so full of modern-day world design. The fact that after all this time it stands as one of the defining titles of the genre it singlehandedly spawned into existence is nothing short of a MIRACLE. It's still so smart, so fun to explore, and so full of surprises. It guides you silently and teases with your expectations at every left corner. At a time when games seem hell-bent on helping you every step of the way, Super Metroid wants YOU to be the explorer charting through Planet Zebes. And it's still so refreshing after all these years. It's Super Metroid. It's. SUPER. METROID.

Yeah I still prefer Hollow Knight but I'm still blown away by this little gem. I couldn't be happier that so many games in its style exist now, and the Metroid series is finally on stable legs (again). See you next mission, Samus!

Moon Studios continues to pour years of talent and effort into developing some of the prettiest environments and smoothest controls in the entire industry. But they still CANNOT make an actually interesting Metroidvania. The world design isn't particularly memorable when it needs to incorporate Ori's movement, the enemy variety is still horribly lacking, the addition of quests was underwhelming, and exploration / backtracking is still as unrewarding as the original. The first game had an incredibly strong emotional hook carrying the player through while this one really stumbled to connect with me. But in the end it was still overwhelmingly pretty and quite fun to play so I guess I didn't mind?

The best parts of the game are practically linear anyway so hot take: the sequel to Blind Forest should have doubled down on a linear structure to really take advantage of the movement and combat first and foremost, rather than making a halfbaked 'vania. That may have been fine in 2015 but by 2020 so many better examples of the genre exist out there.

So in the end, many parts were drastically improved, some parts were worse, some aspects were underbaked or didn't deviate enough from the first title and as such kept many of its issues. It's fun and a brilliant visual spectacle, but five years in the oven for a game that's kind of "Ori 1, but again" is definitely a bit of a shame.

I have so much respect for the developers behind this project. Nearly ten years of on-and-off work poured into a massive love letter for the Metroid franchise, bringing all of its best elements into a the template of a Game Boy game that DESPERATELY needed a revision. There's varied and creative locations, a great interconnected world, tons of fun abilities and puzzles, genuinely excellent pathing / progression / what is it called? Whatever, I just felt really smart as I progressed through the world, and it was AWESOME.

My only problems were the idea of hunting a bazillion Metroids is still really lame and repetitive, and in the version I played, the final boss was busted and I had to kill them only using missiles (which was LAMEEE).

The fact that Nintendo took down this was such a travesty. Seriously, I'm playing through the 2D series and this was SO MUCH more fun than Zero Mission, I'm kind of shocked. I hope Super Metroid is as great as everyone says it is, but until then? This is easily my favorite Metroid game (so far anyway).

DISCLAIMER: my thoughts have changed pretty dramatically on this game since i wrote my original review. I'm leaving it here but my updated thoughts are at the end.

One fateful day in my freshman year of high school, I saw a silly little YouTube video titled, "Xenoblade Chronicles in a Nutshell". It was just a compilation of many characters saying "Monado" and some funny battle or in-field voice lines, but it interested me enough to warrant checking out the game. I didn't want to pay for $60+ a Wii copy, so I just watched some cutscenes and did research and all of that, becoming more and more engrossed in the game over time. I eventually ended up trying Xenoblade 2 when I got my Switch, and the rest is history.

I was SUPER excited for the release of the third game - its concept and themes looked amazing, and it was easily going to be the best project that Monolith Soft ever put out! It didn't quite turn out like that, but it still ended up pretty great in the end.

It's weird, I recognize Xenoblade 3 is "objectively" a better game than the first, but for me there are two critical aspects that keep it back from my favorites list.
First of all, 3's actual story is...not very good. Don't get me wrong, the main characters are fantastic, with genuinely the single best party in the entire JRPG genre. Every one of them bounces off of eachother, is given relatively equal screentime (when you consider the side content, anyway), and feels so alive compared to many of the competition, even within the same franchise. They're all so charming and they're my little srcunklos 🥺. But since the majority of the game consists of "walk here, villian of the week shows up, deal with them," there's very little room for significant plot development. Xenoblade 1 always felt like the plot was moving forward and constantly messing with your expectations, while this game feels rather aimless and without direction for most of it. It also doesn't help that the vast majority of Moebius' cast is incredibly cheesy and one-dimensional, but oh well.
Another big factor for me is the world design. It's easily the best designed from a gameplay standpoint - there's so many QoL changes and design decisions that feel good, but it lacks the shear imagination and awe that the first two's titans provided. I get it, that's the point, this world isn't SUPPOSED to "make sense," but it simply doesn't feel as legendary to explore as the Bionis and Mechonis did to me.
The final major criticism I have towards the game isn't the fault of the developers, but rather Nintendo. PLEASE UPGRADE YOUR POTATO HARDWARE. YOUR DEVELOPERS ARE DYING OVER HERE. The game can still be beautiful and incredibly impressive, but it's still severely limited by the horribly weak system it's tied to. Footage running on Yuzu at 4K 60 is genuinely amazing, and I overwhelmingly wish the game was built for (at least) a PS4 in mind instead of the Switch.

But yeah, aside from that, this rules. Easily the most fun and customizable combat of the series (I'm never going to be able to go back to only being able to play as one character in combat again!), beautiful art design, an incredible soundtrack, great voice direction, stunning cutscene direction (for the big ones anyway), an interesting exploration of its themes, customization leagues above Nintendo's other offerings, and a substantial upgrade to sidequests to make them feel that much more important to the world you're saving.

I think what Xenoblade 3 truly excels at is nailing the important moments in the story. All of the "biggest" cinematics are presented at a level of polish unseen for the franchise, and they easily can hit the hardest. The ending of Chapter 1, the exchanging of flutes halfway through the journey, the O&P fight in Chapter 4, that one scene in the city (you know the one), the ENTIRE PRISON SEQUENCE in 5&6, and of course, the incredibly climatic and satisfying final boss. Even if I was disappointed by the actual plot content, these stellar moments still kept the game exciting and emotional to experience, right up through the credits.

Do I think it's frustrating that the game exceeded at seemingly everything besides having a great story? Yes. Very much so. But even despite that, I can't deny that I had an incredibly fun time in this world, and that it was worth the 100+ hour investment I spent.

And for the record, yass, Eunie's the buss.

EDIT: When I wrote this review I considered it a 4.5/5 thanks to the stellar aspects it has inside of it. But, tragic news. This game has aged so poorly for me man. The halfbaked worldbuilding, the godawful story, the painfully boring exploration, the bloated-to-the-point-of-crumbling customization and combat. It still has the BEST main party of characters I've ever seen in a JRPG and easily some of the best cutscene direction & moments in the franchise, but my god, they CANNOT carry the rest. I still think it's a good-ass game with plenty of fun & emotional moments, but there's no way in hell I can label this series as my favorite in gaming anymore. The ONLY one I genuinely adore is Xenoblade 1 at this point. No way am I picking up the DLC for this, as I've heard its main focus is fanservice and I just want to move on greener pastures at this point.