sonicbacon123
A game that brings me nothing but pure joy. All the boxes are checked. Insanely loveable cast, sprawling world to explore, stellar voice performances, gut punching story, gorgeous soundtrack, and an option filled combat system. Another entry where I constantly want to know what happens next whilst never wanting the game to end. A euphoric feeling, felt a third time over. A few QoL issues like no reloading in-game, chain attacks taking too long, no leveling down before post-game are but small blemishes.
1985
2009
2005
2021
Basically everything I could have asked for. Samus feels so good to control and her character is expressed in every bit of animation. Boss fights are extremely satisfying to master. There is freedom in the exploration. And to top it all off it manages to treat long time fans with a rewarding narrative. All while consciously choosing where to place its longer story scenes so as to treat returning players and never leave new players out of the action for very long.
The past three games fail to deliver on characters, conflicts, and moments especially when looking at the bar set by the previous two arcs. Many of this game's failings can be attributed to the poor foundation set by CS1-3. While there are still some great highs, the thought that the climax of this 400+ hour arc is far from meeting its potential was always in the back of my mind. And knowing nothing this game does can truly solve the bigger issues with the arc makes it even more disheartening.
There is still a lot of charm in the humorous writing and wild twists but the tedium is cranked way up thanks to the walking required. Despite having more gameplay than The Silver Case I hesitate to call any of it meaningful let alone fun. I honestly think this game would be better off having less gameplay.
2019
2006
1992