What Tetris is to the droves that played it, is what Bubble Bobble is to me. Nothing but bubbly feelings (haha) arise from playing or thinking back on this game. Not being one for reminiscing, rather wanting make what I have right now count, I can’t help but look back on playing this game and Bust-A-Move with my mom back when we were in San Juan and feeling melancholic about it; will I ever recapture that feeling again? Likely not, but I’d like to think so.

The series itself is just unbelievably fun and addictive too, and just like Tetris, deceptively simple in its inner workings. Sure, being the proponent of games as an art form that can remold over time, and being the votary of storytelling that I am, I usually need more out of games than just the fun factor, and am even open to games defying what fun is, but this type of game is just untouchable. The mold had to come from somewhere, and games of this ilk, like Galaga, Defenders, Space Invaders, and so on are the mold. The industry wouldn’t be where it is now, for better or worse, without these games.

Looking back on them, they may be considered primitive, philistines whomever does consider them such, and change was bound to happen, as change is the constant of the universe, but greatness comes from small beginnings. Sic Parvis Magna baby. Classic games being the way they are and coming from the time they did brings greater appreciation for the games we have now and seeing how far the medium has come. Bubble Bobble forever.

For every reason this game is dragged, it picks itself up for me. It having constraint, giving you little control in the first half, deemphasized exploration, with points of no return and frequent save points. These parts of the game are considered flaws, but they are deliberate design choices that make it so the game gradually opening up closer to the end feels more earned. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Stay with me here, but it abides by the ludic contract it signs. Striking the gauge of player engagement in ways that games from turn of the century and the sensibilities that came from it don’t live up to. Metroid Fusion is masterful at utilizing gameplay to tell the story, as well as enriching it.

Whether it’s the best Metroid game or not is up in the air, every Metroid game shares enough to make it so any one of them could be the linchpin of the day. Being as consistent as the series is, that is if we don’t talk about Federation Force or Other M… cough, that means that no one game toughs the other out. They all have merit and are of equal footing even if they do things slightly better than the others. Metroid (1986) setting motion what we would come to know now. Metroid II: Return of Samus underpinning the baseline for what makes Metroid what it is. Super Metroid revolutionizing the industry. Metroid Fusion interlocking each one of its strands and offering the most cohesive narrative experience. Metroid Dread doing literally everything right the rest did, but I guess it has the weakest soundtrack and atmosphere or something. That is patently incorrect but those happen to be recurring points against it for some reason. They are all masterpieces basically.

Metroid Fusion is, or wait no, it was my favorite because of the above. Metroid Dread came and cleaned house but Metroid Fusion still reserved its special place in my heart. Outdoing the active threat that is the SA-X, which packs the same arsenal that you do, coming across all manner of grotesqueries, uncovering the secrets of the B.S.L. Research Station, and coming out the other end saving the galaxy once again. It was an unforgettable experience. Oh, and it only came in underpowered pocket form when technical advancements in the console space were the craze, on the SAME DAY AS METROID PRIME! It’s like they wanted to kill 2D Metroid man what the hell.

Nothing short of consummate, or considered, does Metroid Dread showcase itself. Regarding all pillars of game design, this game holds up one staunch vision. Nothing feels out of place, it stays its hand when it needs to and knows when it should go all out, and it makes for the most cohesive and pin-point precise experience you can have in any game in the aptly named Metroid-vania genre.

Taking the unilateralist direction of Metroid Fusion where, while still allowing you to go off the beaten path, still funnels you in the end, and the open ended Super Metroid, Metroid Dread finds the right balance. It guides you but not in a way that feels demeaning, and it options you with numerous objectives, and allows you to sequence break like it’s dictated that Metroid-vanias should, but within the bounds the game lets you rather than in ways that can outright break it. It makes for a gratifying sense of exploration, that makes you feel like you uncover things on your own terms, when in actuality the game is just really clever in its approach to guiding the player, hiding things from you and dangling things in front of you that you’ll end up falling for. It’s like a sleight of hand made game, if that makes sense.

Some have argued that this game, and by extension the rest of the Metroid series doesn’t give enough incentive to cover the map like other games do because the rewards (missile/energy tanks strewn about that you can find in the open or tucked away past breakable blocks and locked doors), aren’t worth it. To that I argue that, just like other games like Hollow Knight and Ori, with their own mechanics that interlock in their own ways, Metroid works just the same. Progression may be incremental, it may not feel worthwhile in the moment but it builds you up and facilitates the strong combat tech and gameplay loop. Not to mention the tool kit at your disposal once you attain each of the twenty-five equipment pieces. Opening up more ways to engage with enemies and go about levels make the gameplay constantly feel fresh.

Stringing together the things the game gives you, gives the gameplay the dynamism that lets it rival the other titans in the genre, in a way previous Metroid games didn’t, whether they felt antiquated compared to their peers or just busted like the first two games, which I disagree with but that’s another topic. With that the game still manages to keep you on your toes, never to rest on your laurels, with the newly introduced E.M.M.I. These guys were hyped up enough so I won’t talk about them at length, but it was for good reason. They serve the same purpose the SA-X did in Fusion, taking from the relentless stalker playbook of the Resident Evil games. It lends to the DREAD you can feel as the player, no I’m not taking that back.

Now for the story. Far be it from me to say what should and shouldn’t be true, I know nintendo games aren’t known or renowned for their stories, but that doesn’t matter to me. If there is a story a critic worth their salt should properly evaluate it rather than leave it by the bayside. This reason is why other nintendo games that are propped up as some of the greatest games of all time just didn’t do it for me like they did for the vast majority of people.

For the Mario games yeah it makes sense, story is by no means the focus and, exempting the Paper Mario games and Super Mario RPG, they barely have any, substituting one being the simple goal driving the player to engage with the game’s systems. But for games like Zelda that doesn’t really apply. Yes, the set-up is still simple, there’s still a clear goal for the player to strive toward meeting, and it serves the gameplay, but there are actual structured stories in the Zelda games to engage with, ones that you can choose to ignore but that are still there. Same goes for the Metroid series, at least everything after Super Metroid. Metroid Dread may not differ from those games in that gameplay is the driving force, and it may not be as compelling to some of y’all as more narrative-driven games like Xenoblade Chronicles or Fire Emblem, but that in no way signifies that its story is not worthwhile. Metroid Dread has an excellent story that follows up on and pays off what previous games established, and wraps up the arc Samus went through in an awesome way whilst leaving room for new arcs come time.

Before closing thoughts, there’s also the rest that comprises any good Metroid game. Two-fold, the music and atmosphere are harped on, which makes no cents to me. Each biome you get to parole is distinctive; the E.M.M.I. Zones are meant to be starkly oppressive for the player, Ghavoran has its lush verdancy, Ferenia, Hanubis, the cast off Elun, and the lair of Raven Beak Itorash, have their respective sacramental and regal inspirations, and so on. As for the music, sure it may be more understated than previous games, but it repurposes great motifs to greater effect as well as making its own, even if it is more ambient. Similar to Pathologic 2 having and its low-key shamanic soundtrack compared to the first game with its funky beats, they rock in their own ways.

Mercury Steam has gracefully carried on the legacy of Metroid, taking what they did on Samus Returns and cultivating the formula to its definitive form. Metroid Dread feels like the penultimate Metroid game, as if there is no real way for Metroid to evolve further, and I know it was worth the nineteen year wait, even if I was spared it since I’m too young to have seen the series blossom. Surely there will be more Metroid games, given that it is legacy. At the time of writing we’re still on the back burner as Retro Studios continues to figure out what they want to do with Metroid Prime 4, but I can’t think of any way this game can be topped. Metroid Prime 4 won’t because, well first off they are different, and second, even with that in mind, 2D Metroid > Prime. Sorry…