I played through this when it was added to NSO last year and I was a little underwhelmed. Clearly 2023 me was on something. This is a cracking wee Metroid, perfectly formed for the system it was made for. Imagine any other wee 2D handheld game absolutely dripping with this kind of atmosphere and dread. And it looks great. Playing handheld on Switch looks great (not so good playing docked, but it's still lovely), and really is the best way to experience the NSO handheld library.

I really appreciated this time around, how suited it is as a GBA Metroid. Not too long that you've got to commit hours on end staring at that tiny screen, and there's still plenty there to keep the spirit of Super Metroid going. And I don't know how I never noticed how much Metroid Dread takes from this one in terms of overall tone and sound.

These games are flipping great, and we really need Zero Mission adding to the GBA library now. And the other Prime games should be on Switch, too. Not that I don't have the Trilogy on Wii and 2 on Gamecube, but that's beside the point! 😅

Back on point, I don't think I'd have stuck with this if I had it back in the day. The Nightmare boss made me break my self imposed no save state rule, the annoying bastard, and I did find myself turning the air blue a couple of times, but overall, this is some top Metroid, and perfect for an hour or so here and there.