Pros:
+ The new beam switching and visor systems are insanely interesting and pair well with different missile combos
+ Excellent world design and good lore
+ Some of the best music in the entire franchise
+ Gorgeous game for its time
+ Unmatching atmosphere
+ Map is well designed in the way how it opens up new portions of previous areas like a puzzle cube unraveling itself

Cons:
- Backtracking is still very rudimentary and one of the areas of the game is basically just used as a long corridor to connect areas with each other so you have to pass through it to get to another
- The most annoying late-game fetch quest out of any game in the saga, including Prime Hunters
- Undoubtedly the Prime Trilogy game that has aged the worst visually, but even then it still looks good
- Story is fairly simple, aside from Chozo (and some Space Pirate) lore there is little to delve into deeper unlike in future installments in the trilogy and the main plot doesn't shine in its uniqueness
- To people who have played Super Metroid, it becomes very obvious how the game is at times literally just taking that game and making it playable in 3D