Really struggling to find the words for this one. Blaster Master Zero 3 is a damn great game. It builds upon the first two games in the exact ways it needed to, and finishes off this trilogy of games very strongly.
The glorious pixel art visuals are even better than they were in BMZ2. Although, if I have to give any gripe, it's that I think they occasionally caused slowdown on the Switch version (I assume this problem doesn't exist on other platforms). When there's a whole lot happening on screen, the game dips juuust enough below its 60 FPS to make things feel a tad sluggish. Nothing game-ruining, but I found it distracting on occasion.
Hopping between tears in dimensional space really added a nice layer of depth to the 2D maps, and made for interesting alternate routes in the top-down dungeons. It's also used for really cool spectacle across the whole game.
Top-down combat is the best of the series, bar none. Jason's arsenal got streamlined, and your five weapons all have utility at their various levels. The man can now dash around and counter enemy attacks like nobody's business, and enemies are more aggressive to compensate. As for tank combat, it unfortunately becomes a bit easy once you have a specific weapon, but it's still versatile and fun overall.
Map design is a bit more linear in comparison to the first two games. I've seen others compare it to Metroid Fusion, and I'm willing to agree on that front. The one flaw I have with this map design is the "disposable shield" pickups, and how they're marked on your map the same as any other upgrade pickup. While I was thorough and lucky enough to grab all actual upgrades in a timely manner, they really should be marked differently in order to cut down on unnecessary backtracking and the like. I don't dislike the temporary shields (they saved my ass more than once), it's just not fun to see them when you're explicitly looking for permanent upgrades.
As a standalone experience, I'd probably rate this one a 4/5, but let's be real here; Who the hell plays the third and final game in a trilogy first? The game is excellent with a minor flaw or two, and caps off the trilogy wonderfully. I'll probably return to BMZ2 if I want my BMZ fix, but I will never forget this final game in the trilogy.
The glorious pixel art visuals are even better than they were in BMZ2. Although, if I have to give any gripe, it's that I think they occasionally caused slowdown on the Switch version (I assume this problem doesn't exist on other platforms). When there's a whole lot happening on screen, the game dips juuust enough below its 60 FPS to make things feel a tad sluggish. Nothing game-ruining, but I found it distracting on occasion.
Hopping between tears in dimensional space really added a nice layer of depth to the 2D maps, and made for interesting alternate routes in the top-down dungeons. It's also used for really cool spectacle across the whole game.
Top-down combat is the best of the series, bar none. Jason's arsenal got streamlined, and your five weapons all have utility at their various levels. The man can now dash around and counter enemy attacks like nobody's business, and enemies are more aggressive to compensate. As for tank combat, it unfortunately becomes a bit easy once you have a specific weapon, but it's still versatile and fun overall.
Map design is a bit more linear in comparison to the first two games. I've seen others compare it to Metroid Fusion, and I'm willing to agree on that front. The one flaw I have with this map design is the "disposable shield" pickups, and how they're marked on your map the same as any other upgrade pickup. While I was thorough and lucky enough to grab all actual upgrades in a timely manner, they really should be marked differently in order to cut down on unnecessary backtracking and the like. I don't dislike the temporary shields (they saved my ass more than once), it's just not fun to see them when you're explicitly looking for permanent upgrades.
As a standalone experience, I'd probably rate this one a 4/5, but let's be real here; Who the hell plays the third and final game in a trilogy first? The game is excellent with a minor flaw or two, and caps off the trilogy wonderfully. I'll probably return to BMZ2 if I want my BMZ fix, but I will never forget this final game in the trilogy.