Honestly, this is one of the scariest non-horror games out there. I do get that it's stretching the title of a "non-horror game" because Metroid has always leaned into that sort of Alien aesthetic, but this was still rated E for Everyone so shut up.
I understand why this is a little divisive among fans of this series, being so linear, but I think the devs did the best with what they could considering hardware and all that. The game does sprinkle enough moments of non-linearity to not be mind-numbing, though, and with these controls, I'm certainly not complaining. The overall feel is a lot more tight, and platforming around feels very natural thanks to stuff like the ledge grab being added (seriously why did it take four games for this to be a thing).
However, I think the game's strongest attribute is its atmosphere. I've always loved playing Metroid games in the middle of the night with all the lights off to really immerse myself, and this is no exception. Granted, the color palette has that trademark GBA washed-out feel, but I honestly didn't mind it. But yeah, to finally address the elephant in the room - SA-X.
I think what really works about this part of the game is the mere fact that you don't know when it'll appear next. Granted, this effect only works on the first playthrough, given you'll know when the encounters are and the encounters themselves can be manipulated using the SA-X's frankly rock-dumb AI (just look up videos of people breaking these encounters and you'll see what I mean). Though playing this game for the first time is something I won't trade for the world. There was especially one moment of the game (not spoiling it but I think you probably know which one if you've played it) where I legitimately felt trapped. Given that and how especially weak you feel, especially at the start of the game, makes for some grade-A scares.
I honestly didn't mind this game's story all too much, though it wasn't super ground-breaking. The monologues between sectors wasn't too intrusive for me, though I won't lie when I say I was mashing A a few times through some dialogue boxes. I do realize the translation is a little screwy, especially with the stuff about the Federation, but I don't think it's a huge black mark against this game. The environmental design is still top-notch, however, which is something I really enjoyed from other games in this series, so they certainly didn't lose their mojo in that department.
Honestly, banger game. I'd highly recommend it to people looking to get into this series, even if it's late into the series' timeline. Now to hopefully finish Super Metroid hahahahaha
I understand why this is a little divisive among fans of this series, being so linear, but I think the devs did the best with what they could considering hardware and all that. The game does sprinkle enough moments of non-linearity to not be mind-numbing, though, and with these controls, I'm certainly not complaining. The overall feel is a lot more tight, and platforming around feels very natural thanks to stuff like the ledge grab being added (seriously why did it take four games for this to be a thing).
However, I think the game's strongest attribute is its atmosphere. I've always loved playing Metroid games in the middle of the night with all the lights off to really immerse myself, and this is no exception. Granted, the color palette has that trademark GBA washed-out feel, but I honestly didn't mind it. But yeah, to finally address the elephant in the room - SA-X.
I think what really works about this part of the game is the mere fact that you don't know when it'll appear next. Granted, this effect only works on the first playthrough, given you'll know when the encounters are and the encounters themselves can be manipulated using the SA-X's frankly rock-dumb AI (just look up videos of people breaking these encounters and you'll see what I mean). Though playing this game for the first time is something I won't trade for the world. There was especially one moment of the game (not spoiling it but I think you probably know which one if you've played it) where I legitimately felt trapped. Given that and how especially weak you feel, especially at the start of the game, makes for some grade-A scares.
I honestly didn't mind this game's story all too much, though it wasn't super ground-breaking. The monologues between sectors wasn't too intrusive for me, though I won't lie when I say I was mashing A a few times through some dialogue boxes. I do realize the translation is a little screwy, especially with the stuff about the Federation, but I don't think it's a huge black mark against this game. The environmental design is still top-notch, however, which is something I really enjoyed from other games in this series, so they certainly didn't lose their mojo in that department.
Honestly, banger game. I'd highly recommend it to people looking to get into this series, even if it's late into the series' timeline. Now to hopefully finish Super Metroid hahahahaha