Big improvement on the first game. The power-ups were so much more fun and actually felt like getting stronger. The quest to destroy all the Metroids was a fun way to change the structure of the game. I used maps online for most of my playtime which obviously changes the way I played the game, but I felt it necessary to improve my experience. The refill points for pickups were so much better than having to grind for health and missiles. Wasn't expecting to enjoy the game as much as I did.

All the pieces are here to create one of my favorite genres of game, but the basic gameplay is just not all that fun for me. Grinding pick ups sucks, the combat is never all that fun, and I ended up using save states prior to the bosses and some difficult rooms because I felt the game was wasting my time. Looking forward to later entries in the series but this is not one I will likely come back to

The best 2D Castlevania game. Happy I saved this one for last. The game feels better than the classics to control but still limits your movement enough to keep that Castlevania feeling. Jumping on stairs is so nice. The level and boss designs are both really good. The Dracula fight was among the easier in the series in my opinion but was still hard enough to be satisfying and visually looks great.