While not as mechanically sound as any of the previous Metroids (Zero Mission, AM2R, & Super), Fusion is still pretty solid. I particularly enjoyed the maps and art, and the fusion suit is my favorite design of Samus thus far. The map in Fusion is my favorite of any game, both the playable map and the start button map. Unlike previous Metroids, this game actually has a story presented to the player throughout the game rather than some small thing mentioned at the beginning or end of the game. Unfortunately, that story isn't really much of note, but it's a nice change of pace nonetheless. Sadly, this is where the praise ends. Despite being made in 2002, Fusion feels like a Wii/Wii U era Nintendo game where every fun mechanic is entirely gutted. No bomb jumps, God-awful walljumps, and only one button to aim diagonally. On top of these issues, the game is excruciatingly linear to the point of tedium. There is one section in the entire game that can be sequence broken, and even then it isn't a particularly fun one to break as you're immediately sent back to do what you should've done in the first place. A fair amount of the bosses are garbage, taking up half the screen and zipping around with the smallest damage zones of all time. I wish this game were better, as it's the only Metroid I actually own, and I've had it since I got my Gameboy Advance back in like 2003. I have a really heavy soft spot for it, but unfortunately the game just isn't that good by Metroid standards. Still a better game than plenty others I've played, but after playing the previous three games, I gotta say this was clearly the weakest.