Before now (of the Prime games) I’d only ever played Metroid Prime 3 and Metroid Prime Hunters. Is that a crime against humanity? I don’t really care, because this was worth the wait.

Metroid Prime Remastered is a brilliant (and I don’t use this word lightly) masterpiece, both as a remaster and just as a game. It plays perfectly; I went for twin-stick controls with a little bit of supplemental gyro to fine-tune my aim, and it made every second of gameplay a pleasure. Somehow it’s also the best looking game on the Nintendo Switch while still running at a smooth 60fps.

In basically every sense except narrative, Metroid Prime is a translation of Super Metroid into 3D, putting the Metroid in Metroidvania with its looping structure and upgrade-centric gameplay. in true Nintendo fashion, they nailed the move to 3D on their first try.

Something surprising to me about converting Metroid into 3D is that the entire game is essentially one massive Zelda dungeon. The layout and puzzles require thought and attention, but aren’t obtuse or confusing. I actually found the infamous backtracking refreshing, as I‘m the type of player who wants to run back through to get everything anyway.

Metroid Prime Remastered is of those games I wanted to be playing whenever I wasn’t. Echoes, Corruption, and Metroid Prime 4 can’t come soon enough.