sonicbacon123
Love that Temple theme, do not love playing this. Often mentioned alongside old games is how obtuse it can be to figure out how to progress but Zelda II is genuinely absurd in that regard. It is also absurdly difficult. A game I actually don't feel bad calling unfair. I would not have beat it without save states.
1986
More fun than I was expecting.
2010
I tried but I can't stand it. I reject everything about this game.
Bop it! Twist it! Pull it!
peak fiction
Adore the unique battle system, episodic shonen story, awesome redesigns of classic characters, nice sprite work, & catchy soundtrack. All consistent highlights of this subseries. However, it is still a rough start. Dungeons are full of time wasting activities masquerading as puzzles. Healing after every battle sucks as much challenge out of the game as save scumming for Hero Sword chips does. And post-game won't let you access the super boss until you painfully hunt down every single chip drop.
Samus knows her colors.
1997
Justin, Feena and Sue bring joy to my soul. Disc 1 is peak, disc 2 falls off hard.
Enjoyed it more than the OG. It had a more Zelda like approach with each area feeling like a dungeon which meant very few long treks across the map for objectives. That was my biggest turn off in the first game solely because everything is slower in 3D. Even the two times you have to leave areas for the next power up, the map is much more interconnected this time around. I have a lot of little gripes with the morph ball physics too but I'll stop there.
2016
Had the most fun combat of the trilogy. Feels great to play. World is gorgeous but still doesn't live up to the first game's interconnectivity. I have plenty of minor things to praise and criticize but ultimately it's more Dark Souls and that means it was a pretty enjoyable experience.
2002
A solid transition to 3D but I much prefer Metroid in 2D. The music, atmosphere, the gunplay and a lot of smaller details I really liked. I just don't enjoy how much slower everything plays out in 3D. Backtracking, fighting enemies again, platforming, hunting for upgrades. All the things you'd expect in a Metroid game but more often than not I found myself unenthused about going to wherever the game pointed me next.
1986
It's rough, used a map.
Another good Metroid game. I especially enjoyed the boss fights. But it's all in the details when it comes to such a consistent series and that's where this remake drops the ball for me. The atmosphere has been obliterated by the sound design. Everything makes too much noise. Remixed nostalgia tracks are distracting. The unique intro theme has been replaced with the classic one. Worst of all, the beautiful ending is ruined by enemies that drone out the music and take away from the moment.
1993
I don't know what I hated more. The hit detection, weapon charging and spell casting ruining the pace of combat, the music cutting out constantly or the frustrating to navigate world map. The game is pretty to look at and the music is great when you can hear it. I also can appreciate the addition of co-op. I can't deny it's an ambitious game but it just isn't fun to play.
2022
Best 3D game so far, ignoring PLA, but that's not saying much. Patience has worn thin with game speed. Everything is too slow. Open world is a good fit for the series but there is nothing to do besides catch and battle. Need more variety. Story gets cool towards the end. Has the usual stellar music and character/mon designs but nearly everything else disappoints. Presentation, performance, exploration, world design, content, co-op is all lacking. And sadly it is what I have come to expect.