Masterpiece in every facet: platforming, how the visuals and sound combine to create the alien planet of Zebes's dingy atmosphere, map design, and the high skill ceiling created by exploits both intentional and non-intentional.

The platforming takes getting used to at first, but once you do you will not miss a jump. Personally, Super Metroid's floatier jumps make the alien planet of Zebes more immersive compared to Zero Mission's tighter platforming and maps.

I just wish the map had marked doors.

This game had 19 years of legendary, shadowy hype and still lived up to it.

Fusion is really underrated, mostly because of the controversy of it not being a Super Metroid clone. Removing some of the freedoms of earlier titles made the atmosphere tense and helps tell Samus's story in this game. The music is good and I enjoyed the harder boss fights.

Need to replay again to see how I feel since it's been 3 years, but I enjoyed it a lot and 100%-ed it my first time.

Zero Mission is the best starting point and a very good first Metroidvania, because the game will hold your hand at first and gradually let off as you get better. It also feels great to play, as you get Fusion's tight controls but with more freedom to move and break the map afforded to Samus.

Now for my problems with Zero Mission. This game feels the least cohesive as a Metroid game and fails to hit the same tone as the original. The graphics are bright and the direction of the remade tracks is overbearing and too triumphant sounding. And it carries too many intentionally designed elements from Fusion, which don't fit in Zebes and unfairly call Fusion's well thought out design into question.

Zero Mission was also built in Fusion's engine, so several gameplay elements and assets were holdovers kept in from Fusion. They're not as well thought out in Zero Mission as they are in Fusion, so they stick out or water down how well they worked in Fusion. The first of these is the heavy movement of Samus as opposed to the lighter gravity of Zebes in the original and Super. The heavy movement has more general appeal and is even the reason many enjoy ZM the most. But it makes Zebes feel less alien, whereas it made more sense in Fusion's Biologic Space Laboratory where artificial gravity was likely being used. As you can see, the decision to add heavy physics into ZM calls Metroid 1, 2, Super, and Fusion's respective and well thought out decisions into question, as it's unclear whether the gravity is a canon aspect of the setting or merely how the devs want Samus to control for a given game.. And this does matter: Metroid prides itself on lore and communication to the player through gameplay. This is a great yet simple example of Metroid communicating to the player purely through gameplay that Zero Mission undermines. Since Super is after ZM in the canon order, there should be a continuity of gameplay feel that is missed and can confuse players (this is supposed to be the same planet?). And then personally, I don't think Super's floaty gameplay is flawed and I actually quite enjoy it.

Ridley's scream is another example. In Fusion, Ridley-X has this shrill piercing scream effect that makes him unpleasant to fight, which makes him more frightening and serves to make the X-controlled Ridley fight distinct from the Ridley fights that come before it. We're not fighting just the same Ridley here, it's corrupted by the X that's infected him. But they kept the same scream in Zero Mission, once again undermining Fusion by watering down the X-infected Ridley. Does Ridley just sound like that now? Well no, not in Super.

The postgame ending is wonderful, likely because it was built from the ground up instead of poorly adapting an old game with a conflicting vision.