4.5/5 ★ – Fetusburger's review of Super Metroid.

Yeah. It’s that good. I was a little nervous going into this, worried that maybe it wouldn’t hold up as well as everyone said it did. I played my first Metroid game, Dread, and was absolutely floored, so could this really top that game? Could this be better than something so modern and recent, that I assumed refined any hiccups previously found in the series? Well yes, and no. Right off the bat, I’d say the exploration in this is better than Dread’s. The game throws you right into this sprawling word, and doesn’t tell you a thing the entire time. And somehow, it works. The level design is really genius, and tells you all you need to know in how it’s laid out. It rewards thorough players, without requiring it. I never felt lost to the point of no return, and everything still felt like I myself discovered it. The exploring is very personal in this, and I love it. Although, I did find a few long stretches before a few big bosses to become tedious and even frustrating after a bit. The atmosphere is fantastic too. There are great, moody, calming, and intense tracks that do great at setting the tone. My favorite area has got to be brinstar. The song is my favorite in the game; one that doesn’t really get tiring no matter how long you stay in the area. And the lush green natureyness of it all is really nice and exciting to explore. The only place where I would say the game really tends to stumble, is the controls. For the most part, credit where credit is due, they are simple and precise. But that’s why it’s all the more jarring when they aren’t. For some reason, I could never get the space jump to work how I wanted it to. It would either work perfectly, which I found to happen more in smaller rooms where you’re closer to the ceiling, or it just wouldn’t work unless I spammed the button hoping it would catch on. That was really frustrating at parts where the space jump was required, or more useful. I also think the controls don’t work as well with a few bosses, since you move rather stiffly without momentum and you’ll just kind of be jumping around awkwardly until you figure out what exactly is going on, and just have to tank a bunch of damage, but that isn’t as big of a deal. All that being said though, the good wayyyyy outshined the bad. I was still sucked into every second of this game, even if I got a little pissed now and again. This game still puts many recent releases to shame. It really is that good. Final note: wouldn’t say this is better than Dread, but wouldn’t say it’s worse either. They feel very very different to me, like each one was made for a specific type of player in mind. Bottom line is that both are fucking amazing so just play both.