I'm a little surprised that there's so little discussion on this game, considering how good it is. I'm just about at the end of the game, doing some item pickup cleanup, but I've had a lot of fun thus far.

The combat is tough, but rewards skill in a way that feels unusual for a Metroid game. Certainly, the combat is not what I come to a Metroid game for, but this game manages to make it dynamic in a way that feels good.

One thing I wasn't prepared for, but makes sense in retrospect, was how long the game is. This world is huge, bigger than any previous 2D Metroid. Which makes sense, considering that it's basically a 46+ member boss ensemble. I'll be really curious to see what speed runs of this game look like.

Now, to the elephant in the room: How does it stack up against AM2R? Well, that's tough to say. I'd say that it stands on it's own. Each game emphasizes different aspects of the source material. AM2R sticks to very traditional gameplay and world design, while Samus Returns makes a lot of interesting decisions that mix things up. For example, AM2R gives you the Speed Booster, while Samus Returns gives you a power to slow down time. Both are valid approaches, but Samus Returns is definitely trying to advance the formula, while AM2R is trying to refine it.

If I had to criticize one thing about Samus Returns, it's that it seems to lean too heavily on other entries in the series for nostalgia's sake. For example, there are super-heated rooms you need the Varia Suit for, and they all play the Lower Norfair/Magmoor Caverns music in them, no matter where they are. Or, late in the game, the Red Brinstar music is used from some areas for no real reason. And, probably the most egregious example is the last boss, which I'm going to dedicate a whole paragraph to discussing:

But, over all, this is a small blemish. I highly recommend this game if you are a fan of the Metroid series!

when I heard the magmoor caverns remix, I kinda cried