Metroid Fusion - Finished this. 3:25, 45%, for those who care.
Overall very impressed by the game, kicking myself for putting off playing it for 7 years. Short version: second favourite Metroid game, which says something seeing as Super Metroid is 10/10 A+ material, delivers an excellent action platforming experience while still keeping some exploration elements and having a surprisingly good atmosphere/setting/plot.
More specifically... well, the main thing it gives up from Super Metroid is that it gives up the greater part of the exploration. You don't feel like you're uncovering a ruined planet or anything like that. It's not Mario or Mega Man, levels aren't a straight line and you are sometimes expected to be creative to get past certain points, but it is not fundamentally a highly exploration-focussed game. It also doesn't try to be, so this is okay. Although... after beating the game I considered going hunting for the other items and then realised I had no desire whatsoever to do this. Two reasons I can think of this is (1) the lack of excitement in exploring the "world", and (2) no X-Ray Scope. Boo to that. I know Power Bomb has a similar function now but I find that just annoying by comparison.
Gameplaywise the game feels almost strictly improved over previous (and subsequent) entries in the series. I think the game basically found a perfect balance with how to handle health. Enemies hit much harder than in SM, but on the other hand, they have a 100% chance to drop a (small) amount of health. Dying is a much more real concern than before, and recharge stations are a much bigger deal. If you're really on top of things you'll start regaining health, but a little carelessness and it drops fast. SM combat is fundamentally not a terrible starting point, and getting rid of the run button makes it better, as does doing away with regular missiles once you get supers. As for bosses... well. The first few are embarrassingly bad, but once it starts getting serious I wiped to bosses multiple times as often as not. Bosses actually hit very hard, so the game expects you to learn their pattern and/or how you damage them. They're pretty unforgiving until you do, and once you do you still have a decent fight on your hands. I dunno if anything matches the epic aerial slugfests of Ridley in SM but he was the exception, not the rule, and I wouldn't want a whole boss cast modelled after him anyway. Definitely my favourite set of bosses from a Metroid/Castlevania/etc. style platformer. In fact, sure, why not... (note that I don't know most bosses' real names, and I may miss one... I think Wide Beam may have had a boss too but I don't recall him <.<)
Morph Ball boss: Not as good as his MMX equivalent. Works as an intro boss though.
Charge Beam boss: Oh my god you are so terrible. I guess you're meant to be a tutorial about other bosses whose final stage shoots beams at you, but still.
High Jump boss: Sub-Spore Spawn. I'm not actually sure I took damage from him. Yes, please do nothing but jump over my head harmlessly until you use your very slow attack which makes me shoot you then dodge. Only tiny difficulty is figuring out how to damage him and even that's easy.
Serris (Speed Booster boss): Wake-up call. I expected he'd be the hardest boss in the game after beating him, based on what other Metroid games had led me to expect. Not really! Still, wow, the speed.
Security Robot: Murderised me a few times before I figured out how to dodge his attack. It's simple in hindsight. Damaging him and maneuvering remains tricky enough to keep him competent afterwards.
Varia Suit boss: Okay, back to the failure.
THE SPIDER (Space Jump boss): DID HE JUST 5HKO ME?!? Fun fight, but nasty, nasty, just unforgiving if you screw up. The second phase was cute and killed me a couple times as well but that was probably mostly just panic. Reminds me of the MMX spider for causing fear. Or that DMC boss I think is a spider but is actually a scorpion.
Spore Spawn mark 2 (Plasma Beam boss): My least favourite. He killed me a couple times but that is just due to not figuring out the control mechanic of how to jump out of his man-eating flower traps. That's really no fun. Bit of a joke once I had that control down because he's so frail.
Gravity Suit boss: Disliked the first stage because I never found a way to avoid taking significant damage during it. Second stage is a fun and rather challenging fight. Whole battle needed more of that gravity gimmick, oh well.
Security Robot 2 (Wave Beam boss): Weird one. Kills you if you get too aggressive, hard to hit, but the pattern I found for beating him seemed pretty reliable, if a bit boring (stay on the ledge, destroy the missiles, jump diagonal shoot down when he gets close). Also takes forever but I don't see a way to do it faster and win? This guy is probably annoying on speedruns if I haven't missed a trick. Has that second form but it's not too notable.
Ridley (Screw Attack boss): Not actually -having- Screw Attack for the fight certainly makes Ridley more dangerous. On the other hand, being able to spam Super Missiles at ultra-high speed makes him unhappy. So he ends up as Ridley with more offence but less in-practice durability (the HP is on crack on paper, but yeah, just has no tricks to avoid taking damage whatsoever, even when he graps you you can spam missiles in his face). Fun enough homage to the original and not a terrible fight.
SA-X: Hmm, not sure if she's a little disappointing after all the plot hype or not. It's a good fight and certainly fairly tough, so objectively not too much to complain about, but seeing as she is basically the final boss I expected a bit more? (I know, I know, a Metroid game would -never- disappoint with its final boss.) The brief second stage is depressingly laughable (High Jump strategy!), although the third stage is the best of that type. Still nothing new aside from the cool first stage. Mirror match!
Omega Metroid(?): Subject of a plot rant below, but otherwise, timer boss is pretty cool, especially since its main attack is as notable for making you waste time as it is for damage. By nature it can't be a long fight, but it works well enough as a final confrontation anyway.
Guess that leaves story concerns. I basically think the game nailed its atmosphere. Sorta has some survival horror elements which are quite effective without dominating the game. You don't play the game for a scare factor, but the game is good at portraying the sense of dread, or of being hunted. Some highlights include... (spoilers!) most early scenes with SA-X, particularly the first and the one where you have to RUN RUN RUN OH DEAR GOD; and the scene where an X parasite rushes away from you, leaving Ridley's decaying body behind (oh shit). As far as general plot goes, it continues and sheds a fair deal of more light of the plot of the first three games, and delivers it effectively enough. Adam's the only real character but he worked for me. Also the Federation is corrupt, retarded, or both. I worry that the (unskippable?) scenes might slow replays but they aren't really that long, as I noticed when I had to replay the game up to Sector 5 because my save file died, and they tell the story effectively. Plot twists works for what they were, except the Omega Metroid which was pretty stupid. I didn't even realise it -was- an Omega Metroid since I'd forgotten what that looked like and though its existence is forshadowed its appearance is pretty poorly explained and doesn't really fit as a final opponent I think, given that Samus practically is part-Metroid by now. NEED IT OR THE TITLE MAKES NO SENSE?! I suppose. X parasites are much more menacing opponents than metroids or space pirates anyway. Also the birds and monkeys remain badass.
Hum de dum, need to chain-replay this game to really get a feel for it, but even if I decide it has no replay value at all it's an 8/10 minimum. Hooray.
Super Mario World 2 - Two levels from the end (I think?). SLUGGY THE UNSHAVEN is the best boss name ever, and Raphael the Raven is the best boss ever. I mean not only is he a giant raven which is inherently fucking badass he is actually a Super Mario Galaxy boss over a decade earlier and on the SNES. Genius! Totally get why I remembered him and almost nothing else about the game. World 5 was a fairly brutal experience but so far 6 has been much easier.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon - Decided to start this up on H3, since it's in the middle of the HM difficulties and FESD could certainly have stood to be more than a bit harder. First thing I notice: Enemies are rather scary and no prologue = you have no healing whatsoever until Wrys joins. Draug's Def is actually useful for this battle, Caeda is the only person who doubles anything, and Jagen's help is certainly appreciated. Second thing I notice: Oh dear god the C1 boss is a complete monster. 21 atk/10 speed one-rounds several people, notably Cain (6 spd) and Draug (even the Def doesn't save him!). Jagen gets 2HKOed and is the only person who does more than 6 damage to his 27 HP + 20% regen + good evade, and only has 60% hit. Ack. Range beat him and waited to get lucky with accuracy (Cain's lack of Javelins made him depressingly worthless, GORDIN however was useful) which of course happened in time but still, he's like a scary FE6 boss. Third thing I notice: I take back any Draug hype because he is worthless crap on the second map, instead of taking 3 damage once he is taking 6 damage twice, from the same enemies. 7HKOed -> 2HKOed. Wow. Fourth thing: Darros recruits himself by talking to Marth then gets doubled and one-rounded by the fighter coming up behind him. Amazing. Don't start with a Steel Axe next time, kid. Currently early in that fight.
