u/xtellarfb_

I finished Zero Mission yesterday in the middle of the afternoon! What a great game!

Since I didn't want to do anything else, I decided to go for my first 100% completion in a Metroid game. It was really fun! I had around 74% completion when I first finished it, so I decided to check the rest of my notes, before going for online maps. I had only one upgrade left for each area by then (except Ridley's Lair, that I had 6 missile upgrades left, and Chozodia, that I had 1 power bomb and 2 energy upgrades left).

But MY STARS ABOVE, the Shinespark challenges in this game are insanely hard to pull off, and some even feel like speedrunning techs. I loved figuring out myself how to solve most of them, but I had to look up videos on how to do the Ballspark challenge in the middle of Brinstar, the one on southwestern Ridley's Lair, and THIS ONE.

This one specifically took me too long to pull off. But since I was playing on an emulator, I took advantage of it, trying to get it done in different speeds (first 50%, then 60%, then 70%, 80%, 90%...) until I could actually do it in normal speed.

In the end it's just a 8 hours 100% completion for a (really cool) picture of Samus in the end, but DAMN, it was satisfying to finally pull off.

i'm genuinely obsessed with the way Rouge spins the rope around her feet while holding Metal

She's so fucking cool

these days I have decided to play the games that defined genre (so, I'll be playing Symphony of the Night soon as well) and I have just finished Super Metroid.

at first I expected to find a dated game with interesting ideas, but instead I found an actual masterpiece that got me hooked for the entire 11-hours runtime. now it's on my top 5 metroidvania games and top 3 pre-2000 games (along with Zelda Ocarina of Time and Sonic 3 & Knuckles).

now, i don't think the game is perfect. to name a few points:

• jumping felt very awkward first (and was still a little problematic in the end)
• some techniques are hell to execute (i'm looking straight into your eyes, Space fucking Jump)
• boss fights mostly felt like "launch your entire arsenal at the boss and hope to have enough energy to tank the almost unavoidable damage".

still, it's exactly what i look for in a metroidvania game. fun power-ups, platforming challenges, interesting exploration, creative puzzles, inventive paths to open. every new discovery, even if it's yet another resource capacity upgrade, felt rewarding just for finding out what to do. not to mention the aesthetics!! the game still looks beautiful and soundtrack is great. definitely a game that deserves the legacy it created, and that i'll coming back to again.

my rating for the game: 8.5/10 (that .5 is because Samus is cool af)
- favorite powerup: grappling hook
- favorite boss: crocomire

(goes without saying, but i'm looking forward to seeing other people's opinions on it too!)

i was just recording some bosses of the game to show my friend what it is like, and omg i've finally beaten Lady Ethereal hitless. not my flashiest, coolest, most WOW gameplay, but i'm still proud of myself. she's my favorite boss!!

i still haven't learned how to triple-unbounded-counter the "sun" attack with divine jade tho 😭

112%, all bindings of the 5 pantheons, all bosses on ascended/radiant in hall of gods, and, more importantly, THE ETERNAL ORDEAL!!!!!

(also, delicate flower for elderbug, so +1%)

i first played this game back in late December, full of expectations. at first it was "???? what do i do next?" after beating False Knight and almost dropping the game because of that. thank heavens, THANK HEAVENS, i kept going.

hollow knight is high-cortisol and trauma-inducing at the same level it is beautiful, epic, awesome, and worth exploring every corner and going for every challenge.

thank you, team cherry, for creating a timeless masterpiece.