To be honest, AM2R.
I’ve heard so much praise for this game that I can’t help but wonder if I even played the same game as the people praising it.
-The graphics are fine, but ultimately unimpressive when you remember all the other great things we’ve seen from GameMaker.
-All the Metroid fights with the exception of the Zetas felt repetitive and more like a chore to get through.
-The theme for every Metroid Type was exactly the same, making the fights feel even more repetitive and uninteresting.
-The only time the Evolution in the Metroid Cycle felt significant was with the Omega where it ripped the Federation troops to shreds. And those fights were absolutely terrible.
-The overreliance of Shinesparking for collectibles irritates me. Especially since it was my first 2D Metroid Game, had no previous knowledge of the Shinespark, and the game didn’t explain how to Shinespark at all. When I pointed this problem out on another forum, I was told, “You could have easily looked it up.” If I have to look at outside resources to find a mechanic that should have been explained in-game, then isn’t that evidence in it or itself that the gameplay is broken?
-The other bosses never really stuck with me except for maybe two; Torizo, and Genesis, the latter of which will only be found by completionists. The rest felt obviously unfinished (Serris and The Queen), shoehorned to drag the game out (That Robot in the Escape Segment), alright (Tester), why is this even here (Temple Guardian), to meh (Araccnus).
-The soundtrack, while fine, gets repetitive, like the original GB game, which is not good.
-The use of pipes for transport doesn’t feel like something a race as advanced as the Chozo would use (though this can be seen as a nitpick).
Don’t get me wrong, AM2R is a fine game. But riddled with so many problems that for a game that was in development for 10 years, really should have been much better. It feels to me that DrM64 put far more effort into having water droplets from a cave, than having exciting fights and solid gameplay. In my eyes, Samus Returns will be the better game.