Samus is arguably the most badass female in Nintendo history, though some of the Fire Emblem cast give her a run for her money. She was pretty epic in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as well, even though the game had a mixed reaction among the fandom. Even those like myself who really enjoyed the game admit it could have been much better.

I really enjoyed the opening sequence involving Samus because we actually get to see her working with the Galactic Federation instead of immediately dropping onto a planet with nobody but her and… 50,000 monsters trying to kill her. We also get to see her take on Space Pirates instead of just reading about it and assuming it happened.

The big deal for Samus this time was gaining psychic powers and basically becoming the messiah for a race of alien creatures. Except it seems like all of those alien creatures are dead, so Samus kind of fails at being a savior because she arrives years or even centuries too late to save them from genocide.

The coolest part of the game for her was probably the Vi-O-La space motorcycle. The vehicle could have been better, but it was pretty good for fast travel. Though I will admit there is too much time spent in that gigantic desert, especially near the end of the game.

Even though it’s a hot take, I really enjoyed her having human allies this time. Video games are kind of unrealistic with the whole one-person army concept and absolutely no help. Here, almost every new place you visit introduces a new ally. They’re not only there to help move the story along, but sometimes they also help you fight monsters in real time.

By the end of the adventure, she has a gigantic robot friend, a cool sniper buddy, a tech whiz companion, a gruff but friendly sergeant, and her wannabe BFF, who is a Galactic Federation private. They were all unique, and I really enjoyed them. I don’t care what the haters say.

Speaking of haters, Sylux was the main antagonist of the game, even though he spends most of it up in that tower. I remember him from Metroid Prime Hunters as a playable character on the Nintendo DS, and it was cool to finally see him appear in a main Metroid game. Their battle was kind of nuts, and the fact that Samus doesn’t technically kill him was… interesting.

Instead, she has to abandon her allies, which kind of sucks. The ending was weird and didn’t make much sense, especially the first time you watch it. She loses her special suit, immediately plants a tree, and that’s basically it. The special ending is just her taking off her helmet, which I didn’t unlock. I kind of get it, but Samus was definitely being a crappy friend this time around. Not very heroic.