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[Arsic]

This game is heralded as one of the best games of all time. Often in top 10 lists.

I was a scrub growing up who never had his own Super Nintendo. So oddly enough my Metroid playing has been regulated to prime and dread. I've tried to get into super a few times in the past but I never committed.

I completed dread recently which I adored. THIS was peak gaming for me. So I figured people still consider SM better than this so it must be even better than Dread. Right? Right!?

Fuck no. Lmao. what is this over hyped nostalgia bait you mother fuckers glaze this atrocious game for?

It starts off good. All the usual goodies, exploring, teleporters, bosses, new tools, etc. Then it falls deep off a cliff with inconsistent shit jump mechanics galore. Paths so stupidly hidden it forces you to look up a guide unless you want to beat your brains into oblivion trying to figure it out on your own.

I cannot stress how shit space jump or wall jump is in this game. Imagine if Mario was this clunky lol that a simple double jump mechanic or wall jump was regulated to this retarded system. Thank god for Megaman X showing how wall jumps should work.

Before I subject myself to more nostalgia bait is Fusion better or am I going to get baited again?

Super Metroid is a 6/10. Dread is a 9/10. Prime is a 9/10. Change my mind.

 

[ClanOfNone]

Dread is a terrible Metroid title, worse than Fusion even which is quite a feat.

Super and Prime remain the franchise stars, honorable mention to Zero Mission.

 

[Arsic]

Dread is a terrible Metroid title, worse than Fusion even which is quite a feat.

Super and Prime remain the franchise stars, honorable mention to Zero Mission.

Can you elaborate why you didn't like Dread and why fusion is worse?

Depending on your answer it may actually mean that Fusion is more for my tastes…

 

[Valonquar]

Let's see what OP's take is on SotN next.

 

[kremiso]

2d lover here
Metroid is one of my fave ever serie

my top 3 is Metroid : Zero Mission, AM2R and Super Metroid
then Metroid Prime, also fabulous

perhaps offtopic, liked a lot Ghost Song on PC, kinda Metroid style

 

[Arsic]

Let's see what OP's take is on SotN next.

SoTN is in a whole different league lol. That game fuuuuuuucks. Love castlevania all around.

 

[ClanOfNone]

Can you elaborate why you didn't like Dread and why fusion is worse?

Depending on your answer it may actually mean that Fusion is more for my tastes…

Both titles strip one of Metroid's biggest strengths, exploration. Your post mentioned needing a guide for Super Metroid, cmon mannn.

Fusion is ok, but far too linear, but the chase scenes were badass.

Dread was, well, dreadful. Having one Emmi fight was bad, repeating half a dozen more times and you can go fuck yourself. I would've killed for a Full Moon Studios helmed Dread, Mercury Steam shit the bed where it really mattered. At least it looked good I guess.

 

[Hero_Select]

Imagine calling Super Metroid "atrocious"

You can say you like Dread more, I love that game but Super Metroid is as playable today as it was back then and it's fucking fantastic.

 

[Dacvak]

Okay.

1. OP, you're wrong.
2. It's true that Super Metroid has some seriously dated mechanics and controls. I recently played through it with a mod that changed the controls to something closer to Zero Mission/Fusion, and it was genuinely better.
3. The music, alone, makes Super Metroid a 10/10 games.
4. Metroid Dread is also awesome (but has a shit soundtrack)
5. If you haven't played Fusion, you'll probably love it. (It's also phenomenal, as almost all Metroid games are.)
6. I don't remember where I was going with this.
7. Anyway, every Metroid game is excellent, with the notable exceptions of Federation Force (absolute garbage) and Other M (which is a fucking abortion of a Metroid game)
8. Prime Hunters is okay. And AM2R is phenomenal and better than the actual Metroid 2 remake, which is still pretty solid.
9. Okay anyway OP…
10. You're still wrong, you actually loved the Super Metroid. Maybe you just don't know it yet.

 

[Plies]

You're projecting a games mechanics from over 30 years later onto it and expect it to be the same.
Of course you're getting disappointed. But that doesn't make the game bad, quite the opposite.

For such an old game it is extraordinary. The controls are clunky by today's standards, yes. And it always is the first thing I mention should be overhauled when the question of a remake comes up. But you simply can not expect the same feeling like Dread and blame the game for it.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

You motherfuckers best remember how great my thread was in hindsight!

 

[Arsic]

You're projecting a games mechanics from over 30 years later onto it and expect it to be the same.
Of course you're getting disappointed. But that doesn't make the game bad, quite the opposite.

For such an old game it is extraordinary. The controls are clunky by today's standards, yes. And it always is the first thing I mention should be overhauled when the question of a remake comes up. But you simply can not expect the same feeling like Dread and blame the game for it.

Let's look at Chrono Trigger or Super Mario World or A Link to the Past as games from that era to play today. They simply haven't aged and are just as good to play today as its counterparts in the genre.

Super Metroid doesn't hold the test of time in the Metroidvania department…

 

[Plies]

You motherfuckers best remember how great my thread was in hindsight!

What thread?

 

[tomato shrub]

Super Metroid doesn't have modern sidescroller controls and might need a minute to get used to. However, it has 10/10 atmosphere, great pixel art, amazing music, meaning amazing atmosphere overall, great level design where backtracking isn't boring, smart player guidance through visual cues, super cool secrets.

Dread has good controls, but bad exploration, no cool secrets, bloated level design where backtracking feels like a punishment, shit atmosphere thanks to a terrible soundtrack and generic environmental graphics.

If you claim SM is hailed by nostalgia, I say Dread is overhyped by recency bias. btw I haven't played Super Metroid when it came out, only many generations later when Nintendo uploaded it in a estore.

 

[Arsic]

Super Metroid doesn't have modern sidescroller controls, though it's not that hard to get used to. At the same time, it has 10/10 atmosphere, great pixel art, amazing music, meaning amazing atmosphere overall, great level design where backtracking isn't boring, smart player guidance through visual cues, super cool secrets.

Dread has good controls, but bad exploration, no cool secrets, bloated level design where backtracking feels like a punishment, shit atmosphere thanks to a terrible soundtrack and generic environmental graphics.

I generally don't replay Metroidvanias except symphony of the night.

With Metroid Dread I enjoyed my time with that game immensely start to finish and never got frustrated with it.

I totally agree there is no soundtrack to it, and I would loved some more inspired levels.

Super Metroid when you're first playing in those initial 3-4 hours for me was aiming to be a 10/10. Music, atmosphere, pixel art, and exploration. I didn't feel it remained this quality once you complete 2/4 main bosses. It falls right off a cliff… I had the fun constantly being drained with the issues I mentioned above. I still beat it around 7 hours but the praise I think is too much. The games I listed above are all timeless classics that withstand the test of time and are worth all their praise.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Ok OP time to confess. Where did you get stuck?

I think Super Metroid is a great game. Short, but with tons of secrets and stuff to find. Controls can be clunky but once you become used to them, it should be easy to control Samus to do whatever you like, don't remember having a lot of trouble in that regard.

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. You probably want to check out Fusion next but personally, I prefer Zero Mission.

 

[Arsic]

Ok OP time to confess. Where did you get stuck?

I think Super Metroid is a great game. Short, but with tons of secrets and stuff to find. Controls can be clunky but once you become used to them, it should be easy to control Samus to do whatever you like, don't remember having a lot of trouble in that regard.

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good time. You probably want to check out Fusion next but personally, I prefer Zero Mission.

Trying both. Can't believe Nintendo hides these behind a $50 fee. Criminal shit.

 

[simpatico]

Is there an astrological explanation for the pants-on-head OPs we got today? It's uncanny. I've been on GAF for more than a decade, and this day is certainly in the upper echelon of wtf. I think the AAA drought is starting to break people.

 

[demigod]

With these opinions OP, its best if you keep it to yourself.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Well I guess my first question is Arsic how old are you dude

 

[Plies]

Is there an astrological explanation for the pants-on-head OPs we got today?

There's nothing weird about what OP is saying.
It's a perfectly valid discussion he's presenting.

As for everything else, remember it's the weekend.

 

[simpatico]

There's nothing weird about what OP is saying.
It's a perfectly valid discussion he's presenting.

As for everything else, remember it's the weekend.

Did you miss the part where he ranked Dread over Super? Still not convinced this isn't a mini-Kaufman trolling...

You've heard of Mercury Steam, right?

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Jeez OP.

No, this doesn't control like a modern game. Do you expect System Shock remake to play as good as new Doom games?

Metroid Dread is to metroidvania games, what Doom Eternal is to FPS games. Best mechanics ever. You get better in real time. Literally can observe how good you get after fumbling for first 5-6 tries.

With that said, Super Metroid still reigns supreme. Pacing, atmosphere, exploration everything is top shelf. All these areas Dread messes up big time.

 

[Arsic]

Jeez OP.

No, this doesn't control like a modern game. Do you expect System Shock remake to play as good as new Doom games?

Metroid Dread is to metroidvania games, what Doom Eternal is to FPS games. Best mechanics ever. You get better in real time. Literally can observe how good you get after fumbling for first 5-6 tries.

With that said, Super Metroid still reigns supreme. Pacing, atmosphere, exploration everything is top shelf. All these areas Dread messes up big time.

Zelda link to the past still plays and controls great, so does super Mario world.

 

[Glass Joe]

I'm old enough to have played Super Metroid when it was new.

Graphics at the time were great. Definitely the music, too. It was also 24-megs, that was a big deal! I think the largest cartridge at the time.

The wall jump that's so tricky to do, IIRC it was a secret mechanic not needed to finish the game. I think you can fall down a corridor and some NPC "good guys" keep wall jumping, hinting to you that it's possible. But I'm sure several people finished the game without knowing it even existed.

I remember getting REALLY stuck once. This was way before the internet. The trick was to power bomb a glass tube you're walking through to shatter it. As soon as I finally discovered it, I realized there was a hint all along - a similar tube already shattered in a nearby location. But the x-ray visor that told you about destructible stuff did not pick that up. My mind was blown. In a good way or bad way, I dunno.

The ending, there was nothing like it at the time. Incredible!

Nostalgia glasses away: Yes, further playthroughs have me re-map the button layout. The art-style and animation were definitely refined and improved in the GBA games (Zero Mission and Fusion). In Super, there's sections that I now feel look "ugly" in design.

But... at the time... one of the most mind-blowing games out there for someone with a little patience for exploring. And the soundtrack. I normally don't care much about game music, but man, that atmospheric soundtrack is still by far the best in the series.

And considering the jump from NES (a boring mess that made you make maps on graph paper) to SNES (a masterpiece) - it was quite a jump in quality in every metric.

 

[kevboard]

that's a very long winded way to tell us you suck at videogames man

 

[rm082e]

I completed dread recently which I adored. THIS was peak gaming for me. So I figured people still consider SM better than this so it must be even better than Dread. Right? Right!?

Fuck no. Lmao. what is this over hyped nostalgia bait you mother fuckers glaze this atrocious game for?

Super Metroid is a 6/10.

Me RN:

Seriously though: It was amazing in it's day, given the context of that time. It still holds that luster for those of us who loved it when it was new because it hits all those nostalgia feels. But I can see how it wouldn't hold up if you started with Prime.

Also, your a bad person.

 

[Arsic]

I'm old enough to have played Super Metroid when it was new.

Graphics at the time were great. Definitely the music, too. It was also 24-megs, that was a big deal! I think the largest cartridge at the time.

The wall jump that's so tricky to do, IIRC it was a secret mechanic not needed to finish the game. I think you can fall down a corridor and some NPC "good guys" keep wall jumping, hinting to you that it's possible. But I'm sure several people finished the game without knowing it even existed.

I remember getting REALLY stuck once. This was way before the internet. The trick was to power bomb a glass tube you're walking through to shatter it. As soon as I finally discovered it, I realized there was a hint all along - a similar tube already shattered in a nearby location. But the x-ray visor that told you about destructible stuff did not pick that up. My mind was blown. In a good way or bad way, I dunno.

The ending, there was nothing like it at the time. Incredible!

Nostalgia glasses away: Yes, further playthroughs have me re-map the button layout. The art-style and animation were definitely refined and improved in the GBA games (Zero Mission and Fusion). In Super, there's sections that I now feel look "ugly" in design.

But... at the time... one of the most mind-blowing games out there for someone with a little patience for exploring. And the soundtrack. I normally don't care much about game music, but man, that atmospheric soundtrack is still by far the best in the series.

And considering the jump from NES (a boring mess that made you make maps on graph paper) to SNES (a masterpiece) - it was quite a jump in quality in every metric.

I don't think the wall jump where the little guys were is needed but there was something much later on trying to get to Ridley that I swear needed a few wall jumps.

The super bounce too in one room I would have no issues rolling from side to the next while staying at the ceiling. Then the next I need to just do a basic one extra roll to reach a ledge and it just wouldn't do it. I totally got it was hitting jump just at the Apex as you're about to fall, and again certain rooms it didn't mess up at all then others it felt like it wouldn't work at all.

To answer questions above in other posts I'm 37 years old. Yes I've completed games like Elden Ring with dagger only no summons no magic, dark souls 3 with dagger only, sekiro with bell rang, etc. I jack off to ninja gaiden games on harder difficulties I'm not a scrub at gaming. Yes I had to look up where to go here after boss 2. Forget exactly where it was it had to do with the wrecked ship I think. I just didn't want to waste hours back tracking entire chunks of maps bombing walls.

It's also a common complaint online if you google it that comes across years of posts of people complaining about the wall and double jump mechanics here lol. I'm not some special guy who thinks it sucks.

It's similar to when folks first play monster hunter and go "wow these controls sure do suck", then only the Stockholm syndrome Mh fans do mental gymnastics to convince new players it's their fault and the controls are good…

 

[_Ex_]

Paths so stupidly hidden it forces you to look up a guide unless you want to beat your brains into oblivion trying to figure it out on your own.

Come on man. I beat this game in 1994 as a 15 year old with no internet, no guides, no artificial aid whatsoever, in a weekend. It's got an elaborate auto-map and many subtle clues throughout, what else do you want it to do? Suck your dick while you press A to win?

 

[Arsic]

Come on man. I beat this game in 1994 as a 15 year old with no internet, no guides, no artificial aid whatsoever, in a weekend. It's got an elaborate auto-map and many subtle clues throughout, what else do you want it to do? Suck your dick while you press A to win?

 

[Arsic]

Me RN:

Seriously though: It was amazing in it's day, given the context of that time. It still holds that luster for those of us who loved it when it was new because it hits all those nostalgia feels. But I can see how it wouldn't hold up if you started with Prime.

Also, your a bad person.

I mean, I am currently playing Fusion (which I am digging a lot so far), and plan to play zero mission as well.

It's just SM is held on such a high pedestal I expected it to be on the level of Chrono trigger which I think to this day is one of the all the time goats of JRPGs and still shits on most in the genre that came out in the last 20 years.

I thought SM would be the same, but if I had to put a metroidvania in that league id give it to symphony of the night.

 

[rm082e]

I mean, I am currently playing Fusion (which I am digging a lot so far), and plan to play zero mission as well.

It's just SM is held on such a high pedestal I expected it to be on the level of Chrono trigger which I think to this day is one of the all the time goats of JRPGs and still shits on most in the genre that came out in the last 20 years.

I thought SM would be the same, but if I had to put a metroidvania in that league id give it to symphony of the night.

Symphony of the Night is for sure in my top 10 all time, and it holds up for me. I replay it yearly at least.

SM I do love, but I haven't played it in a few years. It's more the memory of how pumped I was to spend the money I saved from lawn mowing to buy my SNES and sit in my room eating pizza playing Super Metroid. A "core memory" for sure!

 

[kungfuian]

Of course there are modern Metroidvanias that have surpassed it in some fashion or other, but the sense of loneliness, the whole vibe of the game, are still something special. There's something about the slow exploration of it's alien cave systems paired with the melancholic moody music, especially the Maridia area, that make the game something special even today.

Evoking feelings of lonely exploration is hard to do right. Not many games do it as well.

 

[Trilobit]

Never played SM, but I loved Metroid Fusion, very creepy game. Maybe I'll try it out some day.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Zelda link to the past still plays and controls great, so does super Mario world.

By that standard, Super Metroid plays good too.

Try comparing something like Nioh 2 to swordplay in Zelda. Thats whats like comparing Dread to Super Metroid.

SMW does hold up sufficiently cause its pure gameplay. Still I would take latest platformers over it.

 

[Signalis]

This game is heralded as one of the best games of all time. Often in top 10 lists.

I was a scrub growing up who never had his own Super Nintendo. So oddly enough my Metroid playing has been regulated to prime and dread. I've tried to get into super a few times in the past but I never committed.

I completed dread recently which I adored. THIS was peak gaming for me. So I figured people still consider SM better than this so it must be even better than Dread. Right? Right!?

Fuck no. Lmao. what is this over hyped nostalgia bait you mother fuckers glaze this atrocious game for?

It starts off good. All the usual goodies, exploring, teleporters, bosses, new tools, etc. Then it falls deep off a cliff with inconsistent shit jump mechanics galore. Paths so stupidly hidden it forces you to look up a guide unless you want to beat your brains into oblivion trying to figure it out on your own.

I cannot stress how shit space jump or wall jump is in this game. Imagine if Mario was this clunky lol that a simple double jump mechanic or wall jump was regulated to this retarded system. Thank god for Megaman X showing how wall jumps should work.

Before I subject myself to more nostalgia bait is Fusion better or am I going to get baited again?

Super Metroid is a 6/10. Dread is a 9/10. Prime is a 9/10. Change my mind.

 

[TexMex]

The smoothest brain on all of neogaf.

 

[Soodanim]

I remember getting REALLY stuck once. This was way before the internet. The trick was to power bomb a glass tube you're walking through to shatter it. As soon as I finally discovered it, I realized there was a hint all along - a similar tube already shattered in a nearby location. But the x-ray visor that told you about destructible stuff did not pick that up. My mind was blown. In a good way or bad way, I dunno.

This is what gets me. How many games have a damaged piece of environment that you can't replicate? People celebrate that as environmental storytelling. Super Metroid isn't exactly Red Faction, so I'm not going to try blowing up the environment.

Some games have certain flaws that you need to learn to play around in order to appreciate it fully. People cry about certain RE games like 0 and CV and use it as justification for a game being shit.

But SM gets a pass for the same things. Possibly because people have been playing round the glass tube nonsense and/or other things for so long that they've forgotten the time when they didn't know the solution. I have that with Dark Souls 1. Certain hidden walls etc that rely on online play for collaborative sharing to spread the world.

I've only played a couple hours of SM, so maybe I hit the glass tube wall and that's why I didn't finish. I don't remember. Maybe I'm missing more context that makes it work better.

 

[Fess]

Metroid Dread was fantastic, my GOTY, but it's really a Metroid game for babies compared to old school Metroid and that's what you're experiencing. Bosses are hard in Dread, until you know all their moves then they're easy, the rest is way too much hand holding and the mechanics are simplified.
Super Metroid has almost no hand holding at all, the core gameplay loop is about finding out what you're supposed to do next, boss fights and action in general is secondary to the exploration.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Wall jump is completely optional in SM. Actually, it's technically a secret move you may never even learn. There is no situation where it is actually required to get something, except the location where you can learn about it. In Dread and other Metroid games, it's necessary to get some power-ups. It's not really surprising that it's quite clunky (though lots of people have mastered it to such a degree that even calling it clunky is questionable).

 

[Kuranghi]

I played all the 2D Metroids except the original 2 (played AM2R instead) and the original 1 (played ZM instead) about 5 years ago, all together within a month and I loved almost every minute of them, especially ZM, AM2R and SM.

I had only played Metroid Prime 1-3 before that and they were some of my favourite games of all time.

Fusion was excellent too but I didnt like the way it was gated off and the bosses didnt click with me so I used save states outside them to avoid backtracking from save after a while to avoid frustration.

The physics in ZM and then AM2R worked so well and were similar so at first when I started SM I was like wtf is this floaty shit, but after an hour or so it felt so right and I ended up liking that one the most, its been said above why already but its just a masterpiece even in current year.

I also really enjoyed Dread massively its more like Fusion in design so not my preferred style of 2D Metroid game in terms of openness, but higher on my list than Fusion overall for various reasons like the moveset and general fluidity of gameplay and combat.

I still never got all the items in ZM even with a guide because I just couldn't perform some of the Shinesparks, I'm planning a full rerun of the older 2D games after I finish my rerun of Dread soon.

The movement in Dread and SM couldn't be more different yes but you need to evaluate games based on what they are, not what they aren't.

 

[cireza]

I played all the 2D Metroids except the original 2 (played AM2R instead) and the original 1 (played ZM instead) about 5 years ago, all together within a month and I loved almost every minute of them, especially ZM, AM2R and SM.

I had only played Metroid Prime 1-3 before that and they were some of my favourite games of all time.

Fusion was excellent too but I didnt like the way it was gated off and the bosses didnt click with me so I used save states outside them to avoid backtracking from save after a while to avoid frustration.

The physics in ZM and then AM2R worked so well and were similar so at first when I started SM I was like wtf is this floaty shit, but after an hour or so it felt so right and I ended up liking that one the most, its been said above why already but its just a masterpiece even in current year.

I also really enjoyed Dread massively its more like Fusion in design so not my preferred style of 2D Metroid game in terms of openness, but higher on my list than Fusion overall for various reasons like the moveset and general fluidity of gameplay and combat.

I still never got all the items in ZM even with a guide because I just couldn't perform some of the Shinesparks, I'm planning a full rerun of the older 2D games after I finish my rerun of Dread soon.

The movement in Dread and SM couldn't be more different yes but you need to evaluate games based on what they are, not what they aren't.

Good pick in playing AM2R and not the awful Metroid Returns on 3DS. All great games for sure. Quite surprised that despite starting with Fusion/ZM/AM2R you still didn't get annoyed at the floaty controls of SM. This is how controls were at first, so this include M1 on NES and M2 on GB. Never liked it much, even if you get used to it. Fusion was an absolute revelation though, it modernized and simplified the controls, while bringing a ton of new aspects to the universe and lore. It has a ton of merit. But they are all great games in the end.

 

[Hashassin]

Ho. Ly. Nutballs. This topic is heresy of the highest order. Ignorius ultimatus!

 

[Hudo]

Of course there are modern Metroidvanias that have surpassed it in some fashion or other, but the sense of loneliness, the whole vibe of the game, are still something special. There's something about the slow exploration of it's alien cave systems paired with the melancholic moody music, especially the Maridia area, that make the game something special even today.

Evoking feelings of lonely exploration is hard to do right. Not many games do it as well.

Fine. I'll play Super Metroid again...

 

[RCX]

It's very dated for sure. The metroidvania genre has expanded and evolved so much since then. Games like Ori, Hollow Knight and further back to SOTN are basically perfect examples of how to do it while putting an original spin on the design.

The massive sprites in Super Metroid just hurt it for me. I know it was a limitation of the time but it just feels too crowded and zoomed in.

 

[Arsic]

It's very dated for sure. The metroidvania genre has expanded and evolved so much since then. Games like Ori, Hollow Knight and further back to SOTN are basically perfect examples of how to do it while putting an original spin on the design.

The massive sprites in Super Metroid just hurt it for me. I know it was a limitation of the time but it just feels too crowded and zoomed in.

For me my favorite metroidvania now is animal well. Master piece.

 

[RCX]

For me my favorite metroidvania now is animal well. Master piece.

Haven't tried it yet. I just got finished with Hollow Knight and it was a long, difficult, enjoyable time. I've got about 1 of these games in me per year so I'll look in on this in 2026 when I'm hungry for another one.

 

[amigastar]

It's very dated for sure. The metroidvania genre has expanded and evolved so much since then. Games like Ori, Hollow Knight and further back to SOTN are basically perfect examples of how to do it while putting an original spin on the design.

The massive sprites in Super Metroid just hurt it for me. I know it was a limitation of the time but it just feels too crowded and zoomed in.

Actually i believe huge sprites were harder to do than smaller sprites back in the days. It was for sure an artistic design choice to make the game look better.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

If I was trapped on an island and only could have 1 game with me until the end of time, it would be Super Metroid.

For me, the greatest Metroidvanias are:
1) Super Metroid
2) Ori Will of the Wisps
3) Castlevania SotN

I hear that people who hate Super Metroid dont get into heaven btw.

 

[crackajack]

The game has aged quite well. I just watched someone play it for their first time (1,5 speed and also skipping around) and additionally watched a sorta documentation on a reverse boss order speedrun, with the insane tricks that are being used to make that possible. It's been a while for myself, but the only thing I remember disliking was the map which did not show doors and which direction is possible. And hidden paths or items just being somewhere behind something. Scan every pixel to see anything is meh or just jump randomly in holes that are just there is truly lame and stupid, there should be some form of hint close by, which probably would have been hard with limited storage and variation of graphics. Some controls certainly take a while, but once you get them, you literally fly through the levels.
Prime moved almost everything into 3d and had a great 3d map, something no other game seem to get right ever since. Or rather the worlds are badly designed so its 3d maps are convoluted and not well viewable at all, ie barely helping and as awkward as just running around the map randomly trying from different ends.