We need to just give irl feet beans and fur

And probably completely change the shape of everything

... But please retro... No more "Dark x" or "Psychic x" items ... Just call it the boost ball like normal.

(Though they did add some pretty cool mechanics for some items, like the spider ball, under the whole 'psychic' concept - so I will give them props that it wasn't a total weird gimmick.)

Like I feel like Metroid dread was fine, so they can clearly market Metroid. but here they were so overprotective of spoilers they only previewed the literal tutorial area(s). Like, I get it, but sometimes you need to spoil just a little bit of cool shit to get people to play it.

I really hope they are working on Metroid prime 5, because I feel like with a second shot, taking the criticisms of MP4 to heart, and without the baggage of MP4's dev cycle, they really could make a game that surpasses the original. There is something special here, it just needs some refinement.

Overall, definitely get why it's divisive. It has many great elements, but with some prominent design choices that feel confusing in the moment.

But I feel like, in a next game, if they added more movement progression to the vehicles, maybe split into smaller fields, and added between-zone interconnects as an alternative to a desert hyrule field (e.g., maintenance tunnels/roads), they could really make the vehicle sections work very well.

Yes there could have been fast travel like mp3 - but I do appreciate they tried to keep things physically connected.

I do think they could have done more with it - the green crystals really add nothing to it, and I think the bike was underutilized in the zones-

The open desert, though not exciting, feels better to track through repeatedly than magmor caverns does since you move fast and don't have to go through literally the same area. Like viola actually does feel pretty good to control. It is partly why this game *should* have had a real artifact hunt.

As for the desert and viola -

If the desert was replaced with a level ala magmor caverns, and the game progression was otherwise the same, the game would actively become much worse - you do have to return to one level semi frequently, and backtracking would become extremely tedious fast.

The characters actually do feel like real characters with personalities.

The issue really is Samus having no way to express themselves or talk. So in cutscenes with her it's just like, asking Samus a question and she just like, stares. Like... Just let her speak, it can be done well.

As for the common criticisms:

Re the characters - I actually ended up liking all of them but one, who's main issue is the voice acting being a bit weaker. I'm not going to really fault miles replacing the "hey, you need to go here next" pop up every prime game had.

....I know the artifact hunts are usually the worst part of Metroid prime games, but this one in particular feels like it would have benefit from it design wise (specifically - artifacts within the zones). ESPECIALLY with the desert, since it makes returning to zones much less tedious.

You pretty much only need to go through an area for clearing items for 100% - and when doing so, you are mostly collecting things in rooms you have to go through on the main path. There's not many (though there are a few) completely new areas to explore - partly because there's no real artifact hunt

(okay probably will be more spoilery)

In the spots where you do need to return to areas for upgrades, it feels like they always tried to have the blocker really early in the zone so you don't need to go that far into it, and whatever you unlock is just a short side path with your next item.

There is still the feeling of 'I have to use my full suite of abilities to keep moving forward,' but there are not many cases where you are like "where do I need to go to use this ability next."

All the prime games are linear in progression, but in this one the path is just extremely clear.

Ever since prime 1 got criticized over backtracking, retro/tanabe have like, over corrected, and this one is probably the most egregious.

It feels like they never want you to have to re-explore the same room without many big changes to accompany it, so it makes it feel much more linear