Pretentiously Disappointing.
I started playing some of the games of my MASSIVE catalogue (as we all should instead of buying new stuff that does not do stuff older games did better).
I don't know what Elden Pixel's plan was
(releasing a commercial product to be played on an emulator? What? Shovel Knight already proved how to nail multi-platform NESsiness 3 years prior, eleven years ago).
I enjoyed my time with this game, it has a very pleasing and cozy aesthetic; music in general is catchy, making the Metroidvania Meandering -which is this game's meat and potatoes- slightly more bearable.
I suppose they really wanted to achieve the obtuseness of early NES, as this game makes you backtrack-hunt for items without any clear indication.
You have to be Metroid or better to do this, and this game is not.
I found out this game wants you to finish it in less than 2 hours, with less than 5 deaths (I'm over 10 hours and over 100 deaths).
Elden Pixels doesn't seem to understand that our time in life is limited and that there are far more rewarding experiences than grinding on a title that has no run function. This game lacks the fluidity and expedience of a Metroidvania (see: Ori and The Blind Forest) to pretend a speedrun achievement.
If you don't care about achievements (which this particular version has not unlike Steam's) you will enjoy its brain teasers and workarounds. The NESmosphere is spot on, bringing with it, unfortunately, it the most irritating aspects of the late 80s games.
And that is the reason that made me abandon it altogether in the final dungeon.
The cheapness of the scenario (intending to emulate "Nintendo Hard" difficulty) and having to perform pixel-perfect movements that were not required in 90% of the game and repeat them over and over again forced me to move on with my limited time on this Earth.
If you're into game development and design, you could learn a lot from this title. Otherwise, just skip and go replay Super Metroid, which remains unsurpassed.
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