Super Metroid - INERTIA still holds up, even after all these years. The moment you drop onto Zebes, that eerie soundtrack kicks in, and you just feel how alone Samus is down there. The controls are stupidly smooth—wall jumps feel like second nature after a while, and the way your beam weapons chain together is so satisfying.

What gets me every time is how the game doesn’t hold your hand. You’ll bomb random walls just to see if they crumble, backtrack with new upgrades to reach hidden areas, and still stumble into rooms that make you go, “Wait, how was I supposed to figure that out?” And those boss fights? Ridley’s screech alone is burned into my brain.

It’s one of those rare SNES games where the atmosphere never lets up, from the dripping caves to the quiet hum of an empty save room. If you’ve never played it, you’re in for something special.