Super Metroid - Melancholia IV is one of those SNES games that just sticks with you. The moment you drop onto Zebes, the atmosphere hits—creepy alien tunnels, that eerie soundtrack, and this weird sense that something’s always watching you. You start with just your basic arm cannon, but before long, you’re hunting for missile upgrades, grappling hooks, and those satisfying power-ups that let you blast through walls or freeze enemies mid-air.

The bosses are brutal in the best way—you’ll die a few times figuring out their patterns, but when you finally take down Ridley or Kraid, it feels like a real victory. And the level design? Genius. You’ll backtrack through areas with new abilities, uncovering hidden rooms you swore weren’t there before. Some of those secrets are so well-hidden, I’m still finding new ones years later.

It’s not just nostalgia, either. The controls are tight, the pacing’s perfect, and that moment when the music swells during the escape sequence? Chills every time. If you’ve never played it, you’re in for something special. If you have, you already know why it’s still talked about decades later.