Lol no need to apologize. I expected as much considering how the thread's been inactive for almost a couple of years (I should've posted in there more often).

I think we should do an indies Metroidvania poll and a non-indie Metroidvania poll, because if you have a poll that features both, the star power of the AAA Metroidvanias will prevent the indies from having a fair chance. Plus there are a LOT of indie Metroidvanias.

Ok folks, so let's put those Metroidvania nominations in two categories:

Major Studios
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)


Independent Studios
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

These won't be weighted any differently, so don't worry about necesarily putting them in order. Just looking for as many nominations as possible to see what rises to the top. Top 10 make it into the poll...if we don't end up with 10 I'll have to pad the list with my personal favorites.

Go!

Doing the indies first because that has a much richer catalog of games to choose from so it's easier

Independent Studios:
1. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
2. AM2R
3. Guacamelee
4. Cave Story
5. Steamworld Dig

Okay, gotta do the AAAs without naming Metroid. Hmm...you know what? I'm gonna be controversial, just because I can, and not name any Castlevanias either, and really stretch the definition. The following games are, I would argue, effectively Metroidvanias:
Major Studios:
1. Banjo-Tooie (It was more non-linear than the first game, lots of unlockable moves needed to continue to progress, the levels sometimes interconnect)
2. Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (You explore a giant interconnected world, in whatever order you want, only major difference is that you can lose and gain the powerups needed for progress as needed, completely different from the other Kirby games in its nonlinearity)
3. Wario Land 3 (I mean did you ever play it? There's a lot you can't do until you unlock the right move, lot of obvious areas you know you'll need to backtrack to later once you do, levels aren't interconnected but don't have a set end point like your typical platformer)
4. Shantae (the Capcom published one for the Game Boy Color, that counts as AAA, right?)
5. Ys VIII (yes it's an ARPG, but with strong Metroidvania elements, you gradually unlock more of an island by unlocking various tools like the ability to climb walls, double jump, etc., and you have to find shipwreck survivors to unlock certain areas and certain features of you shipwreck survivor village)

You know, there aren't actually a lot of AAA Metroidvanias not called Metroid or Castlevania...

Indie
1) Steamworld Dig 2
2) Guacamelee
3) Hollow Knight
4) Axiom Verge
5) Fluidity

I really need to play more of this genre. There's quite a lot of new ones that I've been hoping to grab, but then something happens. Looking forward to seeing more recommendations and nominations to help me pick my next adventure.

Also, I'm kind of considering not doing a major studio Metroidvania poll, considering that the offerings aren't as deep. I'll still take nominations, but I'm not sure we'll end up with a strong poll from the choices.

Indie:

1) Axiom Verge
2) Hollow Knight
3) uuuhhhmmmm... I haven't played that many, I guess

Has anyone played The Messenger? It's pretty cool. Starts off as a Ninja Gaiden clone but turns out it's more like Super Metroid actually. I can recommend that one.

That's one of the new ones I definitely need to try.  Along with Dead Cells.  They just cost so much that I'm dreading buying them and finding out they're not my style.  

Yeah, that's what I realized as I was trying to make nominations. I tried to only nominate serious, explicit examples of the genre that weren't part of the genre's namesake, but there's literally nothing from major studios outside of Metroid and Castlevania that has explicitly tried a take on this genre, save for a handful of shovelware, and I'd argue the first Shantae, but Shantae is more known by its indie titles now.

I'd suggest maybe instead of a major studios poll, we try something else, like a "if you like Metroidvanias, you might also like" kind of thing, doesn't have to be a poll, could just be a topic for the thread.

As for indies, I could easily name 10, if not 20 Metroidvanias worth playing. It seems upon reflection that it wasn't until the onset of the era of indies that the genre expanded beyond the series that inspired the name.