What's your favorite main series Metroid game?

[super_etecoon]

For me the answer is Super Metroid without a doubt.

But I also want to take the time to give Metroid its fair share of respect. It is common these days to call the original game a broken mess that wouldn't be fixed until Super came out. People complain about the lack of map or the similarity of rooms or the absolute lack of hand holding. But as an 11 year old when that game came out, none of those things held me back from mastering the game. The fact that you start with 30 energy points means that you better get farming and you better plan your energy tank pickups carefully. It is a game to learn through mistake after mistake and to get better. It is a game that when you are at school you are constantly recreating in your mind, wondering how to get to certain points, or how to get to certain points quicker. Metroid was not broken when it first released; it was an absolute masterpiece just like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. I'm only saying this for the ears of some younger folk here who might believe that Metroid was some failed experiment when it released. The Quality of Life improvements that were delivered with Super certainly make for an easier, less stilted experience, but that's not to say we felt limited when it released. In fact, it was the most expansive universe we had ever seen in videogames and it was a joy (and a terror) to explore.