I'm hoping this will be the game that finally makes 2D Metroid click for me. I loved the Prime trilogy but couldn't get into the controls, physics, combat, or flow of Super or Fusion.

I hope so as well. But I definitely get how the Prime series is more accessible, and I don’t mean any slight by saying that by any means. I’m playing Prime right now and it’s just a joy to traverse, especially after you get the space jump boots. 

Speaking of which, how far have you gotten into Super if I might ask?

Not far, only an hour or so, I just constantly struggled with it, which is weird as I am an SNES kid who grew up during that era of gaming.

I’m sure it’s been recommended time and time again for you to return to the game. I do believe the clunkiness and the slowness of the game goes away as you acquire new abilities, particularly the hijump boots. But I understand if it’s a slog to get to that point then you might feel there isn’t a point. It absolutely is one of my favorite games, particularly because as you play more and more you realize you can get items out of order, and searching out those paths (not using guides) is half the fun I had with that game in the late nineties. 

It’s free, which makes the only expense your time. But those save states help out quite a bit with that. 

But I can really understand you waiting to play the modern version of this game and it’s great that you’re going into it with an open mind despite your past distaste with the 2D series. 

My biggest struggle was the combat; the limitations of the aiming system and the movement/placement of enemies make shooting them feel so awkward. Even the first boss, the statue you get the morph ball from, was a struggle as there seems nowhere to move to avoid it and all I could do was jump and shoot til I died or it did; I get you're meant to use the ball to go under him but going to/from the ball wasn't smooth or quick enough, making this manoeuvre a hassle, every time I tried it I got hit.

I do really want to like the 2D branch of the series as I love the Primes so much, so really hope I'm able to get the hang of Dread.

I would not say that that boss (the one you get the bombs from) should be beaten by rolling into a ball. You just use the shoulder button to aim up and to the right and spam missiles and then farm missiles from his projectiles. It’s a really easy fight if you just stand your ground. The bosses can be tough somewhat, but they also give you health/ammo to keep up the fight. You also get the Spazer weapon relatively early on which makes you shoot three beams at once which makes run of the mill combat that much easier. The beams also stack, so as you get new weapons they just add to your strength. 

Alrighty. I really should give it another go someday, it feels like something I should like as the SNES is my favourite console of all time and the series has a lot of traits that really resonate me like its atmosphere, lore, and setting, it's just my previous attempts all stalled when I got frustrated. Maybe I just suck at this kind of game haha.

If you do decide to pick it up and you need some gentle nudges in the right direction (for acquiring items or beating bosses) just send a pm and I’ll get you going in the right direction. I know you could just use a walkthrough as well, but if you’re like me you’d rather not have to take that path. Anyway, back to the game at hand…I’m so hyped for Dread. I’ve been playing Metroid since ‘87 and there’s nothing like that anticipation for a new title in the series. 

I agree with Etecoon: you should give Super another try, Curl. I understand your complaints, but as Etecoon says most of the clunkiness progressively fades away after a few upgrades. And well, he already told you what the problem was with the first boss: you had to use the MorphBall to get between its legs and dodge its attacks xD

Just out of curiosity Curl: What were your problems with Fusion? Perhaps it's something we can help with too ^^

I can't even remember what I got stuck on with Fusion to be honest, I played it on the Wii U virtual console in like 2014.