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A very fresh Metroid experience that was quite enjoyable for the most part, but like the original this one suffers from not being able to tell if you've activated a gate or picked up an item because the map just shows whether you entered a room or not. I also found myself backtracking a ton and the map is not very easy to traverse so it got very annoying. The bosses I found to be suitable for the most part but Draygon, Ridley, and the golden Chozo statue were all very difficult, at least when I first encountered them.

The level design and the aesthetic were very enjoyable for the most part, I just wish it had some kind of fast travel capability, like Metroid: Samus Returns added but understand that's a limitation of the original. 8/10.

Hyper is an amazing hack - you can tell they put a lot of time and energy into this one. The difficulty is well balanced but still a challenge for most players. The escape sequence, OMG that was tense. Definitely worth a play.

The gameplay is nearly perfect with only a couple minor annoyances. It feels like a brand new Super Metroid. The story is dumb, but who cares. If you love Metroid you need to play this, it truly deserves to stand alongside the official releases in every way apart from the very minor intro story.

For the longest time I mistakenly ignored this hack, thinking it was something else and requiring a lot of the more advanced techniques that I simply am incapable of doing. To say that I was pleasantly surprised by the contrary is a bit of an understatement. As usual, here is my breakdown of this rather fine hack.

STORY: Okay, this is my only beef with this. I'm not all too keen on the story. I get they were going for a darker story, and thus trying to keep the brooding, cold-hearted Samus most of the American audience pretty well expected of her based on our initial introduction to her and lack of supplementary materials that Japan received. However, Samus does seem to go into outright bitch territory when attempting to use whatever means possible to achieve her revenge, though I could just be misinterpreting things. It's a minor nitpick though, and it didn't put me off too much, but just saying that if you do care, this story ISN'T the same as Super's. All in all, it's an extremely minor detail, but something I did want to say.

Edit (1/14/2020): Okay, so I'm playing this hack again, and why not cause I freakin love this hack, and I paid more attention to the opening story. Turns out I misunderstood it the first time around. We're NOT playing the Samus Aran we've always known, and this is made clear in the start when she says she was an engineer before the events that caused this story to happen transpired. Soooo, my apologies to the developer on this one. Taking it in this new light, I get where you were going with it and I actually appreciate the story more than before. Granted, given this IS Super Metroid we're talking about, story isn't THAT important, but I just wanted to comment that I understand better and apologize for giving it flak before.

GAMEPLAY: Okay, THIS is where I believe this hack shines, and this is where I fell in love with it quickly. Yes, this is the same Super Metroid we all know and love. However, many of the mechanics have been revamped, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so. From the very beginning, you'll see that your shots aren't quite so rapid as they used to be, and take a moment from firing to pick up speed and shoot across the screen. To me, this is the first real indication that this game is NOT going to be what you originally expected it to be and it encourages you to start practicing and experimenting with your new gear as soon as you get it so you can see what's different about it. None of the changes are anything annoying, I don't think. In fact, many of them wind up being pretty welcoming, in my opinion. Speed Boost became a favorite change because it activates much quicker and is overall MUCH easier to control than it's ever been. Some of the puzzles to get an item or two actually had me reflect on how awesome I thought it was due to the change. So yes, if you plan on playing, do try out all your new equipment so you're 100% positive you know how it works before you just head off thinking you know. Don't worry, though, as many items have a puzzle to escape their room to force you to do so :P

And boy are you going to need to know your gear and your abilities, because Zebes isn't playing around this time. This game is called HYPER Metroid for a reason as it's far more fast-paced than the original. Not only is Samus an utter speed demon this time around, but enemies also act differently than before. Many are the same as we've always remembered them, but some, bosses especially, are either quicker or have slightly different patterns that play into this faster gameplay. Thankfully, many indestructible items (small rocks, thorns, etc.) shot from enemies are now destructible and drop supplies if destroyed because you'll likely be taking LOADS of damage. This game isn't hard or unfair, but the quicker pace did see me taking more damage than I normally would.

MAP: By Super Metroid standards, this is a pretty big game map. It's not to ridiculous levels like Redesign, but the game is HUGE. Thankfully, Samus already has a downloaded basic map of each area, though they're only half revealed as per the norm. One change however is the absence of the Golden Statue, choosing instead for Tourian to be guarded by 15 gates that must be unlocked all throughout Zebes. While this may sound like a chore, I didn't find it to be so as many of them aren't hidden in particularly difficult to find places and you need to find them in order to progress normally anyway. Typically their lamp to open the gate in question is in the area nearby wherever you start finding locked areas. If in doubt though, there IS a fan-made map online to use, but I honestly don't think it's entirely necessary unless hunting for a specific one as all gates are numbered. Also, this is probably the most interconnected Zebes has ever been. There's many shortcuts between each area, which makes it feel like its title of being the Space Pirate Fortress it's referred to sometimes.

BUTTONS: Why you change button mapping!? :{

MY RATING: 9.5/10 I love this hack dearly, and I got so addicted, more than I've ever been in a long time with a SM hack. None of the changes are anything annoying or difficult to put up with in my opinion, and the gameplay tweaks are a welcome change for this game. I'm docking half a point for making me having to remap buttons though :P Seriously, they were fine where they were to start with! XD

This is a really great hack overall.

• Feels like a new Metroid
• Great environments, they seem fresh and new, and really feel like an alien planet
• Difficulty is good and fair overall, even for non pros
• Smart re-uses of some of the game's mechanics to make new puzzles

Some things annoyed me though:

• During the first part of the game, up until you get space jump, navigation can be a chore. There is a lot of grappling hook use, lot's of underwater... When you're just trying to figure out where to go and you revisit areas it's not the best.
• A few things and puzzles are un-intuitive. For instance I was stuck because I was trying to fight the Chozo Statue boss early on. Turns out you're not supposed to fight it so early even if you have access to him, and instead I had missed a puzzle in another area because it requires going through a small hidden path as a ball.

Thankfully there are plenty of videos of the hack on YT if you get stuck.