Ya see, I'm probably more flexible since it was my second Metroid game and I wasn't locked into the concept. I played Metroid Fusion first, then Prime 1, Prime 2, then went back to the first and second games (Metroid and Super Metroid, respectfully), then finally Prime 3.
I actually think it did a good job taking the 2D Metroid concept and spun it into 3D. The same sense of backtracking, supply hunting (gotta get all those energy tanks and missile expansions!), and upgrades. One of my favorite things about the Metroid series is the pursuit of new suits - it's always exciting to see how the next one will look visually different.
I thought
Metroid Prime was solid, although it still lacked the oomph and speed I expect of Metroid, but it got the rest right. I needed the Speed Booster dash, and the Screw Attack, both of which were missing. I do think it paved the way for the transition to 3D, though, and they did as good of a job as it could be done in taking such vastly different gameplay directions.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes finally added in those missing speed elements, but I hated the confines of the dark/light resource management. The visuals were stunning, though. The moth-like Luminoth, and the game has arguably my favorite suits of the entire series:
http://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Suithttp://metroid.wikia.com/wiki/Light_SuitI did hate the Dark Samus character, though. The whole Phazon clone thingy was sort of, I dunno, contrived and unoriginal feeling?
Which brings us to
Metroid Prime 3. I felt this was the strongest of the series, not just because of improved graphics on the Wii, but the Wii-mote gimmicks worked REALLY well with the series from an immersion standpoint. I also thought the story was strongest, as I cared about the other bounty hunters and the rogue Aurora units. I also loved the fact that I could explore multiple planets and take on Phazon Leviathans.
Suffice to say,
Metroid: Other M was a letdown after the Prime series. Samus works best as a more silent protagonist hardass archetype than she does a pensive, emo soldier-brat. I do like that the studio tried to merge the 2D and 3D interpretations, though. It just wasn't executed very well, to be honest.
So I'm hopeful for Metroid Prime 4. I'd like to think with modern graphics and FPS gameplay innovations that they can hit it out of the park. I'm also quite curious about what happens next due to the bonus ending of Prime 3.