Hey! Other characters!
As more Metroid games have been made, they’ve added more named characters, starting with Adam in Metroid Fusion. Some people (myself included) like this development, while others say it “doesn’t feel like a Metroid game.” To be fair, Metroid games usually have you on solo missions with basically nothing going on except finding every nook and cranny in a small space to explore. To which I say, yes, that’s definitely a popular style of game. However, being a fan more of games like Twilight Princess myself, I do enjoy the fact that we have a memorable cast that’s more than just Samus. The cast of Hunters was forgettable, so it’s not that. I’m more looking for people like Anthony Higgs of Other M. He’s not around much, but when he does show up, he makes a strong impression.
Another change to Metroid games is that the Galactic Federation takes a more direct role in things. In Fusion and Other M, it’s too direct of a role, with them literally gating off powerups until Samus just goes around them. Here, it’s more in the realm of “please save our hides, Samus,” and since we’re not saving them from their own stupid experiments, they are actually helpful. This is the sort of relationship that earlier games made it feel like Samus had with the Federation, so it feels good to actually play a game where that shows up. It’s a little silly juxtaposed with Prime 2, where one soldier derides Samus as a fairy tale, but to be fair to him, she showed up after he died.