Samus lost it all, so it’s time to get it back.
It’s implied that it’s not just the shock of impact that caused Samus to lose all her stuff. That’s good, because she’s going to get knocked around quite a bit in the course of this game. Most of the first few foes she fights do nothing but ram her! Then, of course, we have Flaahgra, the first major boss fight and source of the poison for the entire region. Most of the early-game stuff here is what causes frustration for first playthroughs. Late-game stuff is certainly far more challenging, but it feels more fair as well. It’s less that you missed one thing or were too slow at running in a circle, and more that you failed execution very many times and slowly lost your health over the course of a long battle.
I think I’ve figured out my editing strategy for Metroid games. I know there’s a lot of important reading in this game, but you can pause to read it yourself. (If it’s too fast, remember that , and . will move things along frame-by-frame on YouTube.) Outside of boss fights and cutscenes, I’ll have the game sped up. You can still see how I navigate areas and grab minor upgrades, but only the really important things will be at full speed.