It's pretty easy to see why this game is beloved. It still holds up after 25 years. I will say - after seeing where later titles take the genre - the game does feel like a "proto" version (maybe obviously) of what metroidvania's would become. The controls are a little sluggish and it's missing a lot of quality of life features that would make later titles more enjoyable. It's also fairly easy for enemies to stunlock you which is certainly frustrating at times, but it's cool to see a genre's roots and maybe enjoy a more "pure" metroidvania.