LogFAQs > #914592904

There's definitely an argument to be made for that (as Hollow Knight is fantastic), but I personally don't agree.

Firstly, I find Hollow Knight's abilities to be rather basic (although I feel the same to be the case for Castlevania), and there aren't that many of them. Metroid, on the other hand, has quite a few weird and wonderful power-ups: the Morph Ball (and its many functions like the Spider Ball and Boost Ball), Screw Attack, Ice Beam, X-ray Visor, etc.

Secondly, Hollow Knight doesn't allow much deviation from the intended path (I mostly mean in terms of the key power-ups). Not all Metroid games do that either, but Super and Prime certainly do (often unintentionally through glitches, but it's all the same), adding plenty of reply value and room for experimentation.

I think we all probably have different ideas about what makes a good Metroidvania. The above two aspects are a big deal for me (more generally, the power-ups and (open-ended) level design).

Also, anyone played the new Wonder Boy? I hear it's great.