I guess I can't argue with those points. But I didn't feel like any of those things impeded my ability to have fun with it.
The only one I really disagree with though is the linearity, and how many people feel the "exploration" is this huge part of the Metroid series. Maybe in the first and second game, but pretty much every game after that is exactly
"run along this corridor until you get to the end, then something happens"
I think Super Metroid and the games that came after it were better at masking it, maybe because of the scale of the map, but there's only one direct path to progress that the game will flat-out show you. The "exploration" is going into dead end rooms and searching fervently for the hidden power-up or upgrade, which Other M has got. If you mean "something happens" as a cutscene or scripted sequence, I only remember that happening when a boss shows up. Otherwise it shares the feature of allowing you to explore many different rooms and areas of the ship that yield goodies before choosing the path that takes you the boss or next area or whatever.
Though I totally agree about the setting. I would've liked it being on an alien planet with caverns to go space-spelunking in like the classic games.
