Near the end of Other Cheese (Nightmare encounters). This game is shorter than I remember.
Man, the story gets worse every time. Samus makes zero sense in this game.
Still having an okay time, though. I did practically the whole thing in one sitting, which to me is always a good sign about the pacing. Really wish they didn't restrict exploration so much. There are moments in Other M where you almost feel that Metroid-y desire to go back and grab a few items, but they literally lock the doors to previous areas and you can't go anywhere but straight ahead. Even Fusion didn't do that, I believe.
I also think the game would have been better (even with all its problems) if it had some optional upgrades. Things like Diffusion Beam, Seeker Missiles and Screw Attack could easily be optional, and they can definitely be useful in combat so it would be great to go out and hunt those on our own. I do like the Accel Charge, but maybe it would have been better as just one item that cuts charge speed by 70% or something instead of a bunch of mini upgrades.
I like that new feature where if you defeat all enemies in a room, item dots are revealed on the map. I think it's good incentive to stick around and clear the room. Too bad 50% of the time you won't have the upgrade required for that item and the game will lock you out of it until hours later.
I'll finish tonight. I'm thinking about playing Super Metroid right after this, which should be... interesting, haha.