That’s all true. I think Metroidvania was exclusively reserved for those Castlevania games that copied the Super Metroid design (with RPG elements) until about five years ago when there were all these other games coming out that had similar elements.
There have actually been standard Castlevania games in that time too.
Yeah, and while we’re at it, have you noticed that in Doom you play the role of a space marine, so you should really call it a role-playing game?
But yes, the usage of ‘metroidvania’ has grown organically beyond its original meaning (distinguishing SotN and its progeny from the traditional level-based Castlevanias), and ‘metroidlike’ would probably be more accurate. Good luck getting that to catch on now though.
That may have been true very briefly, but it’s been in general use for ages, at least since the DS era, I remember Monster Tale being referred to as such. The GBA Shaman King game was being cited as a Metroidvania around that time as well.
I would say that some kind of economy/inventory/relic management is, if not universally present, is at the very least a key hallmark of the genre, and that’s certainly the Castlevania influence.
If you’re talking pure chronology, you could probably argue that we should call them Wonder Boy III-alikes. (Most people consider the Shantae games to be Metroidvanias, but the discrete-hitpoint combat / blocky platforming really feels like it comes from the Wonder Boy line)
There were many more true Metroidvanias (Castlevanias with Metroid structure) than Metroids per se. Hell, since Super Metroid we got only Fusion and the 3 Primes till this year.
The more popular (way better selling) and more common series got to name the genre.
You’re probably right to be wary in revisiting SM then. If we go strictly by your criteria, that game is more linear and restrictive with the intended progression than Dread, albeit still less restrictive than the second and fourth mainline games.
Towards the term being used itself, I would also argue (pedantically, I am aware) that Metroid games are not Metroidvanias; they are Metroids, and the metroidvania moniker should be reserved for games of similar design and feel which are “not Metroid”, hence the coining of that term with SotN onwards.
Many of my favorites are already mentioned in this thread. SteamWorld Dig 1 & 2, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, etc. Here are a couple that I really enjoyed that I didn’t see mentioned.
Speaking of salt, the most interesting Metroid-vania I’ve played on recent memory is probably Dandara, which is roughly based on a Brazilian slave revolt leader, draws heavily from Brazilian culture, and features no walking. Or gravity.
I didn’t finish it, because it kind of got overwhelming at later stages.
Also, Shantae and The Seven Sirens, which was apparently a bit disappointing on release received a “Definitive Edition” update that rebalances the game and is supposed to bring the challenge level more in line with previous Shantae games. I have that sitting in my backlog from some sale at some point, so I’ll probably check that out.
Shadow Complex was fun on the Xbox 360, looks like it had a remastered version for PC/Xbox One/PS4 in 2016. I’m not sure how it holds up now, but I liked it a lot at the time.
So, both @LMN8R and @CraigM recommended the Steamworld Dig series, and I bought Steamworld Dig 2 which seems like a perfect fit for me. It’s cute without being overly so, and has a forgiving platforming requirement, without a bunch of tricky jump combos, etc. But man, I’ve had some problems with the genre’s expectations. On the very first level, I couldn’t find my way back to the beginning because I somehow didn’t see one of the pathways. Ok, my fault. But then there was this shooting robot area where there was no way out and the game expected you to jump on the robot’s and hammer it with your pickaxe. Was I supposed to know that? I guess I would eventually have done it out of frustration, but I didn’t – I just went to a walkthrough video. Which makes me wonder if I have the dedication required to get through one of these.
Different games handle this differently in the genre. Steamworld Dig’s unique element is the mining aspect, where you literally reshape the world and passages.
There will be unique enemies and blocks later that require specific tools, largely earned through caves found scattered in the environment, but broadly speaking your pickaxe is both your primary traversal element and combat tool.
The first game is much simpler on this aspect, being in many ways a proof of concept of the blending of Terrarria/ Minecraft style digging with Metroidvania progression.
When in doubt, hit it with the pickaxe/ drill is always an option.