Rabi-Ribi

I finished Rabi-Ribi, including the postgame (~21 hours, map 93%, items 78%.) Exploration-wise this is one of my favorite metroidvanias: it is very non-linear, and it always felt like there could be a secret or even an entire new area right around the corner. (My one complaint is that I often wished there were map markers.) Movement was good and the upgrades were fun. I also liked the music a lot, and how colorful it is. I understand why some people dislike the very anime character art during cutscenes but I liked it.
Most of the combat was fine, fun even, but it turns out bullet hell is not really my thing and especially in the second half the long boss fights and boss rushes became something of a chore. Fortunately the game not only lets you adjust the difficulty mid-game, but also automatically offers a "halo" buff if you die to a boss a few times in a row. The story was a bit disjointed in the second half, but it had some interesting ideas. There are so many characters that not all of them get a lot of time and they get in the way of each other sometimes, there are many cutscenes, but I liked most of them.
Overall I enjoyed it a lot and I'm glad I played it. Still, I'm not interested in going for 100% or doing any of the post-postgame content.

( Some notes while playing )