Good evening everybody! This is Aifos coming to you alive from the Verboten Domain; a spooky underground laboratory of death and decay, filled with mad scientists, poison water, and fish people! I’m here to see the fish people! Fish people are the best people! But anyway, let’s talk about Metroidvanias! For those unaware, a Metroidvania is a game that follows a relatively simple formula; you’re thrown into a labyrinthine world, where your progression is halted by some obstacle you cannot pass (for example, a wall too high to jump up), and so then you must find some item or ability in the area you can explore (like a double jump) to progress. They are games about exploration, with all the benefits of an open world, but with much better progression. The most popular examples you’re familiar with are probably; Metroid, Castlevania, and Hollow Knight. They’re usually 2D platformers, but not always. We have a few 3D ones, like Metroid Prime and (from what I’ve heard) Arkham Asylum. Now, considering these games are all about collecting powerups, then as you can imagine the genre has made a lot of cool abilities over the years. From super dashes, time stops, cat transformations, eldritch wall climbing, and more different types of double jumps than you can count! Which begs the question; what is your favorite? For the purpose of this thread [b]A Metroidvania powerup is any permanent item/ability that allows you to return to previously explored areas, and open up new pathways & secrets.[/b] This definition does include some items that aren’t [i]technically[/i] Metroidvania powerups, like Zelda items, perk points, and even regular old keys, but it’s what we’re working with today! Crucially, the items must be [b]permanent upgrades[/b], and they have to [b]open up new paths in old areas[/b]. If a powerup is temporary, or only helps in the area you obtained it in or future areas, that doesn’t count. [b][u]Tl;dr? Here’s my point![/u][/b] Favorite Metroidvania powerup? If you don’t know what that means, read the bolded section above. My answer: [spoiler]Julius’ dash from Ender Lilies. In Ender Lilies, you play as a little girl named Lily who is probably somewhere about 8-12 years old, exploring a kingdom of undead monsters. As you can imagine, a little 8 year old girl wouldn’t be too well equipped to deal with giant undead monsters, but thankfully Lily has a nifty trick up her sleeve; she can absorb the souls of her enemies, and call upon them to fight for her. This is where both her attacks, and her Metroidvania powerups come from. For example, barring the tutorial boss, there are two first bosses you can choose to face; -A witch leaving deep within her fallen coven. Absorbing her soul lets you summon her to fire magic blasts. -A brute with a big hammer, who you can summon to pull off a powerful ground pound. By far, though, my favorite soul power Lily can absorb comes from Julius, captain of the guard. He scoops Lily up in his arms, and then dashes forwards as long as you keep the button held! By all accounts, it’s really just the equivalent of a sprint; you hold down a button, and you go faster. Even so, there is just something so fun about being carried around by Julius. I love it. Here’s a clip: https://gamerdvr.com/gamer/the-first-aifos/video/144646589 Runner up answer goes to Castlevania’s super jumps. I don’t know how many games they feature in, but in Symphony of the Night, and Circle of the Moon it is such a power trip to suddenly be able to fly through the air. Runner up runner up goes to CrossCode’s elements. Strictly speaking, they aren’t actually Metroidvania powerups, being more akin to Zelda items, but by our definition they count.[/spoiler] But that’s all for now folks! Jambuhbye! Now Julius, carry me away! Wheeeeeeeeee!