I'm sure a lot of this is that I haven't picked up Mario 3D Land yet but I feel utterly alone in my initial pilgrimage through Metroid 2.
So despite my superfandom in the Metroid franchise for the last 15 years of life, I have avoided Metroid 2. Mostly cuz I never owned it but probably more so from the terrible word of mouth that has surrounded this game. So here I am, four hours in, ten metroids remaining and I'm loving it.
I believe I'm in the minority, but I think this game holds up much better than the original Metroid, if only because I have played through the game thus far without once checking online for a map. I've seen NWR staffers tweeting about needing a map, but I've yet to have a problem without one. Yes, this is a far more linear affair, but I'd argue that makes it more playable. I would suspect that the suspend play on virtual console makes this game much more friendly as well. Just as a whole, I feel this game does a better job of showcasing the "Metroid progression" that I find eternally compelling.
Obviously it's not perfect. Samus' sprite is too large, the screen feels cramped, there's still copying and pasting of rooms (though far less than the original Metroid), and the production values are lower than any other Metroid. But I'm enjoying it despite these faults.