It was funny to return to fight Crocomire after getting the plasma beam, firing a powered up shot at its open mouth, and watching it flash like crazy until it had backed up onto the unstable surface and fell in. Just one shot!

The X-Ray scope is hard for me to accept. Anyone who has gotten far enough in the game to find it clearly understands enough of the design principles at work to not need a helping hand; the scope takes away some the boundary-nudging archeological mystique of exploration; and, like Jeremy notes, it breaks up the standard of Samus’ abilities having two sides. Sure, it’s optional — but it still exists, and that mere presence has an effect on the integrity of the world (just like the maps). I wonder if it was a last-minute addition after concern was expressed by higher-ups about the game’s general level of penetrability.