I have only a few strong opinions on the Metroid series but I cannot condone recommending Zero Mission first because you will encounter all the music and setpieces it copied from Super Metroid and thus think it's more creative than it actually is.
Same energy
My new Deltarune headcanon is that Kris can do the "Crystal Flash" (the secret move from Super Metroid). Not as a pun or anything, but just because they seem like the sort of protagonist to have bizarre hidden undocumented moves like this.