I figured I would add my perspective here as it might be a tad unique in contrast to others. For background, I am a big Metroid fan, but mostly of the 2D entries. I bought Prime back at launch and was so stoked to play it, and while I did beat the game in the day... I found it to be pretty disappointing as a follow up to Super Metroid, mostly because Samus moves like a rock in contrast to Super, which still is the case. In many ways my opinion hasn't changed, but I have also found that I like the game more than I once did. Partly because I somewhat knew what I was walking into this time, but also because there are elements or strengths about it that I either didn't note much as a kid, didn't realize would go away in modern gaming, or in some cases, enhancements done in this remaster.
First, I will say that a lot of the warts about the game still remain for me, while the level design in itself is very, very good, it also doesn't do much to reward you or compel you when you're lost. If you don't know the ins and outs of the game, you can find yourself traversing world to world continually, and this is kind of where the game falls apart for me. Basically, new powers rarely unlock much on the general routes, the things you can find are usually a bit dull, and a lot of the stuff is hidden so cryptically that it's just kind of mean spirited. The map not noting anything you have found also makes it extremely difficult to find all the items, and the worlds are in my mind not nearly interconnected enough, requiring often to traverse significant distances just to get back to one area.
All of this comes to an even worse head with how obtuse the artifact hunt can be, it adds so much slog to what is kind of an extraordinary game. I always felt there was a reason why the sequels did poorly, and I believe it is because people left this game a lot more disappointed than the hardcore perception would leave you to believe. I'm positive a lot of people who bought it, never beat it. If you look at releases like Returns or Dread, they do a lot of work to try and mitigate a lot of the issues found in a game like Prime, but this is also an issue found in other great Metroid games, such as the best one, Super Metroid. They are often just really frustrating for a lot of first time runs, and become superior as you get them down, I think this is really the primary hurdle the series faces as it struggles to retain the intrigue and mystery while also being easy enough to navigate, and while I love Dread, it isn't a total success here because of how much it funnels you.
With all that being said, I put up a small list of 'what is next' power ups, as well as had a map on hand, I allowed myself to be lost until I simply wasn't enjoying it anymore, referred to the assist, and got back on track and continued to enjoy myself. What I found is that the base level design is fantastic, the combat is much better than my child mind recalled, I think at the time I considered the lock on mechanic to be kind of a baby FPS mechanic, but now I realize it basically enables 2D like combat in a 3D environment and I love it. The visuals on Switch are astonishing (not an issue with the original release either) and the soundtrack is great as always, the controls are a bit cumbersome as I did not enjoy having to hold a button to switch weapons (or visors if you use that mode instead) but otherwise the new dual stick controls are quite nice.
I would say it's worth experiencing this more than I probably would have in the past, I would still say for a first time (or in my case, a 20 year lapse replay) it's maybe a solid 8 while using some assistance, but I imagine it would be more enjoyable if memorized due to not being so lost, but this doesn't remove the fact that there could be much more work done to make being lost fun, something titles like BOTW or certain Metroid games pull off much better. Continually being able to flex your new powers, find new and exciting things, as well as having decent guidance at points can go a long way to helping, even being able to put markers or something on the map would have been nice. I also don't appreciate how often the game requires you to backtrack significantly due to finding a powerup, so I see a lot of room for improvement in modern times.
I think in the past I would have given the Gamecube entry a solid 7, but I would upgrade this to an 8 and recommend it to anyone really, just don't be ashamed to seek some guidance, if you find it find to be lost even while accomplishing nothing for long periods by all means, but if you don't, don't let that sway you from what is a nice experience worth running through still.
Also, scanning is just super tedious, I understand they did streamline that a lot in future entries but I can't say. If they ever remaster 2 and 3 (or say for sure they will not) I will go through them as well. The visuals are like black magic to me on the remaster as well, really astonishing work for a Switch game.