Feature wise, it was the first game in the series to let Samus fire in all directions while moving and was among the first open world games to offer the player a mapping facility that outlined rooms, important locations and indicators for special items. (nintendowire.com)
The Sinking City is our first open world game, we've never done anything of that size and density before. (wccftech.com)
The latest instalment, which is called Odyssey, is the first open world game since Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo GameCube. (theweek.co.uk)