No, Corruption was made specifically for the Wii and uses the remote and nunchuck for all they're worth. You really should pick up a Wii. They're pretty cheap at this point and despite all the hate it gets there are a ton of great games on there.
Yeah, I think Metroid Prime surprised everyone. I mean, who thought an unknown developer in Texas could bring Metroid into the third dimension without sacrificing any of its essential qualities? I'd also never played anything so immersive. It felt like you really were Samus. I remember the first time I saw her eyes reflect in the visor after a big explosion. Just incredible. The graphics were also great and the music fit lonely Tallon IV perfectly. Man, such a great game!
The linearity of Fusion didn't bother me when I played it because, for whatever reason, I didn't yet associate open-ended exploration with Metroid, despite all my time playing Super Metroid. So I enjoyed it right away. I really should go back and play it again...
As for Other M, you just have to know what you're getting into. The moment-to-moment gameplay is different but a lot of fun. They more or less preserve the exploration the series is known for but they have a tendency to tell you where everything is via waypoints on the map. Prime did that too but only if you wandered around for a while without accomplishing anything. Other M makes it ubiquitous but I think there's an option to turn it off entirely. Don't expect anything good from the story and you should be good to go 
Fusion and Other M both tried to add more story to Metroid. Fusion did it very well, I thought, but Other M...well, the gameplay was fun at least.
Zero Mission a great place to start. I have a physical copy of Metroid II and I'm gonna play it...sometime lol. The fact that there hasn't been a new 2D Metroid since Zero Mission in 2004 is very sad. You really do need to finish Super Metroid though. It has a great ending
I have not had the pleasure of playing Rocket Knight Adventures yet, but I love Sparkster for the SNES (which is a completely different game than Sparkster for Genesis). It had awesome jetpack-infused gameplay, beutiful sprite work, and a great soundtrack (especially that first level). I know all the Rocket Knight games play a little differently but I hope to play them all eventually. I've downloaded the XBLA/PSN game, actually, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Props for drawing attention to this great but overlooked series!
You gotta play Metroid Prime! It's so good!
I should play Super Metroid again because I haven't in years and yeah, it's so good. I like Prime a little better, personally, but that's basically splitting hairs because Prime is kind of like Super Metroid in 3D lol.
Imagine if there was a Castlevania game that was to Symphony what Prime is to Super Metroid. That would be an awesome game! It certainly isn't Lords of Shadow though.
The lack of a map in the original Metroid ruins it for me. I don't have the patience to learn where everything is or the gumption to draw my own map lol. Echoes was less forgiving in general but it was that final boss that was so brutal. Like I said, I missed the optional weapon upgrade meant to make that fight reasonable. Making that weapon optional was a very strange design decision to be sure.
Yes, Symphony of the Night is awesome! You at least have to play the first Prime game, though they're all good. And Other M is super cheap right now so you should definitely pick it up even if you don't play it right away.
Metroid Prime is my favorite. I'd love to go through them all again though, especially the two on GBA since I've played them only once apiece. You should finish the Prime trilogy. Echoes and Corruptioin can't top Prime 1 but they're still great games.
