There's nothing really wrong with the character. She's a socially awkward girl who was raised by birds who has trouble relating to other people. She believes she just completed her entire purpose for living (eradicating the metroids, space pirates, Mother Brain, and Ridley) and it's left her feeling kind of empty and caused her to contemplate her past. She's still as badass as, if not more badass than, she's ever been in doing her missions. The only difference is you can hear her thoughts.
The story was poorly written and forgettable, but it's not offensive and is salvageable.
yeah, she was a bit crazy and suicidal from the start.
the problem (or blessing) is that the older hardware didn't allow for much of that to get in the games. we even got a glimpse of that in the endgame of Fusion
at the time Computer-Adam slaps some sense into her when she goes suicidal and wants to explode the whole station in mid-space
imagine if Sakamoto had GC-level hardware available when he was making Super Metroid. i'm willing to bet my entire metroid collection that he'd have filled it with a lot of cringeworthy cutscenes.
I know right, that part where she freaked out over seeing Ridley after murdering it four or five times was the bestest part. And then when her confidence drops, so does her suit! Chozo technology, powered by emotions!
Well, the manga is never actually referenced at all in Other M, as the problem is that players are coming in with hindsight perceptions since we already know Ridley had a great deal to do with her parents' deaths. For the average viewer that does not know about these background events (which at best were probably only tangentially mentioned in some Zero Mission media), all they see is "Samus is scared of Ridley... because something happened in her childhood?" When considering that Other M out of all games had the most excuse to just come out and explain things, I am actually quite surprised they decided to be as vague as possible with the first half of the manga's events.
And that's just the first half. There is absolutely no way to reconcile the events of the second half of the manga with Other M. And interestingly enough, the second half of the manga is actually the only piece of evidence in the Metroid canon that directly confirmed that Samus had a kind of PTSD with Ridley (as no other game even approached or hinted at doing so, especially when Zero Mission had the chance).
Here's an obligatory link to the essay that goes into explicit detail on why this game fails on most every front in terms of story and characterization.
It might be "obligatory," but it really is a neat read if you're into game analysis (something that is still rarely seen -- this article sort of proves that such a thing is valid).
Onto my rambling. The basis of it this: Metroid: Other M makes me feel weird.
I think one key issue here is that the Metroid series has been very selective -- only 11 games in 24 years. And the "core" games have not only been regarded as good, they've been regarded as sublime. Now, on this level, I give Other M a lot of slack. In no way, shape or form does it reach the heights of Super Metroid or the Prime trilogy, the likes of which were fucking immaculate. But for me, it had some things going for it -- I almost viewed it as what Metroid may have evolved into had the Prime games not happened. Remember that, initially, Metroid Prime was a massive shock; the idea of a first-person Metroid was met with major outcry. Other M, in terms of gameplay, sort of resembles what I expected Metroid 64 to be back in those days (when us kids thought such a game would happen).
So I have no qualms with the gameplay, actually. It had a sort of old-school vibe that I enjoyed; I didn't find it as immersive or atmospheric or intelligent as any of the Prime games, but one look at the art direction & you see that it's not trying to be Prime. Since that trilogy has concluded, I can accept that & I'm open to new directions. The control scheme was tailored to the Wii remote rather than tacked on to it, the visuals were great, the set pieces were neat, the presentation was outstanding & the story was decently well-told, from the solid voice acting to the direction of the cut scenes. But of course, no matter how slick that presentation was, it is -- as most of us point out -- the story itself that killed the thing.
As far as story complaints go, I agree with the usual suspects. I didn't mind Samus talking. I bought the idea of her, as a former soldier, respecting Adam's wishes to not use her gear. But man, I gave that inch & Other M took a mile. Talking turned into a constant internal monologue on par with an abused teenage lover; not using her gear turned into ridiculous self-abuse (c'mon, Adam, I'm in a pit of lava here -- how bout the okay to use my Varia Suit?). Not only did each relationship revelation strip Samus of some of her essential, character-defining mystery, but it started to get into territory that I can only describe as some weird, potentially dom-sub, quasi-Stockholm-Syndrome-infused, freaky-deaky type of relationship. Just like no one wanted to see Darth Vader as a whiny bird-dogging teenager & no one wanted to see Michael Myers as a fat rodent-killing kid in a KISS t-shirt, no one wanted to know about Samus' lover. Especially when that lover, who we as the player are seemingly expected to fall head-over-heels for, gives us no reason to admire, empathize with, like or even tolerate him. Apart from being as charismatic as soggy cardboard, the most character-defining things he does are
not give a shit when he gives his own brother a death sentence
&
almost kill Samus
for pretty thin reasons. If I had to sum up Adam's personality in one word, it would be "sociopath." And our formerly stoic, dignified, girl-power promoting hero -- someone some players have admired since their childhood -- acts like his beaten, yet obedient, puppy.
So those are the essential narrative problems, re-hashed yet again in my own words. But that's not what makes me feel weird about Other M.
It's the fact that this interpretation of the character, of the series' key mythos, comes from the creator himself -- Sakamoto. As much of a downer as it is for fans, this also presents sort of an interesting situation when thinking about the "ownership" of a fiction, or creative idea. I alluded to it a bit above, but I can only compare it to Star Wars & its current place in the pop cultural mythology; here you had a wonderful mythology embraced by legions of fans & left fairly untouched by its own creator for decades until said creator returns to the mythology, only to produce something so unbelievably repugnant that it's baffling. It leaves fans wondering how the very person who originated this idea could be so completely out of touch with the very essence of the idea.
As I question this concept of "ownership," I look back at Sakamoto's absence during the creation of the Prime series. Here, Metroid came to be defined by a group of people in Austin, Texas, thousands of miles & innumerable cultural differences apart from Samus' birthplace. And so others came to "own," or more aptly, define, the idea of Metroid. We all grew really fond of this idea, & then the creator himself comes along & shits the whole thing up. And he shits it up on a seismic shit scale. Sure, maybe there are variables when considering the term "creator." The person billed as the creator isn't always the defining creative presence -- look at debates among comic book fans, who'll tell you that Bob Kane didn't have much to do with the Batman we all know, or who'll argue that Steve Dikto had more influence on the creation of Spider-Man than Stan Lee did. But still, I'll be damned if it doesn't feel strange when someone who birthed an idea seems to have notions about that idea that contradict virtually everything you like about it.
That, in all its ranting inglory, is why Metroid: Other M makes me feel weird.
If anything, the experience got me thinking about all of the above, & it went a little ways in solidifying my viewpoint that once you release a creative idea into the wild, you -- as the creator -- also release a little bit of your ownership of that idea. And as other folks come to define that idea in new ways, it's often for the better.
Here's an obligatory link to the essay that goes into explicit detail on why this game fails on most every front in terms of story and characterization. Gameplay is decent, but not up to par with other games in the series, and the instant win button dodge command makes things trivial.
THANK YOU. Took 3 pages for someone to post this thing....
The story of Other M is not only a mess, but ruins the gameplay with it.
If you really like MoM, read this completly and think about what you really like...
i think the gameplay is ok, so i don't care if people go either way on that.
but the story will always be goddamn terrible, from any standpoint. you don't have to be a fan to appreciate how poorly told this game's plot is or be annoyed at the characters.
Compared to the rest of the franchise, this game is indefensible. The issues with the story/writing/characterization have all been beaten to death and I don't see how the awkward Wiimote-only, mash d-pad to win, stop moving completely and point at the screen to fire missiles gameplay is getting any praise at all.
Some of you need to go back and play through Super Metroid/Metroid Fusion again to be reminded of how these things are supposed to work. Hell, Fusion even had a plot and a very vocal Samus (at least internally) that didn't completely ruin the character. And guess what--Ridley was in that one too, and nobody started crying THAT time.
It's UGLY outside of a few boss designs
Goes against exploratory nature of series in the most forced way..."okay, go HERE next ...got it? GOT IT? ARE YOU SURE?"
Music is balls and there's not enough of it anyway
Story is just there
Is boring except for the SA-X moments
I know right, that part where she freaked out over seeing Ridley after murdering it four or five times was the bestest part. And then when her confidence drops, so does her suit! Chozo technology, powered by emotions!
I enjoyed it my playthrough when I came to terms that it was only remotely like a Metroid game but even then there's so much wrong in it. I mean, the story is terrible, characters and dialogues are embarrassing etc. but that was the least of its problems.
The combat, while fast and reminiscent of the 2D games is flashy without substance. You're just hopping around and shooting your power beam, which wouldn't be that much of a problem, it's not like the other games are any deeper, but the moment you want to fire a missile you're just fucked because nobody took a step back and said "yeah, this sucks". It's an awful mechanic and I am genuinely surprised that someone at Nintendo thought it was a good idea to have you point at the screen to fire missiles.
No wait, I'm not. It's the only way you could get more than like 3 actions because Sakamoto thought Other M needs to be a "Famicom+" game, whatever the hell that means. Not using the pointer was such a missed opportunity and it'd have given you at least a bit of control over Samus instead of the weird soft lock-on.
Then the level-design. Some people give the Prime series shit because they're too slow but they at least nailed the Metroid levels. The wide rooms in Other M, which are clearly focused around combat more than anything, leave a lot to be desired. There's close to no exploration and most of the rooms just aren't fun to traverse.
The worst part about Other M though is progression. Aside from the fact that it's annoyingly linear and directed, almost nothing you do gives you that feeling of accomplishment. Take older Metroid games where you've found a path by yourself, gone from room to room, overcoming enemies, environmental hazards and obstacles just to find an upgrade. And you feel awesome for it. Other M though? "Oh you need X to get past Y. Here, take X."
But as I said, I enjoyed it. If you play it as Ninja Gaiden lite with a Metroid coat and ignore the cutscenes it is a pretty fun game. It's not like it's the most shallow or linear game ever. Expecting something on the level of Super Metroid, Zero Mission or Metroid Prime will just make you angry.
Yeah the story and acting's awful and Samus is a dick, but her being cool as fuck in the scripted/boss sequences more than makes up for it.
Atmosphere is unparalleled -- apart from 10 minutes of dumb marines & scientists, the feeling of being alone on a creaking old space hulk, with some truly fabulous ambient music/noise is sublime.
Outstanding setpieces, great encounters, powerful-feeling attacks and combat just deep enough to be exciting, but never getting in the way. Team Ninja knew just where to draw the line.
I even give props to the 'authorisation' idea, purely because it's a novel way to do things rather than, whoops, lost all my equipment in a dark cave for the seventh time. In terms of gameplay it functions exactly the same; you get certain items for reaching certain rooms/areas.
As much as I like the Prime games, they feature a barely-mobile, tank-like Samus who'd rather read a hundred volumes of Chozo lore than Speed Boost down a corridor through a bunch of hungry aliens. It's not really what I want in a Metroid game.
OM gets the fundamental feel of movement and power far more. Just basic running and shooting feels so good. Despite the baby the baby memes it's way closer to the old 2D games in terms of player agency and is all the better for it.
Super > OM > Fusion > Zero > Prime 1 > Prime 3 > Prime 2 > others
It's competent but ultimately very easy and just too shallow in both world design and gameplay. The controls are great in feel and response, the pointer stuff included, I never understood the problems people have with the latter, but in the end there's no balance to your character abilities. For example, you can dodge almost every attack by just tapping directions in the d-pad. Any directions. It should have had a separate dodge button or double tapping with a cool down to avoid spamming it, and of course balance the enemy attacks accordingly. Not having to aim your shots in third person mode was bad too but I'm not sure how they could have fixed that short of making the game 2D in gameplay to make jumping and diagonal shots necessary. So, yeah, it's not terrible and is fun while it lasts but it's not in any way special, outside the fancy slick graphics considering the platform.
Because she didn't blow up the planet was on before and he can regenerate from a single cell. She had a PTSD breakdown the first time she encountered him in the manga. He taunts her by telling her he regenerates by ingesting flesh and joked that parts of her parents were probably inside him.
She doesn't fight Ridley in Fusion; she fights an X Parasite imitating him. Even then, she already knew his corpse was on BSL since you find it early in the game.
To me, MOM deserve better indeed, but like said is this thread, the Metroid franchise deserve better than MOM too, especially from a developer like Team Ninja.
I played MOM completely and this was my first Metroid game since Super Metroid but MOM will simply not make me going back to the franchise again. Just like a FPS Metroid.
Sakamoto on Super Metroid (1994): "It was kind of a gamble. From the beginning, it was decided that when the game begins, we wouldn't tell the whole story using text. The story had to be told in a minimal way. However, it wouldn't convey atmosphere. I thought the game's atmosphere was done completely through sound. I thought it would be good if we could do it like a silent movie. It means that inside Samus's helmet, she has a sober face. I wanted the player to think about that facial expression. Well, the culmination of that sort of thing was the final battle." http://www.metroid-database.com/sm/interview.php
So I guess the stone cold impression so many got of Samus and grew fond of over the years wasn't an accident resulting from hardware limitations, I was starting to think otherwise. It makes the whole Other M thing so bizarre. Hopefully Sakamoto can get back to his old ideas for the tone of the series and of Samus.
OM gets the fundamental feel of movement and power far more. Just basic running and shooting feels so good. Despite the baby the baby memes it's way closer to the old 2D games in terms of player agency and is all the better for it.
Well it is better because the drab environments certainly are nothing to look at.
Prime games are a different case because a ton of effort went into designing the environments (a class above the 2D entries) so it makes sense to allow them become more of a factor.
It really depends on what works better on a per game basis imo. Other M is speedy but that's about it - there's nothing to actually see and do unlike the 2D entries which gives actual depth to her abilities.
remove the story and you're still left with a fairly competent but mediocre game. Nintendo should just let someone else do a 2.5D Metroid game (or give Team Ninja another chance, I don't care) and have Retro Studios work on a new IP
I disagree. Other M atleast have some 2D level design with exploration which is more faithful to the original games. The experiment with more streamlined action in Prime 3 didn't do anything for me. I very much enjoyed Prime 1 & 2, but they kinda dropped the ball on the 3rd game.
Bryyo, Elysia (especially Elysia) and the Space Pirates planet were all pretty great environments, fun to explore, nice art & music. It's just that the gameplay has grown a little stale at this point, which is why I'm not exactly looking forward to a Prime 4 either (unless they introduce some radical changes to the formula). For the moment, the best bet for Nintendo is to work on a HD Super Metroid clone (because fuck remakes) while trying to think of a direction for the series
I disagree. Other M atleast have some 2D level design with exploration which is more faithful to the original games. The experiment with more streamlined action in Prime 3 didn't do anything for me.
Wait what exploration did Other M have again? I think I missed it. Odd that you would give Prime 3 stick for streamlining things when Other M is about as streamlined as a Metroid game can possibly get.
And it is NOTHING like the 2D entries - hell I expected it to be like Fusion and it isn't like that either.
Wait what exploration did Other M have again? I think I missed it. Odd that you would give Prime 3 stick for streamlining things when Other M is about as streamlined as a Metroid game can possibly get.
And it is NOTHING like the 2D entries - hell I expected it to be like Fusion and it isn't like that either.
Prime 3 is linear but still open enough to provide exploratory incentives. Other M however is anti-exploration. I don't see how this is an argument - the game out right blocks you from accessing even previously visited areas because of story concerns - there is no contest when the hint system is turned off in Prime 3.
Other M had a nice gameplay foundation that was damaged by Sakamoto's writing and his refusal to use the Nunchuck.
It was straightforward game but it was a teasing glimpse at what might have been. I'd like to see them have another go at the 2D/3D hybrid just with the story content dialled down to at most, Fusion levels.
Prime 3 is linear but still open enough to provide exploratory incentives. Other M however is anti-exploration. I don't see how this is an argument - the game out right blocks you from accessing even previously visited areas because of story concerns - there is no contest when the hint system is turned off in Prime 3.
Both Prime 3 and Other M were average Metroid games. Prime 3 introduced shitty friends to samus and Other M had other shortcomings. What I find remarkable how Retro gets defended to death here though, like they can do no wrong.
Both Prime 3 and Other M were average Metroid games. Prime 3 introduced shitty friends to samus and Other M had other shortcomings. What I find remarkable how Retro gets defended to death here though, like they can do no wrong.
Both Prime 3 and Other M were average Metroid games. Prime 3 introduced shitty friends to samus and Other M had other shortcomings. What I find remarkable how Retro gets defended to death here though, like they can do no wrong.
I actually didn't mind the game in some aspects. I liked how much more mobile Samus looked and felt in combat and it looks really, really nice and sounds pretty good too.
The story is really way too silly for me. The story in most Metroid games is silly if you stop and nitpick but, for the most part, it just sort of fades into the background. I just didn't like how this new (and, to me, worse) version of Samus was pushed to the foreground so often in this game.
Never realised this before now, but this should definitely happen, DKCR was a fucking fantastic 2D DKC game with great environments. I bet Retro could make a great 2D metroid.
It might be "obligatory," but it really is a neat read if you're into game analysis (something that is still rarely seen -- this article sort of proves that such a thing is valid).
Onto my rambling. The basis of it this: Metroid: Other M makes me feel weird.
I think one key issue here is that the Metroid series has been very selective -- only 11 games in 24 years. And the "core" games have not only been regarded as good, they've been regarded as sublime. Now, on this level, I give Other M a lot of slack. In no way, shape or form does it reach the heights of Super Metroid or the Prime trilogy, the likes of which were fucking immaculate. But for me, it had some things going for it -- I almost viewed it as what Metroid may have evolved into had the Prime games not happened. Remember that, initially, Metroid Prime was a massive shock; the idea of a first-person Metroid was met with major outcry. Other M, in terms of gameplay, sort of resembles what I expected Metroid 64 to be back in those days (when us kids thought such a game would happen).
So I have no qualms with the gameplay, actually. It had a sort of old-school vibe that I enjoyed; I didn't find it as immersive or atmospheric or intelligent as any of the Prime games, but one look at the art direction & you see that it's not trying to be Prime. Since that trilogy has concluded, I can accept that & I'm open to new directions. The control scheme was tailored to the Wii remote rather than tacked on to it, the visuals were great, the set pieces were neat, the presentation was outstanding & the story was decently well-told, from the solid voice acting to the direction of the cut scenes. But of course, no matter how slick that presentation was, it is -- as most of us point out -- the story itself that killed the thing.
As far as story complaints go, I agree with the usual suspects. I didn't mind Samus talking. I bought the idea of her, as a former soldier, respecting Adam's wishes to not use her gear. But man, I gave that inch & Other M took a mile. Talking turned into a constant internal monologue on par with an abused teenage lover; not using her gear turned into ridiculous self-abuse (c'mon, Adam, I'm in a pit of lava here -- how bout the okay to use my Varia Suit?). Not only did each relationship revelation strip Samus of some of her essential, character-defining mystery, but it started to get into territory that I can only describe as some weird, potentially dom-sub, quasi-Stockholm-Syndrome-infused, freaky-deaky type of relationship. Just like no one wanted to see Darth Vader as a whiny bird-dogging teenager & no one wanted to see Michael Myers as a fat rodent-killing kid in a KISS t-shirt, no one wanted to know about Samus' lover. Especially when that lover, who we as the player are seemingly expected to fall head-over-heels for, gives us no reason to admire, empathize with, like or even tolerate him. Apart from being as charismatic as soggy cardboard, the most character-defining things he does are
not give a shit when he gives his own brother a death sentence
&
almost kill Samus
for pretty thin reasons. If I had to sum up Adam's personality in one word, it would be "sociopath." And our formerly stoic, dignified, girl-power promoting hero -- someone some players have admired since their childhood -- acts like his beaten, yet obedient, puppy.
So those are the essential narrative problems, re-hashed yet again in my own words. But that's not what makes me feel weird about Other M.
It's the fact that this interpretation of the character, of the series' key mythos, comes from the creator himself -- Sakamoto. As much of a downer as it is for fans, this also presents sort of an interesting situation when thinking about the "ownership" of a fiction, or creative idea. I alluded to it a bit above, but I can only compare it to Star Wars & its current place in the pop cultural mythology; here you had a wonderful mythology embraced by legions of fans & left fairly untouched by its own creator for decades until said creator returns to the mythology, only to produce something so unbelievably repugnant that it's baffling. It leaves fans wondering how the very person who originated this idea could be so completely out of touch with the very essence of the idea.
As I question this concept of "ownership," I look back at Sakamoto's absence during the creation of the Prime series. Here, Metroid came to be defined by a group of people in Austin, Texas, thousands of miles & innumerable cultural differences apart from Samus' birthplace. And so others came to "own," or more aptly, define, the idea of Metroid. We all grew really fond of this idea, & then the creator himself comes along & shits the whole thing up. And he shits it up on a seismic shit scale. Sure, maybe there are variables when considering the term "creator." The person billed as the creator isn't always the defining creative presence -- look at debates among comic book fans, who'll tell you that Bob Kane didn't have much to do with the Batman we all know, or who'll argue that Steve Dikto had more influence on the creation of Spider-Man than Stan Lee did. But still, I'll be damned if it doesn't feel strange when someone who birthed an idea seems to have notions about that idea that contradict virtually everything you like about it.
That, in all its ranting inglory, is why Metroid: Other M makes me feel weird.
If anything, the experience got me thinking about all of the above, & it went a little ways in solidifying my viewpoint that once you release a creative idea into the wild, you -- as the creator -- also release a little bit of your ownership of that idea. And as other folks come to define that idea in new ways, it's often for the better.
That's pretty much the most accurate description of how I feel about Other M. It's a very fun game that harkens back to the 2D games a little. I personally felt the controls were perfectly suited to the Wiimote (I have small hands) and I wouldn't have changed them at all. I'd love to see what they could do if they expanded on this style of game.
But there is still a weirdness to Other M that includes what you talked about, but also goes beyond that. It's hard to explain, but there are some designs decisions that weren't necessarily good or bad, they were just plain weird and bizarre. The final battle against MB not really being a battle, going into far too much excrutiating detail for almost the entire story (monologues everywhere!) but at the end, requiring the player to try and infer what the game is showing them. The whole Deleter story just falling apart after being such a big focus of the middle portions of the game. The Metroid Database made interesting podcast about the weirdness of Other M that I recommend listening to.
Anyways, I do hope that Sakamoto makes another 2D Metroid game someday. Other M was a slight misstep from a gameplay point of view (even though I still enjoyed it), but I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt and say he could still create an amazing Metroid game if he really wanted to. Just keep the team small, in-house and don't focus on the story too much.
Too linear, story sucks. But I really loved the control scheme, and I would like another Metroid game with those controls. I also thought the visual style was great and a really nice contrast to Prime's interpretation of the Metroid universe in 3D
