First off, boy is it great to have the old Samus back. I'm talking about the one who moves like lighting, pounds the shit out of enemies and does flip 'n' shit. The Prime games, as good as they were, were sorely lacking in converting Samus' agility to 3D. They got slightly better at it each time - indeed the screw attack was well implemented in Corruption after a lukewarm try in Echoes - but playing Other M made me realise how much I missed her normal movement. It doesn't hurt either that she moves better in Other M than any other game in the series.
Let's get this out of the way. The story. Everyone seems to be throwing their arms up and crying out in unison that Metroid games should not have a significant focus on story. To that I'll say that Fusion showed it could be done and done well - it's issues weren't related to story but rather level design that failed to rub shoudlers with Super. Other M is very much Fusion in 3D - once again you're directed where to go, you're on a ship that replicates different environments, and you're confined to certain sectors for a considerable period of time. The last part means that often you'll want to go back to other sectors and use your new-found abilities to acquire items, but can't do so because it's locked. Sometimes this can be frustrating, other times it's understandable as a device to keep the plot moving. I won't say that I overly like this method - personally I prefer Super's more open-ended approach - but at the same time it doesn't in any way stop Other M from being fun.
The writing itself ranges from ok to laughable. Too many sentences are drawn out with adjectives and unneeded filler. Some of the latter cutscenes basically explain the plot to you which is unsatisfying, but almost required since the game isn't overly good at explaining what is going on as you play. Obviously there's a lot more to talk about in this game compared to Super or Zero Mission, and thus their minimalist approaches would be hard to work around, but it still doesn't mean that a game should feed you story details.
The cutscenes themselves are well shot, choreographed and edited. The scene where Adam commits suicide is really well put together and though games rarely pull me into their stories, cutscenes like this helped improve my opinion of such exposition in Metroid games. I definitely think it's a series that can place an emphasis on story. The universe is interesting and detailed, and I have to give credit to both Other M and (especially) Fusion for adding a lot more to the series in terms of narrative. I think it's fair to say that despite the fact Fusion regressed in terms of level design, it really helped push the series forward in other ways.
Speaking of Fusion, I really loved the way in which the game is foreshadowed in Other M. The game does a really good job of showing how things came to be on the BSL and, given how much happened in Fusion, it was a great decision to have Other M take place between Super and Fusion since there was so much we wanted to know. Not everything is explained, but things like the cloning of Metroids and Samus' relationship with Adam were well explained and made sense. I also really liked the nods to several Fusion bosses - most notably Neo Ridley (and the carcass before room MW which fully explains how the GF got him onto the BSL) and Nightmare, who was a huge surprise. I love how both bosses, once defeated, remain on the bottle shit until the end. Returning to their rooms in the post-credit sequence shows that they're gone - a clear indication that they were taken the GF to the BSL before the Bottle Ship was to be destroyed.
The 'return' of Mother Brain, though a little contrived, was a pretty interesing plot to structure the game around. We're still yet to get a 3D version of the Mother Brain fight, and I was wondering if we would in Sector Zero before it was explained that Mother Brain's AI was converted into a human, or Melissa Bergman, so there went any chance of fighting her traditional form. I think the game a few things too obvious - that MB was a crook, and that Ridley was the creature. It just ruined the element of surprise. That said, on the flipside I thought the whole thing of David Beckham being the deleter was well-done. Not so much the plot point itself - in fact after an interesting start it suddenly died off 3/4 into the game - but rather the fact that one had to look for clues to figure out it was James (planting the explosives when you first enter the exam centre, the faded 07, finding his dead body in the same room as MB). I somewhat wish the rest of the game had the same level of clever subtlety. Oh, and Anthony was a pretty great character and I actually cared about his death. I wouldn't mind seeing him again sometime down the line.
Anyway, enough about the story. Let's talk about the combat, which the series has never really been about. Aside from bosses, combat was merely a means to an end rather than means itself. Other M stays pretty true to this, though there is definitely a larger focus since most rooms feature more (and harder) enemies than other Metroid games. This isn't really a bad thing though because the combat system itself is really well done. The auto-aim feature is a godsend and I can't believe people were lamenting its inclusion prior to the game's release. It's brilliant;y executed and rarely lets you shoot in the wrong direction. People might point out the lack of 'skill' required to down enemies but the series has never really been around precise shooting, but rather timing, as element that is still vital in Other M. Knowing when to pull the trigger is a must, but now there are even more elements to it due to the addition of the melee moves. I thought the overblast feature, though slightly cumbersome at times, was good fun to pull off and prevent you from being too grounded during combat. The lethal strike is godly and works as a great conclusion to fights. The sense move on the other hand looks fantastic, and is real fun to pull off, but is perhaps just a bit too easy to abuse. In fact some fights (ie: Seeker Missile boss) are seriously difficult without constantly press the d-pad to use sense.
Speaking of difficulty, I would definitely rather Other M up there with the highest in the franchise. Metroid has never really been a difficult series - in fact only the first two, plus Echoes, come to mind as games that are notably challenging. What makes Other M a tough game isn't so much the fights themselves, but rather the one-hit kills. There's a lot of them in this game, and some of them you can barely predict to happen (ie: elevator death). They can be pretty fun to have a laugh and shake your head about, but I dunno, I just don't think they have a place in Metroid games. It's just a bit too trial-and-error for me and didn't mesh well with the series. Besides, Metroid's difficulty has always come from figuring out where to go. It's safe to say that Other M is the easiest game in the series to figure out what to do next - even easier than Fusion. This is a pretty big disappointment. Don't get me wrong - the core Metroid formula of acquiring new abilties to unlock previous areas is still going strong in this game - but rarely do you get lost. I'm not saying every Metroid game has to be like the original, but it's always nice and satisfying when you figure out where to go after an hour or so of searching around. There's none of this here.
The method of acquiring new upgrades themselves in the game is really contrived. There's only a few items that you'll find on your own by beating bosses. The rest are authorised, either by Adam or yourself, and though it sounds okay in theory its actual implementation in often lacking. Sometimes it makes sense, such as having to wait to be authorised to use super missiles and power bombs, as they are considerably powerful and dangerous weapons. Having to wait to activate your varia suit or grapple beam is just stupid. These aren't the only examples of poor implementation, but they are perhaps the strongest. The former, because you have to take heat damage for a considerable period of time (with no challenge from Samus) before Adam suddenly allows to activate it. The latter, because early in the game you can't progress without the grapple beam, and yet Adam waits until hours later to let you finally use it. Even worse is the fact that when you finally are given it, it's just a one-hit kill cutscene and you're rushed to use it. Anyone who is new to the Metroid series will probably say hello to a death here.
Which brings me to one of my bigger complains in the game. And it's only a specific moment. Seeing the Queen Metroid was a brilliant moment for a huge Metroid II fan like me. She looked exactly like I had imagined, she was creepy as fuck (the scene where she sucks Ridley dry is awesome) and the first two phases against her were great fun, albeit a little easy. But the third phase is just ridiculous. Shooting her stomach is no problem, but when you're forced to go morph ball inside of her your first instinct is to use bombs. But it doesn't do anything, so you die (and quickly too - the window of time here is remarkably limiting). Honestly, I thought my game was glitched. And I tried again and again to figure out what I was doing wrong, and it was really souring me on the fight. Eventually I pressed start only to notice that, for some reason, I suddenly had power bombs. This was absolute bullshit and it annoys me to no end even typing it now. The game gives you absolutely no indication - not even a prompt on screen - that you now have access to power bombs. Obviously in hindsight it made sense that power bombs were the answer, but you hadnt used them since two minutes into the game, nor had you been told that you could now use them. Poor, poor game design. If the game had activated power bombs earlier, then there wouldn't have been a problem since you would have been conditioned (or at least hinted) to use them against the Queen.
That said, the bosses in the game are pretty fantastic all up. The Ridley fight, from the introduction to the fight itself (and its conclusion) was seriously well done. Ridley is easily one of Nintendo's best villains and he's better conveyed here than in any other Metroid game. The fight is fun, frantic and beautifully cinematic. We also get the best rendition of the Ridley theme in all its orchestrated glory. As mentioned before, Nightmare was a genuine surprise and a terrific boss fight (both times). Also, the gravity sequence prior to facing him was complete and utter genius and would compare favourably to some of the work in Mario Galaxy. This section of the game - from the gravity chamber to facing Nightmare to entering Sector Zero - felt the most inspired to me and one of the great sections of the entire series.
Other bosses that I thought worked really well was the volcano boss and, of course, Phantoon. The former was the first 'real' boss fight in the game and despite having to play four hours to finally get to it, the payoff was pretty immense. Freezing its hand, running up its arm and jumping onto its head was some SOTC shit and genuinely exhilarating. The fight against Phantoon was another massive surprise (the game has some serious fan-service) and he both animated and fought better than I could have hoped. I'm not overly sure why he was actually in the game, but I'm not complaning. He was awesome. Just awesome. And a great pay-off for completing the game, a much better finish (along the best escape sequence of the series) than the initial ending, which I thought lacked polish and was pretty confusing as to what to do (not a great idea to put one of the shoddy Where'd Waldo moments as the 'final' section of the game).
Which brings me to the Where's Waldo moments. They're...not good. Fucking annoying is a better way of putting it. Replays will paint them in a much nicer picture, since you'll actually know what to point at, but the first time around they are just bad. Too often the thing you're supposed to point out is either insignificant or indistinguishable. The worst examples I can think of are the green blood (green on green? you mad?), the kihunter cocoons in the dark corner and the tiny logo on the Space Pirate. The green one is especially bad since it comes straight after you find out Lyle is dead, so you'd think that you're supposed to look at his body. But no, you're supposed to look at green blood on green grass 10m behind you. I can totally understand why they're in the game, and if they were well implemented then they would genuinely cinematic and impressive, even fun, but they're not. They're not at all.
The third-person stuff fares a little better, but it just feels a bit pointless. It definitely offers a more brooding, cinematic element to what would just be running through corridors, but it feels unecessary because either (a) you can't shoot so nothing can happening anyway or (b) you'd be better off running instead, such as when chasing after MB. It just feels a bit clunky and not nearly as fleshed out as it could have been. The RE4 camera can do wonders for atmosphere and dicovering things, but since the Bottle Ship isn't very interactive, these sections just feel pretty pointless.
Visually the game is pretty damn solid. No, it doesn't have the art direction of the Prime games, but it also isn't developed by the ridiculously talented Retro Studios either. What do you get is a very nice realisation of the Metroid universe in 3D. Indeed, in some ways it's a more accurate reflection of the typical art and colours of the 2D games than the Prime series. The regular enemies and bosses look terrific, Samus herself looks better than ever (why oh why could Retro never seem to get her Zero Suit form right?), the animation is just sublime (I love how she uses her hand to lift herself over slight obstructions as opposed to forcing you to jump over it) and the framerate holds up quite nicely, though it does dip in larger areas and towards the end of the game when you have access to visually demanding abilities. Texturing is hit and miss - metallic corridors and the cyrosphere look fantastic, whilst the outside lava and canyon areas don't hold up so nicely. The most visually impressive parts of the game include the water-logged forest room, the giant desert refinery (for sheer scope), the morph ball tunnel in the Cyrosphere that looks out onto space, and the fight against Phantoon which was pretty mind-blowing for the Wii actually. There aren't any Phendrana Drifts or Sanctuary Fortress moments here but the game looks great regardless. As a side note, though I thought the loading kept up nicely throughout most of the game, it takes a real dive towards the end. Particularly in the post-game. I was actually getting a little worried about my Wii.
The main thing that the Team Ninja got right was the sense of speed. Metroid has become increasingly fast paced over the years in its 2D installments, but the Prime series slowed it down majorly. Other M is back to form, execept it's even faster, and running through the corridors when collecting items near the end of the game is seriously satisftying. The wave and plasma beams are in top form here, but the real star of the show is the speed booster and the space jump/screw attack. Retro never managed to get the speed booster in their games, and it's a shame because Team Ninja pulled it off brilliantly. It's easy to use and the shinespark feature is so well done that I'm not sure how they managed to do it. I was in awe the first time I used it. As for the space jump, there are no words. They got it exactly right, though I do miss the verticality that it provided in the 2D games (it's pretty much a horizontal affair here, though it does offer a bit more initial reach). Also, a nod to the scene where Samus authorises it herself, which was actually pretty damn satisfying. Metroid games have always been really fun towards the end since you dominate areas you once struggled with, and Other M is no exception. In fact I felt more badass in this game than perhaps any of the others, and that's no mean feat.
As for the expansions, they're pretty nicely hidden and though none of them are as tough as some of the bastards in Super (turtle wall) or Echoes (morph ball puzzle #498) they're still real fun to find. I do think having them all avaliable on the map after the credits was a tad too easy on the player, since it removed the ability to keep a mental note, but at the same time there were a few shinespark sections to reach high-up places that I never would have thought of otherwise. Morph ball puzzles are pretty streamlined here, and it's a shame not to have the excellent spider or boost balls, but these sections are still fun and are about the same level as the other 2D Metroids. The expansions themselves are pretty helpful, particularly the accel charge, and I like how they broke energy tanks up into parts. That said, missile tanks proved fairly worthless since you can replenish them at any time, and though I love this addition to the game and the way it speeds things up, it takes so little time to replenish them that the tanks become useless. On the other hand, the concentration move is often incredibly difficult to pull off in the heat of battle, and lead to some of my most tense moments in the game. Personally, I loved it.
I've heard complaints on the music (or lack of it) and to some degree I can agree. Metroid games have always been moody and atmospheric whilst still having genuinely enjoyable and melodic themes. Other M, save for a few nice exceptions, doesn't stray past your typical subdued zelda dungeon stuff. There's no Red Brinstar or Kraid's Lair or Tunnel theme here. What you do get is a soundtrack very similar to Fusion's - a lot of moody background pieces and a few highlight tracks in between. The sequence after Sector Zero is destroyed features a beautiful piece that doesn't last nearly long enough, since it's highly emotional and energising. I'm not going to condemn Other M's soundtrack, since it was actually pretty solid, but solid isn't a word that typicall describes a Metroid-standard soundtrack. Hopefully Kenji gets a call once the next Metroid project rolls around. One thing is for sure at least, orchestration works great for the series. I'd love to see it become the norm.
So that pretty much covers it. If I were to sum it up in dot-point form, here's how it would look:
On the Plus Side:
- Agile Samus is back and more manouvorable than ever.
- Additions to combat are well-implemented.
- Shinespark and space jump are fantastically well-realised.
- Wonderfully composed cinematics.
- Mostly brilliant boss fights (and best Ridley battle in the series)
- Some clever plot points.
- Fantastic enemy, boss and Samus models.
- Wonderful animation and solid visual effects.
- Very nice nods to II, Super and especially Fusion.
- Some amazing set-pieces (ie: gravity section)
- Fantastic post-credits section.
- Best escape sequence in the series
On the Negative Side
- Too many one-hit kills.
- Some inane design decisions (Authorization, Queen Metroid's last form)
- Writing leaves a lot to be desired.
- Environments aren't as well crafted as Prime series.
- Too linear compared to past Metroid games (sans Fusion).
- 3rd person and (especially) Where's Waldo segments.
- NOW LOADING... in the post-game.
- Meh final story sequence.
Overall I seriously enjoyed it - any game that can make me sit down for up to seven hours straight is doing something very, very right. It's not my favourite Metroid game - it's just not designed well-enough to match it with the best in the series. That said, I was still pretty floored with the majority of the game and cannot comprehend how critical many have been about it. There are some poor design decisions in Other M, but for some reason the people who make such complaints seem to forget all the great things in the game. I think there's a seriously solid base here for future 3D Metroid titles. If they can remove the inane stuff and tighten up the graphics on level three, then Sakamoto could make something pretty mindblowing. As it stands, Other M comes close to reaching the stars but falls a little short along the way.
