I am so dissapointed at this game. I have so many things to rant about so I will start with the good stuff because, despite the huge mess it is, it's got several things right and THAT's what Sakamoto and Co. should focus on IF they plan on releasing another 2.5 side-scrolling Metroid.
MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD
Good/Excellent stuff:
The mobility of Samus is amazing. Her speed and reaction times are just perfect, they're fast and precise. The Screw Attack DOES feel like a screw attack ! You are actually able to obliterate every living thing that stands on your way after RE-acquairing it. The shooting speed is sublime and the transition to morphball thankfully is almost instantaneous. The finishing moves are gorgeous and they make Samus look more kickass than ever before.
Watching again the old Super Metroid baddies in 3D was pure glory. Their movement was loyal to their 2D counterparts and they were as tough to beat sometimes. The speed booster wasn't as speedy as I thought it would be, and I felt it took damn too long to charge it up, however the sonic-boom kind of effect it causes looks pretty cool, as does the shinespark.
The platforming was ok. I never got frustrated after trying to reach the highest point of a certain room.
Also HOLY SHIT at Phantoon and Queen Metroid !! It was such a pleasant surprise =D !
And that pretty much covers the good stuff. Lets sharpen the knives now.
BAD/HORRENDOUS stuff:
As I said already in my previous post: This isn't a Metroid game. It's a fucking interactive rail shooter. What the fuck were they thinking !?
I don't even know where to start to butcher this mess of a prototype, because mind you, it felt more like a prototype rather than a full fledged game to me.
Yes, the cinematcis were absolutely gorgeous, and yes I'm all for a fragile Samus inside that ancient chozo suit but at least try to come up with a decent storyline ! Excuse me but I'm not buying the submissive/traumatized Samus you are portraying Mr.Sakamoto. The Samus Aran I've known for years has killed thousands upon thousands of alien lifeforms, survived all by herself travelling throught the most harsh/insanely complicated layouts in order to restore peace to a certain region of the universe, and now you're telling I have to fucking follow orders from her father figure in order to use my super cool moves/gizmos ? Confession time: You are out of fucking mind sir. To this day it is the worst excuse for powering down Samus in a Metroid game.
At least the malfunctioning suit of Prime 1 pushed you further into the exploration aspect of the game, but in Other M I didnt felt compelled to explore the spaceship at all. I was actually rushing my way through the game in order to recover all my abilities FFS !!
The Samus meets Ridley moment was one of the most awkward I've seen in recent years, but you know what? I kinda liked watching Samus being vulnerable. It is more logical for her to react that way after developing a childhood trauma instead of fucking dying from heat exposure deep into the lava sector of the bottle ship, waiting for her beloved Adam to authorize the use of her Varia Suit... Seriously, holy shit.
The overall layout of the game not only remains linear but also void from any sense of exploration. It basically breaks down into rushing your way from room to room, mash 1 as your run through corridors and use the sense/win move for tougher enemies. Rinse and repeat until you finish the game.
You can restock your missiles at any given time which translates into not needing any upgrades at all. Enemies for the first time in a Metroid game do not drop anything, yet another incentive for me to rush my way through the corridors without shooting my gun unless forced to do so. Even if you get the location of a hidden power-up after clearing up a room from enemies, in the end it's not even necessary at all since, by the time you finish the game you get the exact locations of EVERY single power-up in the game. WTF !?
The battle system is boring in the long run. I admit I felt pretty excited for the first couple of hours since the sense-move felt really good and the finishing moves were actually intense, but by the time you reach the 2nd or 3rd boss fight you just realize how cheap the controls are. There is absolutely no strategy in this game, AT ALL. You can easily beat every single boss if you just keep wagling the Wiimote waiting for Samus to dodge and charge to counter-attack. Fucking dissapointing.
Shooting missiles wouldn't be a pain in the ass if only you were able to move while you are ponting in 1st person view. Actually, why the fuck do I have to switch to 1st person mode if I won't be able to move!? And why does the game force me to scan stupid irrelevant shit in order to trigger a cinematic?? I felt so angry at the game after I failed to realize I had to scan a fucking green stain on the sand after spending 2 MINUTES doing nothing but moving the camera around, hoping I could finally continue playing.
It is certainly ilogical how the game actually turned into a real Metroid game right after the credits rolled. At that moment I actually felt (and I'm not alone on this) that Sakamoto was trying to tell us: Ok, you managed to bear this experiment of mine from beginning to end. Now here is your game, fuck you. No, Fuck YOU sir. This is simply ridiculous ! It is the first time that I actually had more fun with a videogame right after I completed it !! What the fuck !?!
I won't even get into the ending cinematic because I literally laughed out loud at it. It is the most stupid, bizarre, cliched, overdramatic sequence I have ever seen. I mean, seriously... They should've just released a movie ala Advent Children instead of using the gameplay as an excuse for us to bear all the storytelling in Other M.
I'm so dissapointed at the lack of Metroidness in this game... You know what I mean, the stuff that makes a Metroid game a METROID game. The moment they decided to let you refill your ammo and health automatically I knew they had put the fisrt nail in the coffin. But then the game started to force me upon a straight line (like Corruption, which was one of my biggest complaints about that game, but that's a whole different topic), they fucking packed the game with Save Stations (seriously... one every 5 or 6 rooms !? Talk about spoiling the player huh? ) , there's is absolutely no incentive for backtracking since leaving the course of action would compromise your capacity to be authorized the next (and most necessary) suit upgrade; the scenery is absolutely uninspiring. Yes, it IS colorful and reminded me of Super Metroid at some points, but outside of both the spiral chambers and some nature infested hallways, almost half of the game is made of pure copy pasta.
I will absolutely skip any storyline discussion because I refuse to believe the woman portayed in Other M is actually Samus Aran.
Again, I don't mind the inclussion of her monologues, but at least choose good writers and voice actors. When a character uses imbecile phrases like Confession Time, you know you're doing something wrong.
Anyway.. I could go on and on, but I think I just covered what I think were the most absurd decisions taken for this game.
It wasn't even a nice try. Thanks, but NO thanks. This is NOT what Metroid is and I hope you don't make the same mistakes again.