Is the world ready for an M-rated Metroid game?

[Timstuff]

This is a controversial topic, and I'm sure someone is already readying their fingers to type "M rated games are for immature losers who just want to look at gore and boobs!", but I think it's important to have this discussion. Metroid is neither Mario or Zelda, and I think it has always been destined to shoot for a more adult audience if it's to truly live up to its immense potential.

I've prepared a freaking long post about why I feel like the Metroid franchise would be well served by not being restricted to the needs of a T-rating, but since it's so long I've put it in spoiler tags. If you want the cliffnotes version, it's something like this:

Metroid has always been darker than any of Nintendo's other games, and its primary influences always have been R-rated science fiction films. Metroid is largely about atmosphere, and that atmosphere could be much more effective if it wasn't restricted by a T rating. T-rated games are hard to make scary, because there's only so far you're allowed to go, and you can't show much. It's not just about adding blood and gore to combat. Most creatures in Metroid don't have red blood anyway, but some could. Samus's death scenes could be very shocking, which would encourage the player to be careful while exploring. Metroid has always been much darker and more adult than Nintendo's other franchises, and just like Zelda was a natural fit for a T rating, I believe Metroid is a natural fit for an M-rating.

Spoiler

The original Metroid games were inspired primarily by the Alien movie series, which are all R-rated. I think that if Metroid went M-rated it would be able to truly take its original concepts of isolation and dark atmosphere to new depths that would not be possible otherwise. The enemies would be able to be designed and behave in truly grizzly ways that would not be acceptable by T-rated standards, and the game would be able to instill in the player a sense of lonileness and fear like no Metroid title before it. Players would approach each unexplored corridor and unturned corner with caution, not knowing what waits for them in the dark unexplored places of this planet. It could be an eaily dispatched critter, or nothing at all-- or, it could be some gharrish abomination walking on the claws of its toes, waiting for its next victim.

If the player is not careful, they may have to witness Samus dying in some painful and insetting way, and if the game is played from the first person perspective, they will have to witness it through her eyes. Not seeing Samus' body impaled and/or dismembered would be a powerful incentive to play the game carefully for many players. Being M-rated is not just about getting to see lots of gore in order to empower the player. Getting more detailed enemy damage would definitely be welcome through an M-rating, however the implications for what could happen to the player would be the real benefit, since it builds a much more tense experience.

The additional violence would not be gratuitous, but rather would add to the atmosphere of a dark world. Think back to Super Metroid, when you discover the eviscarated remains of the research lab's scientists, and later, the body of a less successful bounty hunter being gnawed on by maggots. These moments were truly unsetting when I was young, and the pixelated graphics allowed my imagination to run wild. When I played Metroid Prime 2, however, and I could clearly see dead space marines lying around with few signs of actual physical trauma despite the detailed graphics, the effect was lost on me. It felt sanatized because it could not hide behind the ambiguity that the SNES's pixel graphics offered.

Imagine going back to the aforementioned scenes from Super Metroid with modern graphics, though... Imagine walking down a hallway with a smear of browning blood running along the wall, leading directly into the door that you need to enter. Inside, you find a half eaten corpse of some poor unfortunate soul, and you can hear what could be the heavy breathing of the creature whose dinner you just interrupted-- or perhaps said creature has had its fill and has already left, and you are just hearing the ambience of the cave. You won't know the answer until you've explored. A scene like this just wouldn't work in a T-rated game, and if they tried to do it you'd always know deep down "whever it is that's wating for me, it can't be that bad since this is only rated T."

Metroid is dark science fiction, and as such I think that a T rating is restricting it from being all that it can be. You can do quite a bit with a T-rating, but however much they can push it, the potential will never be as much as with an M-rating. It's been long established that there is in fact a sizeable adult audience for well thought out games that deal with mature and dark material, and I think that the Metroid franchise could really benefit from not being restricted by a T rating.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

There will never be an M rated core franchise from Nintendo, let alone an M rated installment of any of their current franchises.

 

[Timstuff]

There will never be an M rated core franchise from Nintendo, let alone an M rated installment of any of their current franchises.

I'd like to think that eventually, Nintendo will no longer be able to ignore the market for M-rated games and internally spearhead an M-rated franchise. It seems highly unlikely at this point, but it could happen eventually. Right now, Nintendo's focus is only on children, families, and older adults who don't normally play games (like Brain Age and such). That leaves a very large hole in their demographic-- adults age 18-30, the age group whom most of the core gaming audience are members of.

The odds of Nintendo re-tooling an existing franchise for an M-rating are quite low, sadly. If Nintendo does decide they want to do an M-rated game, they will probably want to create a new IP to do it with. However, I think that an M-rated Metroid would be a successful venture, even if Nintendo is terrified of the idea. Most of the Metroid fanbase is older gamers, and the franchise has never had much appeal to younger gamers. Most of the people who are responsible for Metroid's success are old enough to buy M-rated games, and they will not be losing any significant sales if they went that route.

The years when Metroid appealed to kids are pretty long gone, I think, and the reason why Metroid was popular with kids back then was because it was darker and edgier than the games that Nintendo normally made. Metroid is in a position where it could easily be Nintendo's premiere gaming franchise for adults, even if they don't want to use it that way.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

Is the world ready....yes
Will Nintendo ever do it....no

 

[Timstuff]

Is the world ready....yes
Will Nintendo ever do it....no

And that is what will always frustrate me with Nintendo. Regardless of what gamers want, they are always going to do their own thing for better or for worse. They have a reputation as being "The Disney of video games" and they've made few attempts to shake it. I've never really understood why Nintendo can't comprehend the idea of different games being made for different demographics, like "this is a game that children can play by themselves or with their parents, and this is a game for grown ups." All of Nintendo's first party games seem to shoot for the lowest common denominator, like they're afraid that developing an M-rated game will somehow cross contaminate their family friendly games.

According the Reggie, the reason why Nintendo doesn't make M-rated games is because it's more or less out of their league. They've never tried making one before, and that's not their area of expertise. That wouldn't explain, however, why a franchise like Metroid which has been the most successful when in the hands of an "outside developer," can't be done as an M rated game. Metroid is Nintendo's one franchise that would actually be a perfect fit for an M-rated title, and they have already established that they are OK with an external studio like Retro or Team Ninja making games out of it. Nintendo could do it, but I think that there is some entrenched stigma at Nintendo towards making M-rated games, especially for one of their classic franchises. Which is still dumb IMO, because there's never been anything particularly "family friendly" about Metroid anyway.

Here's the link where Reggie discusses M rated games:

http://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-doesn-t-enjoy-making-mature-games-168291.phtml

 

[hippie_hunter]

I really don't see the need for an M-rated Metroid game.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

There's a reason Nintendo hasn't changed up their business plan. It's working for them, even those complaining about it, end up rushing out to buy the latest Mario, Zelda, or Metroid.

 

[Timstuff]

There's a reason Nintendo hasn't changed up their business plan. It's working for them, even those complaining about it, end up rushing out to buy the latest Mario, Zelda, or Metroid.

They haven't tried making an M-rated Metroid, though, and I think that the same would hold true. Metroid's fanbase is mostly adults, and the few kids and teenagers who are into Metroid will probably get their parents to buy it for them anyway, just like with Halo or Call of Duty. I do not think that an M-rating would negatively affect sales, and if anything it could get more attention for the game from people who are curious about what happens when Nintendo does an M-rated game, even if the development is handled by an outside studio.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

The thing about Nintendo is, for them, gaming equals fun, that´s their motto.
So story and characters are secondary to them.
That´s why Super Mario games are all the same when it comes to story, Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser.
The same goes to all the others.
The first game they really tried to bring story and characterization, it failed on them (i haven´t played Other M yet, but Reggie was the first the game was below his expectations sales-wise)

We believe that it could be, should be a million unit title. We're not going to get there, not through the holiday. And we are doing a lot of thinking as to why, because it's a great game. The consumer reaction because of the quality has been strong. I think the marketing was strong, advertising was very good, the social media we did was very positive.

The problem is Nintendo consoles are still looked upon as "kid stuff" when compared to other consoles, and the first way to change that starts to change consumers prespective of it...Nintendo never did it, hell, they never even tried...Mario is still Mario and Link is still Link....i´m happy that they are, but something need change from time to time.

Bottom line is, this generation Nintendo´s consoles sell like hot cakes, so, why would they change in the first place?
You can say that Nintendo´s portables always sold like hot cakes, and that´s true; but that not true when it comes to home consoles, not since the SNES, not since the Playstation come out.
Hell, they even lost to the Xbox last gen.
The Wii is selling because of motion control (it deserves so, but that is the reason, don´t be fooled thinking otherwise), this gen Super Mario and Legend of Zelda are selling because exactly that, if not, why didn´t they sold tons last gens?
So, unless Nintendo has something mindblowing, once again, up their sleeves; i see them failing, once again, next gen.

 

[RustyCage]

I want to see a darker, scarier, more mature Metroid geared toward a smarter, older audience, sure. That would absolutely be a dream come true. Do I think that achieving that kind of atmosphere or horror or intelligence requires an M rating? No, not at all. Whether or not it ends up being rated M is trivial and basically irrelevant to what should be the real goal of crafting such a game.

Further, the ratings aren't based on the maturity of the game, but the maturity of the audience and whether or not parents want their kids seeing or doing certain things. In other words, an M rating is to tell you when there's questionable material such as 'OMG GORE BOOBZ', etc, not to tell you how mature the game itself is.

 

[Knightsaber Priss]

I don't play Metroid so I don't really care all that much either way. I'm more stoked for an English language version of Monster Hunter Portable Third.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I really don't see the need for an M-rated Metroid game.

QFT

Neither Metroid nor Zelda needs to have an M rated game in order to appeal to an older audience.

Now, if you want it to be more atmospheric and creepy as, say, Resident Evil. I'd be for that.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Y'know what's the scariest moment I ever had playing Metroid, was hearing that first Metroid screech in Metroid Prime. No mature content at all, just a sound effect that I've come to learn means oh crap. Metroid doesn't need an M-rating. It's already mature enough without what an M rating will give it, all it will do is make it more immature. Look at Other M, attempting to give Samus more character and it didn't work. Nintendo's games are great, not because of story, but becuase of control and gameplay that is almost always top notch. Look at Donkey Kong Country Returns, a great game, without any mature content, oh wait maybe we should make Donkey Kong be able to rip the arms of enemies and use those as weapons, that'll really help make the game better. I can't remember the last time I even looked at a rating on a game when buying it, mature content doesn't matter great gameplay and controls are what matter. Hell, getting everything in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a whole lot more difficult than any game I've played on my 360, that's another big factor difficulty, notice that most of those mature games are also really easy.

 

[Timstuff]

It's already mature enough without what an M rating will give it, all it will do is make it more immature.

Every time I hear a Nintendo fan say this to justify Nintendo not making any M-rated games, I

 

[amazingfantasy15]

Every time I hear a Nintendo fan say this to justify Nintendo not making any M-rated games, I

I do the same thing when people somehow equate an M-rating with quality. I never look at a game's rating when deciding whether to buy it, I look at how the game plays, length, stuff to do, etc..., the rating never comes into play. I'm loving playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood right now, but also Donkey Kong Country Returns. I actually felt Metroid: Other M, which seemed to be a step in the direction of making the franchise more mature, lacked a big part of the creativity I like most about the Metroid franchise, the enviroments. In fact every step the franchise takes in a more mature direction, I feel we get our hand held more and more. Give me challenge, not mature content.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

Every time I hear a Nintendo fan say this to justify Nintendo not making any M-rated games, I

Well ask yourself this. What would an M rating allow Nintendo to do with the games that they haven't done already? It's not as if you're decapitating people and blowing off limbs.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

One thing i totally agree with amazingfantasy15, rating doesn´t equal quality, it never did and it never will.
Rating is about content, not quality

 

[luckyplayer]

Right on man! That would be super cool to have an M rated Metroid!

 

[RisanF]

I want to see a darker, scarier, more mature Metroid geared toward a smarter, older audience, sure. That would absolutely be a dream come true. Do I think that achieving that kind of atmosphere or horror or intelligence requires an M rating? No, not at all. Whether or not it ends up being rated M is trivial and basically irrelevant to what should be the real goal of crafting such a game.

Further, the ratings aren't based on the maturity of the game, but the maturity of the audience and whether or not parents want their kids seeing or doing certain things. In other words, an M rating is to tell you when there's questionable material such as 'OMG GORE BOOBZ', etc, not to tell you how mature the game itself is.

The thing is, a lot of gamers seriously believe an M-rating equals more substantial quality or an adult mindset. Because of this, the gaming scene has this 13-year-old-boy atmosphere about it, where many gamers just want to be cool and are hesitant at accepting values of anything (or anyone) else. I get what the OP is saying, but I don't think developers can handle making an M rated Metroid game without tapping into that gratuitous, obnoxious atmosphere. Besides, the real reason Metroid games aren't scary is because they've become ridiculously easy (Zero Mission has great atmosphere and style, but it is a cake walk).

 

[RustyCage]

The thing is, a lot of gamers seriously believe an M-rating equals more substantial quality or an adult mindset. Because of this, the gaming scene has this 13-year-old-boy atmosphere about it, where many gamers just want to be cool and are hesitant at accepting values of anything (or anyone) else. I get what the OP is saying, but I don't think developers can handle making an M rated Metroid game without tapping into that gratuitous, obnoxious atmosphere.

Agreed.

Besides, the real reason Metroid games aren't scary is because they've become ridiculously easy (Zero Mission has great atmosphere and style, but it is a cake walk).

I disagree here. Zero Mission could have been scary with any difficulty level. The colorful, cartoony atmosphere and the fast-paced style of the game are what kept it from being scary. The two things you called great are my biggest disappointments with the game, what I view to be it's hindrances.

Ridley and Kraid looked awesome though.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I didn't think Zero Mission was easy. At least getting all the upgrades wasn't. There's several where you have to time multiple shinesparks perfectly.