Metroid: Other M

[amazingfantasy15]

Now that I've played a little more of Other M, I really don't see the problem with the story right now, the first time you meet Adam and his crew it is a little awkward, but the next time works much better. Adam asks Samus to assist in the mission and if she does she needs to follow his rules, just like an actual military operation and the definitely wouldn't allow a bounty hunter to run around doing her own thing, it makes sense. As I remember Prime 3 was somewhat similar.

The controls take some getting used, but they do work well (still wish I had an analog stick for movement though). I'd place it between Super Metroid and Prime in terms of control right now, both games I love. They're different, but definitely Metroid, it's funny you mention how much you hated the beam selection with your c-stick, the beam and visor selection were my favorite parts of the control scheme, I didn't really miss the speedbooster, it was awesome in Super Metroid, but didn't miss it at all in Prime. I think both those games were perfect examples of the series.

Still pretty early in Other M (still in Sector 1), but right now I'm enjoying it. It does feel a little more like Fusion or even Metroid 2 on GameBoy, the way it's not really gaining abilities/upgrades that open the world as much as completing objectives.

 

[Timstuff]

Heheheh. This cheered me up a bit.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Yea, this game has an interesting mix of Super Metroid and Fusion in it. It is put together like Fusion with a more sure direction, but the enemies are strait out of SM.

It's not my favorite Metroid game, but dernnit if it isn't good. I quite like the story they put together.

Now that they've told the in between story of Super Metroid and Fusion, maybe now we can finally get a follow up to Fusion on the 3DS...I want to know what happens to Samus after the X parasite incedent.

 

[Timstuff]

2x post

 

[Timstuff]

Personally, I'd rather have Retro handle the next chapter on a next-gen console. Handhelds are dandy, but I think that the Metroid series should have a focus more on consoles. Maybe they'll do "Metroid 5" as in-between chapter on the 3DS to explain how Samus loses her Fusion Suit, and then do "Metroid 6" on a console?

 

[Brainiac 8]

I would be ok with something like that.

I love me Metroid, regardless of the platform.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Heheheh. This cheered me up a bit.

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2508/samusvsridleybybrokente.pngh

She doesn't react that way. She freezes briefly and there's a quick flashback of her as a child. If you play the game, you'd understand why she reacts this way. It'd be a huge spoiler if I were to tell you.

 

[Brainiac 8]

For all the griping, I loved that scene, I mean:

Spoilers HUGE spoilers

Spoiler

I mean Samus is already obviously dealing with a form of PTS after her battle with Mother Brain and the death of the baby Metroid. And now she is attacked by Ridley out of the blue, whom she thought was finally dead. She had assumed that her dead family was avenged, only to find that the creature she had been tracking was actually Ridley ressurected and mutating.

It's fully understandable that she froze up for a second....but soon enough, the awesome Samus comes back and kicks Ridley booty.

Loved that scene.

 

[Timstuff]

Samus has already gone through defeating Ridley only to see him ressurected 4 times now, though:

Zero Mission-- Defeats Ridley, he returns as Meta-Ridley, and she kills him again
Prime-- Meta-Ridley returns
Prime 3-- Ridley returns
Super Metroid-- Ridley returns

By now, you'd think Samus would be pretty darned desensitized to Ridley's "unexpected" resurrections. If this was the first time she'd faced down with Ridley ever since he murdered her parents, that might be a little different, but this is BATTLE HARDENED SAMUS. This game chronologically is supposed to take place before the last game in the series (Fusion), not at the beginning. It's stupid, lazy writing. There's really no getting around it.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Spoiler

All those times it was the original Ridley though. He was defeated but always kept coming back. She finally kills him in Super Metroid. This one is a clone. Meaning they somehow have Ridley's DNA and he's able to be cloned so she may never beat him once and for all. It's not lazy, stupid writing. Besides, she freezes only for a few seconds, then proceeds to kick his ass.

Also, it was Mecha Ridley at the end of Zero Mission, not Meta Ridley.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Meh, it's a good scene that gives us a glimpse of how Samus looks at Ridley.

Considering the technology used previously, they either couldn't or just chose not to show that earlier. Retro wouldn't have considering Sakamoto wasn't behind the writing of the trilogy.

Samus' characterization in Other M was put together by Sakamoto, the man who wrote Metroid, M2, SM, and Fusion...and according to his interviews this is how he sees her.

She is still the awesome bounty hunter she's always been, only he's finally injected some emotion into her...and I welcome that.

Edit: also what Spidey-bat said.

 

[Timstuff]

@Spidey-Bat:

Did you ignore the part where I said Ridley was defeated and reborn 4 times prior? He looked pretty dead all those times, too, so I don't see why this time would be any more shocking. How would any of his past resurrections been any LESS shocking?

Also, the scene is a hekcuvalot more than just a bried a moment of hesitation! Did you have a different version of the game from everyone else or something? She was plain and simple too scared to fight, and she actually got CARRIED OFF by Ridley. The only reason she survived was because someone else saved her. No matter how hard you try to downplay it, it's still stupid and out of character.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Also yes, Zero Mission showed Samus that the Space Pirates were testing mechanical capabilities with organic material, which gave her a heads up that they were attempting to make Ridley more powerful, which is partially why she was ready for him in Metroid Prime.

The point is you keep missing little plot points in the series in your attempt to justify your silly reaction to the game.

 

[Timstuff]

The point is you keep missing little plot points in the series in your attempt to justify your silly reaction to the game.

Talk about the pot is calling the kettle black.

It's not a "silly reaction." Samus has killed Ridley 4 times. When she killed him, she had no reason to believe he wasn't "dead for good." No matter how much you try and contort it, there is no reason why this encounter with Ridley should be ANY more shocking than the past 4 encounters.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Spoiler

The scene you were talking about was not very long. She was shocked, and hesitated, and it took seeing Anthony 'die' to snap her out of it. That's being human, which Samus just happens to be.

The best, most experience cop freezes up from time to time. Samus is allowed to have that happen too. In the end though, she snapped out of it and proceeded to kick his butt, Samus style.

Stop with the silly goosery.

 

[Timstuff]

Stop ignoring my argument about why Samus didn't hesitate any of the other times Ridley was resurrected, and why it IS, in fact, lazy writing and out of character. Sakamoto was just looking for an excuse to fit in a "testosterone to the rescue!" scene at the expense of keeping Samus in character.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

@Spidey-Bat:

Did you ignore the part where I said Ridley was defeated and reborn 4 times prior? He looked pretty dead all those times, too, so I don't see why this time would be any more shocking. How would any of his past resurrections been any LESS shocking?

Yet he clearly wasn't killed since Kraid and Mother Brain also came back as well. They aren't killed for good until Zebes is destroyed in Super Metroid.

Also, the scene is a hekcuvalot more than just a bried a moment of hesitation! Did you have a different version of the game from everyone else or something?

I have a version of the game and have played it unlike you.

She was plain and simple too scared to fight, and she actually got CARRIED OFF by Ridley. The only reason she survived was because someone else saved her. No matter how hard you try to downplay it, it's still stupid and out of character.

The same exact thing happened in Brawl. Samus got her ass kicked at the beginning of Super Metroid, too.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Stop ignoring my argument about why Samus didn't hesitate any of the other times Ridley was resurrected, and why it IS, in fact, lazy writing and out of character. Sakamoto was just looking for an excuse to fit in a "testosterone to the rescue!" scene at the expense of keeping Samus in character.

Oh, please.

How about the fact that you are talking the NES, Gameboy, and SNES. The technology wasn't there at the time. They weren't going to write those games so that you walk in a room and Samus just freezes up for a few seconds before every fight just to show that she can be scared.

The old games were not made to show much of Samus. For the most part she has been as cardboard of a character as you can get up to the Prime games, which was the first game to really start delving into Samus past and how she works.

Other M just continues that and this time focuses on the human aspects of her rather than the alien which is what the prime games did. There is nothing wrong with that. It's his character to characterize as he pleases.

Point is, hate the game all you want. Your hatred of the game doesn't ruin my enjoyment of it. All I take offense to is you hating on a game, and hating on story points, when you haven't played it for yourself yet. Try it, then if you can't get past your pre-concieved notions, hate it.

Also: Don't go aping G4's idiotic 'sexist' comments...that's just stupid. Anthony doesn't 'save' her, in fact, he bites it and in the end Samus does the butt kicking. Those who cry sexism at this might as well cry sexism on any story where a man saves a woman, and in that case, there is more wrong with you than can be helped here.

 

[Timstuff]

The Metroid Prime games did not show Samus hesitating around Ridley at all, nor did Zero Mission even though it has some crude cutscenes in it and thus had the opportunity to show that Samus is afraid of Ridley. They didn't do that though, which means that a fear of Ridley was clearly not part of her character at that point (and also, there's the Metroid Prime 1 and 3 examples I cited).

I have not had the chance to play it yet, but that does not mean I can't have an opinion about what I have seen of it. I have not played the game, but I HAVE seen the Ridley scene, and it thematically suggests that the sight of Ridley instills in Samus the feelings is terrified like a small child, which is why they visually depict Samus as being reduced to a small child at the sight of Ridley. She is PARALYZED with fear, and can't even react when her CO is shouting her name. She is carried off screaming. I think it's pretty cut and dry what is happening here.

You accuse me of not giving the game a chance, but at the same time you think it's perfectly OK to give the game a free pass on anything they chose to do with it, not matter how stupid and out of character it is. If I were not going to give the game a chance, I would not play it at all. I am going to play it as soon as my gamepad arrives in the main though, which means I am giving it a chance.

The difference between being an apologist and being a critic is that being an apologist never encourages a company to make a better product. If you are perfectly happy with the game depicting Samus as a going totally woobie at the sight of Ridley, then by all means defend it as much as you want. However, your arguments are always going to fall flat because they require you to ignore 20+ years of game history. My argument only requires me to ignore a non-canon manga which was never even released outside of Japan, which I was doing just fine anyway until the apologists started dragging it out in defense of Other M and insisting that it supersedes Samus's depiction in the games themselves.

 

[Brainiac 8]

Fine, I'll not say anymore about it, as it's all lolopinions anyway.

I will say one last thing though that is just factually incorrect that you said. The Manga is in fact canon, it has been stated as such several times.

Either way, when you play it, tell me what you think, as I actually am very curious.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

The difference between being an apologist and being a critic is that being an apologist never encourages a company to make a better product. If you are perfectly happy with the game depicting Samus as a going totally woobie at the sight of Ridley, then by all means defend it as much as you want. However, your arguments are always going to fall flat because I don't like them.

Fixed

My argument only requires me to ignore a non-canon manga which was never even released outside of Japan, which I was doing just fine anyway until the apologists started dragging it out in defense of Other M and insisting that it supersedes Samus's depiction in the games themselves.

Except the manga is canon. It not being released outside of Japan is irrelevant. A lot of games aren't.

 

[amazingfantasy15]

The Metroid Prime games did not show Samus hesitating around Ridley at all, nor did Zero Mission even though it has some crude cutscenes in it and thus had the opportunity to show that Samus is afraid of Ridley. They didn't do that though, which means that a fear of Ridley was clearly not part of her character at that point (and also, there's the Metroid Prime 1 and 3 examples I cited).

I have not had the chance to play it yet, but that does not mean I can't have an opinion about what I have seen of it. I have not played the game, but I HAVE seen the Ridley scene, and it thematically suggests that the sight of Ridley instills in Samus the feelings is terrified like a small child, which is why they visually depict Samus as being reduced to a small child at the sight of Ridley. She is PARALYZED with fear, and can't even react when her CO is shouting her name. She is carried off screaming. I think it's pretty cut and dry what is happening here.

You accuse me of not giving the game a chance, but at the same time you think it's perfectly OK to give the game a free pass on anything they chose to do with it, not matter how stupid and out of character it is. If I were not going to give the game a chance, I would not play it at all. I am going to play it as soon as my gamepad arrives in the main though, which means I am giving it a chance.

The difference between being an apologist and being a critic is that being an apologist never encourages a company to make a better product. If you are perfectly happy with the game depicting Samus as a going totally woobie at the sight of Ridley, then by all means defend it as much as you want. However, your arguments are always going to fall flat because they require you to ignore 20+ years of game history. My argument only requires me to ignore a non-canon manga which was never even released outside of Japan, which I was doing just fine anyway until the apologists started dragging it out in defense of Other M and insisting that it supersedes Samus's depiction in the games themselves.

The thing is Other M is actually trying to give Samus a voice that show you the way she thinks, that's never been a big part of the series before. The story is told much differently than other Metroids. Before it was all text and some stills, this time she's being given a voice. Actually while not totally freezing up when Samus sees Ridley in Prime 1, you could kind of see it as fear and I think it was supposed to be seen as such the way it was shown.

 

[Tron Bonne]

The difference between being an apologist and being a critic is that being an apologist never encourages a company to make a better product. If you are perfectly happy with the game depicting Samus as a going totally woobie at the sight of Ridley, then by all means defend it as much as you want. However, your arguments are always going to fall flat because they require you to ignore 20+ years of game history. My argument only requires me to ignore a non-canon manga which was never even released outside of Japan, which I was doing just fine anyway until the apologists started dragging it out in defense of Other M and insisting that it supersedes Samus's depiction in the games themselves.

And the difference between being a critic and a raging fanboy is, well, is basically what you've been since the second you posted your rant. All you've really done this whole time is roll eyes and make a lot of 'criticisms' with skewed facts and assumptions based on second hand accounts. Not to mention how flippy floppy you're being on 'out of character' aspect now.

You say you're giving it a chance, but we all know you aren't, you've already made up your mind; that is very clear. Don't waste your time playing it, don't waste your time typing about how right you were, just drop it; you know as well as we do you've already forced yourself to not enjoy it and will pick apart everything you possibly can, then pick to whatever obscure or incorrect thing and say, "Ah-ha!, see I was right!". Just save yourself the trouble, save the trouble of people who may try to argue with you, and just don't do it. I think, ultimately, we'll all be better off.

 

[Timstuff]

Samus being out of character in the manga does not make her less out of character in Other M (and the manga is still not canon). Also, my opinion of the Ridley scene is not second hand because I saw it on on Youtube.

 

[Tron Bonne]

You have to have a character to be out of character, and since those are basically the only places of real, major characterization, well...