Metroid: Other M

[Cerrax]

sorry guys but i have seen so many ridiculous complaints in this thread i don't even know where to start

but i'll start with this one

"i don't like games that are like movies"

then you hate oh i don't know, METAL GEAR SOLID, ALL FINAL FANTASY GAMES, HALO, GEARS OF WAR, ALAN WAKE, AND JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE PLAYER ADVENTURE OF THE LAST SEVEN YEARS?

ok cool so what games do you play pac-man

Actually I don't like any of those. Last few games I played were Mirror's Edge, Borderlands, and Split/Second, all which feature very little (if any) cutscenes and story. And they're better for it. If you can't do a story right, then don't do one at all. Not every game needs a story. Mirror's Edge is the only one that even attempts to make the story matter. Borderlands uses the story as a source of comedy rather than being the driving force of the game. Split/Second doesn't even have a story. You're a driver in an extreme sports television show. And guess what? THEY'RE ALL STILL REALLY GOOD.

Also, this:

But see then you have games like Half Life 2, and Portal...

And Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, all which integrate story and gameplay flawlessly.

[BardicKnowledge]

If I've beaten the game on normal mode 100%, have I unlocked everything, or does more gallery / theater stuff unlock if you finish it on hard mode?

Spoilers below -- if you use the dark skin, beware!!

I realize that it's pretty awesome nostalgia / fan service, but could someone explain to me why Phantoon is in the game at all? Is he supposed to be the ultimate bio weapon or something? It just didn't make sense. Thanks.

[Bigfoot]

Btw, today would have been Gunpei Yokoi's 69th birthday.

[Bleck]

I realize that it's pretty awesome nostalgia / fan service, but could someone explain to me why Phantoon is in the game at all? Is he supposed to be the ultimate bio weapon or something? It just didn't make sense.

you answered your own question

[Bigfoot]

What's sad, to be honest, is that I didn't even realize that was him until you mentioned it. Maybe if they played the boss battle theme from Super Metroid or something.

[EC2151]

That enemy, if we read Super's manual, "taps into Mother Brain's vicious telepathy waves and is drawn to them, attacking any adventurer with deadly plasma"

So my guess is that outside of fanservice, he is there because he sensed MB when MB went all THE HUMANS MUST BE JUDGED on the galaxy.

But since he doesn't show up in hard mode (really, NOTHING shows up in hard mode... I'm wondering if it's worth it to play instead of just doing low percent runs), he's non-canon.

Still a fun fight though.

[Binjovi]

I just finished the game, finally. I have to say the game was very enjoyable. The dialogue, and even the story didn't really bother me too much. There are certainly far worse out there, after all. It was actually nice to see a softer, more human side to Samus, too. Similarly to Batman, the fact that she's a mere mortal, with emotional baggage, and even some mental issues makes her all the more badass when she manages to overcome those obstacles to complete the impossible missions she takes on.

The gameplay was great. Even though there was melee combat, and dodging and rolling, it still felt like a Metroid game, oddly enough. Was it a new Super Metroid? No. Nothing but Super Metroid will ever be Super Metroid, and fans need to realize that, I think.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Just going to say for those that haven't tried it and get discouraged about reading about Samus's "panic attacks" and "weak womanization scenes", those are mere exaggerations. Seriously all it is just the fan being upset about the fact that Samus is in fact a female and the realism is that every human has his or her breaking point.

SPOILERS:

If you annihilate Ridley, Motherbrain, and all metroids, as well the home planet, you're gonna get a bit freaked out. Even though she's killed Ridley a bunch of times, destroying him and then the planet he resides on should get rid of him completely. She doesn't have a "panic attack", she gets a little freaked out is all.

It's not like she's falling to the floor with tears and she's being saved by Anthony or Adam or something, though it may sound like that from reading this thread.

[Overflow]

Just going to say for those that haven't tried it and get discouraged about reading about Samus's "panic attacks" and "weak womanization scenes", those are mere exaggerations. Seriously all it is just the fan being upset about the fact that Samus is in fact a female and the realism is that every human has his or her breaking point.

SPOILERS:

If you annihilate Ridley, Motherbrain, and all metroids, as well the home planet, you're gonna get a bit freaked out. Even though she's killed Ridley a bunch of times, destroying him and then the planet he resides on should get rid of him completely. She doesn't have a "panic attack", she gets a little freaked out is all.

It's not like she's falling to the floor with tears and she's being saved by Anthony or Adam or something, though it may sound like that from reading this thread.

On top of that, she (Spoilers) just watched the baby Metroid, the closest thing she had to a child, sacrifice itself in front of her eyes. Couple that with seeing her "father" for the first time in years. That alone would be enough to unbalance her emotionally, but then add in the Ridley thing and it's no wonder she's so unstable, really.

[EC2151]

However, I think we can all agree Manthony Higgs is the absolute best thing in the game.

[Arek the Absolute]

However, I think we can all agree Manthony Higgs is the absolute best thing in the game.

100% agreed

[Nabeel Ansari]

The only Samus thing I have a bit of an issue with is

SPOILERS:

When she starts crying as Adam leaves to self destruct Sector Zero along with himself. I mean, she's CRYING. Why didn't she cry when Gandrayda, Ghor, or Ruundas died from Dark Samus corruption? I suppose she wouldn't cry for her friends as opposed to Adam, but she didn't even talk.

[Toadofsky]

However, I think we can all agree Manthony Higgs is the absolute best thing in the game.

Can't say I do, sorry. This game just wasn't for me.

[Lemonectric]

The only Samus thing I have a bit of an issue with is

SPOILERS:

When she starts crying as Adam leaves to self destruct Sector Zero along with himself. I mean, she's CRYING. Why didn't she cry when Gandrayda, Ghor, or Ruundas died from Dark Samus corruption? I suppose she wouldn't cry for her friends as opposed to Adam, but she didn't even talk.

Nobody cared about the hunters from corruption. Samus tries to look a little emotional for the camera during the ending scene, but really she's just enjoying the breeze.

[The Mutericator]

The only Samus thing I have a bit of an issue with is

SPOILERS:

When she starts crying as Adam leaves to self destruct Sector Zero along with himself. I mean, she's CRYING. Why didn't she cry when Gandrayda, Ghor, or Ruundas died from Dark Samus corruption? I suppose she wouldn't cry for her friends as opposed to Adam, but she didn't even talk.

Don't even say that, Sakamoto will try to get Retro to rerelease Prime 3 with Samus breaking down crying like a wreck every time she kills one of them.

Also anyone trying to rationalize Samus' emotional state needs to realize they are doing EXACTLY what we should NOT be playing Metroid games for: realism and overanalysis. Seriously, the Ridley scene is unbelievably stupid, but what's worse are the people trying to come up with a host of reasons to justify that scene's occurrence. It's a GAME. I am here to play things, not to care about the current emotional state of my character.

Yes, I prefer silent protagonists for this exact reason. I hate it when games take themselves too seriously, and emotionless slates are a great way to handle that.

then you hate oh i don't know, METAL GEAR SOLID, ALL FINAL FANTASY GAMES, HALO, GEARS OF WAR, ALAN WAKE, AND JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE PLAYER ADVENTURE OF THE LAST SEVEN YEARS?

Yes. Ironically, do you know what Final Fantasy 12, a game that came out 4 years and a console generation ago, had that Other M didn't?

The ability to skip cutscenes.

[Bleck]

do you know what Final Fantasy 12, a game that came out 4 years and a console generation ago, had that Other M didn't?

This guy.

[Overflow]

Don't even say that, Sakamoto will try to get Retro to rerelease Prime 3 with Samus breaking down crying like a wreck every time she kills one of them.

Also anyone trying to rationalize Samus' emotional state needs to realize they are doing EXACTLY what we should NOT be playing Metroid games for: realism and overanalysis. Seriously, the Ridley scene is unbelievably stupid, but what's worse are the people trying to come up with a host of reasons to justify that scene's occurrence. It's a GAME. I am here to play things, not to care about the current emotional state of my character.

Yes, I prefer silent protagonists for this exact reason. I hate it when games take themselves too seriously, and emotionless slates are a great way to handle that.

Wow. Why are you getting so bent out of shape about this? Like you said, it's just a game. It's not like it's ruined the rest of the games or destroyed the franchise. The other games are just as good as they always were. If anything, Other M makes Fusion better. You can still go back and play any of the earlier games and not think about Other M. Besides, now Nintendo knows what works and what doesn't, so it can only get better from here.

On a side note, I've been listening to the soundtrack for Other M on Youtube, and it's actually pretty good. It's actually a lot more atmospheric than most of the other games and the standout tunes, like The Kihunter Hive, are really neat.

Running through the Bottle Ship after you finish the main story, it feels incredibly desolate. I actually got a more creepy sense of solitude from that than from any of the other Metroid games.

[Nabeel Ansari]

It's a GAME. I am here to play things, not to care about the current emotional state of my character..

If you don't care then why complain?

[Toadofsky]

If you don't care then why complain?

Maybe because he finds people's attempt at justifying that scene to be silly?

[Binjovi]

According to the manga (which is supposed to be canon), Samus was there watching as Ridley killed her parents. She was... 8 at the time, I think. If there's an 8-year-old that isn't traumatized by a giant dragon-dactyl murdering their family before their eyes, there's probably something seriously wrong with the kid anyway. This explains why she's shown as a child for a moment when confronted by Ridley too. I really don't see how that's trying to rationalize, as it's already established information.

At any rate, I liked her being frightened by Ridley. It's like the Worf Effect, except that it worked. Ridley actually freaked me out a bit in this game, which hasn't happened in a while. I consider that a good thing.

[BardicKnowledge]

Yeah, the Ridley scene is one of the few cutscenes that really worked for me -- the flashback of her standing there as the frightened child is the best piece of storytelling in the game. Agreed with binjovi 100% that it was about time we thought of Ridley as this scary boss for a change.

[Nabeel Ansari]

Maybe because he finds people's attempt at justifying that scene to be silly?

I think it's silly to be complaining about how there's no justification. He said himself "It's a GAME."

[RDX]

The only Samus thing I have a bit of an issue with is

SPOILERS:

When she starts crying as Adam leaves to self destruct Sector Zero along with himself. I mean, she's CRYING. Why didn't she cry when Gandrayda, Ghor, or Ruundas died from Dark Samus corruption? I suppose she wouldn't cry for her friends as opposed to Adam, but she didn't even talk.

That's when the approach to Metroid games was different. We aren't told that Samus is sad, we're supposed to infer it. When Gandrayda is dying she looks away, remember?

[Toadofsky]

I think it's silly to be complaining about how there's no justification. He said himself "It's a GAME."

Oh heck, it's just an opinion, just like everybody else's. I didn't think the game was very good, but that's as far as I'll go in my opinion on it, mostly because everybody who likes it will disagree anyways.

[The Mutericator]

If you don't care then why complain?

Because the scene is being forced on me in order to play the game? Because worse, Sakamoto's flat out stated that he wants to make Metroid more like this permanently?

Yes, Other M doesn't ruin the previous games, aside from the obvious retconning about Samus' attachment to the larva, but if this means there won't be a true successor to Super and Prime (no, not a clone, not Super all over again - a true evolution of the franchise in an appropriate direction, with emphasis on the things Metroid's always been about), then yes, I am going to get rather annoyed over it.