# Games You SHOULDN'T Buy #5 - Metroid: Other M



## Ryukouki (Jun 29, 2014)

​

​It's definitely been a bit of time since I took the wheel, but I'm back with another piece in the _Games You SHOULDN'T Buy _series. Up for discussion is a very controversial title from the Nintendo Wii Generation - panned by gamers yet praised by professional media, described as either a very good game in the _Metroid _franchise or a title that should never have even made publication. Yes, it's time to finally discuss _that _game, the odd man out in the franchise. Let's talk about _Metroid: Other M_. Before you jump the gun, please do read the article though and remember that I'm only one opinion.​​[prebreak]Continue reading[/prebreak]​​Now, I had every reason to be excited over this title. The presentation introducing the game at E3 looked great, it seemed solid at the time, and felt like an exciting chance to continue off of the success that was _Metroid Prime_. When I heard that Team Ninja would be working on this title, I had high hopes for it, even though Tomonobu Itagaki had already made his departure from the team. I had loved Team Ninja for their work on the _Ninja Gaiden _and _Dead or Alive _games. I was excited at the possibilities of crossovers and _Ninja Gaiden_ style gameplay (Yes, I was foolish and I liked to dream back then).​​

​What came out for the release failed a lot of the expectations I had for the game. I don't think that it was necessarily bad for being _different, _but I think that the title failed due to _poor execution. _And I am absolutely sure that a lot of people would agree to this statement. I love it when a game tries to do something new and I will always nod my head in respect for that, but when the title plays out poorly because of said differences, that's a whole different matter. These differences will be discussed below.​​Combat and Game Mechanics​_Metroid_ has always been about exploration to me. The _Prime_ titles did a very good job at that, eventually telling the player where they should be aiming their sights at next. However, in _Other M,_ the player moves from place to place simply by killing enemies to unlock the next objective. If a room is locked before you, chances are you had to simply eradicate the enemies to proceed. This was different from _Prime_ because in that trilogy there were other branching locations. It's starting to become a bit unfortunate that games are focusing on creating linear experiences, instead relying more on flashy graphics to tell a story. This linearity that involves killing enemies in rooms on repeat seems to be following a trend set forth by Team Ninja, which is so unfortunate because they used to be known for creating difficult games.​​Combat was poorly executed in the title as well. _Prime_ focused a lot of combat on being able to manually dodge attacks, and fight back depending on the scenario faced before you. There was still an element (or some form thereof) of strategy that was involved, which _Other M_ took away from the player. Mashing the directional pad with your Wiimote facing the enemies gave you points for contact. It took out a lot of the "skill"-based aspects of fighting, and I really enjoy games where fights have a skill requirement of sorts (meanwhile, I'll just fawn over _Ninja Gaiden II_).​​I felt like the team was trying too hard to stuff too many functions onto a controller that didn't have enough for it. I feel like a lot of the control setup was unorganized and that things could have been mapped out better, with buttons that seemed as if they had no use (Item cancel?).​​The Story and an Introduction to Crybaby Samus​Here's the real meat that I had an issue with. In the _Metroid_ franchise, Samus was a (relatively) silent protagonist, a do-whatever-I-want kind of character where the player was left to imprint their own "personality" onto. She wasn't without mercy though, as she did save a baby Metroid's life. Doing these types of actions made her look rational. It's similar to games in _The Legend of Zelda,_ where the main character is also silent. Having a silent character means you could make choices and imprint your own lifestyle or playstyle onto the character. So, for the first time ever in _Metroid_, the franchise introduces voice acting, and very poor voice acting for the North American release, which made Samus feel completely uninspiring.​​Back in the _Metroid Prime_ games, Samus felt like a kickass character. She felt like she could do things for herself and didn't really have to listen to anyone. In _Other M,_ Samus was reduced to an excessively dependent character; it always felt like she was fawning over her commanding officer, Adam... who really had no grip of control on Samus. While Samus is openly rebellious and often goes against the orders, the game's portrayal of her unwillingness to agree to orders made Samus look excessively childish in the storyline. I also feel like I should note how Samus reacts to Ridley's presence. One of the cardinal moments of almost all of the _Metroid_ games is the Ridley fight, and this game really ruined it by characterizing Samus as being overly afraid. Yes, I understand that she faced a traumatic event, but comparing her here to other games in the series was polarizing.​​​
​The story violated one of the cardinal rules of good story telling, too. It often used Samus's tale as a limiter on the narrative to hold the story together, where it could have used the story as a way to guide the player through the events. The story went off of the canon story and told events about Samus's childhood, where Ridley destroyed her home. Now, I'm not the guy that knows every single detail of the franchise, but from those that I talked to who were knowledgable in such a subject, they claimed that the childhood storytelling was a part that was not relatively well known, with knowledge being acquired through going online and figuring it out for themselves. The destruction of Samus's childhood home is not common knowledge, but the game made it feel as such.​​I also felt that the plot logic was flawed. Normally, in _Metroid_ progression, Samus gets stronger over the period of the story, with access to very strong weaponry. The gameplay and story didn't match up as Samus was not allowed access to a lot of her weapons, as she had made an agreement with her commanding officer to be a good girl and follow the rules. No ice beam or missiles until she gets the go-ahead. It's definitely frustrating. I felt like there were too many inconsistencies that the plot failed to answer adequately. These plot holes were left unanswered or given weak answers.​​Okay, So What's the Point?​_Metroid: Other M_ was always a polarizing title to its gaming audience. It didn't do so well in its home territory of Japan, and Nintendo still does not understand why the game didn't sell a million copies.​​As far as my liking it or not, I didn't like it. There were a ton of issues present that made the title a relatively lackluster experience. Now, keep in mind that I said earlier that I like different things in my games, but I dislike it when the differences end up going in a bad direction. It happened here, as this game was a mediocre title, complete with mediocre storytelling and mediocre action sequences. A lot of people say otherwise, finding no real faults with this title. I just couldn't agree with the decisions that Team Ninja took in adding a personality into Samus and making her seem excessively dependent and whiny. And of course, this, alongside the poor game mechanics and exploration, is why we SHOULDN'T buy _Metroid: Other M_.​​Stay tuned for the next issue! And please, keep the comments civil.​​​


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 29, 2014)

This should be good.

Also yeah game is a major lump of shit, never buy it. I pirated it and I regret even that.


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## Ryukouki (Jun 29, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> This should be good.
> 
> Also yeah game is a major lump of shit, never buy it. I pirated it and I regret even that.


 
That was five hours of internet slowdown that I'll never get back!  I do see it in a lot of dollar bins though.


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## Nathan Drake (Jun 29, 2014)

Other M successfully proves that even with decent gameplay, if your story is just the shittiest story around, your game is still going to suck.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 29, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> That was five hours of internet slowdown that I'll never get back!  I do see it in a lot of dollar bins though.


 

Not even for a dollar. It's not that it's a bland game, it's hours of your life you'll never get back, it's like going through a horrible experience and having to relive it constantly.

It's Other M PTSD.


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## Hyro-Sama (Jun 29, 2014)

So basically it's the Final Fantasy XIII of the Metroid franchise.


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## Ryukouki (Jun 29, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Not even for a dollar. It's not that it's a bland game, it's hours of your life you'll never get back, it's like going through a horrible experience and having to relive it constantly.
> 
> It's Other M PTSD.


 

But it did feel bland, in comparison to the _Prime _saga. Everything just felt very poorly executed.





Hyro-Sama said:


> So basically it's the Final Fantasy XIII of the Metroid franchise.


 
Meanwhile, more on Final Fantasy XIII in a future piece...


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## Hero-Link (Jun 29, 2014)

I loved Other M, sure it isn't as great as other Metroid games, but itself was pretty fun! One of the few Wii games i finished and came back to fight the secret boss.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 29, 2014)

Nathan Drake said:


> Other M successfully proves that even with decent gameplay, if your story is just the shittiest story around, your game is still going to suck.


 

The gameplay is pretty shit too. It's not nearly as nonlinear as the other Metroid games, there's the fucking I Spy sequences which are awful and almost impassable without a guide, and combat becomes mash shoot and dodge, except for missiles which you have to rotate the fucking controller to do so it completely breaks the flow.


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## Hyro-Sama (Jun 29, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> Meanwhile, more on Final Fantasy XIII in a future piece...


 

Can't wait. Glad to see this series is going strong. The haters can suck it.


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## Ryukouki (Jun 29, 2014)

There are so many parallels to the original release of Ninja Gaiden III here....


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## Foxi4 (Jun 29, 2014)

I liked Other M. The combat felt decent, the power-ups felt right, the overall mixture of side-scrolling and first-person segments was palatable, the only thing that's holding this game back is Samus's apparent PTSD which could've been handled better. It was nice to see the human side of the character, but they went_ "a bit"_ too far there.

Speaking of Other M...


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## Ryukouki (Jun 29, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> I liked Other M. The combat felt decent, the power-ups felt right, the overall mixture of side-scrolling and first-person segments was palatable, the only thing that's holding this game up is Samus's apparent PTSD which could've been handled better. It was nice to see the human side of the character, but they went_ "a bit"_ too far there.
> 
> Speaking of Other M...





That was a long five seconds.  Her PTSD felt too dramatized.


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## Arras (Jun 29, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> The gameplay is pretty shit too. It's not nearly as nonlinear as the other Metroid games, there's the fucking I Spy sequences which are awful and almost impassable without a guide, and combat becomes mash shoot and dodge, except for missiles which you have to rotate the fucking controller to do so it completely breaks the flow.


That was pretty much my experience yeah. Combat - mash dpad while holding shoot and let go of shoot after every successful dodge because a dodge fully charges it. Having to stand still, change controller hold and perspective to fire missiles is a fucking pain and the "find the hidden thing" sections... let's just say I needed a guide to get past the first minute of the game.


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## orcid (Jun 30, 2014)

Probably I am the only person who enjoyed the game and likes it more than the prime games.


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## Lumstar (Jun 30, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> That was five hours of internet slowdown that I'll never get back!  I do see it in a lot of dollar bins though.


 
Heh that was lame. Nintendo never cut the price, leaving stores to take their own measures.


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## XDel (Jun 30, 2014)

The story is kinda blah, it's not prime, but it is by no means a bad game!


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## CathyRina (Jun 30, 2014)

I think you wouldn't get that disappointed if you wouldn't hype yourself up for the game.
I liked it very much. I finished it 100% on Normal only since Hard mode was too hard for my taste.

Speaking of FF13... Why don't you make an Article about why not to buy FFX HD & FFX-2 HD Remaster.
I know some people are sharpening their spears right now to hunt after me for saying that but seriously that's not a remaster, it's an HD port. 
They haven't really remastered anything in this games beside Main character models & the soundtrack. The terrains look like on PS2 just with a little higher amount of Polygons, the NPC's have flat faces and non individual fingers and at some points the vita version starts loosing framerate for no reason. In some areas the music is louder than the Voice acting, they reused the same voice acting & animations from the PS2 making it look campy. I am really laughing during supposed sad moment in the game because of how campy that looks. This should not happen in a remaster! 40€? I can buy a used copy of the PS2 version on amazon for 5€ each and have the exact same game with lower resolution... 
Compared to something like MGS the Twin Snakes this "remaster" is really a joke.


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## Foxchild (Jun 30, 2014)

Picked it up for 5 bucks cause I figured, "hey it's a metroid game, it can't be as bad as everyone says."  I told myself I would just ignore the story and dialogue but.... ugh it was nails on a chalkboard.  And the switching to 1st person to fire missiles - worst control decision ever.  I played for about 45 minutes after I got it home and it hasn't been back in the wii since.

Although I do like to stop and laugh when we pass by it at Target since they still have it at full price.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Jun 30, 2014)

Luckily, I've never had to experience this game ever since I didn't really like the Metroid series as a whole. At some point I do wanna give this a quick try whenever I have time to waste, though.


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## Bent (Jun 30, 2014)

> That was pretty much my experience yeah. Combat - mash dpad while holding shoot and let go of shoot after every successful shoot because a dodge fully charges it. Having to stand still, change controller hold and perspective to fire missiles is a fucking pain and the "find the hidden thing" sections... let's just say I needed a guide to get past the first minute of the game.


 
Exactly. I kept having people tell me at least the gameplay was good, but I found the gameplay to be incredibly repetitive and really boring when it wasn't being so damn frustrating. The stupid pixel hunts didn't even work right, I was stuck on one spot for 45 minutes when I had to examine a patch of green slime, despite the fact I DID examine the slime but somehow didn't trigger it several different times. I never could switch to first person, find my cursor, and fire a missile quick enough, I always seemed to get hit. Metroid is my favorite game series, I have played every other game in the series many times through, but I will never touch Other M again.


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## Öhr (Jun 30, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> ​_Metroid: Other M_ was always a polarizing title to its gaming audience. It didn't do so well, with developer Yoshio Sakamoto claiming that the sales were due to having a female protagonist lead. Please excuse me while I take a moment and laugh.


Unforunately, its a satire site about video games. fun to read though


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## Ryukouki (Jun 30, 2014)

Öhr said:


> Unforunately, its a satire site about video games. fun to read though


 

Oh I found that on Nintendo Everything as well. Huh. Interesting. Will probably rectify that later tonight. ;P


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## Deleted_171835 (Jun 30, 2014)

With regards to the story, don't forget about that terrible exposition. This is all dialogue taken word for word from the game.

"I had been reliving the tragic moments of my recent past. Thanks to the Hyper Beam, which was given to me somehow by the baby, I laid Mother Brain to waste. And the explosion that followed destroyed Planet Zebes, along with the remains of Mother Brain, the Space Pirates, and my long-standing nemesis, Ridley. And the baby."

"Code name: Baby's Cry - a common SOS with the urgency of a baby crying. The nickname comes from the fact that the purpose of the signal is to draw attention. The signal was coming from a remote part of space. I altered the course of my ship as if this detour had already been part of my flight plan. Baby's Cry... it was as though it was crying specifically for me."

"The thumbs-up sign had been used by the Galactic Federation for ages. Me, I was known for giving the thumbs-down during briefing. I had my reasons, though. Commander Adam Malkovich was normally cool and not one to joke around, but he would end all of his mission briefings by saying, "Any objections, Lady?" He was joking, but others weren't. At the time I felt surrounded by people who treated me like a child or used kid gloves because I was a woman. And yet, with Adam, I was grateful for the nod. My past has left me with an uneasy soul, and as a result, it touched me on some level that Adam would acknowledge that past by calling something delicate, like "Lady." And I knew more than anyone that every word from Adam was deliberate. My thumbs-down was a twofold response: a sign of derision at being called a lady, and a signal of my complete understanding of the mission orders. "

I mean, holy fuck we get it.


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## Öhr (Jun 30, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> Oh I found that on Nintendo Everything as well. Huh. Interesting. Will probably rectify that later tonight. ;P


nah leave it as is, as its funny, especially to those that dont get its a satire! truth is, nintendo didnt really get why the game flopped (well, not flopped, but didnt sell as expected), despite receiving all those good reviews. couldnt find it on nin everything though - you sure you saw it there?

Also, I agree with your recommendation:
the game was a big fat punch in samus face. the creator just flushed her down the toilet himself with the excruciating horrible piece of video game history. story, character, gameplay, graphics, music: everything was a big fat step backwards when compared to prime series, super metroid and even the linear metroid fusion...

now, lets play some more good metroid games, tehe :3


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## Sheimi (Jun 30, 2014)

Bent said:


> The stupid pixel hunts didn't even work right


I was stuck on the same one for at least two hours. Had to look up the guide.


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## xwatchmanx (Jun 30, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> It didn't do so well, with developer Yoshio Sakamoto claiming that the sales were due to having a female protagonist lead. Please excuse me while I take a moment and laugh.


 
Good article, but I just want to point out that Play4Real is a satirical site. Sakamoto never claimed that was the reason Other M sold poorly.

Edit: Whoops, sorry, I didn't realize this was already pointed out.


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## Dork (Jun 30, 2014)

I think the real underlining issue everyone is forgetting is that Yoshio Sakamoto is a hack when it comes to Metroid.


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## R0B0T0 (Jun 30, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> So basically it's the Final Fantasy XIII of the Metroid franchise.


 

For me personally, it was the Phantom Menace of the Franchise.

Arriving on release day really excited, only to have my childhood dreams crushed by atrocious acting, stupid characters and the most ridiculous story that could be imagined.  In both cases, It's like someone said "Now what would the fans want?" and then did the exact bloody opposite.  And in both cases I endured right to the end out of sheer hope, resulting in the series being ruined for me forever.  

All one can do is return to the originals and someday hope to recover from the horror.


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## XDel (Jun 30, 2014)

Dark S. said:


> I think the real underlining issue everyone is forgetting is that Yoshio Sakamoto is a hack.


 
I personally enjoyed about 99% of his games, Balloon Fight included.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

Man, am I glad to never had played this abortive game. One of the best threads I think!


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Actually Metroid: Other M was pretty fun to me. It had two REALLY big flaws though:

They assumed that everyone read the official manga and didn't bother taking 20 seconds to address that Ridley was responsible for both of her parents dying (directly for her mother, indirectly for her father). Because only a small percentage actually knew the back-story, her PTSD from Ridley's rebirth came across as her just being weak (which is extra bad because she is a woman, right?  ). Even so, if a pterodactyl-like monster (who HADN'T killed my parents as a child) came after me, I'd be scared shitless. I would literally shit every bit of excrement from my body. On the upside, Ridley might not want to touch me at that point.
The cutscenes. They were beautiful, but Samus's monologues were way too long. She used far too many words to make a simple point. Something as simple as "I'm worried" turned into a 5-minute monologue.
The gameplay was quite fun, but the first flaw I listed REALLY annoyed me. In fact, they could have taken care of both points if they replaced the drawn-out monologues with some interesting background scenes.


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

*cough*

Look, there's been long, long discussions about the quality of Other M, many of which I've been a part of. Let me just say this: If you're defending Metroid Other M, you're on the same team as Andrew Dobson.

Do you really want to be on the same team as Andrew Dobson?



JoostinOnline said:


> Actually Metroid: Other M was pretty fun to me. It had two REALLY big flaws though:
> 
> They assumed that everyone read the official manga and didn't bother taking 20 seconds to address that Ridley was responsible for both of her parents dying (directly for her mother, indirectly for her father). Because only a small percentage actually knew the back-story, her PTSD from Ridley's rebirth came across as her just being weak (which is extra bad because she is a woman, right?  ). Even so, if a pterodactyl-like monster (who HADN'T killed my parents as a child) came after me, I'd be scared shitless. I would literally shit every bit of excrement from my body. On the upside, Ridley might not want to touch me at that point.


Good thing we've already been over this, neighborino. 

EDIT: Fixed link


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## Black-Ice (Jun 30, 2014)

i liked this game


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Gahars said:


> *cough*
> 
> Look, there's been long, long discussions about the quality of Other M, many of which I've been a part of. Let me just say this: If you're defending Metroid Other M, you're on the same team as Andrew Dobson.
> 
> ...


I disagree with several of those points (especially the graphics, I don't know what game he was looking at).  I played the game without dying a single time (not on my first run through), so you also don't need to die multiple times either.

I have no idea who Andrew Dobson is.  I'm on my side, and on the side of several other people.

I wasn't talking to you.  I was voicing on my opinion in another one to other people.  I explained what I disliked about the game.


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## Ryukouki (Jun 30, 2014)

Who gives a damn about defending or being against something? Since when has that stopped me?


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> I have no idea who Andrew Dobson is. I'm on my side, and on the side of several other people.


 
Well, I won't ruin that for you. I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, and there's no need to inflate the tensions.



JoostinOnline said:


> I wasn't talking to you. I was voicing on my opinion in another one to other people. I explained what I disliked about the game.


 

Of course not, but you were bringing up a point we discussed and refuted a long time ago, and so I just quoted our conversation there to save time.


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Gahars said:


> Of course not, but you were bringing up a point we discussed and refuted a long time ago, and so I just quoted our conversation there to save time.


I don't think you actually refuted it. Obviously you don't think my points were valid either, and that's fine. It doesn't mean I'm never allowed to talk to other people about it. 

I liked it, and so did a lot of other people.  It got pretty good ratings, especially for it's graphical accomplishments (huge BS about Metroid Prime being better looking, even the Prime Trilogy version didn't look nearly as good).  I think that probably the people who liked it most were  hardcore fans who were able to appreciate the reference to Samus's PTSD and childhood flashbacks, and those who have never played a Metroid game and didn't even get the story at all.


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> I don't think you actually refuted it. Obviously you don't think my points were valid either, and that's fine. It doesn't mean I'm never allowed to talk to other people about it.


 

Oh, shit, I think I linked to the wrong post. I meant to refer to this one, regarding the manga, and how even with that in mind the story doesn't work. My bad.


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Gahars said:


> Oh, shit, I think I linked to the wrong post. I meant to refer to this one, regarding the manga, and how even with that in mind the story doesn't work. My bad.



I don't think you saw my edit.  It's not especially important, but I accidentally hit the post button before I was done.
She doesn't overcome her fear once and for all.  You assumed that.
You have no idea what her reaction has been in the past, because it hasn't shown one.  You assumed she is an emotionless robot because it goes from Ridley scene to visor/side-view.  She has to have a reaction, even if it was a just a "Meh."  You assumed "unknown reaction" = NULL.
GAHARS BE LIKE, "JOOSTIN SAID HE LIKED METROID OTHER M, BETTER BRING UP AN OLD ARGUMENT!"
Overall, I like the game, despite what I think there were two giant flaws (among other smaller ones).  It wasn't a traditional Metroid game, and it went against the Samus character that everyone has developed in their minds over the years (characters that have been silent for decades should REMAIN silent), but that only bothered me for awhile.

You don't like it.  Lots of other people don't like it either.  It's fine, let's leave it at that.


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## MarkDarkness (Jun 30, 2014)

Ryukouki said:


> ​_Metroid: Other M_ was always a polarizing title to its gaming audience. It didn't do so well, with developer Yoshio Sakamoto claiming that the sales were due to having a female protagonist lead. Please excuse me while I take a moment and laugh.​​​​


The Sakamoto comment is from a satyrical site, bro. You should probably remove that, as it is misleading.


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## Dork (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> I have no idea who Andrew Dobson is.


He's an amazing comic artist, he is level-headed and funny.


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> You assumed she is an emotionless robot


 
Your words would have a lot more meaning if you didn't still stoop to disingenuous strawmanning like this. You seem to assume what others assume.

At the end of the day, it's a video game. Nobody goes home angry because someone does or doesn't like something you don't. It's just a poor show when you resort to putting words in other people's mouths rather than just considering what they have to say.



JoostinOnline said:


> GAHARS BE LIKE, "JOOSTIN SAID HE LIKED METROID OTHER M, BETTER BRING UP AN OLD ARGUMENT!"


 
The original link was a mistake and I apologized. The actual link, which I provided in my last post and edited into the original post, was relevant to your point about the manga, and was just me explaining that the manga doesn't work in the context of the game. I figured it'd be easier to just quote something we had already settled on than typing up the whole explanation again.



JoostinOnline said:


> I liked it, and so did a lot of other people. It got pretty good ratings, especially for it's graphical accomplishments (huge BS about Metroid Prime being better looking, even the Prime Trilogy version didn't look nearly as good). I think that probably the people who liked it most were hardcore fans who were able to appreciate the reference to Samus's PTSD and childhood flashbacks, and those who have never played a Metroid game and didn't even get the story at all.


 
Well, first, the chart is referring to how the environments look. Other M was able to put out more on the graphics end, obviously, but aesthetically, the Prime series still shines, even on inferior hardware.

And I'm not sure that's the case. Many of the most ardent critics of Other M are the hardcore fans, the ones that know the series in-and-out, and would know that, for example, the game contradicts even the manga it's supposed to be referencing. At the same time, even complete series newbies have been turned off by things like the authorization system, the presence of Adam in the story, or the wonky controls. I don't think it's quite that simple.



JoostinOnline said:


> You don't like it. Lots of other people don't like it either. It's fine, let's leave it at that.


 
Sure, but a little more honesty and consideration would also be great.


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## Hells Malice (Jun 30, 2014)

Other M suffered the whole "well everyone else says it's shit, so..." syndrome more than anything else. Sure it wasn't GOTY, but it wasn't bad. Gameplay was interesting enough. I played it for a few hours and never felt there was anything inherently wrong with it, other than it being a wii game so I dropped it like a sack of rocks.

The story was basically as to be expected coming from a company not known for their thrilling story telling, or accurate depictions of females. When you consider that metroid games as whole don't have fuck-all for story, it's not that difficult to simply ignore Other M's story if it bothers you that much.
The whole silent protagonist argument is a bit of a joke though. It's lazy writing. It's a lot easier just to say "fuck it, you decide" than actually write a character out yourself. In reality you're following the same linear path where you do basically the exact same thing and accomplish the exact same goals. You aren't shaping the character or projecting anything onto it other than on a superficial make-believe level.

People can be such whiny little drama queens sometimes.


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Hells Malice said:


> Other M suffered the whole "well everyone else says it's shit, so..." syndrome more than anything else. Sure it wasn't GOTY, but it wasn't bad. Gameplay was interesting enough. I played it for a few hours and never felt there was anything inherently wrong with it, other than it being a wii game so I dropped it like a sack of rocks.
> 
> The story was basically as to be expected coming from a company not known for their thrilling story telling, or accurate depictions of females. When you consider that metroid games as whole don't have fuck-all for story, it's not that difficult to simply ignore Other M's story if it bothers you that much.
> The whole silent protagonist argument is a bit of a joke though. It's lazy writing. It's a lot easier just to say "fuck it, you decide" than actually write a character out yourself. In reality you're following the same linear path where you do basically the exact same thing and accomplish the exact same goals. You aren't shaping the character or projecting anything onto it other than on a superficial make-believe level.
> ...


This.

It's one of the few games I don't play for story, even though it was supposed to be played for story.  The gameplay alone is just fun.  Sort of like Conduit 2.


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## kuwanger (Jun 30, 2014)

The short bad:  Metroid: Other M sucks story wise for shoehorning everything onto a hour long movie that tries to Moe (and shrink) Samus.  The short good:  Metroid: Other M provides beautiful visuals in a quasi-sci-fi adventure that does very little to settle suspension of disbelief (which, honestly, no Metroid game since the first has done much to do) while focusing less on combat (which never was the core point of Metroid games anyways (against what Prime fans believe)).

Change Samus' name or place it in a parallel universe in the game and it would be an okay Gaiden; of course, I'd have to say the same thing about the Prime games as well given "Phazon" and the same for Metroid Fusion and "X Parasites".  But the two major reasons to not buy Metroid: Other M are (1) being unable to stomach sitting through 1 hour of non-sense, unskippable video (of which you'll have to pass on a LOT of games over that point, if you actually pay any real attention to the point) or (2) if you're so flustered about how Metroid: Other M has totally ruined the franchise.

Me, I basically accept (1) as a sad fact of where games have gone and as for (2), well, I'd say we'd probably be better off with a fresh start on a whole new franchise anyways*.  After all, the titular enemy of the series is the Metroid and they've played second billing as a threat since Metroid 2.  Hell, Prime turned them into a nuisance (except for the Phazon versions) and all the focus on cloning...well, whatever.  They really lost their threat factor long ago compared to all sorts of other Metroid universe monsters.

That's my two cents, anyways.

*PS - Unless they want to actually show Samus in her early missions.  You know, the whole "[Samus Aran] is the greatest of all the space hunters and has successfully completed numerous missions that everybody thought were absolutely impossible" and not the "Zero Mission" crap.   But I can only imagine "Yoshio Sakamoto" turning that into a "Star Trek" reboot--an idea that was kicked around for as early back as 1991 and probably a lot earlier.  So, first things first:  reassign Yoshio Sakamoto.


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

kuwanger said:


> Change Samus' name or place it in a parallel universe in the game and it would be an okay Gaiden; of course, I'd have to say the same thing about the Prime games as well given "Phazon" and the same for Metroid Fusion and "X Parasites". But the two major reasons to not buy Metroid: Other M are (1) being unable to stomach sitting through 1 hour of non-sense, unskippable video (of which you'll have to pass on a LOT of games over that point, if you actually pay any real attention to the point) or* (2) if you're so flustered about how Metroid: Other M has totally ruined the franchise.*


Most overly-dramatic statement ever.  Apparently it was so bad that it ruined all the other games.  I would actually buy and play a game that was capable of that.


----------



## Jayro (Jun 30, 2014)

You guys have shit taste in games, this one was great.


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## Cortador (Jun 30, 2014)

XrosBlader821 said:


> I think you wouldn't get that disappointed if you wouldn't hype yourself up for the game.
> I liked it very much. I finished it 100% on Normal only since Hard mode was too hard for my taste.
> 
> Speaking of FF13... Why don't you make an Article about why not to buy FFX HD & FFX-2 HD Remaster.
> ...


 
I bought FFX HD and FFX-2 HD cuz I was a Game Cube kid. So I never had the joy of experiencing hundreds of good rpgs from the ps2 era. Now that its out and in digital form, I have the convenience of playing it on the go on the Vita.


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## HNKii (Jun 30, 2014)

My friend in US picked one up for $7...


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## CathyRina (Jun 30, 2014)

Cortador said:


> I bought FFX HD and FFX-2 HD cuz I was a Game Cube kid. So I never had the joy of experiencing hundreds of good rpgs from the ps2 era. Now that its out and in digital form, I have the convenience of playing it on the go on the Vita.


 
My point isn't that people who couldn't play these games in the first place are getting ripped off. My point is that it claims to be a remaster yet still gives no f*ck about improving the original.
FFX didn't aged that well compared to let's say FFXII so it needs way more improvements than it has received. Just upping the resolution and remastering the main character models + BGM does not make a remaster.
the amount of bad NPC character models and camp due to outdated voice acting and non-motion capture animations is huge. A remaster should fix these and bring a old thing to new audience and be adjusting the game to current standards. When was the last time you saw a character model having a flat face or non individual fingers? The last time I saw it I was either playing a DS, PSP or a 10+ years old game.


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## Taleweaver (Jun 30, 2014)

I'm not much of a metroid fan. Super metroid and fusion were awesome, but never really got into prime (played a couple levels, then quit). I can understand its potential, though. And from that perspective, I would say that other M is vastly inferior.


The storyline is already mentioned numerous times, and for all the right reasons. The guys at extra credits IMHO explain best why this is so important in a medium that doesn't revolve around the story to begin with.

My other gripe is that pointing at the television thing. Before I tried it, it sounded interesting (scanning and stuff). Then I realised there was no way to move around when aiming that way. Which is ridiculous, as either it's useless (changing the controller stance takes way too long in a fast-paced game) or is downright unfair ("hey guys...take five. I'm going to be aiming differently now, so please don't shoot me just yet"). I never bothered to find out what it was. It was just too much breaking the flow to continue.


It's actually interesting to see that there are quite some people liking the game. And that even the ones hating other M seem to want a sequel new metroid game from nintendo. So while the game isn't exactly the highest point in the series, I think it got more hate than it actually deserves.


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## Bonny (Jun 30, 2014)

Metroid Other M is the best Metroid game ever! I never enjoyed a Metroid game so much. 

Man.... "Games you SHOULDN'T buy"-series.... Not much news today for a pirate site like GBAtemp...


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Bonny said:


> Man.... "Games you SHOULDN'T buy"-series.... Not much news today for a pirate site like GBAtemp...


ROFL!  Best point made ever.


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## Ryukouki (Jun 30, 2014)

Bonny said:


> Metroid Other M is the best Metroid game ever! I never enjoyed a Metroid game so much.
> 
> Man.... "Games you SHOULDN'T buy"-series.... Not much news today for a pirate site like GBAtemp...


 

...I actually did not think about that!


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## Ulieq (Jun 30, 2014)

The story was fine.  The only issue with the game is it not being nunchuck compatable, thus no analog.  It ruined the entire game.


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## Bonny (Jun 30, 2014)

> not being nunchuck compatable, thus no analog. It ruined the entire game.


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## TheLostSabre (Jun 30, 2014)

*Grabs popcorn*

This "debate" sure is getting interesting. Like the shitstorm I witnessed in GFaqs (though, for now, this "debate" is considerably more benign).


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

So now people aren't allowed to dislike the game or be allowed to share their opinions on why they dislike it? Everyone has to like it now? Lolwut?


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## Taleweaver (Jun 30, 2014)

The_Lost_Sabre: you think? Thus far, I haven't heard any new reason why people disliked it, and the ones that do like it don't address the issues presented (which...may be the wisest thing to do, come to think of it).



Bonny said:


> Man.... "Games you SHOULDN'T buy"-series.... Not much news today for a pirate site like GBAtemp...


It would've been called "games you SHOULDN'T pirate"...but that would give the impression they're worthy of buying instead.


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## Hells Malice (Jun 30, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> So now people aren't allowed to dislike the game or be allowed to share their opinions on why they dislike it? Everyone has to like it now? Lolwut?


 
There's a difference between hating a game because _you_ dislike it, and hating a game because_ everyone else_ dislikes it.
The latter is extremely obvious.


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## zeello (Jun 30, 2014)

Everyone knows you shouldn't buy this game because you're forced to play it wiimote sideways. Nunchuk and classic controller aren't support even though they totally would have worked well for it. (especially nunchuk since you can actually point the wiimote with it)


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## Black-Ice (Jun 30, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> So now people aren't allowed to dislike the game or be allowed to share their opinions on why they dislike it? Everyone has to like it now? Lolwut?


 
When did this occur?
Gbatemp has always been the land of "freedom to express your dislike for certain franchises, make multiple threads on the same franchises and say the same things while no one else can disagree coz you if say the bashing may be a tad be dramatic and harsh you're butthurt"


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## MYFW (Jun 30, 2014)

WTF? This game si very good!!!!


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> This.
> 
> It's one of the few games I don't play for story, even though it was supposed to be played for story. The gameplay alone is just fun. Sort of like Conduit 2.


Hard to compare it to a game like Conduit 2 which is relatively story-light when this has like 2 hours of cutscenes.

You can watch a FUCKING MOVIE of the cutscenes if you wanted.

It's like saying "Oh I don't play Metal Gear Solid for the story."


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## xwatchmanx (Jun 30, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Hard to compare it to a game like Conduit 2 which is relatively story-light when this has like 2 hours of cutscenes.
> 
> You can watch a FUCKING MOVIE of the cutscenes if you wanted.
> 
> It's like saying "Oh I don't play Metal Gear Solid for the story."


There's even a " theater mode " that you unlock upon beating the game, which clips together an entire playthrough of the game for your viewing "pleasure".


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## BvanBart (Jun 30, 2014)

I liked the game for the story. Gameplay was indeed horrible.


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Hard to compare it to a game like Conduit 2 which is relatively story-light when this has like 2 hours of cutscenes.
> 
> You can watch a FUCKING MOVIE of the cutscenes if you wanted.
> 
> It's like saying "Oh I don't play Metal Gear Solid for the story."


 

2 hours of unskippable cutscenes, iirc, so you're getting the story no matter what.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 30, 2014)

xwatchmanx said:


> There's even a " theater mode " that you unlock upon beating the game, which clips together an entire playthrough of the game for your viewing "pleasure".


 

Trust me, I know.

I know.

Gahars does too.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

Black-Ice said:


> When did this occur?
> Gbatemp has always been the land of "freedom to express your dislike for certain franchises, make multiple threads on the same franchises and say the same things while no one else can disagree coz you if say the bashing may be a tad be dramatic and harsh you're butthurt"


 

Just saying, some people make it seem like this game's a masterpiece when it looks sub par to me at best and I'm sure there are some people the defend this game like no tomorrow. It really doesn't look good at all. Just saying.



Hells Malice said:


> There's a difference between hating a game because _you_ dislike it, and hating a game because_ everyone else_ dislikes it.
> 
> The latter is extremely obvious.




The game just seems like one long cut scene and they made Samus a pussy. Need I say more? To each their own, c'est la vie.


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## T-hug (Jun 30, 2014)

Without me reading the reason and points made in this thread, I agree that this game should be skipped.  It is the only Metroid game I didn't bother to finish, or put much time into and as a massive fan of the series this one stands out as the turkey of the bunch!


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

Gahars said:


> 2 hours of unskippable cutscenes, iirc, so you're getting the story no matter what.


That's actually not true.  People think it's 2 hours because there is a theater mode which includes 2 hours of videos.  Most of it is recordings of gameplay, not cutscenes.  That being said, I do think the cutscenes were too long.  It goes back to the second major flaw I first mentioned.

the_randomizer I thought you said you didn't play the game.


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## Gahars (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> Most of it is recordings of gameplay, not cutscenes.


 

The bulk of it is cutscenes; all of the gameplay is quickly sped through on fast forward. Even being generous, it's still around an hour and a half of cutscenes in total.


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## Clydefrosch (Jun 30, 2014)

I liked it too.
I don't really get whats with people saying they only mashed buttons in battle. Isn't that usually a sign of people sucking at a game? It almost always works in all games, but it's by no way the way its supposed to be played. You run from enemies for a while to study their movement and moves, then time your avoiding and shooting. You learn when enemies that require missles or changing the perspective in general, stand still (because they all give you openings eventually) and then aim for them when they do. And you use the finishing blows, which I really enjoyed to just look at.

Same with the supposed linearity and 'you got to kill the room, move on, repeat' thing. Isn't that pretty much every other metroid? The only reason the prime games weren't necessarily linear was the whole sequence breaking thing. Which wasn't in the game intentionally to begin with, as seen with the many attempts to stop the most important break, early space jump boots in prime 1. Other than that, you could enter a wrong door, but would inevitably be blocked a room later by heat, a colored door, a missle lock or a really long pit.
I believe the only game that promoted sequence breaking openly was Zero Mission with its low% achievments. And Fusion in that one secret Adam scene. The original metroid and metroid 2 werent completely linear in a sense, because they never directed you anywhere and you were often blindly searching for the next weapon or item / the last metroid around.
Never played super metroid a lot, because the clunky controls were really hard to get used to after playing the gba games, so i cant talk much about linearity here. But I'm pretty sure the only reason not to follow the games intended sequence was to waste time or maybe pick up a left behind missle pack.
I guess its a bit harder to run the wrong way in other m, because it had less 'misleading paths' and less 'it might be the right way, you have to check first to know' tunnels and doorways. though there were some in the jungle sector i clearly remember.

I cant disagree with the small handful of scanning moments, they messed something up there by requiring pinpoint accuracy to hit a very specific pixel. However, if you honestly needed a guide to get past that, I can't help but laugh. Its always very obvious were the game wanted you to look. And after the very first scan sequence, it was also obvious that the game just wants you to hit a very specific spot, so you wiggle the scanner around a bit until you get it. So while badly done and arguably annoying, it comes as a surprise only once and after that is easily solved.
Surprisingly, my kid brothers basically get past these screens in seconds without any problem, every time.

I never really cared about samus breakdown. To me, it was a nod to the backstory/manga and I was fine with it. It might've been more believable if this game happened right after zero mission, when she first 'killed' the monster that murdered her parents and was practically about to rape/eat her two seconds later, and then it came back just like it was never blown to bits. but whatever.
ptsd can happen years after the actual event even if the basic event repeated itself 5 times before.
and revertigo (associative regression) would be able to explain why it only happened right there at that point and never before and never afterwards. the story might be unworthy of what people pictured ice cold genocide chick to be when she actually opened her mouth or had to interact with real life humans, but eh. it works out from a psychological point of view.
and samus is arguably a psychological unique case anyways. come on. she lost her parents to ridley, she was forced to grow up on the planet of wrinkly bird freaks that couldnt even communicate with her for the longest while, who she later lost as well. then she went to the military. and afterwards took the job of a sociopath, lonely space hunter, after realizing that she wouldn't be able to properly function in any type of social unit. after which, she began to eradicate one race of alien animal after another, indiscriminately blasting holes in vicious, but only instinct driven predators, harmless space plants, space criminals, beasts tamed and enraged by space criminals and most likely this or that space government soldier too. you can't cause intergalactic genocides too often without ending up breaking space law at least once. to be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if, after the events of metroid fusion, samus became a wanted criminal (or at least wanted for political reasons) for destroying the space station, even if a malfunctioning AI system told her to do it.


I never really held silent hunter samus as a character in a high place as you might have guessed. Having a girl in the suit was a gimmick for its time, with the dominant man-heroes, but not much else. Her being a girl didnt change anything. So what, she finished a bunch of hard missions? She did that because she had the most adaptable power suit in history and every planet she ever visited had a conveniently placed self destruct mechanism to finish the 'eradicate it all' objective.
As we eventually found out in prime 3 and hunters, every damn bounty hunter in the galaxy and beyond has a similar reputation though, hard missions in all kinds of harsh places with all kinds of objectives and all kinds of morally questionable acts of planetary genocide.

having said that, metroid, to me, has never been about samus, which is probably the biggest reason why, even if i completely agreed with all the story critique, i wouldn't care much. metroid was about running, gunning and a bit of exploring. I'd literally play every game that did this with ok gameplay and controls. the most interesting stories in metroid always happened mostly independently without samus anyway. the rise and fall of the chozo, the rise of the space pirates, all the fantasy biology and logs in the prime series, finding phazon, the history of that star system in prime hunters.etc. the hero coming in and usually eradicating the whole place wasn't that interesting from a storyline perspective to begin with.


but I'm fine with people disagreeing, if you dont like it, you dont like it. but if all you know about the game is the popular opinion, you might be surprised, its not all bad.


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## McHaggis (Jun 30, 2014)

I own this game and recently turned down the opportunity to get another copy of it for free (Argos were giving it away with Mario Kart 8, but I deleted Other M from my basket at the checkout).  Not a patch on the Prime trilogy.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 30, 2014)

Clydefrosch said:


> I liked it too.
> I don't really get whats with people saying they only mashed buttons in battle. Isn't that usually a sign of people sucking at a game? It almost always works in all games, but it's by no way the way its supposed to be played. You run from enemies for a while to study their movement and moves, then time your avoiding and shooting. You learn when enemies that require missles or changing the perspective in general, stand still (because they all give you openings eventually) and then aim for them when they do. And you use the finishing blows, which I really enjoyed to just look at.


 

If I'm able to beat an action game by mashing buttons and mashing dodge then it's poorly designed. Coming from the studio that did Ninja Gaiden, you'd expect more.

Why even bother with learning enemy movements and attacks when I can mash the dodge button and dodge any attack regardless? In other action games you have to study enemy attacks to see what direction they attack, what the attack arc is, and which direction you need to dodge it. Here your dodge dodges anything so why even bother. It doesn't even have a cooldown or vulnerability frames so you can just do it constantly while you shoot.

And learning that enemies require a different weapon to beat them isn't good game design, it's the basics. It's like having ice enemies weak to fire attacks. No shit Sherlock. Even then, missiles were incredibly cumbersome to use since you have to rotate the goddamn controller to use it and rapidly have it switch to fire person and aim. Again, not good game design, it's a gigantic block in the flow of combat that adds an artificial difficulty. In an action game, using a "slow" weapon usually equates to a long animation but it deals for greater damage and/or staggers. You master using it by knowing just when an enemy can be hit and what effect it'll have on them. It's reliant on knowledge. Here, it's just reliant on how fast you can twirl the controller around and make sure it'll actually aim at the screen since you're not really needing to have the controller aiming at it at all times. No knowledge, not skill, just overcoming clumsiness and artificial difficulty barriers.

Also, "enjoying looking at finishing blows" is the same thing that gets people to love God of War. It's visceral, it's good looking, but it's certainly not a skillful action game.


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## osaka35 (Jun 30, 2014)

Wait, there are people that like this game? I guess if you put it on mute, and just zone out during the cut scenes, it's at best forgettable. The game controls are awkward and odd, but it's playable. Mostly. Which is something. The "plot" and "story" completely break the game though.

Again, there are people that like this game as a whole?



orcid said:


> Probably I am the only person who enjoyed the game and likes it more than the prime games.


 

Out of curiosity, what made you enjoy it? And what made you like metroid prime less?


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> That's actually not true. People think it's 2 hours because there is a theater mode which includes 2 hours of videos. Most of it is recordings of gameplay, not cutscenes. That being said, I do think the cutscenes were too long. It goes back to the second major flaw I first mentioned.
> 
> the_randomizer I thought you said you didn't play the game.


 

Nope, never played it, it doesn't interest me at all to have a whiny protagonist, reminds me too much of FFX's. I'd rather download it to be perfectly frank.


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> Nope, never played it, it doesn't interest me at all to have a whiny protagonist, reminds me too much of FFX's. I'd rather download it to be perfectly frank.


Except you don't actually know what the game is like.  I don't think it's got a whiny protagonist, and really enjoyed it.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> Except you don't actually know what the game is like. I don't think it's got a whiny protagonist, and really enjoyed it.


 

She's not whiny, she's just a weak piss-for-brains reliant character that's nothing like she was made out to be in the other games. Some of her decisions are just groan-worthy, others are flat-out stupid.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> Except you don't actually know what the game is like. I don't think it's got a whiny protagonist, and really enjoyed it.


 

And as such, I refuse to play and, as is my prerogative. It doesn't interest me in the least, I liked her more as a silent protagonist, is there anything wrong with me liking her as a character more that way?


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## JoostinOnline (Jun 30, 2014)

the_randomizer said:


> And as such, I refuse to play and, as is my prerogative. It doesn't interest me in the least, I liked her more as a silent protagonist, is there anything wrong with me liking her as a character more that way?


Not at all.  You don't need to play it either.  Just don't judge a game based entirely on the worst reviews.


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## the_randomizer (Jun 30, 2014)

JoostinOnline said:


> Not at all. You don't need to play it either. Just don't judge a game based entirely on the worst reviews.


 

Fair enough


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## Ziko (Jun 30, 2014)

Again, this is what happens when you take a franchise like this one that's always done well and pawn it off to a company which to me, has had a bit of a solid but spotty track record. I mean take the Ninja Gaiden III/Razor's Edge fiacso. It seems to me that since Itagaki left, Ninja's just a shadow (no pun intended there) of its former self. The quality of a lot of games from them has dropped across the board. Hell, even DOA 5 Ultimate seems like you're being sold the same thing with few changes but they thought, Ok give the customer all the characters from the start and charge them out the arse with DLC for outfits and even additional characters?! Really? Other M is what happens when you have these factors and more come together like a tornado. Nintendo's rationale about it doesn't help either. If they thought this was gonna sell a million, then try making the doggone game yourselves and not send it to a company like these guys.


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## AkiraCast (Jun 30, 2014)

I liked the gameplay a lot, story not so much but it didn't bother me. I do think the next console Metroid however should depart from Other M's... Well, everything (except Samus design and Anthony lol). I did find the gravity aura thing to be VERY jarring though. DansGame


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## Sakitoshi (Jun 30, 2014)

after reading most opinions here I came to the conclusion that Other M while, isn't GOTY material, isn't a bad game like everyone is trying to make it look, if you compare it with any of the other Metroid games sure is the worst of the lot(I'm not counting Metroid Pinball as I never played it) and there are 3 main reasons.

They committed the error most games at the time did, trying to be a cinematic experience putting hours and hours of videos and long monologues that could be way shorter if they were direct to the point. the whole Ridley scene was just a cinematic stunt because they can.
They tried to keep controls simple for mechanics that required more buttons to work well. the use of the nunchuck could have been a better choise without drop the idea of 3rd person and 1st person view, they could have used the 3rd person view as the regular view angle and if you press, let's say minus, you could change to 1st person view and fight like you did on Metroid Prime if you like.
They took the exploration and throw it through the window and the expansions are very easy to find, I found them all without a guide.


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## Drink the Bleach (Jun 30, 2014)

Never played it, but how bad it can be if most review sites and amazon give it an average 6-7 score? 6-7's aren't that bad, and since it can be bought for as low as $7 I see little reason not to try it.


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## Arras (Jun 30, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> after reading most opinions here I came to the conclusion that Other M while, isn't GOTY material, isn't a bad game like everyone is trying to make it look, if you compare it with any of the other Metroid games sure is the worst of the lot(I'm not counting Metroid Pinball as I never played it) and there are 3 main reasons.
> 
> They committed the error most games at the time did, trying to be a cinematic experience putting hours and hours of videos and long monologues that could be way shorter if they were direct to the point. the whole Ridley scene was just a cinematic stunt because they can.
> They tried to keep controls simple for mechanics that required more buttons to work well. the use of the nunchuck could have been a better choise without drop the idea of 3rd person and 1st person view, they could have used the 3rd person view as the regular view angle and if you press, let's say minus, you could change to 1st person view and fight like you did on Metroid Prime if you like.
> They took the exploration and throw it through the window and the expansions are very easy to find, I found them all without a guide.


Somewhat offtopic, but Prime Pinball is actually really fun and IMO better than Other M. I'd recommend at least downloading it at some point if you have a flashcart.


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## xwatchmanx (Jul 1, 2014)

Arras said:


> Somewhat offtopic, but Prime Pinball is actually really fun and IMO better than Other M. I'd recommend at least downloading it at some point if you have a flashcart.


 
Prime Pinball is the only pinball game I've seriously liked. It's really fun. It's hard to believe it's by the same people who made that awful Mario Pinball game on GBA.

Also, for the record, I think Metroid Prime: Hunters is worse than Other M. Other M actually had me interested enough to stick with through the end, whereas I've given up on Hunters at least twice, now.


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## ShineStar (Jul 1, 2014)

This was my first Metroid game so I went in not knowing anything. I have since gone back and played all the other ones.
I actually REALLY enjoyed Other M and I've played through it at least 3 times. I don't really understand the hate it gets gameplay wise, as I feel the only two faults in the game system are having to spin the wii remote around to fire missiles, and those I Spy sections.
I can see some faults in the story, like Samus following Adam's orders even when they didnt make sense, and her ptsd which seems out of place considering the amount of times she has faced Ridley.
But on the whole I thought it was really good.
I feel like everyone's major issue is that it was on the heels of the prime series and didn't live up to that 3D metroid experience. Everyone always compares it to Prime. Well, I hadn't played Prime beforehand and I really enjoyed it. After playing Prime, I can't help but compare them either. But they are two different teams and two different play styles, and honestly I love them both.
I actually prefer 3rd person games, so I hope that Nintendo returns to a 3rd person 3D metroid game again (maybe not necessarily the same way they made Other M, but at least 3rd person and over the shoulder).
I think its unfortunate everyone disliked Other M because now I feel like the only 3D game we're gonna get is Prime 4 and then maybe some 2D sidescrollers on a handheld.


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## khidjoe (Jul 1, 2014)

orcid said:


> Probably I am the only person who enjoyed the game and likes it more than the prime games.


 

No, you are not the only one, I like it better then the prime series too


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## osaka35 (Jul 1, 2014)

To me, other m is the equivalent of the star wars prequels. They're both maligned for bad writing and execution, and their predecessors are considered absolute gems. You even have some people saying they don't understand all the hate, and a few saying they like the prequels more!

To each their own, though. If you like it, you like it. I have strong narrative reasons to dislike it, but if that sort of thing doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother you. However, liking a story full of inconsistencies does not make those inconsistencies go away. I believe the quality of this game is sub-par on its own merits, and those flaws are even more apparent given the canon it is a part of.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 1, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> after reading most opinions here I came to the conclusion that Other M while, isn't GOTY material, isn't a bad game like everyone is trying to make it look, if you compare it with any of the other Metroid games sure is the worst of the lot(I'm not counting Metroid Pinball as I never played it) and there are 3 main reasons.
> 
> They committed the error most games at the time did, trying to be a cinematic experience putting hours and hours of videos and long monologues that could be way shorter if they were direct to the point. the whole Ridley scene was just a cinematic stunt because they can.
> They tried to keep controls simple for mechanics that required more buttons to work well. the use of the nunchuck could have been a better choise without drop the idea of 3rd person and 1st person view, they could have used the 3rd person view as the regular view angle and if you press, let's say minus, you could change to 1st person view and fight like you did on Metroid Prime if you like.
> They took the exploration and throw it through the window and the expansions are very easy to find, I found them all without a guide.


 
There isn't an "error" with a cinematic experience in general. It's the issue that it was a bad cinematic story.

For the record...

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-the-patriots

http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii/metroid-other-m

And people argue that MGS4 has a stupid-as-fuck story.

Also all those issues seem huge enough to make it a terrible game. It's basically taking Metroid and gutting anything good from it and replacing it with crap.


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## Subtle Demise (Jul 1, 2014)

I liked Other M, it was an attempt  to return to classic Metroid, which I enjoyed  because I never liked the Prime games. The only thing that ruined it for me was the story that tried way too hard to be deep and meaningful.


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## Bent (Jul 1, 2014)

> I liked Other M, it was an attempt to return to classic Metroid, which I enjoyed because I never liked the Prime games. The only thing that ruined it for me was the story that tried way too hard to be deep and meaningful.


 
I really don't understand why people always say this.   It is NOTHING like classic Metroid.  Gameplay is entirely different, from the dodging, first person mode, ability to move in 3D, etc. When I played it I never once made the comparison in my mind.

My first Metroid game was Metroid II.  Loved it.  Bought Super Metroid when it came out, which was rare because I was 12 and didn't have much money.  I own the GBA ones, and have gone back and beat the original for the NES via emulation.  I was skeptical of Prime when it was announced, but after playing them, the series is now my favorite in the Metroid series.  This game is nothing like any of them.

If you like Other M, good for you.  I am glad you enjoyed it.  I can't get past any of it, the bad gameplay or atrocious story and execution.


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## Clydefrosch (Jul 1, 2014)

what he meant was back to classic as in no 1st person shooter (most of the time)


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## Bent (Jul 1, 2014)

Is that really it? The only thing that has people thinking Other M is a "classic" Metroid is it went to a (primarily) third person view? As I said in my post above, they changed the entire gameplay style to do so. Hell, the Prime games play more like classic Metroid than Other M does.

EDIT: Here's a question, suppose Nintendo had provided us with more than one example of a third person Metroid in the past 10 years.  Would Other M still be defended?  Or are people seriously that desperate and consider the most important aspect of a Metroid game is for it to be in a third person view?


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## xwatchmanx (Jul 2, 2014)

Bent said:


> I really don't understand why people always say this. It is NOTHING like classic Metroid. Gameplay is entirely different, from the dodging, first person mode, ability to move in 3D, etc. When I played it I never once made the comparison in my mind.
> 
> My first Metroid game was Metroid II. Loved it. Bought Super Metroid when it came out, which was rare because I was 12 and didn't have much money. I own the GBA ones, and have gone back and beat the original for the NES via emulation. I was skeptical of Prime when it was announced, but after playing them, the series is now my favorite in the Metroid series. This game is nothing like any of them.
> 
> If you like Other M, good for you. I am glad you enjoyed it. I can't get past any of it, the bad gameplay or atrocious story and execution.


 
You hit the nail on the head, and reminded me of one of the things that bothered me most about it: The only things truly "classic" about Other M was all the freaking retro pandering.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a _bit_ of retro pandering here and there, or keeping series staples. Even the Prime games did that. But it feels like all of Other M's identity is wrapped up in retro pandering. There's nothing wrong with doing such things when the story requires it (it is meant to bridge the gap between Super and Fusion, after all), but that's all Other M did. Whether it was ripping bosses and enemies from previous games, having constant flashbacks/monologues to previous games, or lacking any truly new power ups, Other M lacked its own identity.

Heck, even the story/gameplay progression felt like a copypasta of Fusion: Samus enters a research station as part of a mission for the federation. She then explores multiple sectors housing specific ecosystems of creatures, under the orders of Adam Malkovich, fighting Nightmare and a clone of Ridley in the process. As the plot wraps up, Samus discovers a secret federation lab dedicated to breeding Metroids, and escapes as it self-destructs, and then fights an unexpectedly alive, and evolved Metroid. It turns out that the federation is doing shady stuff, and the game ends as Samus escapes the exploding station.


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## Vipera (Jul 2, 2014)

I think that "fans" have killed the franchise.

When Hunters came out, everyone bitched "I'M LEFT-HANDED! I CAN'T PLAY THIS GAME DESPITE HAVING 8+ DIFFERENT CONTROL SETTINGS!"
When Corruption came out, everyone bitched "omg it's an FPS!!!1".
When Trilogy came out, there were people who SERIOUSLY kept saying that a 4:3 joypad-only first-person-whatever game was better than a 16:9 wiimote porting because the american version cut 3 (THREE) minor special effects to cut off space.
Finally, when Other M came out, everyone bitched about the baby thing.

Bottomline? According to the internet, none of these games deserved to be played for minor stuff. Sure, Other M had some annoying pixel-hunting sessions and the story was different than the usual. But really, is the game unplayable just because the developers decided to go to a deeper kind story?
I liked the game. It was not a masterpiece, but I liked it. And I think that the internet "fan"base is the reason of why we won't see another Metroid game. That, and the fact that most of the people I know who played this game didn't even buy it. Talk about hypocrisy here...


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 2, 2014)

Vipera said:


> I think that "fans" have killed the franchise.
> 
> When Hunters came out, everyone bitched "I'M LEFT-HANDED! I CAN'T PLAY THIS GAME DESPITE HAVING 8+ DIFFERENT CONTROL SETTINGS!"
> When Corruption came out, everyone bitched "omg it's an FPS!!!1".
> ...


 

It's easy to write off the complaints of Hunters, Corruption, and the Trilogy as "minor", but summarizing the issues of Other M with "the baby thing" is a huge underestimation of the game's flaws and issues.

The issues in Other M extend from the gameplay to the story to the graphics. It's a mess all around. It's not just "the baby thing", it's the entire game that is riddled with issues.

Also why are we blaming fans for disliking flaws in games? Should fans just sit down and suck it up when there's an issue with a game? I can see making mountains out of molehills is an issue but with Other M, the fan outlash is a lot more severe than Hunters, Corruption, or the Trilogy, which were minor complaints at most.


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## Clydefrosch (Jul 2, 2014)

xwatchmanx said:


> Heck, even the story/gameplay progression felt like a copypasta of Fusion: Samus enters a research station as part of a mission for the federation. She then explores multiple sectors housing specific ecosystems of creatures, under the orders of Adam Malkovich, fighting Nightmare and a clone of Ridley in the process. As the plot wraps up, Samus discovers a secret federation lab dedicated to breeding Metroids, and escapes as it self-destructs, and then fights an unexpectedly alive, and evolved Metroid. It turns out that the federation is doing shady stuff, and the game ends as Samus escapes the exploding station.


 
minus orders of adam and the title monster being the final boss for a change, this is every metroid game ever.
samus enters (planet/station/star system) that conveniently is seperated into a bunch of zones (jungle and nature/lava and caves/ice, ice everywhere/oh look, its underwater/high tech zone where things miraculously didnt break/ancient temple of an ancient race that somehow was at peace with itself and the world, jet still managed to get eradicated usually by their own fault) then fights a bunch of bosses, some of them new (a big bug/pink yello thing/a nest of bugs/the bug queen/theres a shitload of bug bosses in this game/plantbosses/a huge robot here or there) as well as a number of bosses we've already killed in other games (kraid/ridley/nightmare/robot guard drone/seadragon fish thingy/more bugs/a clone of samus thats much stronger than you/enhanced space pirates). while doing that, she receives countless upgrades that are almost always identical, except for when the gameplay doesnt allow for it, like the speed boost or the grabbing of ledges in the prime games and one unique item here or there, like the charged missles or the 2d ice missles for story purposes, to her suit that, in all honesty, should have been destroyed by whomever guarded them so samus couldn't power up over and over. samus then discovers (mother brain being behind everything/mother brain is still alive/its the federations fault this time/oh no metroids are still alive and being experimented on by everyone in the galaxy) and escapes as (planet/station/star system) is wiped clean by (the self destruct mechanism of a suicidal alien race/federal precaution measures) or so it seems. because theres always a clean up crew collecting cells of everything that is remotely memorable so that the series can go on using such adorable creatures like (the exploding bats that home in on you if you get to close/space pirates/bees/bugs of other sorts/lava critters/exploding gas balls/spiky things/lazily flying grapple hook or ice beamable turtles/angry fish/all your favorite bosses/the damn metroids/eventually mother brain again [if prime ever goes on, we will find out the federations super ai computers secretly had a remainder of the mother brain.exe somewhere in them that got activated somewhere during prime 3]/etc. etc.)

the whole series is build upon being able to bring back everything you knew before on a new planet because of cloning/chozo being so advanced and having hidden very specific suit upgrades all over the galaxy/federation wanting unlimited metroid energy even though energy doesnt seem to be of much concern in this world to begin with. and it worked so far.

and if anything, its realistic that the federation has a bunch of these stations out there just waiting to get out of control, because the federation is just as powerhungry and irresponsible as the space pirates they constantly try to imitate.
which is why future metroid games will gladly go back there.


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## xwatchmanx (Jul 2, 2014)

Clydefrosch said:


> minus orders of adam and the title monster being the final boss for a change, this is every metroid game ever.


Um... What Metroid games have you actually been playing? Like I said, there are some repeated series staples, which is fine, but they were especially copied between Fusion and Other M. No other Metroid games have you explore a space station dedicated to biological research, divided into sectors. No other Metroid games have you following the direct commands of Adam, guiding you the whole way. No other Metroid games feature a secret government conspiracy to control and breed Metroids in a hidden, unmarked sector. No other Metroid games feature said secret sector being attacked from within and then jettisoned. No other Metroid games feature Samus frequently recording a journal. And no other Metroid game has had as many copied bosses (count four: Ridley, Phantoon, Nightmare, Queen Metroid). No other Metroid game is as marred by retro pandering as Other M.

If you really want to extend the issue though, this seems to be a problem with the Nintendo-developed Metroid games in general. We had Metroid and Metroid II, which were both rather original. Then Super Metroid was practically a remake of Metroid 1. Fusion was pretty original, and then Other M ripped pretty much its entire base from Fusion, with huge retro pandering nods to all previous games, especially Super.

Compare this to the Prime trilogy, which was wildly different. The first one stuck closest to the Metroid formula in its theme, but it still had all original bosses except Ridley (who was still a deal different from his standard appearance), new ways to play, cool new uses for familiar items, and tons of interesting new enemies. Prime 2 and 3 strayed even further away, with new worlds and ways to traverse them, new enemies, and tons of new power ups. Certain Metroid staples were still there, but they were so minimal compared to other Metroid games.


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## TVL (Jul 2, 2014)

I don't play games for their stories and I thought Other M was a decent game, as I remember it you didn't have to listen in on the cutscenes to understand what to do next... I do understand how someone could dislike it though. I didn't like that she wasn't all alone more than anything. IMO Metroid has always been far superior as a 2D sidescroller.


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## Sakitoshi (Jul 2, 2014)

xwatchmanx said:


> Heck, even the story/gameplay progression felt like a copypasta of Fusion: Samus enters a research station as part of a mission for the federation. She then explores multiple sectors housing specific ecosystems of creatures, under the orders of Adam Malkovich, fighting Nightmare and a clone of Ridley in the process. As the plot wraps up, Samus discovers a secret federation lab dedicated to breeding Metroids, and escapes as it self-destructs, and then fights an unexpectedly alive, and evolved Metroid. It turns out that the federation is doing shady stuff, and the game ends as Samus escapes the exploding station.


 
^This very much.
the game progression is exactly the same as Metroid Fusion, the Bottle ship is like a exact replica of the biologic space laboratories(BSL) and even blatantly have the same bosses. Nightmare was a new biomechanic monster in Metroid Fusion, care to explain why he is present in Other M?? nope, he just is there because they were lazy developing a new boss I guess, at least they could have altered his appearance and name to pretend is a different being or a beta version of his Fusion self.

off-topic: anyone knows if there is a Super Metroid hack of Other M?? something like that should be better to fill the gap, gameplay wise.


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## xwatchmanx (Jul 2, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> Nightmare was a new biomechanic monster in Metroid Fusion, care to explain why he is present in Other M?? nope, he just is there because they were lazy developing a new boss I guess, at least they could have altered his appearance and name to pretend is a different being or a beta version of his Fusion self.


 
I'm actually totally fine with Nightmare's inclusion. They gave some interesting backstory on his origin, and set him up to reappear in Fusion. Notice after you defeat him the second time in Other M, his body mysteriously disappears by the end, insinuating that the Federation moved him for repairs and to put him on the lab in Fusion. They also set up Ridley quite well, having him drained by a Metroid, so he could be infected and copied by X parasites in Fusion.

But yeah, overall the copied bosses were just stupid. They COULD'VE done without Nightmare (he fought so differently from Nightmare in Fusion that they might as well have made him an original boss anyway), Queen Metroid was out of the blue, and Phantoon literally had no reason to be there at all.


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## Wisenheimer (Jul 2, 2014)

I felt it did not live up to the quality of the prime titles, but by general AAA video game standards, it was significantly above average.

I would definitely recommend people play it, but only after playing through the entire Prime Series.  It would be a lousy introduction to Metroid.


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## WiiCube_2013 (Jul 2, 2014)

Normally Nintendo games keep their prices at a medium to high price but not this one, I guess N figured this game was an embarrassment and they decided to allow to sell it for dirt cheap.


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## Sakitoshi (Jul 2, 2014)

I found a fan explication of Samus trauma with Ridley which I found interesting enough to mention.


> No. The same reason that the Ridley in Zero Mission is the same Ridley in Super. Being defeated, and being killed, are two totally different things in the video game world. Being defeated really comes down to the fact that you never see the body, like when Ridley fell off the temple in Prime. Mother Brain was defeated in Zero Mission/NES not killed. Thus she was revitalized by the Pirates and the Chozos' ingenius machines and technology in Super.
> 
> Which is another thing people don't seem to get when it comes to Ridley surprising Samus in Other M. Samus knew that he was killed in Super and not merely defeated like so many times before. She saw the body. Watch the animation in the old game even, the sprite literally falls into peices, not to mention the whole f***ing planet blew up with his remains still on it.


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## Gahars (Jul 2, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> I found a fan explication of Samus trauma with Ridley which I found interesting enough to mention.


 

"In the video game world"

So, this explanation hinges on Metroid following Wreck-It Ralph rules?

Don't reach so hard, you're going to pull a muscle.


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## Clydefrosch (Jul 3, 2014)

would it have really made such a difference to you if the always repeating and constantly same zones would have been on some planet or each zone being a different planet, instead of a second bottleship?

prime 1 and 3 could've (and would've) happen on the planet zebes if it hadn't blown up. seriously, if it wasn't for some guy thinking hey, why not destroy the planet, the series would probably still play on zebes to this very day. 4 metroid games happened there (original/zero mission, II, super), 2 more had recreations of its ecosystems (fusion and this one) one played pretty much on zebes 2 (prime 1) and two had all the zones you knew and loved but told you they were on different planets (prime 3/hunters).

just wait until one of those guys thinks that, maybe, the chozo were so advanced, they actually had a second planet terraformed to their liking and that planets motherbrain has both shielded the planet form outside detection as well as purged every existing information of its planets existence. we'll be back there again. and i tell you, no one will be mad about it


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## CathyRina (Jul 3, 2014)

At this point I really don't know if Prime series happened between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 or 3 and M.
Canon where are you Q_Q 



Clydefrosch said:


> 4 metroid games happened there (original/zero mission, II, super)


II happened on SR-388. The planet that Samus re-visits in Fusion and the blows the space station on it.


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## Bent (Jul 3, 2014)

> Don't reach so hard, you're going to pull a muscle.


 
The lengths people go through to defend this game never cease to amaze me.




> At this point I really don't know if Prime series happened between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 or 3 and M.


 
The Prime games happen between Metroid and Metroid II.


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## xwatchmanx (Jul 3, 2014)

Clydefrosch said:


> would it have really made such a difference to you if the always repeating and constantly same zones would have been on some planet or each zone being a different planet, instead of a second bottleship?
> 
> prime 1 and 3 could've (and would've) happen on the planet zebes if it hadn't blown up. seriously, if it wasn't for some guy thinking hey, why not destroy the planet, the series would probably still play on zebes to this very day. 4 metroid games happened there (original/zero mission, II, super), 2 more had recreations of its ecosystems (fusion and this one) one played pretty much on zebes 2 (prime 1) and two had all the zones you knew and loved but told you they were on different planets (prime 3/hunters).
> 
> just wait until one of those guys thinks that, maybe, the chozo were so advanced, they actually had a second planet terraformed to their liking and that planets motherbrain has both shielded the planet form outside detection as well as purged every existing information of its planets existence. we'll be back there again. and i tell you, no one will be mad about it


 
Zebes didn't blow up until the end of Super Metroid. Prime, Hunters, Echoes, Corruption, and II all took place before Zebes' destruction, and none of them took place on Zebes. Also, II took place on SR-388, not Zebes. So that's two games and one remake that took place on Zebes. Which is... 2 out of 9 original games (excluding Zero Mission and Prime Pinball). That's not a lot at all.

You're just about as bad at keeping Metroid continuity as Other M is. No wonder you like it so much. ;O;


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## Sakitoshi (Jul 3, 2014)

Clydefrosch said:


> would it have really made such a difference to you if the always repeating and constantly same zones would have been on some planet or each zone being a different planet, instead of a second bottleship?


 
that would be like saying that Zelda games are bad because you always have the same themed temples.
by having all happen on a completely different location gives originality, there isn't a problem with the theme of the environments, the problem is with the originality of them. the bottle ship is a exact replica of the BSL, doesn't offer any change, all the environments are extracts of planets mixed with technology just like in Fusion. hell they even copied the central elevator thing instead of organizing the sectors on a new way.

and don't get me wrong, I liked Other M, but clearly has many flaws.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 3, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> that would be like saying that Zelda games are bad because you always have the same themed temples.


 

But they are bad for being unoriginal....


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## Lumstar (Jul 3, 2014)

WiiCube_2013 said:


> Normally Nintendo games keep their prices at a medium to high price but not this one, I guess N figured this game was an embarrassment and they decided to allow to sell it for dirt cheap.


 
Maybe in your country. They didn't lower its US price.


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## Sakitoshi (Jul 3, 2014)

Guild McCommunist said:


> But they are bad for being unoriginal....


 
at least they scramble the puzzles around or introduce new mechanics.
the fire temple for example, in SS you need to walk on lava with the help of a ball of stone, while in TP you needed to walk on the walls with the iron boots.
is the bare minimum they can do.


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## Guild McCommunist (Jul 3, 2014)

Sakitoshi said:


> at least they scramble the puzzles around or introduce new mechanics.
> the fire temple for example, in SS you need to walk on lava with the help of a ball of stone, while in TP you needed to walk on the walls with the iron boots.
> is the bare minimum they can do.


 

"Nintendo - we do the bare minimum".

Great slogan.


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## Arras (Jul 3, 2014)

Lumstar said:


> Maybe in your country. They didn't lower its US price.


Heh, Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart 7 are sitting basically side by side in the nearest store that sells games. MKDS is 40, MK7 is 45


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