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

[Bent]

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.

 

[Öhr]

​

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

 

[Ryukouki]

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

 

[Deleted_171835]

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.

 

[Öhr]

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

 

[Sheimi]

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.

 

[TripleSMoon]

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.

 

[Dork]

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

 

[R0B0T0]

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.

 

[XDel]

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.

 

[the_randomizer]

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

 

[JoostinOnline]

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

1. 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.
2. 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.

 

[Gahars]

*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?

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

1. 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

 

[Black-Ice]

i liked this game

 

[JoostinOnline]

*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?

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

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.

 

[Ryukouki]

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

 

[Gahars]

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.

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.

 

[JoostinOnline]

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.

 

[Gahars]

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.

 

[JoostinOnline]

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.

1. I don't think you saw my edit. It's not especially important, but I accidentally hit the post button before I was done.
2. She doesn't overcome her fear once and for all. You assumed that.
3. 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.
4. 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.