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[RagnarokX]

Isn't that the scene where she literally turns into a bawling toddler in a night gown? I know what they were going for, but it failed and it made Samus look like a weakling. She killed this thing like half a dozen times at this point.

Also, about her not being subservient, why would she let herself get burned in the thermal zone if she has the Varia suit and can shield herself whenever she wants? Unless she has some weird kink thing going on with Adam.

PTSD doesn't work that way. She makes it very clear at the start of the game that she thinks Ridley is gone forever. She finds out he's alive again despite all odds and has a relapse remembering the trauma, which happened when she was 3 years old. It lasts 1 minute. She then kicks his ass.

The authorization system was made mostly an excuse for upgrade progression and much less thought was put into it than the fan fiction about Samus running through the lava area as part of a BDSM role play with Adam. The reason stated in the game is that Samus' upgrades could pose a danger to the other people on the mission and Adam wants to analyze each one to guarantee safety before authorizing each one. Why the Varia feature is one of those things is never explained. Maybe the Varia feature could emit lethal radiation or something. Since the reasoning for that part is made up, why not make up something like "Samus enjoys a challenge and wanted to do it without the Varia suit instead of asking Adam to authorize it." In other games like Super she inexplicably just leaves the Varia suit and the rest of her upgrades at home and makes things harder for herself than they needed to be, so why not?

 

[Green Mamba]

If you ignore the cutscenes is Other M worth playing? I've always heard that the story is terrible (almost offensively so), but I never really hear much about the gameplay.

You can't really ignore the cutscenes, they're unskippable in the first playthrough.

 

[Syril]

If you ignore the cutscenes is Other M worth playing? I've always heard that the story is terrible (almost offensively so), but I never really hear much about the gameplay.

There are some cool things going for it but also some really boneheaded mechanics, like the concentration ability, where you have to hold the remote vertically to refill your missiles and heal your health up to a threshold. While a neat idea in theory, it was also the only way to recover energy at all apart from save points, leading to the thought process "oh shit, I need to take another hit so I can heal".

 

[TheDinoman]

Samus is not a scared little girl. For 99.99% of the time she is badass. She appears as a little girl in a single scene because she has a PTSD flashback to the time Ridley murdered her parents as depicted in the manga, Fusion, and the commercial for Other M:

There is literally no reason for Samus to freak out about Ridley considering she's faced him over and over and over by that point and basically triumphed over him every encounter. And no, saying "WELL SHE THOUGHT RIDLEY WAS GONE FOREEEVER" is not a good argument either.

If Other M was set before Metroid NES/Zero Mission and they did that PTSD scene, it wouldn't have been nearly as reviled because it would actually kind of make sense there. This would be the first time Samus (who would obviously be much less experienced) and Ridley have gone against each other since the latter killing the former's parents. Having a PTSD moment would be alright here and it made enough sense when it happened in the manga (which, well, took place before the first game), but doing it NOW, after facing and winning against Ridley so many times, is literally nothing but backtracking Samus' whole character ark.

One moment I always really liked from the manga is by the end of the story where Ridley and Samus confront each other again, but instead of freaking out, Samus rises up and vaporises him. She even does a crazy primal scream of victory.

It basically shows that yeah, she's matured and Ridley ain't shit to her anymore. An interesting piece of character development. Too bad Other M threw that out the window.

 

[Boney]

But we could see the warning signs from Sakamoto's interview.


That very thought, of giving players CLEAR CUT DIRECTIONS, runs counter to the things Metroid stands for. It's the wrong approach. A BETTER approach would be to instead build the game in a way that helps players figure out where to go or what to do organically through gameplay, experimentation, and logical exploration instead of someone like Adam Malkovich just going "go here. Do this" and locking doors behind you to prevent backtracking.

The beauty of Metroid has always been that "eureka!" moment when the player figures out what to do on their own. Having it spelled out certainly makes it easier, but it doesn't make it better or even more accessible. If anything, spelling it out pushed players away and made it less "accessible" because the game was putting up barriers between their enjoyment of the game and their desire to experiment and explore of their own volition.

The eureka moment doesn't have to rely on complete open ended design though. Fusion gives you clear cut directions for the end destination, but getting to the destination needs you to figure out the environment and make a path for yourself with the upgrades you get. Even if linear you can still design it around apparent dead ends and reliance on the player's observation and wit.

Open ended definately adds value to the experience but exploring isn't exclusive to it. Take something like Final Fantasy I which is super linear yet still needs the player to find each landmark that helps you progress through them later. The real value of being open ended is for me, sequence breaking and speed running,

Castlevania is designed around reaching many dead ends which require power ups to get through, but they get around this tedious design by having teleportation spots. Doing a relative long trek only to find that it was worthless is something the Metroid series has always avoided and instead places locked doors and other road blocks for you to pass by as you go along your way, and smartly redirecting you back to the area not with back tracking but with with clever circular maps. Free traversal can help for having uninterrupted play time, while linearity allows for more controlled events. The only benefit of a player turning back is to small upgrades they couldn't get before at any time, while Fusion and Other M only allow for this at the end game.

Of the sidescrollers Metroid 2 and Fusion are super linear unlike the original and Super, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the scale needs to balance. the original and Super were much bigger landmark releases and recieved better critical acclaim I suppose to support the hands off open end approach.

You can't really ignore the cutscenes, they're unskippable in the first playthrough.

One could technically download a save file from the internet to place in the sd card no problem I suppose. But yeah they're unskippable on the 1st playthrough and that's a major annoyance.

 

[Atrarock]

Never played Other M, but the Gravity Suit isn't an actual purple suit in this game?

what the hell

Bless mods and homebrew for exisiting

 

[Kinyou]

Now look at the recreation of the same scene in Other M. CGI is pretty yes, but it really shows that Sakamoto forgot what made the original scene in SM work, with the lame lines from Samus ("Why am I still alive? The baby...") and the cheesy anime music. There's nothing subtle about it.

I believe Other M would improve a lot if you'd remove all that awful Samus voice over that just spells out what you're already seeing.

Would also make Samus appear less self doubting.

 

[rtcn63]

Now look at the recreation of the same scene in Other M. CGI is pretty yes, but it really shows that Sakamoto forgot what made the original scene in SM work, with the lame lines from Samus ("Why am I still alive? The baby...") and the cheesy anime music. There's nothing subtle about it.

Is this told from the perspective of Charlie Murphy

 

[TheDinoman]

Bless mods and homebrew for exisiting

There's also Smash.

Would be pretty funny if Sakamoto went up to Sakurai and asked him why he included that silly purple outfit lol

 

[PtM]

If you ignore the cutscenes is Other M worth playing? I've always heard that the story is terrible (almost offensively so), but I never really hear much about the gameplay.

You cannot ignore the cutscenes.

Spoiler

Unskippable.

Damn you, new page!

 

[Dargor]

At the end of Metroid 2. It carries over to Super Metroid too but Other M plays on it throughout the whole game.

Oh no, I knew about that.

I thought people were saying she really had a biological child at some point, but I guess people were just joking around lol.

 

[AppleSeason]

I usually call it: "Metroid: Other Mierda". Still trying to forget that it exists.

 

[Modest Mauser]

PTSD doesn't work that way. She makes it very clear at the start of the game that she thinks Ridley is gone forever. She finds out he's alive again despite all odds and has a relapse remembering the trauma, which happened when she was 3 years old. It lasts 1 minute. She then kicks his ass.

There's no defending this scene, she wasn't surprised when Ridley returns at the start of Super, why now? The plot is not well thought out.

 

[Boney]

Never played Other M, but the Gravity Suit isn't an actual purple suit in this game?

what the hell

It does have a pretty cool scene in which you activate it as you're escaping the ship being blown to pieces and having the pressure almost sucking you into space though.

 

[Jarlaxle]

If you beat the game 100%, Adam gives you permission to learn what it means.

 

[RK128]

If you ignore the cutscenes is Other M worth playing? I've always heard that the story is terrible (almost offensively so), but I never really hear much about the gameplay.

If you get a downloaded completed save (which gives you the ability to skip cut-scenes), Other M is a fun mindless action game. Talked with another Gaffer about this game recently and they more or less said Other M was Ninja Gaden Lite and that works for me.

The core combat system is simple but rewarding, the controls are strange for sure but not a deal breaker and playing a more agile Samus was great. If the game had better level design (more open locations, upgrading system from past games being in Other M, ect) I wouldn't dislike the games nearly as much as I did when I first played it.

Overall, I think the game is a poor Metroid game. But as an okay action title? It works fine and I think you can fine some fun in the game despite its control quarks. But please. PLEASE skip the cut-scenes. They are horrible and Other M has one of the worst stories I've ever experienced in gaming.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I've not played much of the game but coming off of Metroid Fusion I kind of assumed it meant Adam, as in the other Malkovich.

 

[RagnarokX]

There is literally no reason for Samus to freak out about Ridley considering she's faced him over and over and over by that point and basically triumphed over him every encounter. And no, saying "WELL SHE THOUGHT RIDLEY WAS GONE FOREEEVER" is not a good argument either.

If Other M was set before Metroid NES/Zero Mission and they did that PTSD scene, it wouldn't have been nearly as reviled because it would actually kind of make sense there. This would be the first time Samus (who would obviously be much less experienced) and Ridley have gone against each other since the latter killing the former's parents. Having a PTSD moment would be alright here and it made enough sense when it happened in the manga (which, well, took place before the first game), but doing it NOW, after facing and winning against Ridley so many times, is literally nothing but backtracking Samus' whole character ark.

One moment I always really liked from the manga is by the end of the story where Ridley and Samus confront each other again, but instead of freaking out, Samus rises up and vaporises him. She even does a crazy primal scream of victory.

It basically shows that yeah, she's matured and Ridley ain't shit to her anymore. An interesting piece of character development. Too bad Other M threw that out the window.

Posting a meme and saying that it doesn't make sense isn't a good argument. PTSD is a mental disorder. War veterans with PTSD do not have a flashback every time they hear a loud noise and they can go years without an episode and suddenly have one.

The thing that the manga and Other M have in common, the thing that causes both of her PTSD episodes, is that Samus thought Ridley was permanently dead. When she has her PTSD episode in the manga it's the first time she encounters him since that day when she was 3 and she finds out about his ability to heal his body. Every encounter with Ridley since then she knew he would come back and his appearance wasn't a surprise. In Super Metroid she blew up the entire planet Ridley was on and she states that she believed Ridley was gone for good.

Wouldn't the space dragon that murdered your parents coming back from the most insurmountable odds cause anyone's mental safeguards to drop. I mean what the hell do you have to do to get rid of the guy?

There's no defending this scene, she wasn't surprised when Ridley returns at the start of Super, why now? The plot is not well thought out.

Super begins with Samus getting her ass kicked by Ridley. She never states in Super that she thought Ridley was permanently dead like in Other M, since last time she fought him she left him in a place where he could recover.

 

[PtM]

I've not played much of the game but coming off of Metroid Fusion I kind of assumed it meant Adam, as in the other Malkovich.

I snorted.

 

[Jobbs]

it means "fuck you" as far as I'm concerned

 

[jackal27]

I never made the Other M = mother with the M moved connection. I figured that it had to do with "Another Mother Brain" already though.

I actually enjoyed Other M quite a bit in the weekend that I spent with it.

You what would have made the game work better I think? Just a lot less dialogue in general. Like, leave the convoluted plot, but don't reveal it to us so blatantly. Leave it vague. Let people argue about it on the internet instead of laying it all out to bear.

There is literally no reason for Samus to freak out about Ridley considering she's faced him over and over and over by that point and basically triumphed over him every encounter. And no, saying "WELL SHE THOUGHT RIDLEY WAS GONE FOREEEVER" is not a good argument either.

If Other M was set before Metroid NES/Zero Mission and they did that PTSD scene, it wouldn't have been nearly as reviled because it would actually kind of make sense there. This would be the first time Samus (who would obviously be much less experienced) and Ridley have gone against each other since the latter killing the former's parents. Having a PTSD moment would be alright here and it made enough sense when it happened in the manga (which, well, took place before the first game), but doing it NOW, after facing and winning against Ridley so many times, is literally nothing but backtracking Samus' whole character ark.

One moment I always really liked from the manga is by the end of the story where Ridley and Samus confront each other again, but instead of freaking out, Samus rises up and vaporises him. She even does a crazy primal scream of victory.

It basically shows that yeah, she's matured and Ridley ain't shit to her anymore. An interesting piece of character development. Too bad Other M threw that out the window.

It REALLY felt like Sakamoto wanted to make some kind of Metroid prequel with Other M. I don't know. So much of it is attached to elements of her past and Samus comes off as so young and inexperienced. I think I definitely would have preferred that.

 

[TedMilk]

Fuck's sake. Sakomoto...

 

[nicknamehere]

is it just me or the plot is THE FUCKING SAME as fusion?

 

[jett]

Still can't believe Other M. All of it.

"Team Ninja takes on Metroid!"
"Great. I bet they'll turn Mother Brain into a typical, vapid anime girl," I joked when I heard the news.

They even put her in heels.



How is the Gravity Suit not iconic either? Previous games have ALWAYS had it and even used it for lots of great official art and endings.


Sakamoto was confused why it even existed, and when reminded it DID exist, he felt it was "too silly" for the tone of the story?

(apparently this was "too silly" for the story... but not, you know, the content of said story)

Sakamoto is one of those creators that just completely lost sight of what made his original work good.

 

[jackal27]

is it just me or the plot is THE FUCKING SAME as fusion?

Sorry bruh, but I'm not following you at all here. Also, Fusion had a really interesting plot. Other M didn't.

 

[Schlorgan]

Maybe it means you should just play an Other Metroid

Boom.

 

[Toxi]

There's also Smash.

Would be pretty funny if Sakamoto went up to Sakurai and asked him why he included that silly purple outfit lol

God, Smash 4 Samus has such good colors. It's too bad there are no alternate costumes like the classic Varia suit, but those Dark Samus and Light Suit colors are so good.

 

[mrmickfran]

Bless mods and homebrew for exisiting

Much better.

It does have a pretty cool scene in which you activate it as you're escaping the ship being blown to pieces and having the pressure almost sucking you into space though.

That's not enough! D:

 

[jackal27]

I really miss Samus' green color from Super Metroid. I don't really get what was up with that, but I want to see it again.

God, Smash 4 Samus has such good colors. It's too bad there are no alternate costumes like the classic Varia suit, but those Dark Samus and Light Suit colors are so good.

In my personal Project M build my Samus suits are: Brawl Samus, Prime Samus, Other M Samus, Dark Samus, Prime 3 Samus, Dark Suit, Light Suit, and Fusion Suit. Bless mods.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Other M = Other MILF

 

[TheDinoman]

God, Smash 4 Samus has such good colors. It's too bad there are no alternate costumes like the classic Varia suit, but those Dark Samus and Light Suit colors are so good.

Have no fear, model importing has recently become a thing in Smash 4 modding. A former Project M dev team member by the name of Nanobuds is planning on bring all of the alts he helped make for PM into Smash 4. He already brought back Mewtwo's armor costume, and it looks sexy.

Soon...

 

[Kamina]

I always figured it would be a double meaning.

Other M for Other Mother Brain as MB
Other M for Other Mother, as she was also a Mother, similar like Samus, for the baby Metroid.

 

[jackal27]

Have no fear, model importing has recently become a thing in Smash 4 modding. A former Project M dev team member by the name of Nanobuds is planning on bring all of the alts he helped make for PM into Smash 4. He already brought back Mewtwo's armor costume, and it looks sexy.

Soon...

Always bet on Nano. Sad that PM modding is starting to come to a close since it's my favorite Smash game, but it'll be exciting when Smash 4 modding becomes more accessible.

 

[Ushojax]

Sakamoto is one of those creators that just completely lost sight of what made his original work good.

One of the most bizarre things about this game is that it completely ignores how Samus was raised by the Chozo. The pathetic Samus of Other M really shouldn't have such mental issues after being brought up by magic bird people and being given superpowers. The obsession with Adam as a substitute father makes no sense when Old Bird already filled that role in her life, instead it comes of as a pseudo-incestual lust for a man who shows her no affection at all.

Sakamoto inserted himself into the game as Adam, the only person who truly "understands" Samus, and the result is a complete destruction of the character. That he gave a shit about her beauty spot...that says it all.

 

[Jobbs]

Sakamoto is one of those creators that just completely lost sight of what made his original work good.

I know what the problem is. In 1993 the style of minimal story telling was their solution to the limitations (technical and otherwise) of the time.

Now that they can, relatively speaking, do just about anything -- We see the extent of his artistic vision, rather than what the more minimal experience allowed us to project into.

Example: In Super Metroid, we see some signs that we're being watched near the start of the game, and after a certain time, pirates appear. It's all very minimal and organic. This was probably their best or only way of really doing it at the time. If this game was made today, we'd have a series of cutscenes showing the pirates arrive and maybe even a character explaining to Samus that pirates just arrived. Or whatever.

 

[Freshmaker]

Sakamato's sense of subtlety was really on point when it came to the game's title.

Not to mention the Bottle Ship.

I know what the problem is. In 1993 the style of minimal story telling was their solution to the limitations (technical and otherwise) of the time.

Now that they can, relatively speaking, do just about anything -- We see the extent of his artistic vision, rather than what the more minimal experience allowed us to project into.

They could do that with the manga, and the manga isn't anywhere close to where Other M ended up.

More like more resources allowed a god awful story teller to run rampant in Other M's case.

 

[TheDinoman]

I know what the problem is. In 1993 the style of minimal story telling was their solution to the limitations (technical and otherwise) of the time.

Now that they can, relatively speaking, do just about anything -- We see the extent of his artistic vision, rather than what the more minimal experience allowed us to project into.

Example: In Super Metroid, we see some signs that we're being watched near the start of the game, and after a certain time, pirates appear. It's all very minimal and organic. This was probably their best or only way of really doing it at the time. If this game was made today, we'd have a series of cutscenes showing the pirates arrive and maybe even a character explaining to Samus that pirates just arrived. Or whatever.

Sakamoto actually claimed that he wouldn't of made Super Metroid the same way he made Other M even if they had the technology back then. Having trouble finding the interview but he did definitely say that.

 

[Simbabbad]

What does "Other M" mean?

What have you done?

 

[jrush64]

Once again, I personally though Other M was a great game. I don't see what's so bad about it.

 

[nkarafo]

Once again, I personally though Other M was a great game. I don't see what's so bad about it.

You don't see it? There are countless threads and posts, in all gaming forums, that have explained what's so bad about it countless times since the game was released.

I mean, it's OK if you like it. But please people, stop this "i don't see", "i don't get" and "i can't understand" condescending posts.

Sakamoto actually claimed that he wouldn't of made Super Metroid the same way he made Other M even if they had the technology back then. Having trouble finding the interview but he did definitely say that.

Metroid Prime also was subtle in it's storytelling, with minimal cutscenes and no voice acting and it was released in the gamecube era.

This whole "the technology wasn't ready" excuse is just that. An excuse. Super Metroid was as it was supposed to be. And even if limited technology was the reason why it didn't end up a stupid anime melodrama then let's be happy it was released back then and it turned up awesome.

 

[Kamina]

You don't see it? There are countless threads and posts, in all gaming forums, that have explained what's so bad about it countless times since the game was released.

I mean, it's OK if you like it. But please people, stop this "i don't see", "i don't get" and "i can't understand" condescending posts.

Why would he stop disagreeing and stating his opinion? You dont stop claiming how bad it is either. So why dont you please stop this, "its's shit", "it sucks, "it's so bad, "there is so much wrong with it",...if you aren't interested in others opinions anyway?

 

[Toa TAK]

Sakamato's sense of subtlety was really on point when it came to the game's title.

I'm surprised Sakamoto didn't make Samus conceive a damn Metroid at this point.

All the MOM references kill me.

Kiiilllll meeee.

 

[nkarafo]

Why would he stop disagreeing and stating his opinion? You dont stop claiming how bad it is either. So why dont you please stop this, "its's shit", "it sucks, "it's so bad, "there is so much wrong with it",...if you aren't interested in others opinions anyway?

There is a difference between stating "i can see why people hate it but i like it" and "i can't see why people hate it, i like it". Like i said, the Internet was in meltdown mode with all the posts explaining what's wrong with it or why people don't like it.

 

[hampig]

Posting a meme and saying that it doesn't make sense isn't a good argument. PTSD is a mental disorder. War veterans with PTSD do not have a flashback every time they hear a loud noise and they can go years without an episode and suddenly have one.

The thing that the manga and Other M have in common, the thing that causes both of her PTSD episodes, is that Samus thought Ridley was permanently dead. When she has her PTSD episode in the manga it's the first time she encounters him since that day when she was 3 and she finds out about his ability to heal his body. Every encounter with Ridley since then she knew he would come back and his appearance wasn't a surprise. In Super Metroid she blew up the entire planet Ridley was on and she states that she believed Ridley was gone for good.

Wouldn't the space dragon that murdered your parents coming back from the most insurmountable odds cause anyone's mental safeguards to drop. I mean what the hell do you have to do to get rid of the guy?


Super begins with Samus getting her ass kicked by Ridley. She never states in Super that she thought Ridley was permanently dead like in Other M, since last time she fought him she left him in a place where he could recover.

If you ask me none of this matters. It's a poor depiction of a character that was already established.
Really bad writing, really terrible execution.
Also, she has Chozo genetics, and has been through a ridiculous amount of insane stuff. You can't compare her to a normal person. What you can compare her to is herself in literally every other game. Other M is the odd one out.

 

[Kamina]

There is a difference between stating "i can see why people hate it but i like it" and "i can't see why people are hating it, i like it". Like i said, the Internet was in meltdown mode with all the posts explaining what's wrong with it or why people don't like it.

I dont agree. Simply because i undertsand this point of view. I simply do not see what other people see. I replayed Other M last weekend, 100%ed it. It wasnt a perfect experience, but just I could not see the flaws other people ceep calling out as flaws. I didn't even recognize them as such before I later read about people disliking them and still couldn't understand their point of view.

And to be honest. I simply do not want to understand these opinions ether. I had fun with the game, it was worth my money, it will be worth it in the future, for me.

 

[Palmer27]

Something that's always puzzled me about Metroid Other M, among many other things, is the title. What does it mean?

Other M = Mother
Other M = Other Metroid

I can't think of anything else, it's a really strange and confusing title that doesn't make much sense. I suppose Other Mother makes a little sense but it seems really silly. Help GAF!

It means shit.

 

[nkarafo]

I dont agree. Simply because i undertsand this point of view. I simply do not see what other people see. I replayed Other M last weekend, 100%ed it. It wasnt a perfect experience, but just I could not see the flaws other people ceep calling out as flaws. I didn't even recognize them as such before I later read about people disliking them and still couldn't understand their point of view.

Did you even like other Metroid games? Especially the ones that are considered the best like Super and Prime?

If you do then you should be able to notice the differences in game design and philosophy. OtherM takes most of the aspects that make Metroid games Metroid and does the opposite/throws them out of the window.

Which means you should be able to see why people hate it, even if you don't agree with them.

 

[freethoughtbubble]

The primary villain of the game is a clone of Mother Brain named "MB." Other M, other mother. Very simple anagram of "Mother" as well, which is what Samus refers to Mother Brain as in the game at one point. The game's initials are also "MOM."

Essentially, the game has the subtlety of a sledgehammer about its themes about motherhood.

The game takes place on a ship that's shaped like a large baby's bottle called "BOTTLE Ship" for chrissake.

Omg I hate this game so much.

 

[Jonneh3003]

Once again, I personally though Other M was a great game. I don't see what's so bad about it.

It's a pretty good game but a terrible Metroid game. Combat was pretty good and it was fairly diverse and well paced.

 

[Kamina]

Did you even like other Metroid games? Especially the ones considered the best like Super and Prime?

If you do then you should be able to notice the differences in game design and philosophy. Which means you should be able to see why people hate it, even if you don;t agree with them.

I loved Metroid since i played M2 on the Gameboy some 20 years ago. I played all, i love all. They are all unique in thier own way, Other M is different. I dont see it the way other people see it. Its more than just disagreeing.