So I was watching a youtube video earlier about the Metroid series, and a guy mentioned Sakamoto having a very cringe worthy response to Other M's poor reception. I looked it up and... is this real?
Source:
http://www.nintendolife.com/forums/...s_were_reluctant_to_accept_a_female_character
My mind is blown. Was this really his response? Not fake? This was from 2013 so.... I hope he's chilled off since and realize this thinking that Other M received blowback because Samus is a girl is simply ridiculous. Forget the Tomb Raiders, FFXIII trilogy, and the recent Horizon: Zero Dawn, all with a female lead, all criticized for different things, but all which sold and was received way better than Other M. Gender wasn't the factor.
The truth is, the game he made betrayed the imaginations of his player base of the kind of person Samus was. The Metroid Prime games have had the biggest influence on that, being some of the series best sellers and having the players assume her role as a mute protaganist for those games, but even the classic games and Fusion, despite the short monologue bits, did little to encroach on what many perceived Samus to be. It's sad that he ignored the influence Prime has had, and went ahead with expanding on some Manga story few have ever read. The game-play wasn't very Metroid like either. And where was the music?
Geez, now I'm thinking about Other M again. Grr. Sakamoto is producing Metroid: Samus Returns. Game looks fun, but I'm still not feeling very good about it. It's a game I want to get excited for, but I hate what Sakamoto has done with the character, and seeing Smash 4 taking influence from Other M (huge boobs, mole, Varia suit design), just seeing the small things carry over feel disheartening, and have me worried about Prime 4 and this doing the same, when Retro had given us the best, most attractive, version of the character in a series of great games. Prime only got a stage and some trophies in Smash Brawl. Boo!
Oh well, I need to relax. Samus Returns is using a new Varia design, which looks cool enough, and the game looks like it could turn out to be real fun. Hope the movement and physics feel good. Monsters don't look as cool as Prime's mons did, but they're serviceable. The bad Other M taste is still in my buds. Hoping Samus Returns can relieve some of that, but... yeah, just not feeling it right now. Currently replaying the Prime trilogy though!
More excited to learn more about Prime 4.... but Retro isn't working on it.