ElectricBlanketFire
Member
Metroid: other mother
Makin' up a song about Corrrrrrrrrrrrrrraliiiiiiiiiine!!!
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What does "Other M" mean?
- Thread starter Jonneh3003
- Start date
Makin' up a song about Corrrrrrrrrrrrrrraliiiiiiiiiine!!!
Only EU and Japan, saddly.
nkarafo
Member
After i experienced OtherM i am convinced that the late Gunpei Yokoi had a much bigger role in the early Metroid games that we thought. I bet he was keeping Sakamoto at bay whenever he proposed something stupid. With OtherM Sakamoto was in full control with nobody slapping some sense to him.
TheDinoman
Member
I heard Yokoi didn't have that much to do with Super Metroid's development. Like I just said in my other post, I just think Sakamoto completely forgot what made Metroid work.
Donniewahlberg
Banned
You know, you could play this game forever, if you want. There's just one tiny thing we have to do first....
Haha oh yea, coraline fans in the house
nkarafo
Member
Yeah, that's also very likely
"Why is Samus purple" is a genuine question Sakamoto asked during the development of the game and is why the Gravity Suit in the final product is a hideous pink glow.
Well they thought the gravity suit's purple made it stand out too much in cinematics and decided to just keep the iconic orange from the Varia Suit.
The pink glow only activates when there's gravity elements in play, like traversing water or out in space.
I love the Gravity Suit but it's not a terrible decision to keep the Varia Suit through out.
Oh definately, it's just used to mock it after they hate it or heard it's bad. Similar to the baby stuff which sounds odd yeah but after the opening cinematic 4 mentions you're not hearing that word ever in the game, so it's odd that's the way to mock it.
NormalFish
Banned
whats the g in g darius for anyway
Other M refers to M
B
which is revealed to be
Then there are all the meanings behind the name like that abbreviated is M:OM, that you can rearrange the letters to form the word MOTHER, the fact that could also refer to the Other Metroids, etc...
To be fair it was a really clever name.
Now, after saying that I must add that that thank god his talent seems to be free from the shackles that is the Metroid franchise and I guess that he must be happy by making multi-million sellers for his company so good for him, I guess.
elissa
ergman
the antagonist of the game and a something akin to Mother Brain for the new generation of Metroids.
Then there are all the meanings behind the name like that abbreviated is M:OM, that you can rearrange the letters to form the word MOTHER, the fact that could also refer to the Other Metroids, etc...
To be fair it was a really clever name.
People change with time and only because his track record is exceptional does not mean that everything that he is going to make is going to be gold.
Now, after saying that I must add that that thank god his talent seems to be free from the shackles that is the Metroid franchise and I guess that he must be happy by making multi-million sellers for his company so good for him, I guess.
Justin Bailey
------ ------
Other M
Look at the M from "other" angle
Upside down
W
Where's Waldo
It was telling us how to play the pixel hunt segments the whole time.
Look at the M from "other" angle
Upside down
W
Where's Waldo
It was telling us how to play the pixel hunt segments the whole time.
Bjoern the Smexy
Member
The other Mother from another Brother
Well that and the fanbase had been screaming for more story for as long as I can remember. Then they got it, it ruined their head canon, and now Metroid is dead. I've heard Federation Force isn't terrible though.
Alex_Mexico
Member
Fixed that for you.
Actually, that makes the George Lucas comparison even more perfect. In the original Star Wars trilogy, we don't know who Anakin really was before he turned and become Vader, we could imagine that it was some tragic event or series of event that lead to his downfall. Then the sequel trilogy completely ruined Vader by making him seem like a complete idiot.
In the same vein, we didn't really know who Samus Aran as a person was. In Fusion Adam is name dropped, but the relationship is no way explained, just that they were acquainted. Were they lovers, just friends? It was left open. But thanks to Other M, we finally understand that she is a scared little girl with father issues deep down whose only wish is to get conformation from her father surrogate. Well played, Sakamoto.
Donniewahlberg
Banned
We can definitely all like coraline if we want man. I don't know about moms though. I'm kinda suspicious of them. Haven't they got anything better to do?
It worked for me. When I was a kid, before the prequels, I used to think Anakin Skywalker was an arrogant, whiny and power-hungry idiot.
Thanks, Lucas!
Anyone interested in Metroid and the franchise storyline that Other M has no real part of, check out Kotaku's story. Some of it is conjecture, but it's an excellent read.
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.
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?
"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)
NobleGundam
Banned
There can only be one Eminem
According to Sakamoto, the "Other M" name had several meanings that you might get after playing through the game.
http://www.1up.com/previews/metroid-other-m?pager.offset=1 - 1up.com June 2009
1UP: Ah okay, Super Metroid And A Half. What is the "Other M" in the subtitle?
Yoshio Sakamoto: Other M has several meanings. As the story unfolds, those meanings should gradually reveal themselves.
Yoshio Sakamoto: Other M has several meanings. As the story unfolds, those meanings should gradually reveal themselves.
It could be:
Mother
Other Metroid
Other Mother Brain
Other Malkovich
Other Madeline Bergman
There was also the segment from the Super Metroid promotional video titled "Mother" that may have been an influence.
https://youtu.be/quR5-FEaM9c
Super Metroid was intentionally made to tell a story without using words, while Other M was intentionally made to tell a story through cutscenes and dialogue.
http://www.metroid-database.com/sm/interview.php
https://www.gamestm.co.uk/features/...e-unwritten-future-of-the-warioware-series/2/
nkarafo
Member
A part of the fanbase wanted more story yes. They didn't want a terrible story or this particular way of storytelling with no subtlety, lots of cliches, unskippable cutscenes and melodrama.
Metroid was always considered a narrative heavy game, especially in contrast to other Nintendo series. Super Metroid has a ton of cinematic elements which really get an emotional reaction from the player, my favourite being frying Draigon and then have the kids take the corpse away.
Plus Metroid 2 is more linear than ZM and on par with Fusion and there's nothing wrong with that if they keep the elements of finding paths with the help of power ups and observation.
Other M is hamfisted anime, and it's bad definately. The story board which was Sakamoto's work is perfectly fine and has interesting story elements and beats. The development of the cinematics and further expansion of the script was Kitaura in collaboration with Sakamoto as consultant. The game has big problems conceptually and in execution, the Metroid's team complete inexperience with 3d led them to have an outside partner, that ended up being Team Ninja post Itagaki and they brought D-Rockets along which is the worst aspect of the collaboration persobnally. Unusual development led to many elements having to be dropped or neutered while having to deal with different compromises as to what each studio brought forth. The mistery element was supposed to play a much bigger role and had text adventure elements inspired by Famicom Detective Club for instance.
The game isn't perfect by a long shot, there's huge glaring issues, some small nitpicks and some solid fundamentals and design. Follow ups would've been interesting but that ship has sailed.
Sakamoto sitting in the director's chair for the first time in 15 years, in a project that was massive in scope and having to deal with many foreign elements was a mistake and over ambitious. People's toxic attitude to this is pretty hard to stomach and it's similar to the Federation Force scandal, in how negativity spirals out of control at times. Sakamoto is still one of Nintendo's best producers and he would still be able to produce a great traditional Metroid if it were the case, but don't worry folks since his promotion he won't have time to baby sit (get it?) a new project as hands on as before.
But Jesus try to ease up a bit about Metroid as a whole.
Hot damn I need to check that out.
No interest in Prime Trilogy... I already own Prime on Gamecube, even Prime 2 I think.
Oh ffs
nkarafo
Member
My problem with Sakamoto is that he admitted in an interview that he wanted to turn Metroid into a more accessible game for the casual crowd. I don't have a link, this was a long time ago but it was his words. This means he doesn't care anymore about any of the aspects that made older Metroid games what they are. And then he did another one after the game bombed and said the reason it bombed was because players couldn't accept that Samus is a woman or something incredible stupid like that. Which means he doesn't know what he is talking about.
I don't hate him (how can you hate the creator of Super Metroid) i just don't agree with his current stance anymore so i hope he doesn't touch the franchise again.
Oh it's definately iconic in it's own way but it definately isn't as iconic as the regular colors which is how she's depicted in most media and fan art.
I would've preferred to have the actual suit, since I love it, but it's a fine reason to change it if it made cinematics a little bit more odd in the dramatic moments. I'm not going to die on the gravity suit incorporstion, since it ultimately doesn't really matter but I understand that for some it's one more thing to pile up in the "slap in the face" category.
The accessibility concept came in two forms; simplifying controls and putting samus front and center, NES game with the latest technology I'm fine with, as it tries to appeal to the disenfranchised fan base of the original in Japan which was a huge hit, tap into the less core audience with an action game that's simple to control. It ended up being a interesting restriction that led to interesting designs around it which was met with a mixed reception.
Samus front and center ended up being badly executed. There's nothing wrong with the concept of it, personally speaking. But it ended up with a weird mix of trying to appeal to Otaku's and female audience, with an impossible way to localize it well. It doesn't help that the game has the worst first impression by having over 50% of the cinematics in the opening. But he took a gamble that back fired, that he knew was a possibility, so I don't think he'd double down on the characterization as most people think he would, and instead have different design goals.
Bronetta
Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
You mean "luckily"
Here's one interview where Sakamoto talks about appealing to casual players and new players.
GamesTM Sep 2010
https://www.gamestm.co.uk/features/...e-unwritten-future-of-the-warioware-series/2/
Sakamoto: So, yes, I always want to attract more players to the Metroid franchise. Giving clear cut directions in terms of where they should go next, through dialogue and drama scenes, is something that we thought would help with that. But it was more about us wanting to include some in-game narrative outside of just the story scenes. Now, I have to admit that yes I wanted to cater to the needs of casual players. Metroid games have always been created so that players can sense where they should go next but that’s a skill of the veteran players and must be hard for newcomers.
For Metroid Fusion, Sakamoto mentioned that the Wario Land 4/Fusion team said Metroid was a hardcore game, and they considered modern players.
Metroid Fusion interview 2003
http://shmuplations.com/metroidgba/
Sakamoto: Of course, individually they all had a slightly different understanding of what kind of game Super Metroid was. Some of them told me they thought it was one of those masochistic, hardcore Nintendo games of old. Naturally, with a game that’s 9 years old, keeping the same difficulty balance was going to be a tough sell to players today. And of course once I had the team play Metroid, they all said “yeah, this is definitely for the hardcore.”
So one thing we had in the forefront of our minds during this development was: how can we make Metroid easier to play? Super Metroid divided the game into clearly defined sections to make things less stressful. On the other hand, you can’t just verbally tell players what to do, so Super Metroid had parts where the narrative unfolded for you just by playing. You would explore all these different places without any guidance, and finally realize through the process of elimination where you’re supposed to go. That was a problem for us as developers, and I think it was for players, too.
So one thing we had in the forefront of our minds during this development was: how can we make Metroid easier to play? Super Metroid divided the game into clearly defined sections to make things less stressful. On the other hand, you can’t just verbally tell players what to do, so Super Metroid had parts where the narrative unfolded for you just by playing. You would explore all these different places without any guidance, and finally realize through the process of elimination where you’re supposed to go. That was a problem for us as developers, and I think it was for players, too.
The other interview you mention after the game's release about accepting female characters was fake.
nkarafo
Member
You mean this one?
http://www.nintendolife.com/forums/wii/sakamoto_metroid_other_m_failed_because_players_were_reluctant_to_accept_a_female_character
Thanks for the links btw.
Huge Succeeded
Banned
I'm sure there's some sort of 'deep' and 'reflective' meaning to it but I mostly think the name Other M stems from the age old Japanese gaming tradition of creators appending strings of sometimes made up words that they think sound cool to the title
Yes, that was a fake, satire article.
http://www.p4rgaming.com/metroid-ot...nd-sales-due-to-having-female-lead-character/
Other M deserves the vast majority of the hate it gets, but, yeah, this article was an actual joke.
^Edit: Beaten
But also reading those actual comments about appealing to casual fans IS true and, while well-intentioned, I can clearly see this goal and how they went about it being as being directly at odds with the stuff that makes Metroid unique and beloved by its fanbase.
There's nothing wrong with making your games accessible, that has been one of Nintendo's most fervent beliefs and it always will be. Making a game accessible doesn't mean it can't be complex and challenging, just that it mustn't be completely impenetrable. A new player should be able to pick up and learn the basic mechanics without feeling frustrated, that's what Nintendo mean when they talk about accessibility.
Other M is just a badly designed game that tries to reduce the traditional complexity of Metroid in the most brain-dead manner, hoping that a garbage story will compensate for it. They could have made a Metroid that was suitable for all types of players, but Sakamoto's vision was far too reductionist and blinkered. We know he vetoed nunchuck controls in favour of the NES style despite it obviously being more appropriate for the transition to first person mode. If you can't even get the basic controls right then you've fallen at the first hurdle, at the very least it should have been an option.
Other M is just a badly designed game that tries to reduce the traditional complexity of Metroid in the most brain-dead manner, hoping that a garbage story will compensate for it. They could have made a Metroid that was suitable for all types of players, but Sakamoto's vision was far too reductionist and blinkered. We know he vetoed nunchuck controls in favour of the NES style despite it obviously being more appropriate for the transition to first person mode. If you can't even get the basic controls right then you've fallen at the first hurdle, at the very least it should have been an option.
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.
Other M is MB, the Mother Brain clone. It's pretty obvious since she's the focus of the story.
The problem with that is that the things that people freak out about with Other M weren't even introduced by Other M and details about Samus' backstory involving K2L and Samus getting orphaned were developed with Super Metroid material. The manga that fleshed out those details came out in 2002, the same year Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion came out.
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:
Granted it would have been great to actually see the flashback and that would have fixed problems people had with that scene due to their ignorance of Samus past, but the vitriol about that scene is greatly blown out of proportion. Samus has a small freakout after her most personal nemesis comes back from the dead after she was absolutely sure he was gone for good this time that lasts less than one minute and then beats the shit out of Ridley in a very badass fight sequence.
Other M is sort of a mid-life crisis story. Samus was raised by the Chozo for the purpose of fixing their biggest mistake: the metroids. The Chozo are gone but Samus, as far as she knows, has accomplished the mission she has devoted her entire life to. She wiped out the metroids, space pirates, mother brain, and Ridley. So now she just has time to think about her past and wonder about the path she took to get here, and her relationship with Adam stands out as a mistake she made along the way.
Now, the only reason she follows Adam's command is she has no choice, not because she is subservient. In other missions Samus has been on she was the only person sent and she was given discretion on how to accomplish the mission. "Go to Zebes and stop the pirates." "Go to SR388 and eradicate the metroids." Those were her orders and she followed them. In Super Metroid she has no official mission. She intercepts the distress signal from Ceres and then high tails it to Zebes before anyone else. In Other M she gets beaten to the Bottle Ship by Adam's team, and Adam tells her that she can either accompany the mission under his command or go. Samus wants to patch things up with Adam, but it's the nature of the mission that requires her to follow orders. And the reason Adam is a hardass at first is because he can't be certain Samus isn't working for the bad guys. Hell, midway through the game Samus suspects Adam of being part of the conspiracy.
Other M has issues to be sure. The story could have been told in a less confusing way, certain scenes could have been done better. But the story itself isn't really all that bad and it's fairly consistent with the Samus that Sakamoto has been working with since Super Metroid. Samus is the savior of the galaxy destined for greatness, but only she and the Chozo know and understand that. Her main mission is personal. The Federation is just an employer.
That storyboard doesn't even show the part Other M depicts. The comments are from the perspective of a player who has never experienced that fight and expressing surprise at something new. Other M's version is a cutscene made for people already familiar with it and it doesn't do a bad job apart from the hyper beam not being rainbow colored.Sakamoto is actually the same dude who wrote all those story segments in Super Metroid by himself.
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.
The problem with that is that the things that people freak out about with Other M weren't even introduced by Other M and details about Samus' backstory involving K2L and Samus getting orphaned were developed with Super Metroid material. The manga that fleshed out those details came out in 2002, the same year Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion came out.
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:
Granted it would have been great to actually see the flashback and that would have fixed problems people had with that scene due to their ignorance of Samus past, but the vitriol about that scene is greatly blown out of proportion. Samus has a small freakout after her most personal nemesis comes back from the dead after she was absolutely sure he was gone for good this time that lasts less than one minute and then beats the shit out of Ridley in a very badass fight sequence.
Other M is sort of a mid-life crisis story. Samus was raised by the Chozo for the purpose of fixing their biggest mistake: the metroids. The Chozo are gone but Samus, as far as she knows, has accomplished the mission she has devoted her entire life to. She wiped out the metroids, space pirates, mother brain, and Ridley. So now she just has time to think about her past and wonder about the path she took to get here, and her relationship with Adam stands out as a mistake she made along the way.
Now, the only reason she follows Adam's command is she has no choice, not because she is subservient. In other missions Samus has been on she was the only person sent and she was given discretion on how to accomplish the mission. "Go to Zebes and stop the pirates." "Go to SR388 and eradicate the metroids." Those were her orders and she followed them. In Super Metroid she has no official mission. She intercepts the distress signal from Ceres and then high tails it to Zebes before anyone else. In Other M she gets beaten to the Bottle Ship by Adam's team, and Adam tells her that she can either accompany the mission under his command or go. Samus wants to patch things up with Adam, but it's the nature of the mission that requires her to follow orders. And the reason Adam is a hardass at first is because he can't be certain Samus isn't working for the bad guys. Hell, midway through the game Samus suspects Adam of being part of the conspiracy.
Other M has issues to be sure. The story could have been told in a less confusing way, certain scenes could have been done better. But the story itself isn't really all that bad and it's fairly consistent with the Samus that Sakamoto has been working with since Super Metroid. Samus is the savior of the galaxy destined for greatness, but only she and the Chozo know and understand that. Her main mission is personal. The Federation is just an employer.
Pyrrhus
Member
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.
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.
Should have called it the Mother Base.
thepenguin55
Member
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.
mrmickfran
Member
Never played Other M, but the Gravity Suit isn't an actual purple suit in this game?
what the hell
what the hell
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