The Xtortionist said:
Absolutely. My problem with Other M was that it had way too much combat considering how simple it was. Super Metroid and Prime didn't have deep combat either, but very rarely did you have to fight enemies that lasted more than a few seconds.
I think the idea of Other M having too much combat is a little overblown. Initial forways into each sector will transpire in several battles here and there that last thirty seconds to a minute, but running through these same environments towards the end of the game you'll find that you barely ever have to stop. This is assisted by the fantastic sense of progression in the game, which is excuted probably just as well as any game in the series. Samus is an absolute monster once fully-powered up in Other M. That's how it should be.
Super did it wonderfully well, but I think Other M's actual combat system was the right choice given the camera angle and such. Without any sort of crosshair, it likely would've been rather rubbish to have manual control over where Samus is aiming.
As for the Prime games, I think you might be overlooking or forgetting some of the encounters in that series. I mean, just looking at the first Prime - Pirate Troopers, Sheegoths, Chozo Ghosts, Elite Pirates, Magmoor - by the end of the game these were all regular enemies and all of them (perhaps the Magmoor is stretching it a tad) took more than a few seconds to kill. I could possibly add Flying Pirates in there but the Ice Beam trick would take care out that. Also keep in mind that doors were sometimes locked during these encounters - this was especially true in Echoes and Corruption.
What I'm saying is that the Prime series had its fair share of time-consuming battles and forced encounters. I don't think it can be excused from that argument.