Edit: Well, just to be clear, I am using "saved" for dramatic purposes, I think the game is fine, all I am proposing is a way to make the hardcore fans accept the game and embrace it. Cheers!
So we all know about the new Metroid Prime game developed by Next Level Games for the 3DS. Take a look at the trailer again if you need a refreshment.
This game has had, to put it mildly, wild controversy over what it is, what it represents, and what it means for the gaming community. For a lot of fans of the Metroid Franchise, this game represents their worst fears. Samus is nowhere to be seen, the story seems to be non-existent, the character design looks blocky and the gameplay is multiplayer based, a far departure from the atmospheric, isolated exploration/horror tone the franchise is known for. It also has a sports/shooter minigame. Fans have been waiting for a (true) sequel for almost a decade since Other M is usually not counted.
The game is not judged for what it presents, its judged in comparison to what came before it, that have been mostly exclusively 1 Player games. The game itself looks like a fun combination of 4 Player Monster Hunter missions with Metroid Prime controls, but that in itself seems to not be what the fans wanted out of a new Metroid.
So what can Nintendo do about it? Do they even care that the vocal fanbase is not happy, at all, about the new game?
Well, open the link to the video again (Try to endure it, you can do it). Check the like to dislike ratio, see the comments. Notice something weird? No? Give it another look. Anything? Allright, I will tell you.
They are not disabled.
That is right, Nintendo is aware of the backlash the game has received, and its not censoring it. The trailer has more than 1 million views, numbers that only high profile trailers like Smash, Pokemon, Mario and Zelda (And now Splatoon) are able to pull up, for comparison, check the first trailer of Zelda Triforce Heroes released at the same time, it has only one third of the views MPFF got. If anything the response the trailer got sends a clear message to Nintendo: We are not happy.
So the question "Do Nintendo even cares?" has an answer. "Probably, yes, I´ll say they do care."
We actually had a chance to see the game in action during the Treehouse event and they acknowledged the game was not received as they expected. In the preview the game seemed to be far into development, with a clear identity of what it wanted to do and how it would play. All the info we had besides what we saw is that it was going to be Mission based, it featured Samus in very few missions and it was going to release in early 2016. Since then, silence.
So here is the point of this thread (Finally!).
Can Nintendo "save" the game?
Note how I use " to illustrate that, in my opinion, the game does not need saving as in I think it looks like a bad game, far for it, but its clear the game missed the point of the series themes while releasing at a time when players don´t want a Spin-Off, they want a sequel. Nintendo hopefully has realized they have alienated a vocal part of its fanbase.
And to be honest, I think it could be easy to solve.
Just tweak the game to add a Story mode with Samus as the main character
The gameplay just by itself CLEARLY looks like how a Metroid Prime game will play, similar to how Hunters felt, even. My theory is that Next Level Games and Nintendo had a vision where you could play online and with friends a multiplayer shooter and decided that Metroid Prime fitted the theme and used the tried and proven Prime formula to design its gameplay.
Even as weird as Nintendo can be with their decisions they could look at that feedback and realize they just can´t avoid having a Metroid game without Samus leading it, even if that was their original plan. Nintendo is not above delaying games to make them as good as possible, as we know, and we know Next Level Games is a brilliant developer when given free reign over the Nintendo characters.
I am really curious on how Next Level Games can tackle a Samus story, I really am. They are for their "Show, don´t tell" mentality and injecting tons of charm to the scenery and setting they work with. Just look at Luigi´s Mansion 2 and you know they can do atmosphere, just look at Luigi and his supporting cast handles emotions and situations in that game and you know they can handle the Metroid world, even Samus, without having to have her say a single word, if they don´t feel like it.
Metroid is not known for long 30 hours campaigns, so a nice 8-15 hour Story Mode to setup the world where the multiplayer happens could do, maybe we can have Samus explore a planet or fight Ridley and his space pirates directly this time.
And even in a "Mission" format, the backtracking the series is known for shouldn´t suffer that much. I again use Luigi´s Mansion 2 as an example of how that series had a clear linearity to it while allowing backtracking to get collectibles and upgrades, sound familiar? The only thing missing would be the connected world, but that can be replaced by using the Samus ship to explore between worlds.
Of course the problem is how this will add to the funding and developing time Nintendo and NLG will have to insert in the game, but at this point the game seems to be in its way to cancellation or be released to die. And with it the franchise could die too. So why not take the third option? Nintendo does take risks every now and then and it seems feasible to add maybe 2 to 5 more months to take what its in there and give it a Samus story just to convince people to not miss out on the game.
Because its clear the idea is for us to actually play the multiplayer, local or online. Nintendo has fate in the game, the problem is taking the backlash and turning it around. Making a Story mode with Samus in the continuity and spirit of Prime would, in my opinion, make a lot of people turn around.
And they can claim that was the idea all along. Or say that NLG wanted to make it from the very start but decided to focus on the multiplayer aspect because it was fun. Or just say its done to please the fans and it would feature all the good stuff fans can expect out of Metroid, with the added bonus of a robust Multiplayer mode.
If anything the game has potential, just add this cherry on top, put Samus kicking ass in the cover, have a story that is true to the series, release trailers showcasing it, make a snappy hashtag #SamusIsBack and enjoy your Internet points.
Oh, and make a Baby Metroid amiibo and bundle it with the game, that should be enough.
So we all know about the new Metroid Prime game developed by Next Level Games for the 3DS. Take a look at the trailer again if you need a refreshment.
This game has had, to put it mildly, wild controversy over what it is, what it represents, and what it means for the gaming community. For a lot of fans of the Metroid Franchise, this game represents their worst fears. Samus is nowhere to be seen, the story seems to be non-existent, the character design looks blocky and the gameplay is multiplayer based, a far departure from the atmospheric, isolated exploration/horror tone the franchise is known for. It also has a sports/shooter minigame. Fans have been waiting for a (true) sequel for almost a decade since Other M is usually not counted.
The game is not judged for what it presents, its judged in comparison to what came before it, that have been mostly exclusively 1 Player games. The game itself looks like a fun combination of 4 Player Monster Hunter missions with Metroid Prime controls, but that in itself seems to not be what the fans wanted out of a new Metroid.
So what can Nintendo do about it? Do they even care that the vocal fanbase is not happy, at all, about the new game?
Well, open the link to the video again (Try to endure it, you can do it). Check the like to dislike ratio, see the comments. Notice something weird? No? Give it another look. Anything? Allright, I will tell you.
They are not disabled.
That is right, Nintendo is aware of the backlash the game has received, and its not censoring it. The trailer has more than 1 million views, numbers that only high profile trailers like Smash, Pokemon, Mario and Zelda (And now Splatoon) are able to pull up, for comparison, check the first trailer of Zelda Triforce Heroes released at the same time, it has only one third of the views MPFF got. If anything the response the trailer got sends a clear message to Nintendo: We are not happy.
So the question "Do Nintendo even cares?" has an answer. "Probably, yes, I´ll say they do care."
We actually had a chance to see the game in action during the Treehouse event and they acknowledged the game was not received as they expected. In the preview the game seemed to be far into development, with a clear identity of what it wanted to do and how it would play. All the info we had besides what we saw is that it was going to be Mission based, it featured Samus in very few missions and it was going to release in early 2016. Since then, silence.
So here is the point of this thread (Finally!).
Can Nintendo "save" the game?
Note how I use " to illustrate that, in my opinion, the game does not need saving as in I think it looks like a bad game, far for it, but its clear the game missed the point of the series themes while releasing at a time when players don´t want a Spin-Off, they want a sequel. Nintendo hopefully has realized they have alienated a vocal part of its fanbase.
And to be honest, I think it could be easy to solve.
Just tweak the game to add a Story mode with Samus as the main character
The gameplay just by itself CLEARLY looks like how a Metroid Prime game will play, similar to how Hunters felt, even. My theory is that Next Level Games and Nintendo had a vision where you could play online and with friends a multiplayer shooter and decided that Metroid Prime fitted the theme and used the tried and proven Prime formula to design its gameplay.
Even as weird as Nintendo can be with their decisions they could look at that feedback and realize they just can´t avoid having a Metroid game without Samus leading it, even if that was their original plan. Nintendo is not above delaying games to make them as good as possible, as we know, and we know Next Level Games is a brilliant developer when given free reign over the Nintendo characters.
I am really curious on how Next Level Games can tackle a Samus story, I really am. They are for their "Show, don´t tell" mentality and injecting tons of charm to the scenery and setting they work with. Just look at Luigi´s Mansion 2 and you know they can do atmosphere, just look at Luigi and his supporting cast handles emotions and situations in that game and you know they can handle the Metroid world, even Samus, without having to have her say a single word, if they don´t feel like it.
Metroid is not known for long 30 hours campaigns, so a nice 8-15 hour Story Mode to setup the world where the multiplayer happens could do, maybe we can have Samus explore a planet or fight Ridley and his space pirates directly this time.
And even in a "Mission" format, the backtracking the series is known for shouldn´t suffer that much. I again use Luigi´s Mansion 2 as an example of how that series had a clear linearity to it while allowing backtracking to get collectibles and upgrades, sound familiar? The only thing missing would be the connected world, but that can be replaced by using the Samus ship to explore between worlds.
Of course the problem is how this will add to the funding and developing time Nintendo and NLG will have to insert in the game, but at this point the game seems to be in its way to cancellation or be released to die. And with it the franchise could die too. So why not take the third option? Nintendo does take risks every now and then and it seems feasible to add maybe 2 to 5 more months to take what its in there and give it a Samus story just to convince people to not miss out on the game.
Because its clear the idea is for us to actually play the multiplayer, local or online. Nintendo has fate in the game, the problem is taking the backlash and turning it around. Making a Story mode with Samus in the continuity and spirit of Prime would, in my opinion, make a lot of people turn around.
And they can claim that was the idea all along. Or say that NLG wanted to make it from the very start but decided to focus on the multiplayer aspect because it was fun. Or just say its done to please the fans and it would feature all the good stuff fans can expect out of Metroid, with the added bonus of a robust Multiplayer mode.
If anything the game has potential, just add this cherry on top, put Samus kicking ass in the cover, have a story that is true to the series, release trailers showcasing it, make a snappy hashtag #SamusIsBack and enjoy your Internet points.
Oh, and make a Baby Metroid amiibo and bundle it with the game, that should be enough.
.
