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[Azure J]

It's a good game with some rotten parts. The narrative is the most obvious cringe worthy element, and thanks to Team Ninja it has more jank than a regular Nintendo game, but it also did a lot right when it wasn't trying so hard to be something other than a solid Metroid game.

- Brought back Samus' agility in 3D (too bad about the lack of analog),
- Resuscitated the more classic Metroid enemy aesthetic
- Suit powers were far better represented than in the Prime games (spider ball aside)
- Great fan service (which people seem to weirdly overlook)
- Awesome boss fights (which people seem to weirdly overlook)
- Some genuinely well hidden items
- Good general template for bringing Metroid to 3D, sans the rough edges.

I'd give Other M a solid 8.0, and I suspect if it was something besides Metroid a lot of people who despise it would be more forgiving. In the context of the franchise it's full of disappointments, but it's still a good game on its own, and I don't think it gets proper credit for the things it does right. Imo it surpasses Echoes and Corruption in some important areas and helps reset what's possible for 3D Metroid. I hope they follow up on the promise it offers rather than throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Spoiler

Lol, the baby.

It's weird, even after my first play through of the game, I came to the same conclusions but I have the hardest time ever rationalizing how it could have done anything better mechanically than the latter 2 Prime games. It's like apples and oranges and I can't criticize oranges for not being as crisp as an apple.

That being said, my biggest gripes with the game were how overpowered the dodging was as a defensive mechanic, the art direction generally taking a nose dive especially since Corruption was only 2 or so years prior, and how awkward using the Wii Remote pointed at the screen could be, especially since Retro pretty much made the golden standard for it using the same franchise only 2 or so years prior.

Then there were weird things like the RE4 moments that led to nothing of note and the "Where's Waldo" stuff because of how obtuse the things being searched out could be.

 

[gogogow]

When a developer makes a follow-up to a game that is widely considered to be the best template for the series, proclaiming it as said follow-up, then proceeds to demonstrate that he fails to understand basically every reason why said template was a success...

Yeah, I'd say he lost his trust fair and square.

So for people who don't like SMS, what about SMG1&2? Bad games too?

 

[Instro]

Anyways, people saying he should stay away from Metroid games. You better pray Retro is already making a Metroid game, because with Sakamoto already saying he isn't making a Metroid game, that only means there won't be a Metroid game for a long ass time, if ever.

Which is why its dead. If Sakamoto has no interest, or is not allowed to because of Other M bombing so badly, then Retro probably isn't working on one either. Their last comment about such a thing was basically they'd like to return to the franchise someday.

 

[Alfredo]

I'm an avid hater of Other M and an avid lover of Tomodachi Collection. So I'm okay with him moving on to other stuff.

 

[akidnamededdy]

But it's not the dumbest thing to ever come out of the franchise. You'd think if you explained what PTSD is enough people would at least listen. It's a mental disorder. It's not a normal emotional reaction. It's not something you just get rid of. It can be triggered sometimes and not other times. People go years without having a reaction. People relapse.

And how does having PTSD hurt Samus' character? Samus is not afraid of Ridley, she is reliving a traumatic memory from when she was 3 years old, a flashback. She's not herself during it. It'd be like saying she's weak because she throws up after absorbing phazon. It's not like she consciously decided to have that reaction. It was forced upon her.

Eight games we had before Other M. Eight. And now we're supposed to accept that Samus sometimes has crippling bouts of PTSD? But you know, I could try to accept it if it wasn't just shown in one single, solitary scene. No, Samus's supposed PTSD is nothing more than a plot device introduced in Other M (in one scene, and then forgotten) so they could write a flashy dramatic cutscene into the script and in the end it backfired and made Samus look ridiculous. That's really all there is to it.

Yeah, it was a dumb way to explain not having the varia suit, but I don't think they intended people to put that much thought into it. Most of the vitriol about that comes from some perception that Samus was self-harming due to her deep love of Adam. I dunno, maybe Adam and Samus were afraid the varia function of her suit might cause cancer in people outside the suit. Samus decides to just leave the varia suit and all of her other upgrades at home for no reason in Metroid 2 and Super.

I would take "whoops, left 'em at home haha' over "the men haven't told me to stop willfully hurting myself yet" every single day of the week.

 

[LegendofLex]

So for people who don't like SMS, what about SMG1&2? Bad games too?

From what I can tell, Koizumi (director of SMG and idea-man behind the gravity/space theme) was not really responsible for stuffing a water pump in Mario. Sounds like that idea came from above (i.e. Miyamoto/Tezuka deciding to use Mario instead of a new IP).

 

[Codeblue]

This is good news. Sakamoto's team has been one of the most creative forces in Nintendo, and I'd rather they continue working on unique concepts.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

That is indeed a weird opinion to have. He made a lot of Metroid games that many people love and one "bad" game and you don't want him to touch the series ever again.

With that much criticism about Other M, you'd think if he decides to make another Metroid game, he would decide to do it differently and NOT make Other M 2.

Fair enough. If things were going to keep going the same direction they started going in Other M, I have no interest in any more Metroid games he'd theoretically work on. I think his vision of Metroid currently (or rather, circa Other M) is bad and without a significant shift in direction I don't have much faith in another Sakamoto.

If things went back to the drawing board I'd be more interested. I'm not really interested in yet another Retro Metroid either.

 

[RagnarokX]

It's massive logical jumps like this that make people hate other M.
When did she develop the PTSD? As a child? Why didn't she collapse the very first time she met ridley again then? Or the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th? Or again afterwards in fusion? It's a massively contrived plot device that she didn't have before or after and all it does is make her a worse character.

The game should have shown the flashback, but Samus was orphaned when she was 3 when Ridley murdered her parents before her eyes. I already covered that PTSD is inconsistent and reasons why she might not have a reaction in previous encounters.

Now metroid prime is handling all those things incorrectly? I can't wait to hear your detailed explanations how on each, given we know virtually nothing about any of them outside of the prime games, the small amount of text in fusion, that introductory manga(somehow more canon than half the series games?!?) and other M, which causes far more problems than anything else plotwise.

It's mostly Prime 3. All of the Prime games, though, treat Ridley like some monster the Space Pirates just keep using rather than their leader. The Space Pirates are treated as some militaristic force with a space fleet and a chain of command beyond Ridley and Mother Brain. They're a lot smarter in the prime games, too. Prime 3 makes Samus too militaristic and has her taking orders from a CO which she says in Fusion didn't happen. The metroids, despite being the main threat of every game prior to Fusion, are treated like they aren't that big of a deal.

 

[fredrancour]

I agree. However you forgot to mention d-pad input, pointing at the screen to become a missile shooting statue, pixel hunts, useless collectibles due to recharge mechanics, doors locking you out of areas all the time, the lack of decent music, lack of any atmosphere, insta-dodge to win and forced over-the-shoulder sections, among others. But yeah, it sucks. Don't bother finishing it. The final cutscenes will not give you any sense of closure, they only make things worse.

Well that was scathingly persuasive. To the bottom of the backlog it goes. Probably never to be seen again. I had forgotten about missle-statue mode. Blech.

I agree with you on how the game was written. I've been arguing about how Samus' character was apparently destroyed.

People are listing what her character is in Other M and immediately saying it's bad as opposed to saying it's execution is bad.

The problem is that a character study is fundamentally not the thing people buy metroid to experience. It is so far removed from any such thing that the mere idea of attempting it was absolutely hysterical to many of us.


It might be super cool to see an interpretation of the metroidvania format that is plot-heavy and well-executed. Other M just convinced me that something so drastically different should probably not be shoehorned into an existing series, or at least not this one. I will be thrilled if sakamoto attempts something like that and pulls it off.

 

[LegendofLex]

Eight games we had before Other M. Eight. And now we're supposed to accept that Samus sometimes has crippling bouts of PTSD? But you know, I could try to accept it if it wasn't just shown in one single, solitary scene.

Well, there is that scene where she appears to similarly "freeze" in Zero Mission. It just isn't really a cutscene in the Other M sense.

 

[Easy_D]

Where does the blame fall for Metroid: Other M? Sakamoto or Team Ninja

Sakamoto. Team Ninja wanted Nunchuk controls and moving on a 2D plane. Sakamoto wanted Wiimote only and moving in 3D plane.

 

[Codeblue]

From what I can tell, Koizumi (director of SMG and idea-man behind the gravity/space theme) was not really responsible for stuffing a water pump in Mario. Sounds like that idea came from above (i.e. Miyamoto/Tezuka deciding to use Mario instead of a new IP).

Link? I love development stories.

 

[LegendofLex]

Link? I love development stories.

http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=262

Q: When did the development of Super Mario Sunshine commence?

Takashi Tezuka: We were working on a concept of gameplay using a water pump. After some trial-and-error we decided to apply it to the Mario franchise.

Q: If it is trial and error...

Koizumi: It was thought that the world was daringly out of character with Mario. Therefore, I thought that a man type character would be used at first. But if there is a man next to Mario, there is a sense of incongruity. Then, we sort of unified the character we thought finally suited the view of the world. However, regarding the man type character we partly made, since the island's Monte fellows and Mare fellows were wacky cartoony residents, they did not have sense of incongruity. Also, the script writer of Animal Crossing helped sequence the resident's words.

Q: How was the idea of playing with water conceived?

Koizumi: For the first time, the hardware allowed for ideas such as this. I regarded the GameCube controller as an excellent vehicle to conduct this mechanic. We quickly thought up of many ideas like washing paint off, and hovering around with it.

Tezuka: The concept was to take everything good from Mario 64, and add this idea to it.

Koizumi seemed to favor using a new character; Tezuka seems to be the main advocate for "adding" water to the Mario 64 template.

 

[The Horror the horror]

That is indeed a weird opinion to have. He made a lot of Metroid games that many people love and one "bad" game and you don't want him to touch the series ever again.

With that much criticism about Other M, you'd think if he decides to make another Metroid game, he would decide to do it differently and NOT make Other M 2. But it doesn't matter
anymore, he isn't making a Metroid game.

My problem with Sakamoto is he helped to nosedive a franchise that was already teetering on the edge of the same oblivion to which Nintendo cosigned the likes of F-Zero and Starfox. Metroid was never a big seller on Nintendo consoles, and after Corruption, I had this gnawing concern that one more lackluster performance commercially would doom the franchise, or at least suspend it for a lengthy period (ala F-Zero). Sakamoto and Other M practically gave Nintendo all the reason it needed to demote yet another hardcore IP in favor of more Mario and casual titles. So yes, F Other M.

 

[PfantzyPantz]

Other M Samus was bad because her 'character' was completely 'out of character' in comparison to every version of Samus we've seen before. They made her weak, fragile, subservient (to the point of dying until she's authorized to use her suit), and stereotypical. They made her a walking fetish with her new design and character. AND they executed it badly to top it off, as the story and characters are worse than most trashy animes.

That's Samus alright. I wonder why she didn't thumbs down or collapse from PTSD in Fusion, woulda been romantic.

 

[Broritos]

Well that was scathingly persuasive. To the bottom of the backlog it goes. Probably never to be seen again. I had forgotten about missle-statue mode. Blech.




The problem is that a character study is fundamentally not the thing people buy metroid to experience. It is so far removed from any such thing that the mere idea of attempting it was absolutely hysterical to many of us.


It might be super cool to see an interpretation of the metroidvania format that is plot-heavy and well-executed. Other M just convinced me that something so drastically different should probably not be shoehorned into an existing series, or at least not this one. I will be thrilled if sakamoto attempts something like that and pulls it off.

From the moment it was announced to the time of release, Other M was immensely anticipated and just about everyone was extremely hyped for it. Not just for the gameplay but the idea that it would explore Samus' character a bit more.

 

[Codeblue]

http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=262



Koizumi seemed to favor using a new character; Tezuka seems to be the main advocate for "adding" water to the Mario 64 template.

Thanks! I hadn't seen this interview before.

 

[LegendofLex]

subservient (to the point of dying until she's authorized to use her suit)

I do have a lot of criticisms of Other M, but I never understood this one.

Sure, from a gameplay perspective you could definitely die in heated areas without the Varia effect. But from a story perspective, it seems more as though the Varia effect was only really needed for that lengthy engagement with the boss, where Samus's suit shielding couldn't resist the high-temps for extended periods of time and she was stuck there. And given that she can turn the shields on whenever (and demonstrates a willingness to do so in the gravity scenario)...

 

[-Horizon-]

You know what, I don't even care at this point. I just want more Metroid.

 

[Effer]

Where does the blame fall for Metroid: Other M? Sakamoto or Team Ninja

A combination of Sakamoto's teenage fanfics and Team Ninja being instructed to tone down the game and simplify it to be played with two buttons, so that "anyone" could enjoy it. I'm tempted to say Iwata was behind said instructions.

Keep in mind this all transpired while Nintendo was on a manic high from 90 million console sales.

 

[Boomstick (Coffee Crazy)]

.



So you're willingly choosing to ignore the character development Marcus has had through the entirety of the Gears trilogy and boiling him down to 'big dumb space marine with pig toros for arms.

Just let me know when you're done.

lol character development. I played Gears 1 and he was a big dumb space marine.

I played Gears 3 and he was still a big dumb space marine.

Things happening to characters doesn't equal character development. The most you could say about him is that at the very end of the Gears 3 he isn't quite the giant douchebag he was in everything prior to it.

 

[sd28821]

cool hopefully he gets back to metroid some day and makes a sequel to fusion

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Seriously.

Agreed. I love Metroid as much as the next guy, but Other M isn't as bad as it's made out to be. Yes, the controls could have been better and some other things (that lame over the shoulder walking and forced looking was terrible) but as a third person game it played how I expected a third person Metroid to play. All this hysteria about Samus' character needs to stop. Please.

 

[gogogow]

http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=262

Q: When did the development of Super Mario Sunshine commence?

Takashi Tezuka: We were working on a concept of gameplay using a water pump.

Koizumi seemed to favor using a new character; Tezuka seems to be the main advocate for "adding" water to the Mario 64 template.

Eh...he said "we". Sounds like they/the team or Koizumi and Tezuka both were brainstorming and came up with the water idea.

They got another chance to make another Mario game and they came up with Super Mario Galaxy. You'll never know what someone or a team can come up with without giving it another shot.

 

[also]

New things are good but I still hope we will see another Metroid game in the style of Other:M. Just make the level design less linear and it will be amazing; a 3D Metroid game that plays like a 2D one.

There is nothing wrong with the father figure/romantic relationship in principle but the execution is terrible. Samus is totally subservient to Adam and the attempt to write Samus' expanding range of weaponry into the script is utterly stupid and makes Samus look feeble.

Um, of course Samus is going to be subservient. By staying on the ship she agreed to follow Galactic Federation's protocols. I think a lot of you don't realize that Samus is a nobody, a speck in the dust compared to the might of the Galactic Federation. Do you think she is so stupid as to make an enemy of a huge organization just because she can't do whatever the hell she wants?
And the use of the minimal required firepower makes total sense when you are looking for survivors and trying to assess the condition of the ship. Why cause unnecessary damage and injuries? Sure, the Varia suit part was stupid (a case of choosing gameplay over story) but the overall concept is sound.

For the first part, "The Baby"

For the second, Adam has both sent Samus into an area where she was dying (which I suppose makes Samus terrible as well) and shot her in the back in front of a metroid. Her constant praise of him and the constant abuse he gives her despite countless very questionable decisions he makes in the game reek of daddy issues. I say "lovers" because while its pretty clear that they would never become that, I personally think that its the closest that Samus would ever get to meangingfully caring about someone.

So, how would you have stopped Samus?

 

[Instro]

Sakamoto. Team Ninja wanted Nunchuk controls and moving on a 2D plane. Sakamoto wanted Wiimote only and moving in 3D plane.

Team Ninja wanted a 3d game, Sakamoto wanted 2d with wiimote only.

 

[DVCY201]

So that's it? Metroid is now shelved next to F-Zero and Star Fox? Jeez, this isn't encouraging at all. I guess we're not going to get another Metroid for a long time I presume.

 

[K' Dash]

Really?! If Sakamoto decides to make another Metroid game it will definitely, 100% be another Other M? He can't make a "good" Metroid game ever again, because of one misstep?

Where the hell are people getting this from?

Anyway, people saying he should stay away from Metroid games. You better pray Retro is already making a Metroid game, because with Sakamoto already saying he isn't making a Metroid game, that only means there won't be a Metroid game for a long ass time, if ever.

Yeah one fuck up that swallowed the franchise and made it the clown of the party, bow Samus is not the badass fearless bounty hunter, now she's some barbie doll with daddy issues, PTSD (triggered by an enemy she has defeated numerous times) and keeps talking non stop obvious shit.

How in Gods name, HOW did Nintendo watch that piece of shit of a game and say "Yeah, this is a worthy successor of the Prime Trilogy"?

 

[Boomstick (Coffee Crazy)]

Um, of course Samus is going to be subservient. By staying on the ship she agreed to follow Galactic Federation's protocols. I think a lot of you don't realize that Samus is a nobody, a speck in the dust compared to the might of the Galactic Federation. Do you think she is so stupid as to make an enemy of a huge organization just because she can't do whatever the hell she wants?
And the use of the minimal required firepower makes total sense when you are looking for survivors and trying to assess the condition of the ship. Why cause unnecessary damage and injuries? Sure, the Varia suit part was stupid (a case of choosing gameplay over story) but the overall concept is sound.



So, how would you have stopped Samus?

Tell her to not follow him? Hell, if he thinks she is so obsessed with him, get her to do something else and then go on a killyourselffornoreason-mission. There are dozens of things that are a better choice than incapacitating the person you are trying to save in front of an extremely deadly parasite. Seriously, I'm struggling to think of a single worse course of action, other than just straight up executing her with a bullet to the head.

 

[LegendofLex]

Eh...he said "we". Sounds like they/the team or Koizumi and Tezuka both were brainstorming and came up with the water idea.

All I'm gonna say is: carefully read who is saying what about how the idea evolved.

 

[akidnamededdy]

Well, there is that scene where she appears to similarly "freeze" in Zero Mission. It just isn't really a cutscene in the Other M sense.

Been a minute since I played Zero Mission, but I'm willing to bet that I'd remember the scene you're talking about if it played out as terribly as Other M's.

There's also the fact that her encounter with Ridley in Zero Mission (being a remake of the first game) would be her first encounter with Ridley since her childhood...so hesitating a bit THEN would be a bit more understandable.

 

[K' Dash]

New things are good but I still hope we will see another Metroid game in the style of Other:M. Just make the level design less linear and it will be amazing; a 3D Metroid game that plays like a 2D one.


Um, of course Samus is going to be subservient. By staying on the ship she agreed to follow Galactic Federation's protocols. I think a lot of you don't realize that Samus is a nobody, a speck in the dust compared to the might of the Galactic Federation. Do you think she is so stupid as to make an enemy of a huge organization just because she can't do whatever the hell she wants?

Yeah, she just destroyed a whole planet and the space pirates and mother brain, she's a nobody...


Rolling my eyes out of my skull...

 

[nbthedude]

He should go make Wii U Music 2.

 

[Mak]

The problem with the Metroid series is that its come to be defined by Super Metroid, when even the linearity of Metroid Fusion still has the core gameplay elements of the original NES Metroid. Metroid 2 took a different direction as a sequel to the original Metroid, and Other M is different as well.

Samus having PTSD with Ridley comes from the manga backstory that's referenced in the endings in Zero Mission and Fusion.

http://www.metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=19
http://www.metroid-database.com/manga/listing.php?vid=13

When Samus has PTSD with Ridley in Other M, its not that she should or shouldn't be breaking down in previous Metroids, its that the stress from fighting her nemisis Ridley in Super Metroid and the finality of the entire planet Zebes blowing up took its toll on her. She breaks down encountering Ridley in Other M because he shouldn't exist.

As far as Zero Suit Samus goes, that was always a part of her character. Beating the original Metroid in under 2 hours or inputing "Justin Bailey" allowed you to play as Samus without her power suit. Metroid Zero Mission in 2004 just updated that aspect. The original 3 games in the series reveal Samus as a woman in a bikini if you beat the games fast enough.

The Metroid series has a very tight story continuity between all of the R&D1/Nintendo developed games. This is shown in each of the manuals, the intro to Super Metroid, and the backstory of Metroid Fusion's manual. Other M is a part of the continuity so it wouldn't make reference to the Prime series which are more like side stories fit within a certain timeframe so they wouldn't be cop-outs. Originally Sakamoto suggested Metroid Prime as a "gaiden" or side story. Its just a way to make other Metroid games without messing up the story already established or rebooting the series entirely.

Nintendo Online Magazine - March 2003
http://www.metroid-database.com/features/nomsakamoto.php

About where in the timeline is Prime set?

Sakamoto: The story takes place between the first one on the Famicom Disk System and is followed by Metroid II. I had the idea to make it separately as a gaiden [side story], but wouldn't it be a cop-out to call it a gaiden? Because of that, I consulted with Tanabe, and things fell into place very naturally. The local staff worked on it really hard, it serves as part of the series, and I think they completed it very well.

Joystiq interview - March 2010
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/12/interview-metroid-other-m-producer-yoshio-sakamoto/

Retro obviously produced the Metroid Prime series; very successful, very influential. Do you consider this a reboot of the series after Metroid Prime? Is this the direction for future Metroids or just another direction?

Sakamoto: The games that I've been involved with in the Metroid series have been on the NES, GameBoy, Super NES and the GBA. I actually didn't have a lot of input on the Prime series. But when they're doing with Other M here, it's not so much a different universe, it's just a different part of the story. You can't say that there's no relation here; it's probably best to think of them as being in parallel in this world.

 

[LegendofLex]

Been a minute since I played Zero Mission, but I'm willing to bet that I'd remember the scene you're talking about if it played out as terribly as Other M's.

There's also the fact that her encounter with Ridley in Zero Mission (being a remake of the first game) would be her first encounter with Ridley since her childhood...so hesitating a bit THEN would be a bit more understandable.

There's also the fact that she didn't fire a single shot at Meta Ridley when she found him on Orpheon in Metroid Prime. Instead she just stood there and did nothing. It was only the second encounter where she was able to really do anything to him.

One could make the argument that, story-wise, the scenario in Super played out similarly. She encounters Ridley, is unable to stop him (Super offers no excuse for her lack of firepower), he gets away.

But I still rest heavily on the "Other M is consistent about acting as though blowing up Zebes was Ridley's only true death" explanation.

Not that I find the story thread admirable or worth defending as included. I just definitely can't agree that it's inconsistent given the way the story is presented.

 

[SonicTHP]

Team Ninja wanted a 3d game, Sakamoto wanted 2d with wiimote only.

2D or 3D, shoe-horning the game onto the wii-mote only was one of the first major mis-steps in the game's design.

Can anyone really say that point for missiles was a good idea?

 

[mantidor]

A combination of Sakamoto's teenage fanfics and Team Ninja being instructed to tone down the game and simplify it to be played with two buttons, so that "anyone" could enjoy it. I'm tempted to say Iwata was behind said instructions.

Keep in mind this all transpired while Nintendo was on a manic high from 90 million console sales.

what the hell? lol

And it was Sakamoto the one who wanted just wiimote.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

Sakamoto. Team Ninja wanted Nunchuk controls and moving on a 2D plane. Sakamoto wanted Wiimote only and moving in 3D plane.

Wow, really? Just the concept of a 2D game with wii-mote aiming sounds good, let alone a Metroid game with that stuff.

 

[Griss]

From the moment it was announced to the time of release, Other M was immensely anticipated and just about everyone was extremely hyped for it. Not just for the gameplay but the idea that it would explore Samus' character a bit more.

I wasn't a NeoGaf member at the time, but I remember a large-ish backlash against the trailer almost immediately due to its story-heavy nature and weird Samus design / confusion over who Samus actually was in the trailer. That was definitely the minority view, but it was there. I disliked the look of the game from the very first trailer.

The really tragic thing is that I had wanted Team Ninja and Nintendo to work together for the longest time, and still do. Just not on Metroid. Never on Metroid.

 

[The Horror the horror]

You'll never know what someone or a team can come up with without giving it another shot.

The difference between Mario and Metroid is the former is a pure gameplay experience which doesn't pretend to deliver a impressionable storyline, while the latter is a series burdened with a stronger degree of mystique and lore that are sensitive to fundamental shifts in storyline and character profile. How would you feel if they made Link out to be a whiney, brooding adolescent who comes equipped with corny adult jokes and zipper trousers? You think the Zelda series would quickly recover from that?

 

[Instro]

2D or 3D, shoe-horning the game onto the wii-mote only was one of the first major mis-steps in the game's design.

Can anyone really say that point for missiles was a good idea?

Oh I agree on that point. The game is pretty all over the place.

 

[also]

Tell her to not follow him? Hell, if he thinks she is so obsessed with him, get her to do something else and then go on a killyourselffornoreason-mission. There are dozens of things that are a better choice than incapacitating the person you are trying to save. Seriously, I'm struggling to think of a single worse course of action, other than just straight up executing her with a bullet to the head.

The cutscenes leave nothing to the imagination; Samus would have gone into the sector and died. Just like how she would gone on the suicide mission to save Adam's brother. Adam knew her better than anyone else and he made the right call.

''Oh hey, Samus. I need you to go to sector XYZ and do stuff. Pronto. Um, you are curious about this super suspicious sector that isn't even on the map and has Metroids floating around. Ah, don't worry. It's just for storage, really. I need to go fetch some supplies or something. Now be on your way. Shoo.''
Yeah, that would have worked 100%.

But hey, maybe the other dozens of things you have in mind are better and actually make sense. If you would care to list them, I'm all ears (eyes),

Yeah, she just destroyed a whole planet and the space pirates and mother brain, she's a nobody...


Rolling my eyes out of my skull...

I said compared to the federation. She's just a single person. The GS spans countless planets and creatures. So, yeah, she truly is a nobody compared to them.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Too bad, the 3DS could have needed a new Metroid or Warioware. Especially if the alternative is yet another individual thinking Nintendo could still grab the fucking Brain Training/Wii Fit crowd and eventually turn them into ,,gamers'' (That ship has sailed, you geniuses. Christ, in which bubble are they living). Even Other M gameplay could have made a great entry eventually, however fuck these Mii ,,experiences'' or whatever is now to come from his team.

 

[Kinsei]

To be fair, MP3 already contradicts Fusion (which says CPU-Adam is only the second CO Samus has served under).

Curious to see which contradictions you're referring to, though.

@23:50 in theater mode, Samus mentions that this was the first joint operation she had been part of since becoming a bounty hunter.

 

[PfantzyPantz]

I do have a lot of criticisms of Other M, but I never understood this one.

Sure, from a gameplay perspective you could definitely die in heated areas without the Varia effect. But from a story perspective, it seems more as though the Varia effect was only really needed for that lengthy engagement with the boss, where Samus's suit shielding couldn't resist the high-temps for extended periods of time and she was stuck there. And given that she can turn the shields on whenever (and demonstrates a willingness to do so in the gravity scenario)...

Yes, but why wouldn't she have the varia effect on the whole time? It isn't like it drains her energy or whatever, she literally has it and chooses not to use it until Adam authorizes it. A better reason would be that she forgot that she has it, and then remembered when it was absolutely necessary- dumb but better than her waiting until being told to use it.

And the obvious joke being that she uses the gravity suit because Adam can't authorize anything anymore, so she has to think for herself.

 

[Teknoman]

You know what, I don't even care at this point. I just want more Metroid.

lol I cant lie, i'm at this point too.

EDIT: Well yeah, everyone knew the Prime games were side stories, not meant to push forward the series story.

 

[LordOfChaos]

It sounds like he won't be working on a Metroid for a while, if ever. So, Retro Studios is probably making it?

 

[Teknoman]

This was indeed another terrible thing of the game, was Yamamoto involved? because I can't believe he would deliver such a bad soundtrack.

fake edit: he was not involved, not surprising really.

The worse part was being extremely hyped after hearing this:

http://www.metroid.com/#/story


At any rate, this timeline seems perfectly reasonable:

http://www.metroid-database.com/features/timeline.jpg

 

[Easy_D]

Team Ninja wanted a 3d game, Sakamoto wanted 2d with wiimote only.

You absolutely sure? I'm pretty sure I read Sakamoto wanted the 3D movement. Or maybe I just blame him for all that is wrong.