Metroid: Other M Result of 'Perfect Teamwork' Says Nintendo Producer

[Logan Westbrook]

Metroid: Other M Result of 'Perfect Teamwork' Says Nintendo Producer

Nintendo producer Yoshio Sakamoto has described working with Tecmo's Team Ninja as 'perfect'.

Team Ninja is best known for creating Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, so you might not think that a Metroid game would be really the sort of thing they'd excel at, but according to Nintendo producer Yoshio Sakamoto, nothing could be further from the truth.

"The teamwork between Nintendo, Team Ninja and D-Rockets is perfect," Sakamoto told Joystiq [http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2010/03/29/this-week-on-the-nintendo-channel-sakamotos-d-i-y-and-metroid/]. "And we're working to bring you an exciting Metroid, and an attractive Samus.

This comment comes after another interview with Sakamoto last month where he said: "This time we're strongly depicting the human side of Samus through such things as movies. She's a strong woman, but she also has a fragile side. We want to make a game whose charms can be felt from the story areas and these human touches as well. It's an action game, but it's capable of having a clear emotional side."

Some might argue that a more attractive and emotional Samus isn't what a game about a badass space bounty hunter really needs, but given Sakamoto's long history with the series, I'm willing to trust him on this one.

Source: via CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=241045?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-News-RSS]


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[Heart of Darkness]

Given that the storytelling in these games, while not exactly touch upon Oscar-winning writing, is indeed superb, seeing a game that's more than "blow up Space Pirates, solve puzzles, get the Plasma Beam" will be fantastic. I am very much looking forward to this game.

 

[TheGreatDirectorWatanbe]

Love the Metroid series so I'm looking forward to this.

 

[cobra_ky]

"The teamwork between Nintendo, Team Ninja and D-Rockets is perfect," Sakamoto told Joystiq [http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2010/03/29/this-week-on-the-nintendo-channel-sakamotos-d-i-y-and-metroid/]. "And we're working to bring you an exciting Metroid, and an attractive Samus.

This really worries me considering that they're working with the makers of Dead Or Alive. Samus was always attractive but the Metroid series has done an incredible job of making that incidental to the character.

In other words, the Varia Suit better not have jiggle physics. That's all I'm saying.

This comment comes after another interview with Sakamoto last month where he said: "This time we're strongly depicting the human side of Samus through such things as movies. She's a strong woman, but she also has a fragile side. We want to make a game whose charms can be felt from the story areas and these human touches as well. It's an action game, but it's capable of having a clear emotional side."

Some might argue that a more attractive and emotional Samus isn't what a game about a badass space bounty hunter really needs, but given Sakamoto's long history with the series, I'm willing to trust him on this one.

The Metroid series has traditionally has done incredibly things with non-verbal storytelling. I worry that they'll lose some of that moving in this direction.

 

[Jared]

Wouldnt mind seeing some more Metroid action. Its a wide world where alot can be done...as long as it is done right.

But, I have faith also they can do this incrediable series great justice!

 

[CheckD3]

A new take on Samus is needed, and since they're already using Ninja Team, why not try and up the story a bit. Make her a model for women in gaming, since she started the woman character movement almost.

I don't care that she's a woman, and think that a new take on her is needed, I'm excited to see what they're going to do with her, especially since they've got the Prime trilogy to match up to and surpass as a franchise. It's like if God of War III was only sub-par to God of War II, it's a competent game, but makes the franchise more dull because of it

 

[Monshroud]

I second the notion that if there are jiggle physics in the Varia Suit (or any other varient) I might give up on the Series.

I don't understand why Samus needs to be attractive? What the hell does her attractiveness have to do with story or gameplay? I don't mind seeing more backstory of Samus and a more personal side, that could be refreshing from the be uber-space hunter, get hit with/by something and lose all the cool stuff, find it all again, kick space pirate ass.

Next we will have a cuddle-fest with Kratos..

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I'm psyched for this game, but if Samus has 'jiggle physics', I shall not be a happy bunny.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

I do not own a wii and can not bring myself to cheat on my 360 and buy a wii for one game... but it is very hard to stay strong.

 

[RikSharp]

been looking forward to a new metroid game for ages. i just hope team ninja dont boob it up. we dont need that.

 

[Kiithid]

I don't understand why Samus needs to be attractive? What the hell does her attractiveness have to do with story or gameplay?

In theory she's already attractive, not on a physical manner. From my point of view it comes from the mystery aura around her, ok her "family" got wiped out by the pirates but what drives her against all odds and weird stuff he comes across, I guess the point Sakamato tried to make is to delve into that mysterious mind.

I personally look foward to that, but wouldn't be surprised if it didn't deliver anything of value, but then leaving aside the whole "Samus feels like a clever Space Pirate killer robot", it's metroid, as long there's a fun game we can pretend it's a rehashed Super Metroid, or so I hope.

 

[Rect Pola]

"The teamwork between Nintendo, Team Ninja and D-Rockets is perfect," Sakamoto told Joystiq [http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2010/03/29/this-week-on-the-nintendo-channel-sakamotos-d-i-y-and-metroid/]. "And we're working to bring you an exciting Metroid, and an attractive Samus.

This really worries me considering that they're working with the makers of Dead Or Alive. Samus was always attractive but the Metroid series has done an incredible job of making that incidental to the character.

In other words, the Varia Suit better not have jiggle physics. That's all I'm saying.

This comment comes after another interview with Sakamoto last month where he said: "This time we're strongly depicting the human side of Samus through such things as movies. She's a strong woman, but she also has a fragile side. We want to make a game whose charms can be felt from the story areas and these human touches as well. It's an action game, but it's capable of having a clear emotional side."

Some might argue that a more attractive and emotional Samus isn't what a game about a badass space bounty hunter really needs, but given Sakamoto's long history with the series, I'm willing to trust him on this one.

The Metroid series has traditionally has done incredibly things with non-verbal storytelling. I worry that they'll lose some of that moving in this direction.

Check and check; but to be fair, Metroid Fusion did have talking to your ship's AI and inner monologues.

 

[AceDiamond]

I thought Fusion did a fine job bringing in some verbal storytelling, plus really the Prime series was doing the same things with all those data entries, logbooks, lore entries, and any time you had a character with a speaking part.

 

[Echolocating]

Some might argue that a more attractive and emotional Samus isn't what a game about a badass space bounty hunter really needs, but given Sakamoto's long history with the series, I'm willing to trust him on this one.

I'm very skeptical of trying to force more empathy from the players, it's just not how I see the Metroid series. I'm sure it'll be a good game, but I think it's an unnecessary effort. I mean, could you imagine if Mario Galaxy 2 wanted to focus on the tortured soul of the plumber? Exactly.

 

[Zephyr892]

"Team Ninja is best knwon for creating Dead or Alive"

You've got a typo in the main post mate : )

 

[SilverUchiha]

Team Ninja is best knwon for creating Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, so you might not think that a Metroid game would be really the sort of thing they'd excel at, but according to Nintendo producer Yoshio Sakamoto, nothing could be further from the truth.

Typo on the fifth word, should be "known"

OT: This looks like its going to be a great game. It's Metroid, so it will be pretty hard to fuck it up... Let's just hope Team Ninja isn't going to be the first to do so.

 

[cobra_ky]

Check and check; but to be fair, Metroid Fusion did have talking to your ship's AI and inner monologues.

I really didn't like the inner monologues in Fusion. To me it seemed like they only existed to foreshadow the plot twist near the end, although maybe something was lost in translation.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only Metroid fan who cringed a little at "and an attractive Samus." Frankly she was fine with her Metroid Prime look, I hated how they had to change it to the anime-looking model from Fusion when they made Echoes. One thing that was always nice about Samus is that she was a female lead who didn't need to be excessively sexy to work.

The main thing that worries me about having Team Ninja working on the game is that I can already see a Zero Suit section of the game having needless jiggle physics added-in, because they have yet to make a single game where the females leads aren't over-the-top in trying to be sexy and showy.

 

[rezboyjoey]

As a fan of the Gamecube/Wii/GBA Metroid games and a member of the "holy shit tits!" crowd that surfaced around the time Zero Suit Samus showed up (a.k.a. the special people who didn't know Samus was a girl) I can say that this series was pristine when it was just you, an arm gun thingy, and a bunch of bad guys between A and B. I have a bad feeling that any additions/changes to that mold are going to feel out of place in this seiries and subtract from the experience.

Then again, I think this whenever they make changes in the sequil of a game I like and it sometimes works out. I'm still going to be hiding in a hole behind a massive wall of skepticism untill this comes out.

OT: Wait, does this mean Samus is going to TALK? Like with a VOICE? Has she ever done this? I seem to remember her being a silent protagonist in the games I've played.