Poll: Metroid: Other M killed Samus

[Flamma Man]

Ruined? No. But Team Ninja's smelly hands stained this game. As a first-person game, Metroid was absolutely fantastic. Hands-down my favorite shooter/adventure game. It blended action, puzzles, and fun exploration in a great package. Team Ninja ditched the immersive environments and cool exploration, and exchanged it for samey-linear bullshit.

Nintendo oversaw it all and pretty much had to approve it all, so don't be blaming Team Ninja.

They had absolutely NOTHING to do with the story. NOTHING.

 

[MasterV]

How about we make Gordon Freeman talk. And have emotions. And essentially angst.
Then we can all also count on Valve going out of business.

Ooooohhh yeahh! THIS! This is EXACTLY what I was thinking when reading all these comments. I'd like to see what HL2 lovers would say if Gordon Freeman had the exact same treatment. He is just a scientist killing everyt horror that enters his field of vision and and everyone just rolls with it defends him (me included) being mute because it lets you, the player, feel and say what you want about his character. It lets you fill the blanks. Gets your imagination rolling. If he started being all emotional and crap like Samus does in MoM, there'd be hell to pay. Alas, with Sakamoto at the helm, things'll only get worse. And instead of a better Metroid GAME we'll get a better Sakamoto Samus wank in the face.

 

[ohgodalex]

OH NO BETTER DO A GRITTY REBOOT.
GIVE SAMUS BLACK HAIR.

 

[Anaphyis]

Great, another thread about the fanboys sperging about this. Like this topic hasn't been piledrived into the ground already. Sure, Samus' character is ruined, playing an emotionless brick was far more satisfying and there is no frigging way someone at Nintendo might learn from the mistakes made in Other M (of which Samus' characterization was the least by a LOT). Nohooou sir, not gonna happen. It's ruined forever and Other M's badness is so massive that it went back into time and ruined the other games as well.

Get a frigging life guys.

 

[Caligulove]

I wouldn't say that they killed her, it's just that... wow did they make her boring and uninteresting.
Not to mention look like any other randomly generated B-Grade anime girl.
Her personality just seemed to clash with the way the character was (sparsely) written before now

But that's all under the armor. Samus, as a whole, with the suit and all the powers and what she's still known for, is still very much alive. I just like to forget about Other M, or at least focus on some of the gameplay that was good, because the story definitely wasn't doing anything for me. I am glad they're trying something new, though. More than you can say for other Nintendo standbys like Mario and Zelda

 

[Outright Villainy]

Well, it does sound like they did an awful job characterising her. If I were a Metroid fan I'd be pissed.

 

[Mistermixmaster]

They didn't kill her, but they did ruin her character a lot. I mean, the Volcano part? WHY would she not want to activate the Varia Suit before the order? And WHY did she not use other powers like the grapple beam until authorized? She was only ordered not to use the Power Bomb and Super Missiles if my memory serves correct.

Oh, and the Riddley part? WHAT. THE. HELL?! Samus was scared of a boss she had defeated before, and back then she wasn't scared of him at all...

They had so much potential to make the character for Samus more awesome, but instead they gave us a scared little girl that will obey orders to a fault... *sigh*

Wow, that was quite the rant... Anyhow, that's just my opinion on this matter, and here's hoping for a better Metroid game later on.

 

[sunburst]

Fine, let's ignore characterization through gameplay and assume we knew nothing about Samus the character before now so whatever personality they decided to go with is the real Samus. Samus Aran is officially an emotionally frail girl and not a badass bounty hunter who happens to be female. She is not and never should have been an icon of feminine strength in gaming. The badass we thought we knew was just a phantom created when we filled in the blanks with things that were never actually stated. She's simply another roadblock standing in the way of strong female characterization in the games industry. Is that what you want?

Seriously, are you listening to yourselves? What does it matter if the character we thought we knew was never beaten over our heads? How does that excuse taking an icon of strong, independent women and turning her into a submissive little girl? It's great if they want to turn Samus into a deeper character with more personality than a pistol, but they still made her into a shitty character. If they want to give Samus depth that doesn't suck, I will be behind them 100%. It's great that she's flawed and has emotions other than grim determination. It's not great that those flaws paralyze her and completely drown out any other characteristics she may have. There's really not much else I can say that hasn't already been said at least as eloquently. I will note that I know quite a few female gamers who were rabidly anticipating Other M. Every single one of them was royally pissed off when they finished it. No matter what your perspective on this is, that proves Nintendo did something wrong.

Now this leads to my second point which covers both quotees: Samus Aran as a strong female character.

So most of you are complaining that she's being a over-sensative, insecure person who cries and feels fear in the face of danger. Excuse me, but when did Duke Nukem with boobs become the only acceptable form of a strong female character? In fact, when did Duke Nukem become the pinicle of strong male characters? Don't get me wrong, always bet on the Duke, but I can't help but feel that what you're portraying is a sense that anyone with any sort of "weak" traits to them is a terrible person and shouldn't be represented as a strong character in media.

I only skimmed past here because you clearly either didn't read what I wrote or failed pretty hard at comprehension. What part of, "It's great that she's flawed and has emotions other than grim determination," makes it seem like I want her to be Duke Nukem with boobs? The problem is that those flaws and (negative) emotions completely overshadowed any other character traits to make it seem like that was all she had.

And let's be clear, they didn't make her a 3 dimensional character. They made her two separate and conflicting 1 dimensional characters. One was a cold and efficient killing machine during gameplay while the other was a terrified girl overwhelmed by self-doubt during any other time. The second personality becomes 2 dimensional at best towards the end of game, but she's never successfully married to the gameplay character to create that 3 dimensional human (chozo) being we might be looking for. Even if it had, the character arc was still grossly out of place because she's been a badass bounty hunter (destroyer of worlds) for over a decade at this point. If this were a prequel to the whole series, it just might have worked. As is, it failed in nearly every way characterization can.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Nope. It's Samus minus anonymity, but otherwise, it's how I picture Samus if she had a voice. I just find it hilarious how people just went OMGZORZ WE WANT JENNIFER HALE BACK! For what? To grunt and make sounds when ever she gets hurt or jumps off of a high place again?

I just felt Ninja Team just went batshit insane over the whole Humanize thing more than anything, and put way too much of it in. Samus should've been like say... I dunno, the Master Chief? She speaks, yeah, but she doesn't speak too much. But unlike the Chief, every time she talks, you get to know more about her. She isn't a blank slate, and the game will actually make her sound like a strong willed heroine as opposed to a teenager.

 

[RikSharp]

the character in other m just does not jive with the character in ANY other metroid game.
therefore, i voted yes they ruined her.

 

[8-Bit Grin]

I don't usually enjoy Metroid games, but I seriously considered giving 'Other M' a try.

Now that I know there is a story as well, I'm heading out tonight to buy it.

 

[Warachia]

Let's not be so specific. Fans can never be pleased in general.

Well that is just a stupid thing to say, because it so obviously is not true.

Hardcore Metroid fans LOVED the Metroid Prime series to spite it being hugely different and from a new developer pre-release it was heaped with so much scorn but the thing was it was done RIGHT!

If you truly believe fans can NEVER be pleased in general then you are pretty naive and don't know what you are talking about. Clearly your mind for some reason tunes out all the times that fans praise work and only focus on the rare times they are disappointed. A strong fixation on the negative.

(obviously when you say "in general" you cannot use that to imply "every single one of millions are pleased".)

But Other M is not just bad for the fans, it is bad IN AND OF ITSELF! The fans just have extra reason to be disappointed about it.

I'd ask you to stop repeating such nonsense generalisations about fans as it spreads the false impression that it is the fan's opinion which is the one opinion that people should NOT listen to which couldn't be farther from the truth. These are the reason for the franchise's continued relevance and they key to the new releases success.

I never said that, hobo_welf said that and you screwed up on your quoting.

EDIT: also, I agree with you.

 

[TLatshaw]

A single game can't "ruin" a character. Neither can several: Just ask Sonic.

If a certain title portrays a character unfavorably to a player, the bright spot is that the next game may be completely different. I don't see why some people have so much difficulty viewing Other M as another director's interpretation of a character.

sonic.. is not a good example XD, he hasent made good games since he was 2d XD
says me, a big time sonic fanboy of old XD ( hell i grew up with the old cartoons with SONIC SAYS! in them XD )

He has bad games, but does that ruin how good his original games were? Is the sole concept of Sonic as a character destroyed, or can a new, better game bring back the old mindset? It's at least arguable. Also:

 

[cahtush]

i thought that before i saw this video by moviebob
http://screwattack.com/videos/TGO-Episode-40-Heavens-to-Metroid

 

[DaBozz]

oh come on really? voice acting finally being used in a nintendo game and someone moans its ruined it well excuse me princess!
that aside I think its good that nintendo are finally catching up with the times, now we just need to see some other famous characters get a proper voice:

Yes I'm looking at you buddy....

your kidding.

you... fucking... OH MY GOD. hes SILENT. that IS his character. he is the adventure boy. the kid you control and don't pay attention to. he isnt the only one is much better silent. whats wrong with silent protagonists? look at the doomguy. I wouldnt change a thing to him. there is a character there: he likes to kill monsters. there. good enough. silent protagonists work. have a couple things point to what they are, but for the love of god, DONT MAKE THE PLAYER CHARACTER TALK.

Everything is wrong with Silent protagonists dude, they are gone dead, only nintendo/Valve fanboys cling to the Mute character now, to qoute Yahtzee "Nowadays people are used to protagonists with more depth than a spoon" and I agree with that, its the person your playing as, you meant to care if they die...how can you care about a character that doesn't talk and has NO plot Development at all? the truth is; you can't.

Snip

See above.

Riiiiiigh. So IMMEDIATELY after Nintendo monumentally fucks up giving a voice to one of their star silent protagonists, you expect them to repeat the mistake? Also, you are using a fallacious straw man argument that people are disappointed JUST BECAUSE they speak.

No. Fuck no.

People are pissed for WHAT she says! Beyond mere fan expectation, looking at her objectively what she now says and does makes her an incredibly unlike-able and un-endearing character.

Dude, this is the first time nintendo have made a protagonist speak, of course its going to be awful, and of course all the people who grew up with Metroid will whine, but for fuck sake if nintendo don't start catching up with the times in the year 2020 we will still have them producing mute Protagonists with no depth or plot. so let them make her talk, what she says might be rubbish, but everyone is so used to games like eg: final fantasy (or even god of war) where the story of the protagonist is frankly amazing this to them is a step back.

Short summery, stop whining, stop clinging to childhood memories, and lets see where nintendo go with this.

 

[sunburst]

i thought that before i saw this video by moviebob
http://screwattack.com/videos/TGO-Episode-40-Heavens-to-Metroid

Why do people keep linking that video saying things like this? Are you guys proud of the fact that one video can completely change your perception of a subject, especially when that video is made by an admitted Nintendo fanboy and FPS hater about a new Metroid side-scroller?

 

[hobo_welf]

snip

I'm not debating even slightly whether or not Other M was a good Metroid game, hell I haven't even played it, and your argument has pretty much removed the very minimal interest I have in it, thanks

My argument is about whether or not the series is ruined by a single game, which is where I brought in the fanboy argument. And it still applies. A critic (like yourself perhaps) would look at the game and cite the large amount of exposition and gap between cutscene Samus and in game Samus as reasons why the game sucks. A fanboy will look at the game being changed in a fundamental way and either like it and get upset when the next game is not similar, or hate it and make a poll on the Escapist questioning whether the entire series is ruined.

 

[S-Unleashed]

HAHA. No. No it didn't.
It's just that Nintendo can't win when you think about it. People wanted Nintendo to add voice acting and emotion to their franchises. They listen and the fans hate it.

Ruined? No, it added character to an otherwise uninteresting character.

Other M made the series much more interesting and I hope to see more Metroid titles like it.

Thank you.

Glad I saved you a bit of opinion typing. It's sad how fickle many fans can be, the same fans who praised OoT as the best game ever and comparing every following Zelda game to it saying they were not as good criticized Twilight Princess for trying to be like OoT. I kinda feel bad for Nintendo, no matter how much they listen to their fans they just can't seem to please them.

That children is what we call a fandum.

 

[Ranorak]

i thought that before i saw this video by moviebob
http://screwattack.com/videos/TGO-Episode-40-Heavens-to-Metroid

Why do people keep linking that video saying things like this? Are you guys proud of the fact that one video can completely change your perception of a subject, especially when that video is made by an admitted Nintendo fanboy and FPS hater about a new Metroid side-scroller?

No, it's mostly because he has a point.

And don't get me wrong, I'm a huge metroid fan, and so far, I am really enjoying Metroid Other M.

 

[hobo_welf]

Let's not be so specific. Fans can never be pleased in general.

Well that is just a stupid thing to say, because it so obviously is not true.

Hardcore Metroid fans LOVED the Metroid Prime series to spite it being hugely different and from a new developer pre-release it was heaped with so much scorn but the thing was it was done RIGHT!

If you truly believe fans can NEVER be pleased in general then you are pretty naive and don't know what you are talking about. Clearly your mind for some reason tunes out all the times that fans praise work and only focus on the rare times they are disappointed. A strong fixation on the negative.

(obviously when you say "in general" you cannot use that to imply "every single one of millions are pleased".)

But Other M is not just bad for the fans, it is bad IN AND OF ITSELF! The fans just have extra reason to be disappointed about it.

I'd ask you to stop repeating such nonsense generalisations about fans as it spreads the false impression that it is the fan's opinion which is the one opinion that people should NOT listen to which couldn't be farther from the truth. These are the reason for the franchise's continued relevance and they key to the new releases success.

I never said that, hobo_welf said that and you screwed up on your quoting.

EDIT: also, I agree with you.

Well curse my double posting. I'm of the firm opinion that fan input needs to be extraordinarily careful. For instance, on WoW, game balance was originally pretty good, but as patches come out increasing the power of certain classes, people flood the forums upset about the way their classes are no longer relevant, so Blizzard listens and buffs a class and nerfs another class, and viola, WoW is a game I haven't played in ages simply because everything changes so often. Due to fan input.

OoT was one of the most highly praised Zelda games Nintendo ever made, but when Twilight Princess was modeled similarly, it tanked. Albeit the game was retardedly easy, but I hope you see what I'm getting at here. When a developer sticks to their idea of what the game should be, and it's a good game from the start, they generally make decisions that are at least in the best interest of the game.

Halo is an extraordinarily popular game, but if you look at the game mechanics, it's like watching Cuddy and House on Fox. Will they or won't they?! It's a mystery! Will they use dual wielding this game? Will there be recharging health or medpacks? Armor abilities or equipment? Every game changes mechanics due to fan input.

At the other end of the spectrum you have the somewhat less popular TF2, which has more than doubled in size since it was originally released, and some of that content is fan suggested! But by and large, most fan input is placed aside, in the best interest of the game! Now if Team Ninja had thought about the BEST INTEREST of the game in addition to listening to FAN INPUT, we might have ended up with a Metroid game filled with cutscenes about Samus kicking peoples asses in!