Or, God forbid, he just likes the game. Weird how people have different opinions. Plenty of people like Other M, Moviebob liking it doesn't make him an anti-mainstream nutjob.
Zero Punctuation: Metroid Other M
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Has this not gone on long enough. People think that the story was bad? That Samus was completely redesigned into something she wasn't? Oh! I just saw pig out the window, and it was flying! Lemmie guess, you gained all this insight from the game itself? No, I don't think so. If I were to guess, it looks like some jokesters troll that others have somehow bandwagoned and then echoed.
We can probably even go a step further to say that we have to be willing to examine such characters empathically with the goal of exploring the human condition, rather than make condescending derision of their plight. I would think taking such an attitude and approach could have a more positive effect toward raising the artistic value of video games.Aiddon said:
Others are noting that the writing and execution of the character is flawed, and this is part of the complaint. Even if that is given as true that Team Ninja did a half-assed job developing the character, is it not still possible to be able to deal with the spirit of the character's development even if the realization is garbled? In other words, is it not possible to still be able to examine and ask questions of the motivations, history, and personality of the character without having to require exact acumen or an execution done in accordance to a prescription? Can we not see the pattern of the forest without having to make detailed account of the leaves?
I think I've only just now found a way to put into words something that has always bothered me about silent protagonists. Maybe others feel the same way.
The thing for me about silent avatar characters is that their speechlessness builds a sense of mystery -- a mystery that begs to be solved. The less they speak, the more I want to know about them. I want their personalities to develop gradually, unfolding like a good story, working towards the payoff of becoming fully three-dimensional after sufficient buildup. But if all that build-up ultimately comes to nothing or was not really hiding anything all along -- that is, they stay silent forever -- I start getting the figurative blue-balls and eventually lose interest.
I don't think this about all silent avatars. In a game like Oblivion where the character truly is yours, it only makes sense. And in a series like Zelda where practically every game stars a whole new Link, it's not as big a deal. But someone like Samus, who has been through a dozen adventures over a quarter-century, I definitely want developed.
I just wish Other M had done it better.
The thing for me about silent avatar characters is that their speechlessness builds a sense of mystery -- a mystery that begs to be solved. The less they speak, the more I want to know about them. I want their personalities to develop gradually, unfolding like a good story, working towards the payoff of becoming fully three-dimensional after sufficient buildup. But if all that build-up ultimately comes to nothing or was not really hiding anything all along -- that is, they stay silent forever -- I start getting the figurative blue-balls and eventually lose interest.
I don't think this about all silent avatars. In a game like Oblivion where the character truly is yours, it only makes sense. And in a series like Zelda where practically every game stars a whole new Link, it's not as big a deal. But someone like Samus, who has been through a dozen adventures over a quarter-century, I definitely want developed.
I just wish Other M had done it better.
Team Ninja had NOTHING to do with the actual plot and characterization, that was all on Sakamoto (who's directed the series since its inception, minus 2 and the Prime series). As for the writing, it's mostly the actual narrative and a chunk of the script (mostly the monologues). I can't really call Samus' characterization half-assed as that was thing that shone most out of the plot. Still, a lot of people could be more constructive about their criticisms just like critics in other media are. Most people have focused on a couple of scenes at most.geizr said:
I have to say, this is probably the most at odds I've ever been with one of your reviews. I understand where you were coming from when you discussed the story. There was never any rule that said Samus was a silent protagonist, in fact she did quite a bit of monologing in Fusion, where her borderline electra complex involving Adam was pretty obvious. But her panicking at the sight of Ridley wouldn't make much sense unless you read the manga, though I think PTSD is a legitimate condition for her to have. However I acknowledge that her characterization could piss off a lot of fans who filled in her personality as "bad ass mercenary ***** #1." For the record I actually liked Samus' personality and character development.
But I can't believe you dumped so much on the controls! I have never seen such a seamless transition between the functional equivalent of an NES controller and a zapper. They worked EXTREMELY well for me, true an analogue stick might have been even better, but frankly I never felt like I needed it.
But I can't believe you dumped so much on the controls! I have never seen such a seamless transition between the functional equivalent of an NES controller and a zapper. They worked EXTREMELY well for me, true an analogue stick might have been even better, but frankly I never felt like I needed it.
Haha! So what you are saying suggests that what we are seeing now may have been the real Samus all along. We just didn't see it in the earlier games because we only saw Samus while she was shooting monsters and blowing stuff up, basically, while she was on the job. Which bring us back to the earlier point that this whole argument and fury just sounds like people's fantasy of Samus is not being upheld by reality. This is causing folks to go off on a bender.Aiddon said:
Well, even Sakamoto hadn't attributed a personality to her for years. The closest we got to characterization for her was Fusion which happens AFTER Other M (well, if you don't include the official manga). However, Samus is now HIS vision and it is quite possible this is what he intended. Kinda funny considering Samus being a woman was actually done on a whim.geizr said:
... Seriously did you think it wasn't going to be damaging to look? I suggest high concentrations of fluffy in character romance to try and ease the pain.Madara XIII said:
Though honestly, I was mostly surprised that, while the 'plot' of all these fics were what you'd expect, on average they were grammatically correct and properly spelled.
I get the impression that he has barely played the first person shooter genre outside a few titles and hates it on premise. Metroid Prime is far from a typical first person shooter and doesn't even have many of the conventions that hold down the genre today.luckey said:
Nothing addressed the complaints of the abysmal writing or the shitty music, uninspired atmosphere and environments, and complete lack of exploration.
Also his attempt to reason why we shouldn't be getting angry over Samus not using her suit seems flawed to me still. There is a big difference between her having it and going through an area and hurting herself rather than not having it at all and not being able to use it. Maybe I'm just not understanding this particular point. And he also condemned Ninja Gaiden's controls which have always been silky smooth. Gaiden's problem is its sometimes atrocious but not gamebreaking camera angles. Not the controls.
I'm not going to get much into he characterization of Samus, but all I'll say is that while we did see glimpses of her character before like in Metroid 2 or in Fusion where she lets the animals free, I never wanted to smash her face in like I did in Other M.
Unlikely. She voiced Kimmy Howell in NMH2, a pretty low point as far as characters go.Space Jawa said:
It's fine having characters that are fully fleshed out, and in that regard, but is it so bad to have a character that we believe we're playing, where we can make our own choices and INTERACT with three-dimensional characters? The key word here being interact, that is why people like blank slates so much, but if you are going to make a game where the hero is a person with negative emotions and character flaws, don't make the character only character flaws, negative emotions, and nothing else. Seriously, there is not one good happy moment for Samus in other M, just depressing monologue, fight, monologue, fight, character death, and another monologue. The thing about humans is they tend to be more than just depressed 24/7.Aiddon said:
This comment really bothered the hell out of me, because it shows you've clearly not touched the point and click game genre. The west has produced many games with excellent story and characters including but not limited to Grim Fandango, The Dig, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, and even the Space Quest series. There are even games outside of this type with good characters like Psychonauts and Legacy of Kaine. You can make a character with plenty of flaws and have them not be annoying as hell.Aiddon said:
Unfortunately in many JRPGs I've played the "flawed till the point of being so annoying I want to hurt them" characters are very common. Also, the surrounding stories were crap. I'm not saying there aren't JRPGs that excel in story telling, but there are plenty of western games that do just as well.
