Zero Suit Samus has a great character model

[DrOswald]

So recently, Zero Suit Samus' new design has left the internet in a tizzy, particularly the new high heels. Now, this is, of course, an Internet Flash Firestorm, which will probably be forgotten in a week, but I've nothing better to do today and might as well get myself sucked in.

First of all, people are complaining that the character has now been 'too sexualized.' This is, in fact, stupid, since Samus has been sexualized in almost every game she's been in. For every 2D game, the faster you complete the game, the more undressed she is in the ending cinematic. Hell, she was even guilty of this in Brawl. Think about the first scene you see her in - dropping down from some air vent, the camera panning over her backside before we even see her face. My non-Nintendo cousins saw this and immediately started laughing at my attempts to explain, no really, she's a badass. So I fail to see how this is any worse.

Secondly, the heels really aren't that sexy. They're big, clunky, and look like a utilitarian piece of gear. Which they are. I remember hearing someone say that if you have rocket boots, a high heel makes sense, since you need a tube for the flames to shoot down. That may not have been the reasoning the designers had, but the point remains that the shoes seem like a standard powerup. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up in the next Metroid game.

Third - and I don't see a lot of people making this point - this new Zero Suit Samus is a really good character model. I'm serious, the design improves on a lot of flaws from Brawl. For example, in Brawl, the Zero suit looked just like it had in Zero Mission, its inception - an undergarment, something you wear so the Power suit doesn't get all sweaty. However, this begs the question of why you would wear such an armor into battle, as you only use it in Zero Mission when you have no other choice. The new Zero Suit looks a lot more functional, with the jet boots offering a strong offensive (no pun intended) capability. Also, the suit itself has a more intricate design, with multiple different colors to give the impression that it might actually be something you could wear in situations other than near total incapacitation. Aesthetically, it's a very streamlined design with a unique appeal. I thought the same thing with Rosalina as I thought here - it's a shame Nintendo doesn't make many new character designs, they're really good at it.

Well, that's all I have to say about the matter. I look forward to being told the 1,009 ways I'm wrong and a terrible person by this afternoon.

P.S. Some people are saying that they made Samus' boobs bigger. I didn't really notice. And you did. What does that say?

I didn't notice bigger boobs either, so when I saw that complaint I decided to actually compare them. I really cannot detect any difference. I don't think there is any difference. However, I can see why people might think that because there are two factors that might make them look bigger.

First is that the suit is no longer essentially painted on latex, perfectly hugging every single curve and giving each breast its own cup. The new design is actually looks like a tight bodysuit so there is not a separate cup for each. This gives the illusion of more area taken up by the breasts and makes them seem larger.

Second is the new coloring of the suit, which has much higher contrast and different breaks in the color. The eye is naturally drawn to the brighter portions of the suit especially where they contrast with the darker portions of the suit. Basically, brighter portions of the suit have more visual impact. The breast area is bright so the mind interprets it as bigger even though that is not the case, especially when viewed from the side (the sides are dark, so the breasts are even more prominent as they contrast.) Plus, that line down each breast adds contrast. This sort of contrast coloring is used all the time in clothing design.

 

[shrekfan246]

The complaint I was addressing was that a person in a fighting game would have a hard time actually brawling in high heels. My comment pointed out that this, in fact, is a pointless argument, since the character moves however they move regardless of what accessories they are wearing

Actually, character models can be drastically changed by something as simple as the accessories they're wearing. A new style of shoe could mean an entirely new set of animations, and could potentially mean an entirely new character rig.

That isn't to say it will be, but it very easily can be.

And to answer you more directly, if you remove her characterization in Other M, the only personality trait Samus has is being a woman. There's not too many ways to take that. Meanwhile, Mario actually has a sort of personality, albeit a shallow one, and having his shirt evaporate whenever he gains a powerup would contrast sharply with - oh, Christ, do you really need me to explain this? I feel stupid just pointing out why your argument makes no sense!

And... also, Samus has just as much of a personality as Mario does if we're going by that logic. Actions speak louder than words, and her actions throughout the original 2D Metroid games and Metroid Prime paint a pretty vivid picture. In fact, you saying her only "personality trait" is "being a woman" is perhaps the most damning part of your entire argument here.

All right, then. Elucidate for me, what is Samus' personality?

The easiest answer would be for me to point at Metroid: Other M and say "The exact opposite of that", considering there are people with far more investment in the Metroid franchise who could answer the question far more effectively than I can.

But in most pre-Mother appearances, Samus is portrayed as someone who will stick to her mark and get her job done no matter what the cost or risk, and who is resourceful and smart, tactically using not only her weapons and unique Chozo suit but the landscape itself to overcome obstacles and enemies. She refrains from becoming emotionally invested when at all possible (as primarily shown by her leaving the baby Metroid which imprints on her in one of the original games) and has no (or very few) qualms with resorting to tactics or firepower which result in the destruction of entire planets.

 

[Lieju]

if you remove her characterization in Other M, the only personality trait Samus has is being a woman. There's not too many ways to take that.

...
Being a woman is a personality trait?

We do know some stuff about her. One, she was raised by alien birds. Two, she spends most of her time alone running around the galaxy exploring alien worlds. She has chosen a solitary lifestyle.

Those are things that inform character.
Why would she be 'traditionally feminine'? Or try to appear sexy? Especially in battle?

So...

What is Mario's personality, then?
Apart from being male, of course. (Which would naturally mean his shirt should occasionally disappear)

 

[otakon17]

...Those heels are gaudy as all hell, who can honestly tell me she's been pornified with a straight face. I mean, seriously, I'm curious to know who can actually claim to believe that.

Not "pornified" but they're definitely trying to increase her sex appeal without it coming OFF like they're trying to increase her sex appeal. And that bugs me.

 

[Kerethos]

The early design of Samus, as shown several times before in this thread, was believable and basically made her look like a physically though soldier. The newer designs all just makes her into a blond model with breast implants.

If that's what floats your boat that's good for you, but I'm getting kind of bored with the sexualised, plastic and/or roided up heroes and heroines, clad in impractical or defensively lethal (for the wearer) outfits. I mean isn't it all just getting old now? Why can't they sell characters that actually look like they could do the job?

And in Samus case; looking like a model (still with the silly breast implants) and wearing high heels kind of undermines the character, doesn't it? I mean she blows up space pirates with a big arm-mounted cannon for a living, yet she looks like she'd struggle just to take of her helmet, let alone be strong enough to control a captive pirate.

I'd personally like to see them make her look more like a real human - and tone down the whole cartoon-like "ass and titties"-thing they seem to move towards right now. And with a zero-suit that looks like practical combat wear, rather than just a blue catsuit with rocket heels. But that's just my personal preference.

 

[Ninmecu]

...Those heels are gaudy as all hell, who can honestly tell me she's been pornified with a straight face. I mean, seriously, I'm curious to know who can actually claim to believe that.

Not "pornified" but they're definitely trying to increase her sex appeal without it coming OFF like they're trying to increase her sex appeal. And that bugs me.

Since she's a woman and has natural sex appeal, I don't see this as being worthy of being annoyed over. Especially in this case. 'Sides, we all know Samus without the Varia Suit is just bad-ass Barbie. =/

 

[DrOswald]

The complaint I was addressing was that a person in a fighting game would have a hard time actually brawling in high heels. My comment pointed out that this, in fact, is a pointless argument, since the character moves however they move regardless of what accessories they are wearing

Actually, character models can be drastically changed by something as simple as the accessories they're wearing. A new style of shoe could mean an entirely new set of animations, and could potentially mean an entirely new character rig.

That isn't to say it will be, but it very easily can be.

And to answer you more directly, if you remove her characterization in Other M, the only personality trait Samus has is being a woman. There's not too many ways to take that. Meanwhile, Mario actually has a sort of personality, albeit a shallow one, and having his shirt evaporate whenever he gains a powerup would contrast sharply with - oh, Christ, do you really need me to explain this? I feel stupid just pointing out why your argument makes no sense!

And... also, Samus has just as much of a personality as Mario does if we're going by that logic. Actions speak louder than words, and her actions throughout the original 2D Metroid games and Metroid Prime paint a pretty vivid picture. In fact, you saying her only "personality trait" is "being a woman" is perhaps the most damning part of your entire argument here.

All right, then. Elucidate for me, what is Samus' personality?

First of all, she is independent. Not exactly a loner, but she clearly prefers to work alone and without oversight. She prefers simple objectives and the freedom to fulfill those objectives as she sees fit. We know this from all her games but especially from Metroid Fusion, where she clearly resents being given specific orders by the AI and having to essentially rent a ship from the GF. She is also willing to break orders even if it will clearly get her in trouble if she disagrees with those orders.

Second she is emotionally unattached, possibly emotionally repressed. We know this because of a few of the tactics she uses (she defaults to a Total War strategy) without even batting an eye. Further more, she has no qualms or hesitation about killing former allies (Metroid Prime 3.) In addition, at the beginning of Super Metroid she describes the baby Metroid as "like a confused child" and then immediately turns it over to be studied and dissected by scientists.

Third, she works outside the normal societal roles. All other human combatants in the Metroid franchise are male. This indicates that she is willing to break outside of gender norms. In addition, she once was a part of the military (Metroid Fusion) and has since decided to break away from that organization despite still working exclusively for the GF. She chooses not the be a soldier but a bounty hunter. This ties back into the independence thing - she prefers the freedom of being a bounty hunter over the security and other advantages of being a soldier.

Fourth, she is resourceful and probably intelligent. Another individual might have just destroyed the metroid hatchling but she made a split second decision not to kill it in case it turned out useful. In addition, she regularly scavenges equipment and supplies from enemy forces. She uses terrain to her advantage and knows when to make a tactical retreat.

Fifth, she has a sense of duty, responsibility, and perhaps even kindness. She responds to distress calls without promise of recompense and will perform difficult, life threatening missions without ever being hired if she thinks it is necessary.

Sixth, she is extremely confident. Her standard pattern is to go into a mission against overwhelming odds and an unknown enemy force while critically under armed and without any chance of backup. She is confident in her ability to scavenge new equipment, collect intelligence, and solve problems on her own.

The next two are going to be controversial.

Seventh, she is concerned with her appearance, at least a little. She has always had very long hair despite the inherent difficulties this would cause when using a helmeted armor suit (it would be far more practical for her to cut her hair short) and she has changed hair color several times (it seems she is a natural blond based on the fact that she is most often depicted blond, but she has been shown to have brown and green hair at other times.)

Eighth, she has little sense of modesty (or just really likes strutting her stuff.) Everything we ever see her wear (pre Metroid: Other M) except for her power suit, even in normal civilian situations, is form fitting and often midriff exposing. She gets more modest as the series progresses (she starts out wearing little better than underwear or leotards, moves onto hot pants and cropped tops, and eventually starts wearing a full covering bodysuit.) This may have something to do with her upbringing by bird people. It might be that their concept of modesty may not be the same as ours and she has had to learn that it isn't ok to walk around practically naked.

 

[otakon17]

...Those heels are gaudy as all hell, who can honestly tell me she's been pornified with a straight face. I mean, seriously, I'm curious to know who can actually claim to believe that.

Not "pornified" but they're definitely trying to increase her sex appeal without it coming OFF like they're trying to increase her sex appeal. And that bugs me.

Since she's a woman and has natural sex appeal, I don't see this as being worthy of being annoyed over. Especially in this case. 'Sides, we all know Samus without the Varia Suit is just bad-ass Barbie. =/

Barbie? Yeah, nowadays. Before she was a badass mercenary that was 6'3" and 198lbs. without the armor. She was attractive but she wasn't a damn Barbie.

 

[otakon17]

The early design of Samus, as shown several times before in this thread, was believable and basically made her look like a physically though soldier. The newer designs all just makes her into a blond model with breast implants.

If that's what floats your boat that's good for you, but I'm getting kind of bored with the sexualised, plastic and/or roided up heroes and heroines, clad in impractical or defensively lethal (for the wearer) outfits. I mean isn't it all just getting old now? Why can't they sell characters that actually look like they could do the job?

And in Samus case; looking like a model (still with the silly breast implants) and wearing high heels kind of undermines the character, doesn't it? I mean she blows up space pirates with a big arm-mounted cannon for a living, yet she looks like she'd struggle just to take of her helmet, let alone be strong enough to control a captive pirate.

I'd personally like to see them make her look more like a real human - and tone down the whole cartoon-like "ass and titties"-thing they seem to move towards right now. And with a zero-suit that looks like practical combat wear, rather than just a blue catsuit with rocket heels. But that's just my personal preference.

They did the same damn thing to Ashley Williams in Mass Effect 3:

Long hair and a slim, form-fitting outfit that looks more like leisure wear for a career, no-nonsense soldier from a long line of soldiers. It completely betrayed her character if you ask me and I feel the same way about Samus' new design.

 

[Ninmecu]

...Those heels are gaudy as all hell, who can honestly tell me she's been pornified with a straight face. I mean, seriously, I'm curious to know who can actually claim to believe that.

Not "pornified" but they're definitely trying to increase her sex appeal without it coming OFF like they're trying to increase her sex appeal. And that bugs me.

Since she's a woman and has natural sex appeal, I don't see this as being worthy of being annoyed over. Especially in this case. 'Sides, we all know Samus without the Varia Suit is just bad-ass Barbie. =/

Barbie? Yeah, nowadays. Before she was a badass mercenary that was 6'3" and 198lbs. without the armor. She was attractive but she wasn't a damn Barbie.

I know, different times and all that. But like I said, Samus without the Varia Suit(Or a variation thereof) is no Samus at all. I've always viewed Zero Suit Samus as just, y'know, not Samus Aran. But, ironically, we mostly find ourselves in the Frozen situation, where stills display a different attitude than her body language while she's in actual motion. But I digress.

 

[SD-Fiend]

Here's a brilliant thought, why doesn't she use her power armor boots? Say she salvages them or whatever, now she has armored boots for better/harder kicking and that have built in functions such as higher & double jump.

It kinda ruins the point of her being zero suit Samus if she is able to use her suit. If she's able to salvage the boots then why not salvage the arm cannon or the torso? Also it's pretty obvious that the heels aren't actually part of the suit so I'd assume she'd put them on affter the suit comes off so I'm not sure why the design specs matter at this point.

Ruins the point of her being in her zero suit? The point of her being in it is catastrophic malfunction of her suit and her priority was always to run to find a place to hide or replacement. Which was once.

Why not the arm cannon or torso? One would assume they would be much too heavy to effectively wield without the support of the suit to counteract weight and powering said devices. The boots are likely to have weight negating features as they allow her to jump high regardless of the weight of the suit, and then double jump and high jump.
That's the problem the heels don't fit, they don't fit the design and they don't fit in the suit in a way she could hide them, it's not like she has a glove box on the thing. They honestly could have just given her original Zero Suit some sort of boosters or some nonsense but instead they strap really stupidly designed high heels to her that don't fit design wise or in any other way- they're out of place in so many ways I'm surprised anyone is defending them- other than it's Nintendo and they always have defenders regardless of how stupid their decision is.

Why does it matter? it doesn't in the long run but as I stated this is simply frustrating that Nintendo has NO idea what to do with the series; as it's been made clear by the long stretches of time with no Metroid game before Retro Studios came along and resurrected the series and then Nintendo took control Other M and now this stupidity in Smash Brothers.

They are incapable of doing something with their female protagonist or the series who's widely regarded as one of the finest female heroes.

The point of Zero Suit Samus is to show that she won't just lie down and die if she loses the Power Suit.

If we are going to "assume" things then I am going to "assume" that the boots are either too dangerous to use without the rest of the suit for reinforcement or that they cannot be used unless the suit is whole. I can also assume that the boots themselves are too heavy and stiff without the power source that comes from the suit.

Is it really too hard to imagine that the heels aren't actually part of the Zero Suit and that she stores them in her ship or something? And isn't your complaint that they don't fit inside the Power Suit? Wouldn't boosters that are actually attached to the Zero suit make even less sense? And so what if the color doesn't match with the suit? do you really expect someone like Samus to be picky about colors?

People defend this decision because people complain about it it's a cycle that will never end. The decision is stupid for you because it isn't what you want from Samus but for other people it isn't a big deal especially since it's happening a in a non canon game.

Why would the boots be too dangerous to use? They don't do anything dangerous except lift higher, this is the Varia suit moment in Other M here. Nothing dangerous but better keep that thing in check. The point is moot. She stores her high heels in her ship, so her suit explodes, she runs back to her ship and instead of getting a powersuit she gets some new kicks for no reason? Okay. Why not then have combat boots made for fighting and rocket boosting instead of these heels then? They'd be better in every single way.

No, my complaint is that heels in combat are retarded, there's no nicer way to put it, lower grip, likely to get stuck in ground, 10x more likely to break your ankles on top of this they look stupid and there's no place she'd store them. Call them space heels and have tech to stop that and it's just countered with why waste space and tech invested in countering stupid inappropriate equipment in combat and just WEAR something sensible? No, I kind of expect Samus to use things that fit the situation. Not sure what you meant there, I meant put boosters in her actual Zero Suit footwear, something similar to her chozo tech.

Okay, so let's take Mario and give him giant boots to make sure he can double jump they'll be silver and they have speakers on the sides, Bowser now gets robot claws, Fox fights with a pink biker helmet on. While we're at it all those Fire Emblem characters are going to need heels and platform boots, all of them ,this way they're taller so their swords can be swung in wider arcs without hitting the ground. Who cares about character accuracy it's just a fighting game, but she's doing wild things so she needs these heels right?

No people defend it because it's Nintendo and they know better because they're making the game right? This being reflected by their incompetence in Other M and this game now. People like me call people out on this because it's dumb, we have enough girls wearing heels in fighting games- you know MOST OF THEM, so a little variety and common sense is nice in characters. Heels don't make sense in combat, they're dumb for not just Samus but anyone and defending them doesn't make sense because ANY footwear in combat including barefoot is a better idea than wearing something that's likely to break your own ankles.

Like other people defending this, I'm not really seeing anything detailing any advantage or why they're the better idea to anything else, just "hey they could work probably" because there's nothing to defend, heels don't work in combat, it's a bad idea and saying "it looks good" doesn't even work because they look like nerf guns.

If we are still assuming things then I can assume that the boots would launch her too high without the weight of the power suit to back her up or they plain won't work without the rest of the suit. The point was that if she is completely unable to get her Power Suit (like in Zero Mission, until she got a new one) then she has something else to use in tandem with the Paralyzer. I don't know why she doesn't get combat boots instead (other than the fact that we don't know if they exist in universe or not).

Did you ever consider that these super high tech future high heels might have been the best design for what they do? the angle that her feet are at could be a more space saving design than just putting the rockets on a flat surface. they'd probably end up looking more like platform shoes if they were made to look more like combat boots. And I still don't understand how she would store boosters in the actual power suit if they were actually attached to the zero suit.

Sounds interesting. it's something different at the very least and I welcome it. I'm not playing this game for pixel perfect representations of them in a non canon video game. They could pull a Bad-Box Art Mega Man and I'd wonder what he would bring into the game and not sit around getting pissed at how he isn't what I wanted out of a character. And if you are going to complain about character accuracy then look at Ness, Lucas, and Zelda. Ness and Lucas unable to actually learn the majority of their PSI skills and none of the moves Zelda uses actually work the way they do in Super Smash bros.

I'm pretty sure that the world we live in isn't your world and people can defend whatever they like for their own reasons and not the reason that you make up for them. And unless you give me a list of the ratio of high heeled fighters to every other type of shoe in fighting games i'm going to have to assume you are exaggerating for effect.This isn't about common sense or variety if it was then you'd be giving actual examples of instead of just modified versions of what she was already wearing. or at the very least give me more specific examples. Would rocket sandals be a better idea than heels? rocket Cowboy Boots? rocket mukluks? maybe rocket geta or rocket foot-wraps?

There are a-lot of thing in this game that don't work in combat and yet they still do. You are only applying the "it won't work in real life" deal because you don't like the idea but you don't question how your own ideas would work in universe because you made them up and have no reason to object to them.

You may as well not respond to any of this since it's pretty clear neither of us are going to budge an inch on or stances and we'll just keep "assuming" why one thing will or won't work. I'm sticking to my stance that the heels add something to Samuses' play style and aren't a big deal and you can stick to your opinion that they are terrible in every way.

 

[Smeatza]

Why would she have standardized emergency equipment? Her suit is unique, both Zero suit and her armor are.

Like I say I haven't played a Metroid game in a long time, but going by the visual design that's what it looks like.
To me at least.

And the rest of her design doesn't imply she had scavenged her equipment from somewhere.

I never implied she scavenged her equipment from anywhere.
She has a ship doesn't she? Wouldn't that probably have standardised emergency equipment?

Portal boots at least look more scifi-esque.
If they were more scifi-looking, I don't think I'd have such a problem. Or even if they were more boot-like and less bright yellow. The way they are, they just look like ugly shoes.

Both look sci-fi to me in different ways.
I guess it just remains to see if the heels do have some kind of function.

Okay, have you SEEN Chells jumpers?

Yes.
Have you?

There is a CLEAR difference. It's designed as a springboard and the weight of her step is focused on a length of metal that's near as wide as her foot compared to trying to balance on a "peg" of a pair of high heels. Sure, it carries the same basic shape as high heels but it's actually functional as far as I can tell.

I didn't say they were the same thing, I said they look like they do the same thing.
The fact they don't look the same doesn't mean they can't serve the same purpose. These are two different fictional worlds were talking about here.
And in Samus' world she can roll up into a perfect sphere, secrete some kind of sticky mucus and then roll about on walls and ceilings shitting out bombs. So slightly more fantastical versions of Portal 2's long fall boots seems pretty grounded in comparison.

 

[Saulkar]

I hate them, that is all.

For all those bashing the heels for being impractical or for being out of character, explain to me how crushing every bone in your body to become basketball sized and fit into small holes is practical

The ball is larger than it looks and from this silly analysis of the morph-ball we can see it would actually work. Whether it is useful or not in the real world is another story.

 

[JediMB]

In addition, at the beginning of Super Metroid she describes the baby Metroid as "like a confused child" and then immediately turns it over to be studied and dissected by scientists.

Well... she apparently stayed with the hatchling for long enough that the researchers could determine the extent of its energy generation capabilities, as well as extract and secure DNA samples for the federation. Ridley attacked the station and activated its self-destruct protocols mere minutes after she left.

Third, she works outside the normal societal roles. All other human combatants in the Metroid franchise are male.

This is a bit inaccurate, actually. One of the dead federation soldiers in Metroid Prime 2 was a woman who idolized Samus.

Seventh, she is concerned with her appearance, at least a little. She has always had very long hair despite the inherent difficulties this would cause when using a helmeted armor suit (it would be far more practical for her to cut her hair short) and she has changed hair color several times (it seems she is a natural blond based on the fact that she is most often depicted blond, but she has been shown to have brown and green hair at other times.)

Well, Samus had long hair when she lived with the Chozo (see: the Metroid manga), so there could be a bit of nostalgia behind her choice to keep it that way. She has only been seen with short hair during her pre-Chozo childhood and while she served in the Galactic Federation military. And her hair actually doesn't get in the way since she "morphs" into her armor.

Furthermore, her hair colors in the original Metroid game are unlikely to be canonical, since they were a result of the NES's limited palettes.

Eighth, she has little sense of modesty (or just really likes strutting her stuff.) Everything we ever see her wear (pre Metroid: Other M) except for her power suit, even in normal civilian situations, is form fitting and often midriff exposing. She gets more modest as the series progresses (she starts out wearing little better than underwear or leotards, moves onto hot pants and cropped tops, and eventually starts wearing a full covering bodysuit.) This may have something to do with her upbringing by bird people. It might be that their concept of modesty may not be the same as ours and she has had to learn that it isn't ok to walk around practically naked.

Well, the thing about her outfits in the original four main-series Metroid games is that they're the kind of things one might expect someone to wear beneath a suit of power armor. She had no reason to wear proper clothes because, as seen in the Super Metroid opening, she keeps her armor on even while interacting with her federation allies.

Then we got Zero Mission, where she--for no reason whatsoever--decided to remove her armor before even exiting what was clearly pirate-controlled space... and someone on the dev team apparently decided that basically painting her skin blue was much better than having her running around in a sports bra and panties. (And I guess this retcons away all the outfits we saw in her previous games.)

 

[Snotnarok]

Here's a brilliant thought, why doesn't she use her power armor boots? Say she salvages them or whatever, now she has armored boots for better/harder kicking and that have built in functions such as higher & double jump.

It kinda ruins the point of her being zero suit Samus if she is able to use her suit. If she's able to salvage the boots then why not salvage the arm cannon or the torso? Also it's pretty obvious that the heels aren't actually part of the suit so I'd assume she'd put them on affter the suit comes off so I'm not sure why the design specs matter at this point.

Ruins the point of her being in her zero suit? The point of her being in it is catastrophic malfunction of her suit and her priority was always to run to find a place to hide or replacement. Which was once.

Why not the arm cannon or torso? One would assume they would be much too heavy to effectively wield without the support of the suit to counteract weight and powering said devices. The boots are likely to have weight negating features as they allow her to jump high regardless of the weight of the suit, and then double jump and high jump.
That's the problem the heels don't fit, they don't fit the design and they don't fit in the suit in a way she could hide them, it's not like she has a glove box on the thing. They honestly could have just given her original Zero Suit some sort of boosters or some nonsense but instead they strap really stupidly designed high heels to her that don't fit design wise or in any other way- they're out of place in so many ways I'm surprised anyone is defending them- other than it's Nintendo and they always have defenders regardless of how stupid their decision is.

Why does it matter? it doesn't in the long run but as I stated this is simply frustrating that Nintendo has NO idea what to do with the series; as it's been made clear by the long stretches of time with no Metroid game before Retro Studios came along and resurrected the series and then Nintendo took control Other M and now this stupidity in Smash Brothers.

They are incapable of doing something with their female protagonist or the series who's widely regarded as one of the finest female heroes.

The point of Zero Suit Samus is to show that she won't just lie down and die if she loses the Power Suit.

If we are going to "assume" things then I am going to "assume" that the boots are either too dangerous to use without the rest of the suit for reinforcement or that they cannot be used unless the suit is whole. I can also assume that the boots themselves are too heavy and stiff without the power source that comes from the suit.

Is it really too hard to imagine that the heels aren't actually part of the Zero Suit and that she stores them in her ship or something? And isn't your complaint that they don't fit inside the Power Suit? Wouldn't boosters that are actually attached to the Zero suit make even less sense? And so what if the color doesn't match with the suit? do you really expect someone like Samus to be picky about colors?

People defend this decision because people complain about it it's a cycle that will never end. The decision is stupid for you because it isn't what you want from Samus but for other people it isn't a big deal especially since it's happening a in a non canon game.

Why would the boots be too dangerous to use? They don't do anything dangerous except lift higher, this is the Varia suit moment in Other M here. Nothing dangerous but better keep that thing in check. The point is moot. She stores her high heels in her ship, so her suit explodes, she runs back to her ship and instead of getting a powersuit she gets some new kicks for no reason? Okay. Why not then have combat boots made for fighting and rocket boosting instead of these heels then? They'd be better in every single way.

No, my complaint is that heels in combat are retarded, there's no nicer way to put it, lower grip, likely to get stuck in ground, 10x more likely to break your ankles on top of this they look stupid and there's no place she'd store them. Call them space heels and have tech to stop that and it's just countered with why waste space and tech invested in countering stupid inappropriate equipment in combat and just WEAR something sensible? No, I kind of expect Samus to use things that fit the situation. Not sure what you meant there, I meant put boosters in her actual Zero Suit footwear, something similar to her chozo tech.

Okay, so let's take Mario and give him giant boots to make sure he can double jump they'll be silver and they have speakers on the sides, Bowser now gets robot claws, Fox fights with a pink biker helmet on. While we're at it all those Fire Emblem characters are going to need heels and platform boots, all of them ,this way they're taller so their swords can be swung in wider arcs without hitting the ground. Who cares about character accuracy it's just a fighting game, but she's doing wild things so she needs these heels right?

No people defend it because it's Nintendo and they know better because they're making the game right? This being reflected by their incompetence in Other M and this game now. People like me call people out on this because it's dumb, we have enough girls wearing heels in fighting games- you know MOST OF THEM, so a little variety and common sense is nice in characters. Heels don't make sense in combat, they're dumb for not just Samus but anyone and defending them doesn't make sense because ANY footwear in combat including barefoot is a better idea than wearing something that's likely to break your own ankles.

Like other people defending this, I'm not really seeing anything detailing any advantage or why they're the better idea to anything else, just "hey they could work probably" because there's nothing to defend, heels don't work in combat, it's a bad idea and saying "it looks good" doesn't even work because they look like nerf guns.

If we are still assuming things then I can assume that the boots would launch her too high without the weight of the power suit to back her up or they plain won't work without the rest of the suit. The point was that if she is completely unable to get her Power Suit (like in Zero Mission, until she got a new one) then she has something else to use in tandem with the Paralyzer. I don't know why she doesn't get combat boots instead (other than the fact that we don't know if they exist in universe or not).

Did you ever consider that these super high tech future high heels might have been the best design for what they do? the angle that her feet are at could be a more space saving design than just putting the rockets on a flat surface. they'd probably end up looking more like platform shoes if they were made to look more like combat boots. And I still don't understand how she would store boosters in the actual power suit if they were actually attached to the zero suit.

Sounds interesting. it's something different at the very least and I welcome it. I'm not playing this game for pixel perfect representations of them in a non canon video game. They could pull a Bad-Box Art Mega Man and I'd wonder what he would bring into the game and not sit around getting pissed at how he isn't what I wanted out of a character. And if you are going to complain about character accuracy then look at Ness, Lucas, and Zelda. Ness and Lucas unable to actually learn the majority of their PSI skills and none of the moves Zelda uses actually work the way they do in Super Smash bros.

I'm pretty sure that the world we live in isn't your world and people can defend whatever they like for their own reasons and not the reason that you make up for them. And unless you give me a list of the ratio of high heeled fighters to every other type of shoe in fighting games i'm going to have to assume you are exaggerating for effect.This isn't about common sense or variety if it was then you'd be giving actual examples of instead of just modified versions of what she was already wearing. or at the very least give me more specific examples. Would rocket sandals be a better idea than heels? rocket Cowboy Boots? rocket mukluks? maybe rocket geta or rocket foot-wraps?

There are a-lot of thing in this game that don't work in combat and yet they still do. You are only applying the "it won't work in real life" deal because you don't like the idea but you don't question how your own ideas would work in universe because you made them up and have no reason to object to them.

You may as well not respond to any of this since it's pretty clear neither of us are going to budge an inch on or stances and we'll just keep "assuming" why one thing will or won't work. I'm sticking to my stance that the heels add something to Samuses' play style and aren't a big deal and you can stick to your opinion that they are terrible in every way.

I already addressed that, that's impossible, even if you would suggest they have tech to overcome the obstacles of high heels being shit for combat that's wasted space that could be used for other things. You're seriously suggesting that a pair of boots with boosters on the back designed for harder kicks and hovering would be less ideal than those ankle breakers?

Two characters who are entirely accurate can't use a massive library of moves that would only clutter a list?

I'm not saying people can't have their own opinions, I'm all for that- however it's not debatable that heels are BAD for combat, they're barely good for walking, go try a pair on- they're not easy to walk in, now I'd say throw a kick but I really don't want you snapping your ankle or spraining anything just to confirm this- really don't please. I'm only saying that- any form of boot or power-armor boot would be better because that's just how it is, heels are NOT very mobile and suggesting they have special tech in them is weak- just don't use the heels and use that wasted space for something else.

I'm not applying real life to the game, I'm applying logic to one of the few that follows some form of sense- I'm not saying get Peach out of heels, she's a cartoon character and abides by that logic. I'm not against heels if they FIT- much like Golden Ax's bikini wearing Tyrus Flare- tottally cool because we understand the campy logic behind the art style. Guys in speedos, girls in bikinis and this is fighting gear- kay got it, let's beat up some goblins.


That's a really lame thing to do, state your side, tell the other person they're wrong, give reasoning then tell me to be on my merry because you don't want to hear it.
Let me argue your stance: The heels add nothing to Samus's play style because they could be better designed or just not used- they are a big deal in the light of Nintendo clearly thinks there's nothing wrong with Other M if they're pushing this kind of shitty designs and fans like you defending such things is only going to lead to more Other M's coming out.

Again, I am against this idea because it shows Nintendo have learned NOTHING from when they took the reins back from Retro Studios and made Other M, nothing was done right in that game, especially not the story and character development. Yes, I'm aware this is supposed to be like that Samus which does boggle the mind, I'd just rather them treat the character sanely than do really stupid things. Is it a big deal in the scope of things? No but I'm an artist and seeing this stupid design does grate me the wrong way.
I want them to do right and the only way to do that is to point out that something is wrong and this is pretty ugly in the face of a character they've shown endlessly they don't know what to do with. I don't even have plans to get Smash Brothers- I just want them to learn from stupid decisions and make a new game in time that has the same level of depth and immersion that is the Metroid series.

 

[DrOswald]

In addition, at the beginning of Super Metroid she describes the baby Metroid as "like a confused child" and then immediately turns it over to be studied and dissected by scientists.

Well... she apparently stayed with the hatchling for long enough that the researchers could determine the extent of its energy generation capabilities, as well as extract and secure DNA samples for the federation. Ridley attacked the station and activated its self-destruct protocols mere minutes after she left.

She hung out at the station for a while it would seem, but she still handed off the hatchling without hesitation. She had just got finished wiping out an incredibly dangerous predatory species, she was probably taking a day or three on the space station to relax after completing the mission.

Third, she works outside the normal societal roles. All other human combatants in the Metroid franchise are male.

This is a bit inaccurate, actually. One of the dead federation soldiers in Metroid Prime 2 was a woman who idolized Samus.

I forgot about her. I have only played MP2 once. But one soldier in so many, and that single female soldier idolizing the only other known combatant female, still points to the idea that war is generally the business of men in that universe.

Seventh, she is concerned with her appearance, at least a little. She has always had very long hair despite the inherent difficulties this would cause when using a helmeted armor suit (it would be far more practical for her to cut her hair short) and she has changed hair color several times (it seems she is a natural blond based on the fact that she is most often depicted blond, but she has been shown to have brown and green hair at other times.)

Well, Samus had long hair when she lived with the Chozo (see: the Metroid manga), so there could be a bit of nostalgia behind her choice to keep it that way. She has only been seen with short hair during her pre-Chozo childhood and while she served in the Galactic Federation military. And her hair actually doesn't get in the way since she "morphs" into her armor.

Possibly, but she does tie it up into a pony tail when wearing the armor and then lets it down when not wearing the armor (Super Metroid) so there is at least a little inconvenience there. Also, just so I am clear, I am not saying she is the type to worry about a broken nail or she is dolling herself up specifically to be sexy, just that she does care about her personal appearance a little bit, even if it is only for herself.

Furthermore, her hair colors in the original Metroid game are unlikely to be canonical, since they were a result of the NES's limited palettes.

I know that, but I really like the idea that Samus went through a punk phase and dyed her hair green.

Eighth, she has little sense of modesty (or just really likes strutting her stuff.) Everything we ever see her wear (pre Metroid: Other M) except for her power suit, even in normal civilian situations, is form fitting and often midriff exposing. She gets more modest as the series progresses (she starts out wearing little better than underwear or leotards, moves onto hot pants and cropped tops, and eventually starts wearing a full covering bodysuit.) This may have something to do with her upbringing by bird people. It might be that their concept of modesty may not be the same as ours and she has had to learn that it isn't ok to walk around practically naked.

Well, the thing about her outfits in the original four main-series Metroid games is that they're the kind of things one might expect someone to wear beneath a suit of power armor. She had no reason to wear proper clothes because, as seen in the Super Metroid opening, she keeps her armor on even while interacting with her federation allies.

Then we got Zero Mission, where she--for no reason whatsoever--decided to remove her armor before even exiting what was clearly pirate-controlled space... and someone on the dev team apparently decided that basically painting her skin blue was much better than having her running around in a sports bra and panties. (And I guess this retcons away all the outfits we saw in her previous games.)

In Metroid Zero mission some of the endings actually show her in non combat situations (walking through a city, hanging out in a bar, etc) and she is still wearing skin tight clothing, only now it is short shorts and a midriff exposing top. Apparently she just like dressing that way, at least according to Zero Mission.

I will agree that removing the armor was incredibly stupid, though I do give Zero Mission credit for having a mandatory stealth section in an action game that is actually entertaining.

 

[Nazulu]

I hate them, that is all.

For all those bashing the heels for being impractical or for being out of character, explain to me how crushing every bone in your body to become basketball sized and fit into small holes is practical

The ball is larger than it looks and from this silly analysis of the morph-ball we can see it would actually work. Whether it is useful or not in the real world is another story.

Ugh. I find that guys in depth analysis impressive sometimes, but some of his jokes are painful, and in this video he didn't get all the info this time surprisingly.

A couple of years after beating Super Metroid the first time, I read a little booklet that got from somewhere that explained Samus's Suit, and the point of the morph ball was to avoid being seen and bypass defenses. It's actually meant to be smaller than what the games show us, small enough to travel through holes and cracks that are hard to spot. Metroid Prime also explained this, I think. I'm guessing they just want us to use our imaginations.

 

[Erttheking]

Second she is emotionally unattached, possibly emotionally repressed. We know this because of a few of the tactics she uses (she defaults to a Total War strategy) without even batting an eye. Further more, she has no qualms or hesitation about killing former allies (Metroid Prime 3.

I'm gonna have to disagree with that one, considering that she does indeed seem distressed over killing the other hunters, considering that she looks away while Dark Samus is absorbing the last one while she clenches her fist in rage. Also, the 75% ending is her silently reflecting on their deaths. You make good points with the other ones though.

 

[DrOswald]

Second she is emotionally unattached, possibly emotionally repressed. We know this because of a few of the tactics she uses (she defaults to a Total War strategy) without even batting an eye. Further more, she has no qualms or hesitation about killing former allies (Metroid Prime 3.

I'm gonna have to disagree with that one, considering that she does indeed seem distressed over killing the other hunters, considering that she looks away while Dark Samus is absorbing the last one while she clenches her fist in rage. Also, the 75% ending is her silently reflecting on their deaths. You make good points with the other ones though.

Good points, but not exactly against what my intention was there. My bad for being unclear. I didn't mean that she is completely unemotional, but she never lets emotions get in the way of doing what needs to be done. She will kill former allies without hesitation if they turn on her (even if they are being controlled by a malicious force.) That doesn't mean she does not wish there had been a better way.

 

[Radoh]

Snippity snaps

Wow man, that's a solid list right there, saves me the time, well done.
Although much like erttheking I'm going to have to disagree with you on that second one there, since from what I've seen she has quite a bit of fervor when it comes to certain things; calling X parasites abominations that need to be destroyed for one, and immediately chasing down to kill Ridley in Metroid Prime 1 for the other as my two prime examples.
Edit: And then you went and clarified before I could post this. Whoops.

OT: So the Zero Suit serves a simple function right? It's the undersuit for the oversuit sorta thing, so why in the hell would she be wearing heels in the suit? That'd be the equivalent of wearing heels inside of boots for crying out loud, it makes no sense at all.