Review: Metroid: Other M Page 1

Azuardo 14.08.2016#1

Great review.

Echoes221 15.08.2016#2

Wow. Complete contrast to my review at launch . Two sides of the spectrum! Agree with certain aspects (narrative and weapon activation) but I always found the game play fairly satisfying, different from the usual Metroid action, but fun. Good review though, and I'm sure I'd feel closer to this going back and playing it now compared to the prime and the older sidescrollers Smilie

( Edited 15.08.2016 00:19 by Echoes221 )

Marzeee 15.08.2016#3

Remember me?

Trepe 20.08.2016#4

I disagree with just about everything in this review.

Azuardo 20.08.2016#5

Trepe said:
I disagree with just about everything in this review.

Ooo, I would love to hear a counter argument! Especially to Samus' character, the disregarded traitor subplot, the authorisation system and the first-person mode issues.

Trepe 21.08.2016#6

This is a strong Samus who has learned to control her emotions even in the face of fear.

She controls her emotions because she's not used to sharing them and knows they could get her into trouble in difficult situations. She also recalls back to when she was young and she let her emotions control her, which in part lead to her (self imposed) isolation. She spends most of her time alone in deep space not making contact with other humans unless it's to contact the galactic federation, so she's not exactly used to being miss personality and that's not what she's about!

So a monotone, controlled voice which doesn't allow anyone to see her weaknesses or fears is understandable. To act with anger and surprise that they would choose for her to talk like that is truly baffling to me. Has no-one heard her in Super Metroid at the start? She talks almost like a robot!

Concerning her not using weapons until authorised, it's pretty understandable. She grew up with this man as her father and she respects him as a father and as a leader. She left on bad terms and feels a lot of guilt about that. She's a pretty bad-ass bounty hunter who likes a challenge anyway, so doesn't mind a little extra challenge. But even if none of this were true she would still feel obliged to obey. They're the controlling power in the galaxy, they're the Galactic Federation. If she wanted to play any part in this expedition, she would have to play by their rules. If she didn't she would go from bounty hunter to fugitive pretty quickly! It's not her jurisdiction to get involved in federation matters and they're a huge resource for her, providing many missions they couldn't do themselves.

The Ridley confrontation is another good example of her strength and resolve. She's been reintroduced to a group of people she cares for and this has brought emotions to the forefront of her mind. She's not just thinking of herself on this mission, she's thinking of the safety of people she cares for. She's also thinking about the past and the insecurities she had then, then suddenly she's confronted with Ridley, a powerful adversary she has already defeated. How is it alive. What if I can't kill it. What about Adam, Anthony and the rest. What will happen to them if I can't defeat it. She's confronted by Ridley and all at once has all these emotions swirling around, but in the face of danger she pulls herself together and fights. That's a strong moment in her story. She has fears like anyone else but when it comes down to it she confronts whatever is in front of her and controls her emotions. She doesn't let them control her.

The story, the voice, the swell of emotions, they all make sense and all go to ultimately show her strength more than any game before.

Edit this post:

This is a strong Samus who has learned to control her emotions even in the face of fear.

She controls her emotions because she's not used to sharing them and knows they could get her into trouble in difficult situations. She also recalls back to when she was young and she let her emotions control her, which in part lead to her (self imposed) isolation. She spends most of her time alone in deep space not making contact with other humans unless it's to contact the galactic federation, so she's not exactly used to being miss personality and that's not what she's about!

So a monotone, controlled voice which doesn't allow anyone to see her weaknesses or fears is understandable. To act with anger and surprise that they would choose for her to talk like that is truly baffling to me. Has no-one heard her in Super Metroid at the start? She talks almost like a robot!

Concerning her not using weapons until authorised, it's pretty understandable. She grew up with this man as her father and she respects him as a father and as a leader. She left on bad terms and feels a lot of guilt about that. She's a pretty bad-ass bounty hunter who likes a challenge anyway, so doesn't mind a little extra challenge. But even if none of this were true she would still feel obliged to obey. They're the controlling power in the galaxy, they're the Galactic Federation. If she wanted to play any part in this expedition, she would have to play by their rules. If she didn't she would go from bounty hunter to fugitive pretty quickly! It's not her jurisdiction to get involved in federation matters and they're a huge resource for her, providing many missions they couldn't do themselves.

The Ridley confrontation is another good example of her strength and resolve. She's been reintroduced to a group of people she cares for and this has brought emotions to the forefront of her mind. She's not just thinking of herself on this mission, she's thinking of the safety of people she cares for. She's also thinking about the past and the insecurities she had then, then suddenly she's confronted with Ridley, a powerful adversary she has already defeated. How is it alive. What if I can't kill it. What about Adam, Anthony and the rest. What will happen to them if I can't defeat it. She's confronted by Ridley and all at once has all these emotions swirling around, but in the face of danger she pulls herself together and fights. That's a strong moment in her story. She has fears like anyone else but when it comes down to it she confronts whatever is in front of her and controls her emotions. She doesn't let them control her.

The story, the voice, the swell of emotions, they all make sense and all go to ultimately show her strength more than any game before.

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SSpectre 30.08.2016#7

Trepe said:
So a monotone, controlled voice which doesn't allow anyone to see her weaknesses or fears is understandable. To act with anger and surprise that they would choose for her to talk like that is truly baffling to me. Has no-one heard her in Super Metroid at the start? She talks almost like a robot!

The problem is that she talks like that even while showing emotions and fear. She talks like that when she's freaking out about Ridley and when saying goodbye to Adam.

Concerning her not using weapons until authorised, it's pretty understandable. She grew up with this man as her father and she respects him as a father and as a leader. She left on bad terms and feels a lot of guilt about that. She's a pretty bad-ass bounty hunter who likes a challenge anyway, so doesn't mind a little extra challenge. But even if none of this were true she would still feel obliged to obey. They're the controlling power in the galaxy, they're the Galactic Federation. If she wanted to play any part in this expedition, she would have to play by their rules. If she didn't she would go from bounty hunter to fugitive pretty quickly! It's not her jurisdiction to get involved in federation matters and they're a huge resource for her, providing many missions they couldn't do themselves.

Where has it ever been mentioned before that Samus will put herself in mortal danger because she enjoys an extra challenge? And even if that's the justification, then shouldn't she be almost excited to face Ridley again?

And Fusion demonstrated pretty definitively that Samus will not obey orders from the Federation if those orders are irresponsible or immoral. In fact, her becoming a fugitive is pretty much exactly how that game ends.

She's confronted by Ridley and all at once has all these emotions swirling around, but in the face of danger she pulls herself together and fights. That's a strong moment in her story. She has fears like anyone else but when it comes down to it she confronts whatever is in front of her and controls her emotions. She doesn't let them control her.

Yeah, she confronts Ridley. After Anthony is knocked into lava and seemingly killed because of the freakout that rendered her useless for the first part of the battle. A freakout that's totally uncharacteristic because she's already fought and defeated him five times before this (original, Prime, twice in Prime 3, then Super), none of which sparked a reaction like this. If anything, Ridley should be afraid of her at this point!

Edit this post:

[quote][b]Trepe said:[/b]<br/>So a monotone, controlled voice which doesn't allow anyone to see her weaknesses or fears is understandable. To act with anger and surprise that they would choose for her to talk like that is truly baffling to me. Has no-one heard her in Super Metroid at the start? She talks almost like a robot! [/quote]
The problem is that she talks like that even [i]while[/i] showing emotions and fear. She talks like that when she's freaking out about Ridley and when saying goodbye to Adam.
[quote]Concerning her not using weapons until authorised, it's pretty understandable. She grew up with this man as her father and she respects him as a father and as a leader. She left on bad terms and feels a lot of guilt about that. She's a pretty bad-ass bounty hunter who likes a challenge anyway, so doesn't mind a little extra challenge. But even if none of this were true she would still feel obliged to obey. They're the controlling power in the galaxy, they're the Galactic Federation. If she wanted to play any part in this expedition, she would have to play by their rules. If she didn't she would go from bounty hunter to fugitive pretty quickly! It's not her jurisdiction to get involved in federation matters and they're a huge resource for her, providing many missions they couldn't do themselves.[/quote]
Where has it ever been mentioned before that Samus will put herself in mortal danger because she enjoys an extra challenge? And even if that's the justification, then shouldn't she be almost excited to face Ridley again?

And [i]Fusion[/i] demonstrated pretty definitively that Samus [i]will not[/i] obey orders from the Federation if those orders are irresponsible or immoral. In fact, her becoming a fugitive is pretty much exactly how that game ends.
[quote]She's confronted by Ridley and all at once has all these emotions swirling around, but in the face of danger she pulls herself together and fights. That's a strong moment in her story. She has fears like anyone else but when it comes down to it she confronts whatever is in front of her and controls her emotions. She doesn't let them control her. [/quote]
Yeah, she confronts Ridley. After Anthony is knocked into lava and seemingly killed because of the freakout that rendered her useless for the first part of the battle. A freakout that's totally uncharacteristic because she's already fought and defeated him [i]five times[/i] before this (original, [i]Prime[/i], twice in [i]Prime 3[/i], then [i]Super[/i]), none of which sparked a reaction like this. If anything, Ridley should be afraid of her at this point!

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Trepe 31.08.2016#8

The Ridleys in the Prime series weren't true Ridley, one was a mechanical version of the Ridley and the other a phazon version of Ridley. Both were created from the Ridley in the first game (a different creature in the NES game that looks very different to the one in Super Metroid). The Super Metroid Ridley is truly the first to return from the dead (in Other M).
The NES version was remade of course, with a Ridley that looks more like the Ridley of the SNES, so if you go by that version you could say Other M has the second resurrection of Ridley (after the SNES re-appearance).

Also, there was little, to no narrative in the previous games, so you can't really say what was going through her mind when she fought previous incarnations of Ridley.

Fusion is set after Other M when Adam is dead and backed up as an AI. She has few ties to the Federation now and following orders got him killed. She also discovered what the federation were up to (on the Bottle Ship of Other M) so It stands to reason that she would act differently now.

Waiting to to use the freeze beam, grapple beam, heat shield etc. is hardly in the same league as confronting Ridley! It doesn't need to mention that she'll put herself in extra danger to enjoy the challenge. She does that in just about every mission she's on when she loses most of her abilities and takes on the challenge anyway.

( Edited 31.08.2016 10:45 by Trepe )

SSpectre 31.08.2016#9

The Ridleys in the Prime series weren't true Ridley, one was a mechanical version of the Ridley and the other a phazon version of Ridley. Both were created from the Ridley in the first game (a different creature in the NES game that looks very different to the one in Super Metroid). The Super Metroid Ridley is truly the first to return from the dead (in Other M).
The NES version was remade of course, with a Ridley that looks more like the Ridley of the SNES, so if you go by that version you could say Other M has the second resurrection of Ridley (after the SNES re-appearance).

Ridley appears different in the original due to technical limitations; it's still the same character. Zero Mission spelled that out pretty clearly. And the logbook entries in the Prime games explicitly say it's the same Ridley from before. The fact that he doesn't have his mechanical alterations in Super is a continuity error. The idea that only "true" Ridleys count is splitting hairs regardless; his boss battle in Fusion is technically an X parasite, but it still poses the same level of threat.

Also, there was little, to no narrative in the previous games, so you can't really say what was going through her mind when she fought previous incarnations of Ridley.

No words =/= no narrative. We don't need Samus to say, "I will spare this last Metroid because it's a baby." We know that because she spares the baby Metroid. Similarly, she doesn't need to announce her determination to defeat Mother Brain after the baby is killed; the music change conveys that. The developers didn't have to change the music there, but they went out of their way to do so because it conveyed emotion, so the absence of anything similar for Ridley suggests that Samus had no strong emotion when facing him.

Fusion is set after Other M when Adam is dead and backed up as an AI. She has few ties to the Federation now and following orders got him killed. She also discovered what the federation were up to (on the Bottle Ship of Other M) so It stands to reason that she would act differently now.

Fair enough. It would make sense that the events of Other M would teach her not to obey the Federation blindly.

Waiting to to use the freeze beam, grapple beam, heat shield etc. is hardly in the same league as confronting Ridley! It doesn't need to mention that she'll put herself in extra danger to enjoy the challenge. She does that in just about every mission she's on when she loses most of her abilities and takes on the challenge anyway.

Which one's more likely: she continues her missions without equipment because she likes nearly killing herself for the challenge, or she continues her missions without equipment because it's her job as a bounty hunter and her missions are always time-sensitive? And that's not even considering the fact that prior to Other M, we've never seen her voluntarily relinquish her power-ups but have seen her lose them involuntarily four times (Zero Mission, Prime, Prime 2, and Fusion).

Plus, the justification for the authorization system is to avoid collateral damage. What collateral damage does the Varia Suit risk?

( Edited 31.08.2016 19:18 by SSpectre )

Edit this post:

[quote][color=#000000]The Ridleys in the Prime series weren't true Ridley, one was a mechanical version of the Ridley and the other a phazon version of Ridley. Both were created from the Ridley in the first game (a different creature in the NES game that looks very different to the one in Super Metroid). The Super Metroid Ridley is truly the first to return from the dead (in Other M).  [/color]
[color=#000000]The NES version was remade of course, with a Ridley that looks more like the Ridley of the SNES, so if you go by that version you could say Other M has the second resurrection of Ridley (after the SNES re-appearance).[/color][/quote]
Ridley appears different in the original due to technical limitations; it's still the same character. [i]Zero Mission[/i] spelled that out pretty clearly. And the logbook entries in the [i]Prime[/i] games explicitly say it's the same Ridley from before. The fact that he doesn't have his mechanical alterations in [i]Super[/i] is a continuity error. The idea that only "true" Ridleys count is splitting hairs regardless; his boss battle in [i]Fusion[/i] is technically an X parasite, but it still poses the same level of threat.
[quote][color=#000000]Also, there was little, to no narrative in the previous games, so you can't really say what was going through her mind when she fought previous incarnations of Ridley.[/color][/quote]
No words =/= no narrative. We don't need Samus to say, "I will spare this last Metroid because it's a baby." We know that because she spares the baby Metroid. Similarly, she doesn't need to announce her determination to defeat Mother Brain after the baby is killed; the music change conveys that. The developers didn't have to change the music there, but they went out of their way to do so because it conveyed emotion, so the [i]absence[/i] of anything similar for Ridley suggests that Samus had no strong emotion when facing him.
[quote][color=#000000]Fusion is set after Other M when Adam is dead and backed up as an AI. She has few ties to the Federation now and following orders got him killed. She also discovered what the federation were up to (on the Bottle Ship of Other M) so It stands to reason that she would act differently now. [/color][/quote]
Fair enough. It would make sense that the events of [i]Other M[/i] would teach her not to obey the Federation blindly.
[quote][color=#000000]Waiting to to use the freeze beam, grapple beam, heat shield etc. is hardly in the same league as confronting Ridley! It doesn't need to mention that she'll put herself in extra danger to enjoy the challenge. She does that in just about every mission she's on when she loses most of her abilities and takes on the challenge anyway.[/color][/quote]
Which one's more likely: she continues her missions without equipment because she likes nearly killing herself for the challenge, or she continues her missions without equipment because it's her job as a bounty hunter and her missions are always time-sensitive? And that's not even considering the fact that prior to [i]Other M[/i], we've never seen her voluntarily relinquish her power-ups but have seen her lose them involuntarily four times ([i]Zero Mission[/i], [i]Prime[/i], [i]Prime 2[/i], and [i]Fusion[/i]).

Plus, the justification for the authorization system is to avoid collateral damage. What collateral damage does the Varia Suit risk?

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