Because it was so mindshatteringly bad.
Hiya Malstrom,
Welp, I purchased and finished Metroid: Other M. I got more money than sense, and don’t wanna miss out on anything Metroid.
I was aware of the radical changes, yet I played through the entire campaign. The game didn’t resemble anything that is Metroid. It followed more on the lines of Metal Gear Solid, without the stealth aspect. Get items to progress, that’s all it is. The story they chose is typical japanese biohazard drama. Oh, the evil of human science against nature and all that. What a plot twist! Your superiors are corrupt! Also, Samus is like a lapdog to Adam: She has all the items already she gained from Super Metroid…but will not activate each of them until Mr Malkovich says so. Thus…Samus has been wading through Lava, getting clobbered by gravity, unable to help herself get better by getting hard to reach items…because she wasn’t allowed to activate vital functions yet. Try and process that for a moment. It made me sob. Any cutscene has Samus also literally reading off the storyboard. What I mean is, she narrates everything that happens during the cutscene. You see a guy sigh, she says the person sighs and whatever he’s thinking or whatever. They made her a boring William Shattner. I rather have him narrate the game, maybe I’d keep attention.
The cutscenes interrupt almost the entire time, as well as sections where they included the brilliant first person mode forced on you to seek something, almost like pixel hunting. I don’t have no problems with this, having played lots of adventures, but it’s a common complaint. The voice acting is soulless, and the story just doesn’t make sense and is jumbled together, almost wanting so hard for the Prime trilogy to not exist. The worst part is how useless Samus is presented. Almost everyone else is pretty competent, and have way more impact to the ‘story’ than she is. Yes you fight bosses and crap but Samus has almost no bearing to the story other than a link to Adam. The game was way too easy, or they nerfed the european version…. dodging is trivial at best, which is offset with stupid damage done to you if you do get hit once or twice. Samus is really weak in this game, done by the developers to force you to fight like a stupid ninja. Flip flip flip, charge shot. The ENTIRE game.
The ending got promising with the Queen Metroid. It was like a reunion: My first Metroid game is Metroid 2, so seeing that terrible creature in 3D gave me a bit of a shiver… then it went down in like 3 minutes. Every boss in Other M is such a let down. Why not play it on Hard? Well…you can’t! First, complete the game…and get ALL the items, 100%. They let you do this in an after-game section where you are FINALLY free to go around the ship. Pff, great. You have all the abilities already so getting the items is incredibly useless. Oh but you get to unlock Hard Mode and not to forget a Gallery and Theater mode! Ofcourse, Hardmode still won’t let you skip the damn cutscenes. So you have to do all that linear work AGAIN. Forget that.
Also, they made all the former rivals, enemies, nemesis… they made them relatable. As in, Ridley suddenly has a cute gestation phase, starting as a little furball that looks like a cute white version of Critters (Old horror movie, pretty fun to watch) some incredibly stupid looking middle phase, and finally to Ridley. Mother Brain is turned into AN ANDROID AI. (To control the Metroids) I am not kidding. There was some affectionate moments with MOTHER BRAIN and stuff, it was so awful. The Space Pirates have also been reduced to feral creatures with no concept of culture, pretty much kicking at Metroid Prime’s clever lore. (I love the Space Pirates there, they are cold, heartless and evil and even try to mimic Samus’s Morph Ball, with deadly outcomes) They really softened anything remotely scary and mysterious about the enemies, at least Kraid was able to ditch this stupid game.
….I can drag on and on on why the game fails on so many levels, but I can also understand people liking this. If this was anything other than Metroid, I might feel better about such a work. But they sacrificed everything that Metroid is just to have their own legacy as a developer. I think someone has a hard-on for Hideo Kojima….
I immediately went to play Metroid Prime Trilogy to get rid of the rank taste Other M left…it’s odd how welcoming Prime 2 is and how much that game is more Metroid than Other M ever can be. Let’s hope that Retro takes note and hopefully may try a proper 2D Metroid experience. Prime pretty much shows they know their stuff.
Sorry about that. I never been this angry at a game before. I guess Metroid was really a part of my youth. The discovery when you find out there’s no concept of levels, just one entirely seamless world connected. It was amazing for 10 year old me to go around a creepy alien world, filled with creatures that are not after you but are still dangerous, the local flora and fauna. The music that I still remember today, the awesome ambient sounds and ofcourse the encounters with the Metroids and the Queen…I don’t even remember the music of Other M. That is such a red flag.
Anyway as a question with this honest rant; How much influence do you REALLY think Sakamoto has with the original Metroid? He said someone on the development team suggested to make Samus female…. isn’t it pretty much him?
Keep on up with the awesome blog!
Honestly, I don’t think Sakamoto and others remember much of how the original Metroid was made. It was twenty four years ago, after all. How much do you remember twenty four years ago? Probably not much.
Since you are a fan of Metroid II, these images should capture your attention:
If you look into my crystal ball, you will see what Sakamoto plans to do in a remake of Metroid II…
Closer, reader. Look closer into the crystal ball… Behold the future…
“Hello! I am Queen Metroid. You might be surprised that I now talk, but that is because Sakamoto has remade Metroid II. I am now a friendlier creature! I will have a conversation with you throughout the game. But first, let me share with you my emotions. Confession time…
“Samus isn’t the only one with maternal instincts. After all, I am the mother of ‘baby’ Metroid! My Metroid children have been getting a bad rap. The real enemy is the Galactic Federation and their eeevil biological military tests. We Metroids are actually friendly and benevolent creatures! We are just victims of the evil Galactic Federation. Oh yes… The future of the Metroid storyline is Samus restoring the Metroid race and smashing the evil Galactic Federation! We Metroids are now cuddly and friendly! Yes we are!”
“Hi there! I am Zeta Metroid. In part of the new era of Metroid, I not only talk, but I wear a stylish hat and play piggyback with children. Remember, we Metroids are not evil. It was all the Galactic Federation’s fault. I delight in entertaining children. See those furries? They live with me on the planet! Before, you would rescue the furries before the planet would explode, at least on Zebes anyway. But now you can give them piggyback rides! This interaction is a new form of gameplay introduced by brilliant innovation.”
“Don’t be scared! I am the new and improved, ever lovable, Omega Metroid! It may look like Samus Aran is about to shoot me. But no, she is about to clean my teeth. I am much friendlier in this game! And the Metroid II remake has a whole new art style: perler bead style!”
“Oh god. How did this get here? I am not good with Metroid.”
“Hi boys! This is Samus Aran. In my upcoming remake of Metroid II, I have a new item which are certain implants that allow me to float through space. Unfortunately, the implants broke my suit like an eggshell. I will always be in the Implant Improved Zero Suit for now on so expect tons of close camera angles… giggle.”
“Has your vast collection of Metroid Manga made interaction with flesh and blood women impossible? Never fear! As I prance around in the Zero Suit throughout the Metroid II remake, I will somehow get parts of my body in front of the, strangely always zooming in, camera”
“Team Ninja will do the Metroid II remake because of their special ‘innovative’ physics to gaming!”
“Special references will be made to Deep Red and Suspiria as Sakamoto’s ‘creative process’ has been inspired by Italian horror films. This is so players will believe they become more cultured playing this video game and, thus, become superior to other human beings who do not play this video game.”
At seeing the completed version of Metroid II Remake, Sakamoto cries.
At seeing the completed version of Metroid II Remake, fans cry too… but for other reasons.
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