Super Metroid... arrrggghhhh

[1hot281]

Super Metroid was my favorite game growing up. I enjoyed the GBA sequels and the Prime series as well but WTF is up with Other M? Team Ninja dropped the ball on that one.

Metroid: Other M, with all factors accounted for (series legacy and what you would expect from a game bearing the Metroid name: gameplay mechanics, graphical design, character traits, story and continuity) it is possibly the worst game ever made.

If you're up for some reading, this review systematically breaks down every shortcoming and failure of Other M, in thorough painstaking detail.

Mother, May I See Metroid: Other M

I think this is one really standout page from that review. But I do recommend reading the whole thing for a real clear view of how bad this game is.

Mother, May I See Metroid: Other M page 17

 

[SolarYellow]

Any super metroid fanatics in here? Ive been playing through this game (for the first time) on SNES the past couple weeks and I am beyond aggravated.

Super Metroid separates the men from the boys. You might want to try an alternative.

Super Metroid was my favorite game growing up. I enjoyed the GBA sequels and the Prime series as well but WTF is up with Other M? Team Ninja dropped the ball on that one.

IDK. What is up with Other M? In terms of all the games I ever purchased, the $4.99 I spent for it brand new was fantastic. The game itself is good.

Metroid: Other M, with all factors accounted for (series legacy and what you would expect from a game bearing the Metroid name: gameplay mechanics, graphical design, character traits, story and continuity) it is possibly the worst game ever made.

I'm getting the impression you never played Superman 64 nor Castlevania 64.

If you listen to the dialogue and follow the story of Other M it starts to get clearer and you understand why certain things happen and why she acts in particular ways such as being subservient to Adam and her shock when she sees Ridley.

 

[Riddla]

Just got Metroid Fusion
And gameshark ftw

 

[1hot281]

I'm getting the impression you never played Superman 64 nor Castlevania 64.

If you listen to the dialogue and follow the story of Other M it starts to get clearer and you understand why certain things happen and why she acts in particular ways such as being subservient to Adam and her shock when she sees Ridley.

I invite you to read the review I linked to, as it is far more thorough and detailed than I could be. But I will touch on one huge failing.

The "story" of Other M. It is it's biggest failing. The writing, even excluding the continuity problems with past games and the character assassinations, which are numerous and enormous... is just plain bad writing. Themes like failure and redemption, staples of story telling, fail horribly in this game.

Samus Aran is rendered pretty much irrelevant to the larger story by the writing. All the major plot points would evolve whether she was present or not.

Was she even remotely involved in resolving the Ridley plot line? Nope.

Was she involved in resolving the Deleter plot line? No.

Did she stop the unfreezable Metroid threat in Sector Zero? Nope.

Did she thwart Mother Brain's plans to bring the Bottle Ship to the Galactic Federation? Nope.

Did she kill Mother Brain? No.

The only thing she did, was defeat the queen Metroid... A boss that was randomly inserted with no prior plot buildup... and even then, you're victory is a result of someone else's actions helping you at a key moment in the fight. Samus couldn't even accomplish that 100% on her own.

 

[SolarYellow]

I invite you to read the review I linked to, as it is far more thorough and detailed than I could be. But I will touch on one huge failing.

A few paragraphs into the "review" have prevented me from going further.

The author says the following which hamper my initial impression:

1.) "Because I'm not playing this game. It's that simple."

2.) "This all being said, I also refuse to discuss the game based entirely on online play-throughs, Let's Play's, and other such freely available material. To do so would be entirely unfair; watching a game is a fundamentally different experience from playing it.

3.) "And that is why this is just a look at the story of Other M, because watching a story is no different from playing it.

Notice the contradiction and that is only a few paragraphs into the "review."

When I play a game strengths can make up for downfalls and unlike the author I believe playing a game is different than reading about it and it is hard to comment solely on a story w/o getting into the game and experiencing it first hand.

 

[1hot281]

A few paragraphs into the "review" have prevented me from going further.

The author says the following which hamper my initial impression:

1.) "Because I'm not playing this game. It's that simple."

2.) "This all being said, I also refuse to discuss the game based entirely on online play-throughs, Let's Play's, and other such freely available material. To do so would be entirely unfair; watching a game is a fundamentally different experience from playing it.

3.) "And that is why this is just a look at the story of Other M, because watching a story is no different from playing it.

Notice the contradiction and that is only a few paragraphs into the "review."

When I play a game strengths can make up for downfalls and unlike the author I believe playing a game is different than reading about it and it is hard to comment solely on a story w/o getting into the game and experiencing it first hand.

If you would finish the review, you would see that the author did indeed end up playing the game.

"Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to talk about it, but now that I have played it, I can talk about. So there. Everything outside of these two sections was written prior to playing it, and afterwards, I felt that nothing at all needed to be added, changed, or otherwise modified."

And there is no contradiction. His first line said "watching a game is fundamentally different than playing it." His second, said "watching a story is no different than playing it."

and speaking as someone who has played the game, I agreed with his breakdown of the story, which does not change based on playing it or watching it. If anything, playing through this story makes it worse, as you become personally invested in specific aspects that are mutilated by the poor writing.

I'm not saying the gameplay doesn't have its fun moments. It is a fun action game. But the story is bad... and as a Metroid game, it fails on all fronts except graphics.

 

[SID297]

Anyone play AVGN Adventures? I'm hoping it gets released for download on PS3.

 

[Riddla]

I am stuck on metroid fusion after completing sector 2.
It says head to sector 4 for briefing. I go and the hatch is lock wtf?
I went back to s1 and 2 and it says go to 4

 

[1hot281]

I am stuck on metroid fusion after completing sector 2.
It says head to sector 4 for briefing. I go and the hatch is lock wtf?
I went back to s1 and 2 and it says go to 4

Which hatch is locked? After sector two, I remember getting to the Nav room, exiting left, heading up the elevator to the main deck, then heading right to another elevator that went straight down to sector 4.

 

[SolarYellow]

If you would finish the review, you would see that the author did indeed end up playing the game.

"Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to talk about it, but now that I have played it, I can talk about. So there. Everything outside of these two sections was written prior to playing it, and afterwards, I felt that nothing at all needed to be added, changed, or otherwise modified."

And there is no contradiction. His first line said "watching a game is fundamentally different than playing it." His second, said "watching a story is no different than playing it."

and speaking as someone who has played the game, I agreed with his breakdown of the story, which does not change based on playing it or watching it. If anything, playing through this story makes it worse, as you become personally invested in specific aspects that are mutilated by the poor writing.

I'm not saying the gameplay doesn't have its fun moments. It is a fun action game. But the story is bad... and as a Metroid game, it fails on all fronts except graphics.

1.) You won't get me to read a review when the author states (in the first few paragraphs) he won't play the game. Regardless if he changes his tune, once I see that, I'm done.
2.) He did contradict himself. Within the game is a story and within a story is the game....for the purpose of Other M.
3.) I listened to how bad this game was in terms of plot, character development, combat, etc.., and expected the worst game to be released since E.T. and I was shockingly surprised when it turned out otherwise. People expected too much similarity to the Prime series and clearly they didn't get it.

 

[Nickerz]

I'm working on a metroidvania action precision platformer on the side. I just want to say this thread warms my heart.

For all the true fans out there... I give you this, to remember the most annoying part of the whole game.

 

[IcE]

Just got my copy for SNES in the mail today, just started playing a couple minutes ago. Completely lost my ability to wall jump for now gonna have to work on that, makes the game a bit easier needless to say. Had a Sega Genesis as a kid so the only time I got to play this was at my cousins back in the day or on the Wii Virtual Console which definitely doesn't compare to playing it on the SNES itself. Have to laugh at the kids today who have trouble playing this game because you had to troubleshoot yourself. Games back in the day were just a lot harder and more justifying to beat imo.

I really enjoyed playing Metroid Fusion on the gameboy advance as well. I have yet to try Zero Mission but I plan on picking that up as well as Metroid II Return of Samus which was for the original gameboy. I enjoyed the first prime on gamecube but have not played Prime Echoes either so I'll have to give that one a try.

 

[1hot281]

1.) You won't get me to read a review when the author states (in the first few paragraphs) he won't play the game. Regardless if he changes his tune, once I see that, I'm done.
2.) He did contradict himself. Within the game is a story and within a story is the game....for the purpose of Other M.
3.) I listened to how bad this game was in terms of plot, character development, combat, etc.., and expected the worst game to be released since E.T. and I was shockingly surprised when it turned out otherwise. People expected too much similarity to the Prime series and clearly they didn't get it.

Again, there is no contradiction. The game play doesn't change the story. Nothing the player can do, impacts the outcome of the story. So for the purpose of dissecting the story, one need not play the game. You can watch the entire game beginning to end, with someone else playing, and the story is exactly the same as if you'd played it yourself.

Most long time Metroid fans didn't expect another Prime game. But what we did expect was a Metroid game. In terms of gameplay dynamics, and plot continuity. Metroid games, even the 2D NES/SNES and GameBoy titles, have largely been about open world exploration and solitude. A few of the Prime titles nailed this as well. The timeline of the games is very clearly laid out and event and character continuity from one game to the next is solid.

With Other M, we got a Ninja Gaiden hack-n-slash wrapped in Metroid coating... With a story that would struggle to even get a passing grad in a freshman English writing class. The lack of character growth, the horrible on again off again motherhood "theme" and rampant sexism. The poor narrative approach that chooses monologging events we are in the middle of witnessing for no apparent reason... Flash backs to events literally minutes old. Plot lines dropped once they've served the writers purpose with no sense of completion... These are all very basic story writing elements where Other M falls flat on its face.

Add in the fact that this story isn't a stand alone work. It has no less than six prior stories as a run up, Metroid/Zero Mission, Metroid Prime 1-3, Metroid 2, Super Metroid... and is a direct prequel to Metroid Fusion... and you can begin to grasp the magnitude of Other M's story failures in the larger Metroid Universe.

Seriously. Ignore the Prime series. Play Zero Mission, Metroid 2, Super Metroid, and Fusion... Just the 2D games... Then come back to Other M. Even without the Prime games as a reference, Other M is a terrible addition to the Metroid franchise.

 

[1hot281]

Just got my copy for SNES in the mail today, just started a couple minutes ago. Completely lost my ability to wall jump for now gonna have to work on that. Had a Sega Genesis as a kid so the only time I got to play this was at my cousins back in the day or on the Wii Virtual Console. Have to laugh at the kids today who have trouble playing this game because you had to troubleshoot yourself.

Really enjoyed Metroid Fusion on the Gameboy Advance as well as the first Prime on gamecube. Any of you guys play Zero Mission or Metroid Prime Echoes? Maybe Ill pick those up as well.

Zero Mission is amazing. Definitely worth picking up. It's just the original Metroid, redone with more "Suoer Metroid"-like graphics... and a few extra surprises.

 

[IcE]

Zero Mission is amazing. Definitely worth picking up. It's just the original Metroid, redone with more "Suoer Metroid"-like graphics... and a few extra surprises.

Gotcha, gonna have to look on ebay for a copy then. Like I said in my edit I'll have to look for a copy of Metroid II as well. Saw one at a classic gaming store around here but unfortunately I was stupid and didn't just buy it then. Gotta have love for all the metroid games especially the 2D ones like you said.

Still haven't had the patience to hook up the old NES and beat the original though. :nonono: