What are your thoughts on Metroid Other M?

[Amibo_Amore]

It's not exactly the most well received Metroid game. I know it's probably been discussed to death on the internet, but what are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's as bad as most people say it is?

For me, the gameplay was OK. It was a bit tedious, but the boss fights were fun at least. The story however, was downright abysmal. Between the poor dialogue, cheesy melodrama, and annoying monologues, the whole thing almost felt like a fan-fiction.

[Immortal Weapon]

The biggest negative about the game is how it butchered Samus character. When you consider that Other M takes place after Super Metroid it makes no sense for Samus to act like an insecure emotional teenager. Also the fact they doesn't use any of her special abilities unless she's told to is beyond stupid.

[CraigTheCylon]

I'd agree with the majority opinion in that there's little wrong with the gameplay, but a crapload wrong with the story. What makes that worse is that Yoshio Sakamoto and the Team Ninja crew were clearly very proud of that story and convinced they were onto something here, so the narrative drives and intrudes on the flow of gameplay far more noticably than in other Metroid titles (the whole 'weapons locked until Adam authorizes' Immortal Weapon mentioned is a big part of that) and there are precious few spells where you wind up swept along by the natural atmosphere and compulsion to explore, which for me is the real magic of Metroid games. All of that would've been fine if the story they told was good enough to justify it, mind you. It's not, though. Apart from an overly familiar premise (a spaceship full of simulated planetary environments for military testing, which is broadly the same exact location found in Metroid Fusion), they put a lot of effort into trying to make something significant out of Samus' relations to Adam Malkovich (also something from Fusion, and handled a lot better there with far less tangible content), and in the process all they do is take a previously very independent and self-sufficient female hero and make her almost pathetically dependent on the advice and approval of 'the man in her life'. It somehow feels like a weaker modern depiction of Samus than in the Prime games, in which she never speaks and mostly just bounces around old temples eradicating radioactive goo to avenge some long-dead people or something. Not personally a big fan of her voice actress, either, though I concede I don't really have a frame of reference for how Samus 'should' sound. (her Smash Bros voice isn't much better since it's trying too hard to be sexy)

All that said, I do like how the game plays. I kinda prefer the Primes, but there's 3 of those plus a spin-off or two, so a change was welcome, and Other M felt like a very well-considered update of the old 2D games. I like how quickly it switches to first-person when you aim the remote at the screen, and the close-combat moves after stunning an enemy, and the overall dodge-charge-fire pattern that allows you to kinda show off a bit without feeling too overpowered. I'd really like the same developers to get another crack at the series, with the provision that somebody stands behind the scriptwriters with a rolled-up magazine and hits them on the head if they write a single interlude more than 3 sentences long.

[JCAll]

The best part of Other M was the Club Nintendo points in the box.

[Amibo_Amore]

Say what you will about Samus' character, but one thing I did like about her, is how quickly she picked herself up after Adam's death. Mainly when she thanked Adam and said there was no time to grieve. That's definitely the tough-as-nails bounty hunter we all know and love.

[nickthemkfan]

Never played it before, seems everyone like the frist person but not third person view?

[JCAll]

Say what you will about Samus' character, but one thing I did like about her, is how quickly she picked herself up after Adam's death. Mainly when she thanked Adam and said there was no time to grieve. That's definitely the tough-as-nails bounty hunter we all know and love.

Too bad Adam's sacrifice was just about completely pointless.

[The Drunkard Kid]

Too bad Adam's sacrifice was just about completely pointless.

Lies and Slander!

It got rid of Adam, which makes it the best development of the game.