Update: I have finished Metroid Dread, it's *incredible,* AND Sakamoto got that redemption I mentioned I was hoping for in the video. For once, everybody wins. Original comment below: Thanks for watching! Your credit card is authorized to support future videos like this at www.patreon.com/TheGoldenBolt - there, I did the Adam authorization joke, so now you don't have to!
Ironically, Nintendo's desire to add in the actual canon feelings of Samus to a game and making it a linear story was what turned so many people off. At least, that's what I thought, anyway. Metroid has a mange, and the fact that Samus is far more vulnerable in canon than we've ever seen in any game up till Other M was a massive shock to people who ONLY knew Samus from the games. In every game, Samus is a potentially unstoppable killing machine with seemingly no weaknesses (aside from losing all her powers in the beginning of each game). Contrast with her actual canon lore, and you begin to see why Other M was so different. It tried to show us WHO Samus actually is, WHAT motivates her, what FRIGHTENS her. She went from being a cold, emotionless force of nature to being... well... Human. People don't particularly like it when their big, unstoppable superman has personal issues and faults, especially when they are an icon of Female Power and Badassery at the same time.
@@IansMentalOmega You read way too much into it. People dont like a shitty story that contradicts what came before and assassinates an important character. Its as simple as that.
@@StormsparkPegasus Agree. Sakamoto was not redeemed. It is necessary to do more than just step aside and let someone better qualified to do the work, to get redemtion.
One of the most upsetting things about this game is how many of the issues with the story were SO CLOSE to working and had devastating results. As mentioned in the video, if the reason for Adam's distrust and them splitting was because Samus got someone hurt or killed and felt guilty for it, the authorization thing would feel much more reasonable. Another thing that would have helped significantly was change the focus of the PTSD for the Ridley scene. Instead of having her PTSD triggered by Ridley, have it be the fact that the federation cloned Ridley after spending her life finally getting rid of him. Ridley wasn't an experiment, he wasn't a creation gone rouge, he wasn't weapon, he was just an irredeemable monster who killed millions and somehow the Federation STILL thinks he is more useful alive. They are basically telling her "Everything you do is meaningless and there is nothing you can do that we cannot undo."
I truly think that if you cut the whole "Samus imagines herself as a child" part out of the Ridley freeze-up, and do NOTHING else, the scene would almost work. Add a tiny bit of flavor, showing Samus is shocked he's alive because she killed him, or make it so that it's not some twist, but something Samus actually expects is coming? Huh, just like that it starts to work!
The whole dynamic between Poe and Holdo in The Last Jedi, while still pretty aggravating, is basically Samus and Adam done right. Which says a lot about this game’s storytelling failures. Makes Captain Marvel look like a masterpiece of plotting.
The Golden Bolt I figured Samus was just freaked out about the way Ridley revealed himself, sort of out of the inferno. Still very jarring but not completely inexplicable. I would describe Samus’s entire portrayal in this game that way, too. Also the whole deal about Samus being “a little girl playing dress up”, while belittling towards her, doesn’t sound so dissimilar from Cloud Strife. I honestly think the backlash towards Samus’s characterisation in this game, combined with massive hate for stuff like Twilight and Fifty Shades, might have made writers afraid to give heroines flaws because of how bad it tends to look when done wrong - leading in turn to the recent crop of “Mary Sue” type characters unfortunately.
@@TheGoldenBolt The entire point of that scene IS that Samus is terrified that Ridley has seemingly resurrected himself after struggling to successfully killed him throughout the Prime games and is essentially bewilderment and confusion at a seemingly immortal being, particularly because she literally tore him apart across her helmet in a splash of gore in Super (the scripted death in Super for Ridley is canon); the English localization just... doesn’t really convey this as well. I blame a lot of this game’s story faults on the absolutely piss poor localization and dub, honestly.
I don’t think M killed Metroid just because it had a god awful story. But because it was such a different experience from past games. The devs wanted to make Samus more vulnerable, so they decided to make this a personal narrative. A little too personal in my opinion. I don’t think many players were interested in knowing Samus’s feelings about women hood. Point is, we still could’ve got a more vulnerable Samus. But it should’ve been as a consequence of the plot. Not the goal. Most of the game is essentially Samus rambling about personal issues most players wouldn’t even understand. It’s such a disconnect from the gameplay. Witch was also very meh.
Totally, Dread did right everything that Other M did wrong. I do hope that they'll expand on the rogue/corrupt group of the former federation army, seems like a perfect antagonistic force to Samus considering the ending of Dread
@@sspectre8217 Given the Sylux cameos at the end of Corruption and Fed Force, and Sylux's disdain for and ties to Federation weapons development, I expect that to be a component in Prime 4. We'll see.
So yeah, Metroid Dread got me into the franchise. Also oddly enough, this is my first time playing as a badass girl instead of a guy, and it's a quite pleasant experience. I like the intentions of this game to tell a story and try to portray Samus as a relatable character, but I think they did it wrong in many occasions. I liked the idea of her having some sort of PTSD but it was done in a bad way that didn't convince anyone so yeah, overall this game ended up making more damage than good to Samus as a character. I mean, judging from Dread I had the idea of this character who's a badass, kind of cold girl, who's used to be alone and that has learned to rely on her own abilities only, and learning about the lore it also showed that while a bit cold, she has indeed a good heart. I liked this idea, but Other M took it a bit off track. Also, side note that it's just my opinion, another thing I like about Dread and what I could see from other games too is that they don't really point that much on Samus appearance. Yes she's hot, but it's not like you're reminded of it every two seconds because you see her in the suit most of the time. It gave the impression of "yes I'm hot but I'm everything else first". This game instead tends to show her pretty often, which is kind of fine but still.
To me the perfect response to Ridley given Other Ms nature of intentionally limiting your abilities would have been rage, not fear. Unlock all those weapons immediately and let Samus just run at him guns blazing. It's dangerous to her, her teammates and the ship but her interest is in eradication of the creature before her. Far more interesting than reducing her to a scared little girl, it would have made her humanity come out in the volatile anger of someone who lost her family to murder.
Somebody hire this person! I had never thought about an uncharacteristic anger from her instead of fear in that scene, that would have been amazing to see and even better to play!
You know, I think that would have been a pretty good idea. However, that would have been too sudden a change of character for her if she was written the same way as she was in the final product. If Samus was depicted as being shoved closer and closer to the brink of insanity, considering the limitations imposed upon her by Adam, the ghastly elements of the Bottle Ship, the constant pressure of finding possible survivors before its too late and the no small matter of the Deleter taking out members of the team one by one, then this would have been a much better transition for her to finally just bear the full brunt of her anger and fear upon Ridley and go out all or nothing. Now that would have made for a more interesting story about her character, if I may say so myself, ha!
For sure, as a character who is used to doing things to her own rhythm after leaving the federation she may feel a lot of frustration to having to limit herself again. Especially so when the person limiting her is the very person she looked up to. Exploring Samus' emotional space coulda been a real interesting look, hell I find great joy in Prime 3 when she shoves her gun into his mouth and repeatedly pulls the trigger. A small moment of "fuck you in particular".
You enter the room, Ridley is just standing there, samus sees Ridley, and immediately ALL of your upgrades unlock. All of them. Samus screams, not in terror, but in bloodlust, and the boss battle starts.
I hope Yoshio Sakamoto knows how much the fanbase loves Metroid Dread. I'm playing through it now and it's absolutely incredible. Not a fan of Other M, but Dread in my opinion is an amazing entry with quality that rivals Super and Fusion for the top spot in the series.
Yeah watching this now actually makes me pretty emotional. Imagine how worthless and pathetic Sakamoto was feeling after leading Other M off of a cliff, convinced he had nothing left to offer and Metroid was better off without him... only for a dev team to come up that could take his unrealized ambitions that he lacked the technology to realize 15 years ago, assemble it into a new game, and prove definitively that his ideas from that era WEREN'T all garbage after all and that his vision CAN be successful with the right tempering, more than the series ever has been. Just goes to show that maybe the people who made Dead or Alive weren't the best source to bounce narrative ideas off of for writing compelling female characters.
@@NotAGoodUsername360 Team Ninja had nothing to do with the story. Its not even the kind of story they would've tried telling with a female protagonist. This is such a weird spin trying to make him more relatable and misunderstood when this was almost entirely him forcing through his vision and his dream to be like a film director. Details getting lost in translation isn't his fault entirely of course, but he cared enough about that aspect to insist on personally directing the voiceovers. And its not like the return to form Metroid games do anything in relation to whatever other M was supposed to do. We do get more depth to Samus, but in a way that is more inspired by DOOM (and a bit of Prime 3) than even the internal monologues in Fusion.
@@Nirual86 samus is very different from doom guy your given the pieces of her life and construct a very unique personality especially with her childhood trauma and being raised by aliens
Why though? Why do you guys like samus to be mute and not speak or express herself just be stoic? Did you play other m? It gave samus character and growth. Why do people hate it the story is great as well
One thing I find really interesting about this is usually with "huge disaster" games, they almost always have really rough development periods leading to them not turning out as intended. Maybe the game is blatantly unfinished, many major areas/gameplay mechanics had to be cut, the whole project was abandoned and left to interns, corporate meddling changed everything, or whatever. Other M is not any of these things. As far as we know, it turned out exactly as it was intended to, down to the very last detail. It's a different sort of tragic tale, because this game isn't a shell of what it was meant to be, caused by some internal disaster. This game is Metroid: Other M. The genuine vision, flaws and all. Something about that is kind of beautiful, given the usual way these things go. Not that it makes the game magically good, but it's interesting.
You nailed it right on the head, and in 47 fewer minutes than me too! Other M is just about the only game I can think of where everything went right, but the core was rotten enough that it doomed the whole game. It's got redeeming factors, but really it's best served as an absolutely fascinating history piece - and arguably as the game that opened Nintendo brass up to collaborative projects with middle-sized studios like Platinum down the road!
The Golden Bolt That description sounds so much like the Star Wars prequel trilogy it’s not even funny. And Samus Returns gives me Force Awakens vibes...are we about to get Metroid’s The Last Jedi? It feels like people have generally been less harshly negative towards this game the past few years, for what it’s worth.
@@StormsparkPegasus I wouldn't go that far but this game's story is such a mess (and even gameplay has weird mechanics) that I can't fault someone for doing so.
8:00 Even worse, in order to FULLY understand the game you need to not only have played Super Metroid, but know about the Japan-only Manga that explains Samus' past, specifically, the post-traumatic amnesia and her past with Adam while ALSO ignoring that story since the game ignores a lot of it too.
@@isauldron4337 It ignores her being raised by the chozo and having close relationships with them (specifically Old Bird) in order to place Adam as her first "real" father figure. I don't think it references the chozo once, even to bring up her armor. It ignored her history of being a police officer and not in the military, her actual relationship with Adam, and his personality in order for him to become Sakamoto's self-insert. It also ignores that she had post-traumatic amnesia when facing Ridley for the first time after he killed and ate her parents to give her post-traumatic stress disorder. The fact that it retcons things is more than just references.
The one thing I will say that Other M did right was it didn't fracture any sort of relationship between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo (Team Ninja's publisher): years later, it's Team Ninja (and Omega Force) who proposes to make another Dynasty Warriors spin-off, this time using a Nintendo property. The resulting Hyrule Warriors was a far better collaboration between both publishers and us fans embraced it because it worked. Now, just a few days ago, Nintendo unveiled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as the prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, again working with Koei Tecmo (though this time, it's Nintendo who approached Koei with the idea). Ultimately, while I do agree Other M has killed the ambition for the Metroid franchise, it's opened Nintendo's eyes on how to better collaborate with third-party publishers on something they know how to do, rather than have someone from Nintendo do it. [Edit] Obviously, this hits differently now that Metroid Dread is real. Still, I stand by the notion that it might be more feasible, perhaps even better, to ask a third-party to make a new installment out of a Nintendo first-party property rather than Nintendo's in-house studios do it, especially when MercurySteam has proven themselves capable with Samus Returns so much that they are now the ones developing Dread.
This was something that over time I'd wished I'd touched on just a bit more than I did in the script, especially with that reveal of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity! It says so much to me that even despite the game's complete failure, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo were so happy with one another and their similarities that they continued praising one another (and then worked together) for years after. I'd argue that Other M's most positive legacy is that it's the first modern collaboration between Nintendo and smaller outside teams, which warmed Nintendo back up to that concept. Even ignoring Koei Tecmo's continued collaborations, in the years since Other M paved that road, we've seen Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101, Star Fox Zero, and Astral Chain from Platinum (with Bayonetta 3 on the way!), a western studio getting their hands on a Mario game in Ubisoft (who also gave us a sort-of Star Fox too!), even Samus Returns with MercurySteam benefited from Other M in some twisted way!
I'd like to add that Team Ninja also developed Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, which Nintendo published as a first-party title. Not sure about the rest of y'all, but I really love that game.
Another very fascinating aspect of the failures of this game aside from the glaring and obvious, is the localization. A lot of dialogue is worded vaguely and thus gives several scenes a different feel and less information for instance, but Adam and Samus’s relationship dynamic is very different and makes more sense. Samus in English uses very weak and unassertive wording that is nowhere to be seen in the Japanese script where she is much more on point character wise. The authorization thing IS in the Japanese script but it's worded differently most of the time. Adam uses the word Authorization when referring to the troops he is with, but gives Samus "permission" specifically. Things like the Varia suit fiasco comes across more as Samus maliciously complying with Adams orders rather than being hindered from using it. The conspiracy plot not hitting that hard is rooted in legacy localization issues like how the Japanese version of Fusion makes it clear that there are rogue cells of the Federation that work in the shadows (which is why Samus isn't hunted by the entire Federation in Dread) and that the Federation Army is often referred to as a mostly separate thing... Other M is surprisingly consistent with the rest of the series story and lore and builds upon things from it (aside from the Ridley scene which is still dumb), but we don't get any of that because the script is adapted horribly. It doesn’t magically become anything amazing in Japanese, it still has all the dumb story stuff we got to experience, but it does become an interesting case study for how important a good localization is for a game. th-cam.com/video/KTuMfsWwd0E/w-d-xo.html (I watched this vid for the info)
in fairness the issues with the Fusion localisation come as a result of English text just taking a lot more room, both in terms of data and it being displayed on screen. And besides, for a game that was supposed to be the entryway for a wider audience of players they should've taken more efforts to ensure there was enough information in the game itself.
Metroid Other M has a strange place in my heart. I rented the game when my love for Metroid was at an all time high and I admit, I was a bit blinded by the Hype to acknowledge the game's shortcomings and thought it was the greatest thing since Fusion. Because of the limited library of games I grew up with, I didn't question the Game's controls nor its large-scale story telling. This game introduced me to the Genres that made this entry the "black sheep". Looking back on it, yeah, Other M is pretty 'meh', but for me it was a gateway deeper into Gaming that I desperately needed. Thank you tons for inviting me on to be a voice in this project, it brought back a ton of pleasant memories I haven't remembered for the better part of a Decade.
"I was a bit blinded by the Hype to acknowledge the game's shortcomings and thought it was the greatest thing since Fusion." That hurts me in a personal way. I was so blinded by my love of Metroid, I even wrote a letter to the magazine Nintendo Power telling how I didn't understand why people were so hard on the game, and the only gripes I had with the game was the relationship between Samus and Adam not being explored well enough. Man, I want to punch my old self really hard... the more I think about Other M, it's development cycle, Sakamoto's unwillingness to admit the project he was so proud of was garbage during interviews back then (he even mocked the fans saying he would make a game about Adam), the more I hate it! Now, if I leave my personal feelings towards the game aside and focus on an objective review, the game is still terrible... why did I defend it back in high school? Funnily enough, when the game was revealed, I thought it wasn't something I would like. I guess I let my love for series blind me with time, my initial gut feeling was the right one.
These comments sound like you're letting public opinion change how you see your enjoyment of the game. I thought Other M was so fun, it was just enjoyable to play and sometimes that's enough for a game
@@joehayes8795 the problem was it was not fun for a majority of people. the gameplay boil's down to mashing the dpad to do a sensemove and shooting a charge beam shot it was all style and no substance. if you had fun with it that's fine would not want to take that away from ya. but the gameplay was mediocre at best
The thing that get's me, really makes me wonder about this game's plot, is that Sakamoto and his team already got it right years before: Metroid FUSION! Other M's story takes so much from Fusion that it's actually weird. The Federation science station and its several biospheres, a supervising Adam, upgrades that are ordained by the Federation/Adam, and even the subplot of corruption within the Federation. The reason for Samus needing upgrades is built into the story, as is the reason why she only gets to use certain upgrades at a time. And she does actually rebel against that the further things progress, gaining upgrades that she wasn't meant to get. Even her monologues are in there, but more succinct and in character. She gets to speak directly to Adam to challenge him at the end of the game. The AI Adam even gets to seem untrustworthy, just like the 'real' Adam does in Other M, but ends up contradicting his actions, by asserting that a hero's sacrifice is not the way to go. He ends up being way more likable compared to this human version, and the 'lady' nickname an actual touching scene of character development for him. Hell, it's even a neat part in Dread's story if you pay attention to his dialogue. I ended up being happy that he's back as a side kick in it, because of my love for Fusion. So, how and why did they mess Other M up this much? Why even repeat so many plot points from Fusion at all? All they had to do was to show how Adam died on a mission, any mission. Now Samus, armed with her knowledge of this bottle ship incident, looks somewhat foolish in context to the BSL and it's shady business. It's fun to see in hindsight, that with Dread Sakamoto and his team nailed Samus' character, emotiveness, and overall feel all with her animation and actions. They even got really cinematic overall, so that movie feel is still there, just way more fittingly implemented for a Metroid game.
One thing I noticed after Metroid Dread was announced was seeing Sakamoto's spark in the franchise was back and he was genuinely happy to finally work on the long anticipated Metroid 5. Other M being the flop it was important, as it led to Nintendo resetting Prime 4 and giving both Retro and itself all the time it to make sure it great at launch and both Samus Returns and Dread now being those games that learned from Other M's mistake.
The saddest part is that behind all of its problems, I believe there is an amazing game hiding within, held back not only by Sakamoto's stubbornness but also by plenty of other constraints, such as the hardware he had to work on and honestly also time. I hope one day we get another go at this style of gameplay for Metroid.
I'd say a lot of that game hidden within ended up materializing at least a little bit in Samus Returns! It's obviously not nearly the same, but the parry felt both like a natural fit for Samus and the natural progression from SenseMove in a 2D game.
@@TheGoldenBolt Maybe! But when I first played Other M it felt like the actual natural conversion from 2D Metroid into 3D (Which I felt with Super Mario 3D Land/World in regards to 2D Mario games) and it's a shame we are probably never getting another game like that.
I don't think the hardware was the issue, but rather how he handled it. Why did he limit the controls to the Wii Remote sideways when the Wii had the Nunchuck, Classic Controller and even Gamecube Controller? Why did he focus so much on saving space in the disk by leaving terrible monologue that doesn't add anything to the narrative and only serves to tell the audience what just happened? The biggest problem with Other M is that no one managed to put brakes on the Sakamoto train.
@@TwilightWolf032 I definitely think that if Other M was released on any other Nintendo platform it wouldn't have had a controller issue, they tried to not only adapt to the Wii's power but also the Wii's vision (Which was being a console anyone could play on).
@@Galespark234 Which also doesn't maek sense - every Wii came with a set of Wii Remote + Nunchuck, so Sakamoto had no reason to limit the developers to the Wii Remote only. Everyone could play with the combo (and this thanks to Retro Studios, since they're the ones who convinced Nintendo to pack the accessory with every Wii sold). I have a theory that Sakamoto did Other M the way he did because he doesn't like the fact Retro made Prime into a success. Other M's plot contradicts Prime by making this the first mission Samus ever did with the Federation after becoming a bounty hunter, despite her fighting alongside the GF in Corruption, she has no visors other than a small zoom, her beams stack once again, no spider ball, and then he comes out in interviews and vaguely states Prime games happen in a different universe, etc. To me, one of the reasons Sakamoto forced Team Ninja to limit themselves to the Wii Remote alone was because Retro was involved in having the Nunchuck packed with the console and how well they used it in Corruption for the Grapple upgrades. Once I analyzed what Retro had done for the series and what Sakamoto ended up doing with Other M, it seems to me that he really doesn't like Prime (the trailers for Other M listed all 2D games but no Prime games were mentioned).
I would like to add one thing regarding the Ridley scene - at no point in the game does the story indicate Ridley is anything more than a space dragon to Samus. She says "my long standing nemesis - Ridley" during the narration and that's it. There's no mention of Colony 2-KL, Samus' parents being killed by Ridley's forces (and her mother being eaten alive in front of her at the age of 3 - that would have given enough reason for the PTSD), nor any mention that Ridley invaded her adoptive home, Zebes, enslaved her adoptive parents and turned Mother Brain against its creators, which led to the death of Grey Voice, the Chozo that gave his DNA to be infused with Samus so she could survive living in Zebes. Instead of giving all of this pretty much character establishing information, the narrative is more focused on forcing the player sympathize and love Adam by making Samus tell us how she feels about in a vain attempt to convince us to feel the same. Funnily enough, what I wrote about Samus' backstory is all in the 2003 manga, which is referenced at the very beginning of the game (Samus as a child having her DNA tampered with, and later on the Ridley scene). The game is referencing the manga but refuses to give the important information!
I remember reading that manga back then too. It was trash. The fact that Other M appears to be using this obscure manga as part of its DNA in story-telling is mind-boggling.
@@Metroid4ever And ironically enough, the manga establishes heavily the relationship between Samus and the Chozo, especially her being the adopted daughter and having received the DNA of Grey Voice. Yet one more source material for Other M to completely contradict by making Adam her father figure! Yeah, even using that obscure material as basis for the plot, Sakamoto still felt the need to ignore its most important part!
@@isauldron4337 Your statement is correct, but you are wrong if you think Other M doesn't ignore that. Other M, a story that was supposed to be an entryway for newcomers into the series at the same time it links Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, doesn't make a single mention of the Chozo, who are the reason Samus even exists as a bounty hunter in the first place, but hammer down Adam's relationship to Samus that only exists in this one game. The reason Other M doesn't do this is because it wants to pretend Adam is the father figure Samus never had so its "plot" can work. If there were any mention of the Chozo whatsoever, who raised her from age 3 till she was old enough to leave and work for the GF, the entire narrative would crumble down. Not mentioning something doesn't necessarily equal ignoring, but Other M doesn't mention the Chozo precisely because it wants to ignore their existence!
What Bothers me even more then the chozo not being mentioned is that the game Does not even fully clarify that ridely and the space pirates are sentient, and not being controlled by mother Brain.
@@Majinhero Other M completely shits on the Metroid lore. It's like a soft reboot of the series, only using the iconic elements but ignoring all the lore behind them.
Y'know, for how often that one is played up, I really did expect it to be worse or more prevalent than it is! With how often everybody has driven the baby and the "you're not authorized to..." jokes, they felt a bit too easy to go after for the thousandth time.
@@TheGoldenBolt I have a theory about that. The baby is mentioned a lot in the opening moments of the game, but tones down after a while. I think a lot of people got burned after the opening hours and left, only remembering "the baby".
It certainly says something about a game when people are criticizing it's negative impact to it's respective series for it's 10th Anniversary. When you look at the Metroid franchise with games like Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, games that are on many people's "greatest video games of all time" lists, with many other titles only being slightly lesser than that, then you look at Other M it certainly stands out in all the wrong ways. With the advent of Samus Returns, the potential for a Metroid 5 (I'm confident it's on the way even though it's not officially confirmed) and Prime 4 being in development I am optimistic the series can bounce back, but you can't deny that Other M regardless of your opinion on the game has left a lot to be desired when it comes to Metroid in recent years. You can partially blame Other M for Federation Force's poor reception because it's biggest crime was honestly just really bad timing. One thing defenders of Other M usually don't realize is that those of us that do criticize the game, *wanted to like it* when we first played it and ultimately felt dissatisfied with what we got.
A little bit of behind-the-curtain: This wasn't a video I ever intended to make! I was playing Other M again for another video idea (I'd played at least a small bit of it _years_ ago), and after just an hour I was just...fascinated with this game and its baffling issues. I had to read up and figure out what exactly happened, and the more I read, the more fascinated I became. The other side, of course, is that as much as I may appreciate the intent and the history behind the game, there's so much about the game that I'd say deserves to be ripped to shreds. Providing context isn't an excuse, after all, it's just providing context!
@@isauldron4337 Like moving on helped save the franchise, when a game is shit it is gonna remain that way, no getting around that. You forget things and you will lose focus, mistakes like this needs to be remembered so it doesn't happen again
That was excellent and perfectly encapsulates how I feel about Other M and Sakomoto. With regards to Sakomoto, I think that, especially considering how smoothly development went and how much of a voice the programmers had, he's probably not a mean and prideful guy, but someone who gets very obsessed with a certain idea, sometimes to a degree that hurts the game. To be fair, the overarching ideas of Other M are genuinely good! I would love a better writer to take over the story and show us how these ideas could really shine, but he was too focused on doing something specific and didn't realize that his work with the details and execution of those ideas aren't always that great. However, I have a ton of respect for him for, 3-4 years after that game came out, picking himself up, dusting himself off, and trying again. Metroid has always been ambitious and always been ahead of its time in one way or another. Sakomoto just needed to learn that executing those ambitions to detail while given the technology of the current day is something best left to those with a better eye for it. For instance, I think his overall idea of who Samus is, strong and awesome but also compassionate, moral, and somewhat introspective, is not only something that can work but something that should work and is honestly how I view Samus myself. However, how he executed it gave the, I believe, undesired effect of showing Samus as submissive and weak. I highly doubt that this is what he wanted, but it is unfortunately what happened in the eyes of the players. Sakomoto needed to learn to do two key things 1. Trust in his ideas and that he still understood Metroid (while making sure to take some key things into consideration not to lose track and 2. Not obsess over the details, but let better writers/storytellers do these things, giving input only when necessary and being willing to allow other ideas to eclipse the grandiose visions he had and to become part of his ambitions With Metroid Dread on the horizon, many of us are really excited. Yes, it's possible that Sakomoto still has some of the same issues, but I think Samus Returns and what we've seen of Dread has proven that he's learned how to create a vision while not being afraid to let others help. I'm glad that he's still as ambitious as ever, but has seemingly tempered that ambition through humility and learning his own boundaries. He's stuck to his guns with Dread, and, if he lets those who know what they're doing with the story and gameplay run with his usually fantastic overarching ideas, then it will certainly be a game to remember, and for the opposite reason as Other M
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your masterpiece. I have a special love for this game but it's mainly because the run cycle is so cool. "I didn't think much of other m I brushed it off as the bad one. Then I finished it a few weeks ago and yeah it's the bad one" haha it's funny the way you said it, but also I wish other people would do what you done by play a game before forming a final opinion.
I completely agree, a more fleshed out, more sure of itself Other M with an actual control stick could be so much fun mechanically, especially if they can nail down the exploration more than this game did!
The characterization, the overuse of the soldiers, the weird Ridley life cycle, the PTSD from her childhood, the Mother Brain proxy... so much of the narrative would have worked so much better as a prequel game.
It's part of what makes it even more (morbidly) fascinating that this was, from the jump, always meant to fill the gap between Super and Fusion. Just...how?
A lot of the Narrative beats would have worked far better as a prequel. Have it be set before she becomes a bounty hunter, as another soldier in Adam's squad. Maybe have it so that she doesn't use her Chozo tech unless she has to. So during a mission gone wrong, Samus activates the suit and Adam forbids most of it because he has command of her at this time, and he doesn't know what the suit is capable of. In this hypothetical game, the authorization mechanic has a much stronger narrative purpose as it would mirror Samus' frustrations with authority, culminating with her leaving the Federation at the end of the game. Samus as a weaker character would make more sense (not complete sense, I still wouldn't want the Ridley scene as is) because she's unproven and hasn't done any of the metriod game stuff yet. Though with a bit more Sakimoto level stubbornness in there.
Really, you could fix a lot of things about the game by moving it up to near the start of Samus' career. Her lack of confidence because this is her first big mission since leaving the regular armed forces, her fear of Ridley because this is the first time she's seen him since she was a child (or if we absolutely must have metroids and mother brain around at least the first time she's seen him come back from the dead), Adam's mistrust because she's still a rookie and hasn't made a name for herself yet...
Here's something that might make the PTSD work with Other M staying a midquel: What if it's just a side effect of not being allowed to use her full arsenal reminded her of the time she met ridley with none of her arsenal at her disposal?
Hearing how there's a traitor in the group, I thought for sure it would be Adam. That's why he's so controlling over Samus, even in regards to powers like the suit or grapple. He's the one sabotaging things to keep the Federation's secrets and Samus presents a problem, so he needs to keep her under his thumb. Adding a bit more to Adam's character, like actually being somewhat likable in the flashbacks, serving as an inspiration to Samus would also help when it comes to the twist. Samus must confront her former master, soomeone who only cares about his duty to the Federation, and stop him, for the good of humanity.
Metroid Other M is such a missed opportunity. Sure the cutscenes and looks are pretty, gameplay is fine....outside of the power up restrictions. But MAN the story and dialogue is downright awful.
It's an absolutely baffling project, one of the only examples of a game - that I can think of at least - where nothing went wrong after the flawed core concept. But that alone was enough to sink the entire series for the better part of a decade.
I respectfully disagree that the gameplay was “fine”. It wasn’t. Forcing you to use a sideways Wiimote and having to switch to first person by changing how you hold the remote (and this not being able to move while first person aiming) was game breaking for me. I was already cursing that I had to move in a 3D space with a goddamn Dpad, but this was beyond the pale.
I watched ProtonJon play through the whole game on stream and my god is the story a mess. The whole dynamic between Samus and Adam is basically Poe and Holdo from The Last Jedi done a million times worse. Let that sink in.
@@StormsparkPegasus unplayable? How come everyone I know, me included, that played the game when it came out had 0 problems with it? It felt more like a 2d game yeah, but that was why we liked it. Fusion and zero mission on gba were the rage where I live and we played prime and this. You have to differentiate and not call unplayable an scheme you could figure out
Okay after playing Metroid Dread I’ve realized a few things. I loved the scene where Mercury Steam remembered that Samus was raised by the Chozo. And that she spoke in the Chozo language. Now they need to go back to “Other M” and change it to fit in the timeline. They need to remember that Adam was a Commander that Samus had so much respect for, that if he asked her not to use power up do to the safety of others, that she wouldn’t. And not that he’s “like her father”. No. She had a father in Old Bird. Other M has such great gameplay, and on Nintendo’s new consoles it would feel and play even more amazing, and they would be able to tweak out all the bugs. Movement would be so smooth with today’s controls, and you can have a 1st person view for looking/shooting if needed, but it doesn’t need to be required, it would just be a button press. Then they need to go and bring in their best sound designers and orchestra, they need to bring the music back to Metroid, just like they did with the prime series, and Samus Returns. But with all new themes. Music in Metroid let’s you know how Samus feels, it makes the mood. They need to bring back the “purple” Gravity Suit, and not just a feature. Missiles have to be useable in 3rd person, and not just first person view. The counter needs to be updated to the new counter strike that’s in Samus returns/Dread, it would make the gameplay so much smoother then trying to manually dodge, or trying to jump on the enemy’s head. Now let’s focus on the story. First off we need a title that makes sense, and not a code for Mother. This is a game where everyone aboard a space ship dies, and so we need a strong name. Also Samus never called the Metroid a baby in Samus Returns or Super Metroid, she called it “the Infant Metroid”, so let’s completely ditch her saying “the baby”. That got old pretty quick. Now… Let’s address the PTSD when she sees Ridley, up to that point Samus has faced Ridley 5 times, and not once did she go PTSD. She can have a panic attack because yes she completely destroyed him in Super, and she’s completely shocked that the creature that killed her whole family in front of her is alive, but give the lady some dignity, and not make her out to be crazy. And finally… Adam didn’t shoot Samus in the back to stop her, instead the cloned infant Metroid attacked Samus, as she thought it just hatched and that she might develop a bond like before, and he shot the Metroid killing it, and saving her. That’s why she was so exhausted, because it had drained her life energy to feed. Now the Voice acting/translation needs to be updated to our culture style, and not Japans culture style. People in other countries don’t always understand others cultures, and it makes things feel weird/awkward or dry. Instead let the actors and translation teams do what they do best. “Act”. I think people really feel that Other M is a bad game because of a few missteps along the way, and because they forgot some of her real past. But at its core it’s a good game, and it has so much potential. Let’s make it be the game it deserves.
Glad I finally got around to watching this video especially now after just finishing Dread. It feels like Sakamoto really learned a lot from Other M and it atleast deserves credit in showing him and other developers what direction to not take the series in, and how that has lead Dread, atleast in my opinion to becoming a modern classic.
After just recently replaying Samus Returns it has become much clearer to me, that they had already learned some lessons from Other M: The way Samus behaves in the face of adversity. The cutscene at the end of the Digger fight has her calmly blast him again to finish him off, not even looking at him. Compare this to Dreads depiction, especially the Kraid fight, and it becomes clear that they heard the fans' opinions on the Ridley encounter. Reminds me alot of Samus in Prime 2, where each encounter with Dark Samus has her calm and in control, even dismissive in parts.
To me, the biggest lasting impact I feel Other M had that I just feel so sad about Is that now they'll never try to give Samus a voice again. I love the idea of a Metroid game that is a bit more cinematic and tries to give Samus character, but now Other M will forever be the catalyst for Nintendo to say "Well we tried it once, didn't work out, let's never try again." instead of trying to acknowledge what was bad and trying to improve on it.
Maybe I'm being a bit optimistic here, but I think that Nintendo wouldn't necessarily be against a story-based Samus. If this were still that same Wii-era company, absolutely, but I think they've adapted to the times a bit in recent years. I think they'd just be a bit more hands-on to make sure the writing holds to a certain standard, and that they don't have the director working with actors through a language barrier!
@@TheGoldenBolt I can only hope, but it'll be a while before we would actually a more cinematic Metroid. I'd love for Prime 4 to be, but I think they're going to stick as close to Prime 1's structure as they can. At least a lack of moving forward seems to be a common thing with franchises that have gone on hiatus like Star Fox Zero. And who knows how long it'll be before Prime 4 comes out, let alone something else afterwards. I guess I'm not as good at being optimistic ._.
It'll definitely be a while, that's for sure - but at least when it comes to Metroid, a game like Prime 4 struggling behind the scenes puts it in _great_ company with other Metroid titles, so I'm oddly hopeful thanks to the development issues. Like I said in the video, it wouldn't be a Metroid game without a little struggling, as Other M showed us!
Play metroid dread. Can confirm she at least gets a line where she speaks that bird talk (chozo). It was cool. I'm not sure if she speaks again just yet think I'm 80% done with the game
This seems like a similar case to the prequels where one man's ambition caused him to have too many ideas that did not translate well when bringing it to a unified whole. Also, it seems like Sakamoto needed someone to tell him no or to tell him why something was too far or just did not work but no one could or would say anything that criticized him and, much like the Star Wars prequels, the game suffered because of this.
I'm really torn on Sakamoto. On one hand I absolutely admire that stubbornness to go against Nintendo's usual approach; IMO they've been too dismissive of a more narrative approach to games and the Metroid series has stood so high in part because of that more cinematic angle. On the other hand, everything I hear about the plot in Other M just leaves me confused as to what his writing intentions are. Even so, I don't think it's fair to dismiss him as "the other m guy" when he seems to be also responsible for most of what's good about the series.
'll say it over and over. This game would have been way better storywise if it was written as the last mission Samus did for the federation before becoming an independent bounty hunter and before Zero mission. By having a Samus that never unlocked any function of her suit yet, by having her still under federation and Adam orders. By having her very first confrontation with Ridley, which would explain the PTSD. By having this mission being the reason she decided to quit the federation after the death of her friends/comrades in a mission that was provoked by federation actions and Space pirates. The story could have been about MB creation by the federation, using biological engineering and sample from multiples monster aliens, before being stolen by the space pirates (or going rogue). Madeline would be just the interface of the brain. For the armor upgrade, there is many ideas that could be used. For example, having the tutorial being about the federation analyzing the suit for active duty (indicating that Samus was using federation equipment until then) and have the upgrades locked in the suit. Have Madeline(MB) being the one to unlock them as the story advance, under the guise that the suit function was also studied there, only to reveal later that MB also contain Chozo sample, and using that, she at the end, deactivate the suit in the final confrontation with her. Imagine how the final sequence would have been so much better in a fight of Samus zero armor. Heck, you could have made a whole theme about Samus over-relying on her equipment and suit function, and her overcoming her PTSD by learning personal inner strength, which came into climax when she face down MB with nothing else than the zero suit and the blaster. No one would have made to much jazz about Samus being over-emotional, she was still young and not yet the badass hunter we know. Its not about waiting for authorization, it would be about learning of how to use the suit. Adam would need of course some rewriting, and each member of the federation team would need personality, at least enough so we are sad each time one of them die.
Sakamoto is a good reminder to have a good ambition but being open to ideas, the stubbornness just sounded like such a hassle to deal with. I can imagine it feeling like it was only Sakamoto’s work and not the team.
This video was wonderful! I'm one of the few fans of the game (one of the few times I beat a game then immediately replayed it), and it's been a little saddening to see so many people just beat on it without taking into consideration what it did right. As wonky as the gameplay was, I had an absolute blast with it, and exploring the ship post game was really fun too. I think with a little tweaking the story could've quite powerful, but the idea to have Adam authorize her abilities really damned the narrative. I love the idea of showing the emotions inside one of the most badass and iconic video game heroes ever, it's just too bad the execution was so half-baked. You really brought into perspective just how fundamentally flawed the game was from both a narrative and gameplay perspective, and I can appreciate that while still loving the beautiful mess the game is. Thanks for making this, and keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for the kind words, my friend! Your comment made me realize that "beautiful mess" accidentally describes a good number of the games I've made videos on this year, which was an unintentional throughline, whoops!
I find it so fascinating that they messed up the incentives and mechanics of close quarter combat, considering it's Team Ninja. Ninja Gaidon (from memory) did a great job of encouraging you to go in for the kill to get more health or to absorb essences to finish enemies off quickly. And it's so weird that the same team forgot that pretty important design trope. Eitherway, thanks for having me on Kevin!
I would absolutely love to hear a more complete history of this game's development, just to see how they tripped at every turn and still happily pushed on none the wiser. It's probably the only game I can think of that's quite this out of tune with itself, and that's what makes it so fascinating. Also, thank you once again for taking part!
See, the thing is that they did not, 99.9% of the blame lies with Sakamoto who was and is a Prima Donna. The game is what he wanted, how he wanted and got released when he wanted it. Team ninja _argued_ to get better controls, to use nunchuck or classic, Sakamoto shot them down time and time again. Its on the interviews. What the studio should've done is honestly resign from the project in protest rather than work with a man who would disregard their knowledge and experience in favor of a rather damning vision.
Wasnt Team Ninjas decision for the lack of pick ups or incentives to engage in fights. That all laid on sakamoto. Team Ninja, despite any protests they did, from the strange control scheme, to being denied even the use of the nunchuk, that all fell on sakamotos decisions. He kept telling them no, regardless TN's experience with this kind of genre. So any issue you had with the game, a lot of the decisions came from sakamoto himself. TN simply followee orders in the end
I'm one of the few who enjoyed Other M, probably because I'm so old school that if a game has bad controls (like they did in the 8 or 16 bit days) I just accepted it for what it was and went along for the ride anyway. Also, Madelen Bergman, who was the scientist who was saved in Other M, was the one who broke the rules to create the vaccine to save Samus in Fusion, as a return for her life being saved by Samus. Also you had to figure out who the Deleter was by process of elimination. I still enjoyed it, was awed by its scope & ambition. The thing I didn't like was the "where's waldo" segments where you had to look in first person mode for a clue, I got stuck at one of those after checking everything, and after 5 minutes I just looked online for help
Metroid Other M was my first entry; quite the thing; My family didn't have money, nor internet at that time, just a WII and 4 games of my choice. In my country it was very popular to play Smash 64 on internet-boot emulators; and once I had the chance I thought it was a good idea to play Other M because "Samus". Well, I did liked the game to the point I even completed it to 100% without guides and all. (unlike my "game" runs of today). Now I see its flaws, and outmost cringe. But, the good times are still here u know, specially with my youthful surprise with those rendered cutscenes. To me this Samus is way different than the original for good reasons, same with the story. And now that I reflect on it. Its best to keep it that way.
So funny story... I owned a Wii at the time and bought Other M brand new as my FIRST Metroid title.... And I REALLY liked it! Other M got me into the other games and made me a fan of the series. Looking back years later after having played: Metroid, Super, Fusion, and Returns, I must admit that Other M felt very much like a third party Metroid game (or like a spin-off).
I really like the combat of Other M. In this game the missiles are more powerful than the charge since it take longer to activate. The loop of staggering enemies with a charge shot, toppling with a missile and then finishing the with a lethal shot feels fantastic once you get the hang of it. I'm glad Sakamoto kept this concept and tried to carry it over to Samus returns. I'm also willing to give Sakamoto another chance. A metroid 5 would give him the chance to applied what he's learned from Other M and Samus returns. He just needs a duel director to properly interpret his vision, similar to how Kojima had people helping him express his vision without going too overboard with the Metal Gear series.
@@StormsparkPegasus So you honestly believe he had nothing to do with the amazing Super Metroid, Fusion, Zero Mission, and Samus Returns but he is solely responsible for Other M? Do you see how dumb and biased that sounds? He's the one that hired Mercury Steam. I guarantee he's the one who came up with the additions to the story. I'm not saying he came up with everything, but he was definently part of the process. He's the one that did most of the developer interviews, which means he had to have some hand in its creation. And you can't take away the fact that Other M is the game that introduced the melee takedowns that are used in Samus Returns. Mercury Steam are fans of Metroid, so there is no doubt that they played Other M and enjoyed all the lethal strikes and wanted to keep a similar feature in the next metroid game. Basically, give the man some credit and stop trying to through him under the bus like he's the sole problem with Metroid.
@@StormsparkPegasus He was the sole Director of Super Metroid and Zero Mission, while Other M had 3. Plus Sakamoto has always had the final word when it comes to the stories of these games. It's not like Sakamoto got all this control for no reason, he earned it by writing the stories of the previous 3 games. I'm not saying he's a flawless writer, but he is pretty much the only writer for the series. If he leaves and never works on Metroid, who will write the stories? Who will resolve the cliffhangers of Fusion and Samus Returns? Takehiko probably, but I guarantee he would ask Sakamoto for direction because he's earned that respect from his team. I'm not saying Sakamoto should stay the only writer, I think he should have people helping and questioning his decisions. But I definitely dont think you should throw out the main guy because of one poorly recieved story and expect everything to be perfect.
There are so many moments in this game that make me want another game in the same style. Just one that does it the right way. Many moments of fleeting brilliance in this game. The speed booster especially is so much fun to use, and feels like I always imagined Metroid to be in 3D.
32:00 ".....in Sakamoto's eyes, Samus has never been a strong character. She's been a little girl playing dress up." I was just about to make some joke about Japanese sexism but I restrained myself.
@SNES Nes Because Sakamoto changed who was (and still is) a strong badass bounty Hunter who in the eyes of great horrors and fearsome enemies never cowered or even surrendered to a frightened weak woman only following the order of the man “above” her, even becoming his damsel in distress. If that’s not sexist I don’t know what is.
@SNES Nes sexism: relating to discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex or gender. And I’m pretty sure most agree Samus’ character was devalued immensely in this game.
I just hope the metroid series gets the recognition it deserves after all its been through whilst never growing beyond a reasonably sized dedicated fanbase
About the point of smooth development cycle =/= good product, I feel like Radiohead are a good example. Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac are in my opinion their finest work, yet it's a project they've gone on about afterwards having almost broken up the band, because they were stressed and unprepared prior to recording. And yet, it's their most creative albums, when they stopped being a band and just became a musical collective, in a way. By contrast, their next album, Hail to the Thief, which they described as the best recording experience they ever had, was massively inferior.
This game _definitely_ damages my perception of Fusion; I can't read those internal monologues Samus has during her elevator trips without hearing Jessica Martin's poorly directed voice. Not to mention she's surprised the GF is trying to clone Metroids. _Again._ Random thought: You know what might've given those random GF troops a chance to be decent/actual characters? If Samus' suit was somehow modified to be a comms bridge between _the entire squad._ You're already an outsider tagging along on a GF mission. Having the powersuit act as a communications hub between the squad literally forces interaction between all the characters. Maybe some of the other guys don't trust her either because she's a world-blow-upping loose cannon. Maybe the Japanese guy who only says two words ("Got it!") is a naive fanboy that idolizes Samus' heroism/reputation. Maybe they all sink into a panic when evil mustache dude (Deleter?) starts picking them off one by one and Samus has to struggle to save whoever she can because we may actually _give a damn_ about one of the 5 guys not named Anthony or Adam there. ... Okay, maybe _not_ Adam. He's a prick. The game was already so _far_ from being a proper Metroid. Seeing how Samus reacts _to_ or interacted _with_ those soldiers beyond the by-the-numbers tripe the game actually delivered might have been interesting for all their characters.
This was very well put together, awesome job! You've got yourself a new subscriber. I was surprised the first time I heard SomeCallMeJohnny's voice in the video. I know there was an article around the time Samus Returns was announced, I believe from Kotaku, where Sakamoto said he still stands by what he did in Other M but I can't find it anywhere. I get the feeling that the Ridley Freakout and Adam shooting Samus in the back are there to make Samus weak for the exact amount of time the plot requires since the plot couldn't progress as intended otherwise. For example, for the Ridley boss fight, if Samus walked into the arena and the first thing she sees was Anthony getting knocked off a ledge into lava prompting Samus and Ridley to fight, would the story progress any differently? No, since the freakout doesn't add anything. There's no character growth from Samus, there's no consequences since Anthony lives in the end, it seems to serve the purpose of forcing Samus in a weakened state for as long as the plot needs and that's it. I feel like the only character assassination moment for Samus is when she complied with the bad guy's request and just let the villains win. Remember at the end where this suspicious Colonel shows up and is like "I know Adam and his platoon got wiped out so now you're an outsider. I can't let you talk to the witness (Madeline Bergman) so you need to leave empty handed." At this point I expect Samus to say or do something, at least show she has a backbone and then Anthony can show up to verify her story. It's not like she's helpless in this situation, she knows that there was a Deleter placed into Adam's unit at the very least. However, Samus doesn't do anything. She closes her eyes, clenches her fist and bows her head as if she's been completely defeated and outplayed. I'm not saying Samus would threaten violence, but there's no way she would stand by and let someone suspicious do what they want, especially when Samus knows the Federation has been up to no good and when Adam's last order, one of the last things Adam said to Samus, was to find the survivor (Madeline) and bring that person to safety. One last thing, you know when Anthony is being attacked by a monster and you need to look at a Grapple Point for Adam to authorize the Grapple Beam? If you don't look at the Grapple Point Anthony gets thrown into lava and dies. I suspect that's just a gameplay mechanic or something but I find this fact funny.
Thank you very much, I appreciate the kind words! I know I've heard of that Sakamoto interview, and while I couldn't find it easily either, I felt his quote regarding a Metroid show more telling. Just to use my channel as an example, I've made some very, _very_ poorly videos when I look back at my first year - to the point that I remade one of them! - but I'd stand by them even today now that I know better. And those videos were just me, I'm not throwing a few hundred people under the bus when I call them bad. Sakamoto standing by his attempts with Other M doesn't also mean that he can't have taken from that experience and learned. Of course, his deferral on the Metroid show can just be taken as a sort of "I'm not responsible for television shows," too! I think it's a bit of both, and I think both that comment and the one you noted can be equally true coming from the same man, even on the same day!
I like to think that people at Nintendo and MercurySteam watched this video after a long day of putting their heart and soul into Dread, and thought "just you wait"
This was a pretty good analysis! I especially think the ending bit about whether or not the director should take the reins again was well spoken, and the ratchet/clank comparison was pretty apt as well. I personally had a lot of gripes talked about in the vid, but 15 bucks isnt a bad price for what i got. At points, the atmosphere was worth it.
What you said at the end is _exactly_ it - on sale? It's not nearly as sour a taste in your mouth! If I paid $50, I'd justifiably be a lot more miffed, but the majority of players got it at $30 or less - I'm actually a bit surprised the reception hasn't warmed up over time as those players started sharing their experiences more!
I'm just glad the galaxy's most kickass warrior is back and better than ever. Samus Returns was one thing... but holy hell, Metroid Dread is _another entirely._ Please never go away again, Samus. Gaming isn't the same without you.
Insanely good video. Hope we will these kinds off "analysis" kinds of vids more often. They take a long time and a lot of time to makeN but the results are always very impressive.
Thank you very much, my friend! I definitely want to keep pushing out stuff in this style, although Other M is obviously a unique beast so things wouldn't be _quite_ like this. Something in the vein of this crossed with the Legend of Dragoon video is what I'd like to do relatively frequently going forward, with smaller "regular" videos sprinkled in. If September goes well, I'm hoping to have another big one in October, maybe even two!
Ripley who Samus is based off in her most cinematic and action orienated movie Aliens compared to a group of military trained US colonial marines. Marines who just about an hour earlier proclaimed themselves as the "ultimate badasses the state of the badass art." Within an hour and first contact with the Aliens. "It's game over man it's game over, what the hell are we going to do now." Ripley "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit... It's the only way to be sure." Samus "I cannot authorise the use of that until my sensei tells me to." If Ripley was like this in Aliens. "I cannot use the flamethrower to stop the Alien Queen unless Hicks tells me to. I cannot save Newt with the mech suit unless Hicks authorises me to work the machinery. "Get away from her you bitch! Hicks was that language acceptable for a lady?" Look how they massacred my girl!
If dread turns up to be really good and I really hope that it will. Sakamoto has truly found his way again, and has redeeming himself with Dread and Samus Returns
Johnny being the voice of Sakamoto? Talk about drawing the short straw. Joking aside, enjoyable video. Nice to see someone criticise stuff in Other M that isn't just the story, as I've seen a lot of people claim the gameplay's still good and I'm wondering if we played the same game. It's functional, and that's as nice I can be about it. That's not even covering the pixel hunts and the over the shoulder walking to the next cutscene segments. One of the most annoying authorisations for me outside of the ones mentioned was the Wave Beam. You climb up a hill, navigate some electric traps, get to a room with a button blocked by glass. No way to get to it, so you go back down. Then you get trapped and fight space pirates, THEN Adam authorises the Wave Beam, THEN you go back and shoot that damn switch. Another one I remember being brought up in another video years ago was regarding the Speed Booster and how you effectively ran around in one big circle to get back to a point where you needed to use it in the first place. As for the last statement about Sakamoto... as long as he works with someone who's not afraid to pull him back and say no if his ideas are bad.
I did give him an out to go with somebody else, but he bit the bullet for me on this one! It felt fitting to have the guy that introduced me to Metroid voice the closest thing Metroid has to a proper father.
Excellent Analysis on the gameplay front. I suggest looking up "The Other M that never was" by Lexicon Lookout here on YT if you're interested about the differences in the story between the Japanese and English version. It delves into how much of Other M's connections with Fusion were lost in translation such as the reasons why you even encounter the Nightmare chronologically a second time in the BSL or what Samus actually even accomplished in Other M - the old army, the ringleaders, being disbanded due to her securing a witness. Even Authoritarian Prick Adam, Samus' stance on him and some other plotholes are a result of the translation being unfaithful. It's crazy how deep the rabbit hole on missed potential goes.
That's a video I definitely have to give a watch when I get the time, I didn't realize _just_ how different the story beats were between the localization and the original!
Thank God for the following games 1. Metroid Samus Returns 2. Metroid Dread 3. Metroid Prime Remastered I'd include AM2R but I'm not interested in fanmade games.
I beat Super Metroid, Recently beat Metroid Prime (1) and I just bought Fusion. I’ve never played Other M, but this video really explained why this game is so disappointing. But I believe Metroid is not dead just yet. Metroid prime 4 will be here and I feel like it will be the resurrection the series needed. Though if Nintendo treats Metroid how they did on Wii U. Then sadly, metroid might truly be dead. Also really awesome vid man!
It's a shame that despite how much hard work was behind the scenes no one noticed that the game concepts were flawed from the get-go: From a narrative point of view it makes no sense making an origin story when the game in the timeline was the send to last game in the series (at that time). By that point Samus should have been a celebrity not being treated like a random grunt that gets second guessed by foot-soldiers. It's like playing Metal Gear Solid 4 and the story instead of focusing on Snake's late life suddenly deciding he's a newbie and patronizing him for no apparent reason. Gameplay wise the modern NES idea sounds terrible on paper, I even recall an interview where Sakamoto stated that he chose the NES-like layout because it _was a throwback to the glory days of the series_ which confused me a lot. Sure the NES Metroid was a groundbreaking title back in the 80's but let's be honest: it aged like milk (Even back in 2010) and everyone knows Metroid real breakthrough was Super Metroid. Now to be fair the control scheme is not that bad IMO and you can actually get used to it but it is definitely an acquired taste. Also the _simple controls will appeal the most players_ was an incredibly blindfolded statement. Back in the mid 2000 all the rage was Halo, Gears of War and Uncharted all of them shooters but *action* games that required more than a d-pad and two buttons to play and had massive audiences, casuals among them and "complex" controls were never an issue.
Thanks for the video! I've always loved the idea of Other M. The concept of expanding Samus as a character is really exciting to me, and the gameplay while not perfect was really cool. I'm in love with the potential this game had and hope one day we get something like Other M that lives up to that potential. I unfortunately think things are going to be played safe for a long long time though.
I've been a hardcore metroid fan for as long as I can remember, and I remember getting other M back when it first came out. I was young and didn't understand that a videogame was capable of being bad and I remember playing it and just being happy because I was able to experience a new metroid title because I only had one other entry at that time. I can distinctly recall being confused about the story, but not quite grasping what was going on or that it was bad, EXCEPT FOR RIDLEY, which even at the time of being 7 years old made absolutely no sense and I really disliked it even then. my other metroid entry was prime 3 and needless to say I noticed how samus did not behave anything like that fighting ridley(s) in that game. the gameplay was a GIANT red flag for my younger self. I found myself confused at the conflicting game mechanics and not understanding those choices (definitely not as thought out as I'm making it sound here but I was very confused) even at my young age. I remember distinctly being confused that I couldn't move in first person and i even tried connecting nunchuck to see if it worked because of my other metroid entry being prime 3. the missles weirdly didn't confuse me and I don't remember it ever bothering me at the time. i played through it many times as a boy and discovered a hole in how the game was to be played, you can hold down the 1 button and wiggle your d-pad frantically and automatically dodge through anything. I haven't played other M in years and my opinion about it has soured drastically and I really don't like it at all, but I do feel bad for sakamoto because I can tell that the failure of the game crushed him. :(
At this very late date, I'm saying the lack of Itagaki is really what did Team Ninja in, and I'd never say for sure if he were a part it would have been a good game, but it all seems to correlate. I absolutely hate to boil things down to one guy on a dev team, but it really tracks with every project they've had since his departure. A linear Metroid that had a lot of drama could have been fine, not one anybody would want as a trend for the series, but I think this game sucked because they lost a visionary.
There's 3 ways to dodge in this game. I've had this game for 11 years and it is my favorite metroid game. And i only knew of 2 ways to dodge. I never knew shaking the wiimote would dodge.
Every time I see an old video mentioning Metroid Dread, I feel so grateful for the actual Dread game being good enough to honor all the folklore around its name. I wonder if Sakamoto every considered to feel sorry for Other M (like Aonuma felt sorry for OoT's Water Temple). But I'm beyond glad that Samus Returns and Dread didn't followed up Other M's way of storytelling. In fact, Sakamoto just acted as a producer for this games, being all the rest handled by Fumi Hayashi at EPD and Jose Luis Marquez at MercurySteam.
One thing about Samus that doesn't sit well with me is her varia suit redesign. In previous games, you could tell it was space level battle armor. This games version looks like a cosplay or wardrobe for an actor in a film. It's too small looking in comparison. Her blaster especially went from an arm cannon to a funnel. Also I love how you got SomeCallMeJhonny to voice Sakamoto's interview quotes
With Metroid Dread being announced and set to be released this year, Sakamoto has another chance to not only prove he still understands this series, but to truly bring the Metroid series back into spotlight after so many years. I have hope he can do it. Also, if there’s one great character in this game, it’s definitely Anthony Higgs. PLEASE let him come back!
Stories aren't about content. But execution. One could take Other M ideas and make a better game (some even say Fusion is said game). Even if I tried to put myself in the shoes of an apologist of this game, is very hard finding what it was trying to tell since the focus jumps around so much. The conflict of Samus losing the baby Metroid isn't even related or explored to her past both in K2L and in Zebes. The conspiracy story with the Deleter and the Federation was more well told in Fusion, since at least in that game the authorization system served as a way to slow her progress while they got data on the X parasite. Even the (what I'm assuming) were the strongest beats, Adam sacrificing, Ridley confronting Ridley and Madeline Bergman losing MB didn't felt satisfying. As a game I think it's strongest achievement may be the framing of the camera to emulate both the 2D games and add more depth. Since some rooms (not all of them) felt like good recreations. The control decision was a mistake. Nintendo even in the Mario Galaxy games quarrels with the notion that new players have a hard time using an analogue stick. But I think that should be carried more by the level design than the control scheme. I think both new and old players were frustrated by using a single wiimote to both move and aim the missiles. If the issue felt that hard to deal, they should have made it entirely 2D, I mean a lot of Nintendo IPs went back to that style so it would have been more casual friendly. In short the thing I learn from Other M is that you have to be focused, experiment but also keep things simple and iterate on the stuff that feels solid enough. In a videogame story, more often than not, less is more. Is not about showing, rather it is doing. IMO narrative driven games should be tested both with cutscenes and gameplay and also by the gameplay skipping all cutscenes, and in both styles be fun to play.
That's one I'll admit I hadn't even thought of! Obviously my view is skewed as a "core" player but I didn't think of the rating messing with its intended outreach. Even back in 2010 that certainly would've had at least some effect!
Smooth transition between gameplay and cinematic my ass. You know damn good and well when Samus is about to transform into melodramatic robot mode. Also, you ever notice how in most Metroid games, control is rarely if ever taken from the player? Super Metroid did it only a couple times in Tourian. Once when 'the baby' nearly kills you. Once when you're physically unable to move thanks to the brain laser that for whatever reason is capable of draining not only energy but depleting your ammo (I still don't get how that works), up until you finally recover and can start fighting again and avenge the dead Metroid. Zero Mission's cinematics are short, sweet, and to the point -- just an excuse to display some art for a few moments, or introduce a boss. The Prime series games are usually light on cinematics, and only take your control away during situations where there's not much you really need to do other than listen, anyway, IIRC. Fusion only has talky-talky in dedicated navigation rooms, and apart from that it takes cues from Zero Mission (occasional cinematic moments that are very brief), and Super Metroid/Prime (only taking away your control when you either can't really do anything or there's nothing you can really take action for anyway). The Metroid series has, when at its best, told its story and narrative passively -- keeping you firmly in control of Samus at all times. Events unfold around you while you're still in control. Things are shown, not told. And if Samus ever needs to speak her mind about something, it's very quick and concise -- like the mission introduction summaries (in logbook format) at the beginning of games. The games don't insult your intelligence by telling you how you should feel, and more often than not, it's up to you to feel. Even for all its verbosity, Fusion did great at 'show don't tell' (alongside the actual telling) -- when the SA-X is stalking or chasing you down, making you the hunted instead of the hunter, you don't need to be told Samus is breaking out into a cold sweat or her heart is pounding as she flees deadly energy blasts from an opponent she can't even hope to hurt. It's evident in the fact that you ACTUALLY CAN'T DAMAGE that monstrosity and its attacks deal ridiculous amounts of damage. You can come to your own conclusion that she must be in fight or flight, getting the hell away, and when it finally loses sight of her, breathing a sigh of relief, only for the fear to give way to a slowly boiling indignation, anger, rage, and hatred... "If I only had my fully powered suit, I'd make that damned false copy of me PAY." The atmospheric music was greatly done in that game as well, giving you the senses of unease and trepidation. You know that for all your losses, you are a powerful warrior. But you've got to have caution. Something is terribly wrong, and you can feel it in your bones, in the air... It's not enough to make you panic and run (unless you run into that unkillable foe), but enough to make you proceed with caution. You're no stranger to danger, but you haven't stayed alive this long by being reckless. When every hair on the back of your neck is standing on end, you know it's a warning sign... and one to be ignored at your own peril. DOOM 2016 later showed us that we can understand a lot about a character even when they don't speak a single word. Just in how expressive they are. Actions speak louder than words, and you can understand just by the Doomslayer's gestures and actions during the brief scripted scenes (which never take you out of first person even for a second) what he's feeling. His contempt, his outrage, his frustration, and defiance. We can see exactly where he hesitates, and where he doubles down. We can figure what he's contemplating when he looks aside at a nearby dead body while Samuel Hayden is prattling on about good intentions and the greater good. And this is an important point in how Other M fell flat on its ass, in my humble opinion. If it had relied less on taking you out of the character's head and more on syncing the player with the character -- if it had been more like DOOM 2016 would later be (and I don't mean making Samus just a mindless killer), or even just taking cues from Prime 3, there would have been better ways to express Samus through actions instead of words. Hell, you can even have non-verbal voice acting cues to add along to it. Samus can give hints as to how she feels in a given fight based on sounds she makes within a given battle. Really, less is so much more. Hell, if you want flashback sequences, make them controllable/in-game engine. Let us feel what it's like to be in her shoes. Even work with moments of controllable helplessness -- If Samus is disabled, you can still try in vain to move, struggling, stumbling, inching forwards at a far too slow pace to get anything done while the scene plays out. But these kinds of moments need to be sparingly used, otherwise it loses its impact. Super Metroid's scene with the Metroid and Mother Brain was so profound because you'd never before been put into a position where you couldn't move, and could only watch in horror as you were able to VISIBLY watch the Metroid's health drain away from the attacks it was taking (a brilliant use of the 'bosses change color as they get closer to death' mechanic), while it brings you back to health. Super Metroid was not legendary because it was a movie in video game form. It was great because it played to the strengths of the medium of a game, and wasn't trying to be something it wasn't. It knew it was a video game first and foremost. It didn't try to tell a story like it was a movie, a novel, a radio show, or any other kind of medium. It did what games do best. It let you EXPERIENCE and be a part of it.
@@TheGoldenBolt other M samus is sexy as hell. She also has a few avatars on the switch profile pictures. Hopefully that means they're bringing a definitive edition version of other M to the switch in HD.
Other M was my first & is so far my only Metroid game & the way Samus used sense move, lethal strike, & over blast, especially her lethal strike on Ridley, made me love Samus as much as I do today & Samus Returns made me love her so much more because of the way she used melee counter, especially the ones she used on Ridley. I also like Samus talking in Other M.
35:11 This is exactly what the Space Pirates were doing in Prime to help them adapt to the Phendrana Drifts and was done to cement the idea to the player that the SP were not thinking things through, since the result of this was that they weren't able to contain the Metroids. Either this is intentional and the point is that the SP and Federation aren't so different, or Sakamoto just didn't realize what he'd done.
If anything then I'm happy that I can stand today and say that at least Other M's failure meant something. It seems that the lessons learned from that games fall have served only to make Samus Returns and Dread better games, and I suspect that the choice to reset Prime 4 to make it something better fitting the name might also have been motivated by Other M's fall. After many years we can finally say once again, that the future of Metroid looks bright.
This gives so much insight into why Other M is the way it is. I never hated this game, I think it was good before, now I think it's just ok. I do believe that Sakamoto really did ruin this game with his ambition. You know what this reminds me of, George Lucas with Star Wars. He's another director that had full control when he worked on the prequel series, surrounded by only yes people and audiences generally hating those movies. But unlike Sakamoto who did get his redemption with Metroid Droid, Lucas never really got that, he sold his work and never had a role with the next movies. Just something to think about. I guess my point is that I'm happy that we got Metroid Dread, this was pulled from the depths of development hell and was abandoned, and it turned into the game to revive the whole series for a new generation, being the best selling Metroid game of all time, and Sakamoto did get his vision of this game to life, a fear based Metroid game with those E.M.M.I. robots. Just makes me happy that there is a happy ending with Sakamoto, well, I guess not ending, a happy new beginning. Cheers to one of my favorite game series of all time, to Sakamoto and the rest of MercurySteam for being a fantastic development team, and to one of my favorite characters Samus Aran, welcome back Samus, we've missed you dearly.
Still bothers me that Samus's suit in Smash Bros is her Other M design. There was even a cutscene in the game that depicted her in the flat-shoulder Power Suit, but then she's also depicted as having the yellow Power Suit with ROUND shoulders in the beginning of the game as well as not having the Gravity Suit (excuse me, "feature") at the end of her adventure from Super Metroid. This game is like a case study of infinitely questionable design choices.
Honestly, that part was the least of my worries! (Although I did try to find a good place to talk about the Gravity Suit "that's not Samus!" fiasco.) I was okay with the creative license of dropping the alternate suits from the opening cutscene, since this was that attempt at being an intro to Metroid to new players too. Trying to use a midquel as the new-player-outreach game though...God, I really don't know how anybody expected that to work when Fusion was still stuck on the GBA.
What about Metroid Samus Returns? While it may not be as good as AM2R which I've never played because I'm interested in fanmade so I can't judge, last I check Samus Returns was still pretty well recieved.
@@robertkenny1201 I mean, Federation Force came out the year before Samus Returns, but I get that no one wants to give it the reviving the franchise credit, I don't either lol. But yeah, Metroid has definitely been revived by now.
I was such a fan of Metroid that I completed this entire game 100% the week it came out. I honestly liked it but when the reviews came out I realized how bad of a Metroid game it really was
There was more tension in created in the Fusion appearance of Ridley than the entirety of Other M, and that was done with no words or cutscenes. I still remember the dread I felt discovering the frozen Ridley and realising i'd have to fight it again, all of which was built off the difficulty when facing Ridley in Super Metroid. That's the narrative strength of this series, building emotion into environmental (including sound) design, and the gradual development of confidence and strength in being able to discover techniques and master the environment.
Personally, I don't mind the incentive to wait, since to some extent it fits Samus's character (better than the rest of the game, too!) - but it'd be so much better of a fit if tied to a button as opposed to _forcing_ the player to stand still like you said. Or if there was a stronger incentive to be aggressive with the jump attacks, like say a slight health regen upon successful CQC attacks or something!
When I played this game for the first time I was a kid and I really loved it because it looked quite spectacular. It was my first Metroid game, so the plot problems didn't bother me that much, and the little experience I had with videogames didn't allow me to feel frustrated about the gameplay technical problems. I loved it so much that I started playing previous Metroid games, and I loved them even more (especially the 2D ones). I played Other M a second time 3/4 years ago, and, although some things bothered me a bit more (especially Samus's emotional moments and her being a bit too sexualized), I still think many of the ideas that were put into it are very interesting and worth developing. Prime games are very good, but tbh I am more interested in seeing a new game inspired by Other M.
The things this game get right would make it a 9/10, but the things it gets wrong would make it a 2/10. Probably the strangest way to get a 'meh' result in gaming history. And that plot is thirteen year old shadow the hedgehog fanfic levels of bad. Its a big shame.
I been a Metroid fan since 2004, Fusion was my first game and I loved it back then still play it over the years and i have played all the other games even the one on Nes and honestly the Prime series i never really loved kinda liked the 2D ones more. But recently started playing Other M on a Odin handheld with upscale graphics. It feels just like it's on a switch I really love the 3rd person aspect of this one really wish they make another one like this It's amazing to me to see Samus 360 Game play feels so good regardless of the story potholes it's good I recommend 💯 We need another one like this or a port to the switch.
Update: I have finished Metroid Dread, it's *incredible,* AND Sakamoto got that redemption I mentioned I was hoping for in the video. For once, everybody wins. Original comment below:
Thanks for watching! Your credit card is authorized to support future videos like this at www.patreon.com/TheGoldenBolt - there, I did the Adam authorization joke, so now you don't have to!
Ironically, Nintendo's desire to add in the actual canon feelings of Samus to a game and making it a linear story was what turned so many people off. At least, that's what I thought, anyway. Metroid has a mange, and the fact that Samus is far more vulnerable in canon than we've ever seen in any game up till Other M was a massive shock to people who ONLY knew Samus from the games. In every game, Samus is a potentially unstoppable killing machine with seemingly no weaknesses (aside from losing all her powers in the beginning of each game). Contrast with her actual canon lore, and you begin to see why Other M was so different. It tried to show us WHO Samus actually is, WHAT motivates her, what FRIGHTENS her. She went from being a cold, emotionless force of nature to being... well... Human.
People don't particularly like it when their big, unstoppable superman has personal issues and faults, especially when they are an icon of Female Power and Badassery at the same time.
Metroid Dread sounds pretty cool glad to see one of the best games on Nintendo didn't just die off good video man still watching it
@@IansMentalOmega You read way too much into it. People dont like a shitty story that contradicts what came before and assassinates an important character. Its as simple as that.
@@StormsparkPegasus Agree. Sakamoto was not redeemed. It is necessary to do more than just step aside and let someone better qualified to do the work, to get redemtion.
This is the one game I tried to forget doesn't exist
This hits different right about now. Dread is back baby
One of the most upsetting things about this game is how many of the issues with the story were SO CLOSE to working and had devastating results. As mentioned in the video, if the reason for Adam's distrust and them splitting was because Samus got someone hurt or killed and felt guilty for it, the authorization thing would feel much more reasonable. Another thing that would have helped significantly was change the focus of the PTSD for the Ridley scene. Instead of having her PTSD triggered by Ridley, have it be the fact that the federation cloned Ridley after spending her life finally getting rid of him. Ridley wasn't an experiment, he wasn't a creation gone rouge, he wasn't weapon, he was just an irredeemable monster who killed millions and somehow the Federation STILL thinks he is more useful alive. They are basically telling her "Everything you do is meaningless and there is nothing you can do that we cannot undo."
I truly think that if you cut the whole "Samus imagines herself as a child" part out of the Ridley freeze-up, and do NOTHING else, the scene would almost work. Add a tiny bit of flavor, showing Samus is shocked he's alive because she killed him, or make it so that it's not some twist, but something Samus actually expects is coming? Huh, just like that it starts to work!
The whole dynamic between Poe and Holdo in The Last Jedi, while still pretty aggravating, is basically Samus and Adam done right. Which says a lot about this game’s storytelling failures. Makes Captain Marvel look like a masterpiece of plotting.
The Golden Bolt I figured Samus was just freaked out about the way Ridley revealed himself, sort of out of the inferno. Still very jarring but not completely inexplicable. I would describe Samus’s entire portrayal in this game that way, too. Also the whole deal about Samus being “a little girl playing dress up”, while belittling towards her, doesn’t sound so dissimilar from Cloud Strife.
I honestly think the backlash towards Samus’s characterisation in this game, combined with massive hate for stuff like Twilight and Fifty Shades, might have made writers afraid to give heroines flaws because of how bad it tends to look when done wrong - leading in turn to the recent crop of “Mary Sue” type characters unfortunately.
@@TheGoldenBolt The entire point of that scene IS that Samus is terrified that Ridley has seemingly resurrected himself after struggling to successfully killed him throughout the Prime games and is essentially bewilderment and confusion at a seemingly immortal being, particularly because she literally tore him apart across her helmet in a splash of gore in Super (the scripted death in Super for Ridley is canon); the English localization just... doesn’t really convey this as well. I blame a lot of this game’s story faults on the absolutely piss poor localization and dub, honestly.
I don’t think M killed Metroid just because it had a god awful story. But because it was such a different experience from past games.
The devs wanted to make Samus more vulnerable, so they decided to make this a personal narrative. A little too personal in my opinion. I don’t think many players were interested in knowing Samus’s feelings about women hood.
Point is, we still could’ve got a more vulnerable Samus. But it should’ve been as a consequence of the plot. Not the goal. Most of the game is essentially Samus rambling about personal issues most players wouldn’t even understand. It’s such a disconnect from the gameplay. Witch was also very meh.
46:11 "Long cancelled Metroid Dread" Man that aged poorly, but in a good way
I couldn't be happier to be incorrect, that's for sure!
Thank goodness for Metroid Dread!!! I believe at this point, Metroid is back on the map!!
Totally, Dread did right everything that Other M did wrong. I do hope that they'll expand on the rogue/corrupt group of the former federation army, seems like a perfect antagonistic force to Samus considering the ending of Dread
@@sspectre8217 Given the Sylux cameos at the end of Corruption and Fed Force, and Sylux's disdain for and ties to Federation weapons development, I expect that to be a component in Prime 4. We'll see.
@@cloudcleaver23 i haven’t played the Prime games (I really want to though), but that would be really nice
@@sspectre8217 If you have a Wii U buy the trilogy. If not, wait for a miracle HD switch port.
So yeah, Metroid Dread got me into the franchise. Also oddly enough, this is my first time playing as a badass girl instead of a guy, and it's a quite pleasant experience.
I like the intentions of this game to tell a story and try to portray Samus as a relatable character, but I think they did it wrong in many occasions. I liked the idea of her having some sort of PTSD but it was done in a bad way that didn't convince anyone so yeah, overall this game ended up making more damage than good to Samus as a character.
I mean, judging from Dread I had the idea of this character who's a badass, kind of cold girl, who's used to be alone and that has learned to rely on her own abilities only, and learning about the lore it also showed that while a bit cold, she has indeed a good heart. I liked this idea, but Other M took it a bit off track.
Also, side note that it's just my opinion, another thing I like about Dread and what I could see from other games too is that they don't really point that much on Samus appearance. Yes she's hot, but it's not like you're reminded of it every two seconds because you see her in the suit most of the time. It gave the impression of "yes I'm hot but I'm everything else first". This game instead tends to show her pretty often, which is kind of fine but still.
Why is it always a distress call... Answering a distress call in space gets everybody killed every time!
It's like opening a locked door in a horror movie, you're not supposed to do it but someone always does it.
@@GoldStorm07 except this time, the token black guy and the hot girl are the only ones who survived :P
Isn't that like asking why not answering a home invasion call? 911 call?
I mean that’s pretty much what Samus’s job is
To me the perfect response to Ridley given Other Ms nature of intentionally limiting your abilities would have been rage, not fear. Unlock all those weapons immediately and let Samus just run at him guns blazing. It's dangerous to her, her teammates and the ship but her interest is in eradication of the creature before her. Far more interesting than reducing her to a scared little girl, it would have made her humanity come out in the volatile anger of someone who lost her family to murder.
Somebody hire this person! I had never thought about an uncharacteristic anger from her instead of fear in that scene, that would have been amazing to see and even better to play!
You know, I think that would have been a pretty good idea. However, that would have been too sudden a change of character for her if she was written the same way as she was in the final product. If Samus was depicted as being shoved closer and closer to the brink of insanity, considering the limitations imposed upon her by Adam, the ghastly elements of the Bottle Ship, the constant pressure of finding possible survivors before its too late and the no small matter of the Deleter taking out members of the team one by one, then this would have been a much better transition for her to finally just bear the full brunt of her anger and fear upon Ridley and go out all or nothing. Now that would have made for a more interesting story about her character, if I may say so myself, ha!
For sure, as a character who is used to doing things to her own rhythm after leaving the federation she may feel a lot of frustration to having to limit herself again. Especially so when the person limiting her is the very person she looked up to.
Exploring Samus' emotional space coulda been a real interesting look, hell I find great joy in Prime 3 when she shoves her gun into his mouth and repeatedly pulls the trigger. A small moment of "fuck you in particular".
You enter the room, Ridley is just standing there, samus sees Ridley, and immediately ALL of your upgrades unlock. All of them. Samus screams, not in terror, but in bloodlust, and the boss battle starts.
Or maybe annoyance after killing him the seventh time.
I hope Yoshio Sakamoto knows how much the fanbase loves Metroid Dread. I'm playing through it now and it's absolutely incredible. Not a fan of Other M, but Dread in my opinion is an amazing entry with quality that rivals Super and Fusion for the top spot in the series.
I mean the sales alone should be proof enough. Even in Japan its looking like it will be the best-selling game in the franchise by far.
Yeah watching this now actually makes me pretty emotional. Imagine how worthless and pathetic Sakamoto was feeling after leading Other M off of a cliff, convinced he had nothing left to offer and Metroid was better off without him... only for a dev team to come up that could take his unrealized ambitions that he lacked the technology to realize 15 years ago, assemble it into a new game, and prove definitively that his ideas from that era WEREN'T all garbage after all and that his vision CAN be successful with the right tempering, more than the series ever has been.
Just goes to show that maybe the people who made Dead or Alive weren't the best source to bounce narrative ideas off of for writing compelling female characters.
@@NotAGoodUsername360 Team Ninja had nothing to do with the story. Its not even the kind of story they would've tried telling with a female protagonist.
This is such a weird spin trying to make him more relatable and misunderstood when this was almost entirely him forcing through his vision and his dream to be like a film director. Details getting lost in translation isn't his fault entirely of course, but he cared enough about that aspect to insist on personally directing the voiceovers.
And its not like the return to form Metroid games do anything in relation to whatever other M was supposed to do. We do get more depth to Samus, but in a way that is more inspired by DOOM (and a bit of Prime 3) than even the internal monologues in Fusion.
@@Nirual86 samus is very different from doom guy your given the pieces of her life and construct a very unique personality especially with her childhood trauma and being raised by aliens
Why though? Why do you guys like samus to be mute and not speak or express herself just be stoic? Did you play other m? It gave samus character and growth. Why do people hate it the story is great as well
One thing I find really interesting about this is usually with "huge disaster" games, they almost always have really rough development periods leading to them not turning out as intended. Maybe the game is blatantly unfinished, many major areas/gameplay mechanics had to be cut, the whole project was abandoned and left to interns, corporate meddling changed everything, or whatever.
Other M is not any of these things. As far as we know, it turned out exactly as it was intended to, down to the very last detail. It's a different sort of tragic tale, because this game isn't a shell of what it was meant to be, caused by some internal disaster.
This game is Metroid: Other M. The genuine vision, flaws and all. Something about that is kind of beautiful, given the usual way these things go. Not that it makes the game magically good, but it's interesting.
You nailed it right on the head, and in 47 fewer minutes than me too! Other M is just about the only game I can think of where everything went right, but the core was rotten enough that it doomed the whole game. It's got redeeming factors, but really it's best served as an absolutely fascinating history piece - and arguably as the game that opened Nintendo brass up to collaborative projects with middle-sized studios like Platinum down the road!
The Golden Bolt That description sounds so much like the Star Wars prequel trilogy it’s not even funny. And Samus Returns gives me Force Awakens vibes...are we about to get Metroid’s The Last Jedi?
It feels like people have generally been less harshly negative towards this game the past few years, for what it’s worth.
Stormspark Basically how people used to view George Lucas.
ah thats why some of the texture are even worst than the first metroid prime and they look like they are running on a dreamcast
@@StormsparkPegasus I wouldn't go that far but this game's story is such a mess (and even gameplay has weird mechanics) that I can't fault someone for doing so.
8:00 Even worse, in order to FULLY understand the game you need to not only have played Super Metroid, but know about the Japan-only Manga that explains Samus' past, specifically, the post-traumatic amnesia and her past with Adam while ALSO ignoring that story since the game ignores a lot of it too.
@@isauldron4337 It ignores her being raised by the chozo and having close relationships with them (specifically Old Bird) in order to place Adam as her first "real" father figure. I don't think it references the chozo once, even to bring up her armor. It ignored her history of being a police officer and not in the military, her actual relationship with Adam, and his personality in order for him to become Sakamoto's self-insert. It also ignores that she had post-traumatic amnesia when facing Ridley for the first time after he killed and ate her parents to give her post-traumatic stress disorder. The fact that it retcons things is more than just references.
The one thing I will say that Other M did right was it didn't fracture any sort of relationship between Nintendo and Koei Tecmo (Team Ninja's publisher): years later, it's Team Ninja (and Omega Force) who proposes to make another Dynasty Warriors spin-off, this time using a Nintendo property. The resulting Hyrule Warriors was a far better collaboration between both publishers and us fans embraced it because it worked. Now, just a few days ago, Nintendo unveiled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity as the prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, again working with Koei Tecmo (though this time, it's Nintendo who approached Koei with the idea).
Ultimately, while I do agree Other M has killed the ambition for the Metroid franchise, it's opened Nintendo's eyes on how to better collaborate with third-party publishers on something they know how to do, rather than have someone from Nintendo do it.
[Edit] Obviously, this hits differently now that Metroid Dread is real. Still, I stand by the notion that it might be more feasible, perhaps even better, to ask a third-party to make a new installment out of a Nintendo first-party property rather than Nintendo's in-house studios do it, especially when MercurySteam has proven themselves capable with Samus Returns so much that they are now the ones developing Dread.
This was something that over time I'd wished I'd touched on just a bit more than I did in the script, especially with that reveal of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity! It says so much to me that even despite the game's complete failure, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo were so happy with one another and their similarities that they continued praising one another (and then worked together) for years after. I'd argue that Other M's most positive legacy is that it's the first modern collaboration between Nintendo and smaller outside teams, which warmed Nintendo back up to that concept. Even ignoring Koei Tecmo's continued collaborations, in the years since Other M paved that road, we've seen Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101, Star Fox Zero, and Astral Chain from Platinum (with Bayonetta 3 on the way!), a western studio getting their hands on a Mario game in Ubisoft (who also gave us a sort-of Star Fox too!), even Samus Returns with MercurySteam benefited from Other M in some twisted way!
I'd like to add that Team Ninja also developed Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, which Nintendo published as a first-party title. Not sure about the rest of y'all, but I really love that game.
Another very fascinating aspect of the failures of this game aside from the glaring and obvious, is the localization.
A lot of dialogue is worded vaguely and thus gives several scenes a different feel and less information for instance, but Adam and Samus’s relationship dynamic is very different and makes more sense. Samus in English uses very weak and unassertive wording that is nowhere to be seen in the Japanese script where she is much more on point character wise.
The authorization thing IS in the Japanese script but it's worded differently most of the time. Adam uses the word Authorization when referring to the troops he is with, but gives Samus "permission" specifically.
Things like the Varia suit fiasco comes across more as Samus maliciously complying with Adams orders rather than being hindered from using it.
The conspiracy plot not hitting that hard is rooted in legacy localization issues like how the Japanese version of Fusion makes it clear that there are rogue cells of the Federation that work in the shadows (which is why Samus isn't hunted by the entire Federation in Dread) and that the Federation Army is often referred to as a mostly separate thing... Other M is surprisingly consistent with the rest of the series story and lore and builds upon things from it (aside from the Ridley scene which is still dumb), but we don't get any of that because the script is adapted horribly.
It doesn’t magically become anything amazing in Japanese, it still has all the dumb story stuff we got to experience, but it does become an interesting case study for how important a good localization is for a game.
th-cam.com/video/KTuMfsWwd0E/w-d-xo.html (I watched this vid for the info)
in fairness the issues with the Fusion localisation come as a result of English text just taking a lot more room, both in terms of data and it being displayed on screen. And besides, for a game that was supposed to be the entryway for a wider audience of players they should've taken more efforts to ensure there was enough information in the game itself.
Metroid Other M has a strange place in my heart. I rented the game when my love for Metroid was at an all time high and I admit, I was a bit blinded by the Hype to acknowledge the game's shortcomings and thought it was the greatest thing since Fusion. Because of the limited library of games I grew up with, I didn't question the Game's controls nor its large-scale story telling. This game introduced me to the Genres that made this entry the "black sheep". Looking back on it, yeah, Other M is pretty 'meh', but for me it was a gateway deeper into Gaming that I desperately needed.
Thank you tons for inviting me on to be a voice in this project, it brought back a ton of pleasant memories I haven't remembered for the better part of a Decade.
"I was a bit blinded by the Hype to acknowledge the game's shortcomings and thought it was the greatest thing since Fusion."
That hurts me in a personal way. I was so blinded by my love of Metroid, I even wrote a letter to the magazine Nintendo Power telling how I didn't understand why people were so hard on the game, and the only gripes I had with the game was the relationship between Samus and Adam not being explored well enough.
Man, I want to punch my old self really hard... the more I think about Other M, it's development cycle, Sakamoto's unwillingness to admit the project he was so proud of was garbage during interviews back then (he even mocked the fans saying he would make a game about Adam), the more I hate it!
Now, if I leave my personal feelings towards the game aside and focus on an objective review, the game is still terrible... why did I defend it back in high school? Funnily enough, when the game was revealed, I thought it wasn't something I would like. I guess I let my love for series blind me with time, my initial gut feeling was the right one.
These comments sound like you're letting public opinion change how you see your enjoyment of the game. I thought Other M was so fun, it was just enjoyable to play and sometimes that's enough for a game
@@joehayes8795 the problem was it was not fun for a majority of people. the gameplay boil's down to mashing the dpad to do a sensemove and shooting a charge beam shot it was all style and no substance. if you had fun with it that's fine would not want to take that away from ya. but the gameplay was mediocre at best
Casting Elliot as Reggie was the second best casting of 2020; right behind Jean Ralphio as Sonic the Hedgehog.
I want to state again for the record that that was entirely unintentional lmao
@@TheGoldenBolt Really? I thought they had him in mind since the beginning
The thing that get's me, really makes me wonder about this game's plot, is that Sakamoto and his team already got it right years before: Metroid FUSION!
Other M's story takes so much from Fusion that it's actually weird. The Federation science station and its several biospheres, a supervising Adam, upgrades that are ordained by the Federation/Adam, and even the subplot of corruption within the Federation.
The reason for Samus needing upgrades is built into the story, as is the reason why she only gets to use certain upgrades at a time. And she does actually rebel against that the further things progress, gaining upgrades that she wasn't meant to get. Even her monologues are in there, but more succinct and in character. She gets to speak directly to Adam to challenge him at the end of the game. The AI Adam even gets to seem untrustworthy, just like the 'real' Adam does in Other M, but ends up contradicting his actions, by asserting that a hero's sacrifice is not the way to go. He ends up being way more likable compared to this human version, and the 'lady' nickname an actual touching scene of character development for him. Hell, it's even a neat part in Dread's story if you pay attention to his dialogue. I ended up being happy that he's back as a side kick in it, because of my love for Fusion.
So, how and why did they mess Other M up this much? Why even repeat so many plot points from Fusion at all? All they had to do was to show how Adam died on a mission, any mission. Now Samus, armed with her knowledge of this bottle ship incident, looks somewhat foolish in context to the BSL and it's shady business.
It's fun to see in hindsight, that with Dread Sakamoto and his team nailed Samus' character, emotiveness, and overall feel all with her animation and actions. They even got really cinematic overall, so that movie feel is still there, just way more fittingly implemented for a Metroid game.
Honestly, after Samus Returns and especially with Dread(here's hoping I don't choke on my foot later) Sakamoto has earned his redemption.
One thing I noticed after Metroid Dread was announced was seeing Sakamoto's spark in the franchise was back and he was genuinely happy to finally work on the long anticipated Metroid 5. Other M being the flop it was important, as it led to Nintendo resetting Prime 4 and giving both Retro and itself all the time it to make sure it great at launch and both Samus Returns and Dread now being those games that learned from Other M's mistake.
The saddest part is that behind all of its problems, I believe there is an amazing game hiding within, held back not only by Sakamoto's stubbornness but also by plenty of other constraints, such as the hardware he had to work on and honestly also time.
I hope one day we get another go at this style of gameplay for Metroid.
I'd say a lot of that game hidden within ended up materializing at least a little bit in Samus Returns! It's obviously not nearly the same, but the parry felt both like a natural fit for Samus and the natural progression from SenseMove in a 2D game.
@@TheGoldenBolt Maybe! But when I first played Other M it felt like the actual natural conversion from 2D Metroid into 3D (Which I felt with Super Mario 3D Land/World in regards to 2D Mario games) and it's a shame we are probably never getting another game like that.
I don't think the hardware was the issue, but rather how he handled it. Why did he limit the controls to the Wii Remote sideways when the Wii had the Nunchuck, Classic Controller and even Gamecube Controller? Why did he focus so much on saving space in the disk by leaving terrible monologue that doesn't add anything to the narrative and only serves to tell the audience what just happened?
The biggest problem with Other M is that no one managed to put brakes on the Sakamoto train.
@@TwilightWolf032 I definitely think that if Other M was released on any other Nintendo platform it wouldn't have had a controller issue, they tried to not only adapt to the Wii's power but also the Wii's vision (Which was being a console anyone could play on).
@@Galespark234 Which also doesn't maek sense - every Wii came with a set of Wii Remote + Nunchuck, so Sakamoto had no reason to limit the developers to the Wii Remote only. Everyone could play with the combo (and this thanks to Retro Studios, since they're the ones who convinced Nintendo to pack the accessory with every Wii sold).
I have a theory that Sakamoto did Other M the way he did because he doesn't like the fact Retro made Prime into a success. Other M's plot contradicts Prime by making this the first mission Samus ever did with the Federation after becoming a bounty hunter, despite her fighting alongside the GF in Corruption, she has no visors other than a small zoom, her beams stack once again, no spider ball, and then he comes out in interviews and vaguely states Prime games happen in a different universe, etc.
To me, one of the reasons Sakamoto forced Team Ninja to limit themselves to the Wii Remote alone was because Retro was involved in having the Nunchuck packed with the console and how well they used it in Corruption for the Grapple upgrades. Once I analyzed what Retro had done for the series and what Sakamoto ended up doing with Other M, it seems to me that he really doesn't like Prime (the trailers for Other M listed all 2D games but no Prime games were mentioned).
I would like to add one thing regarding the Ridley scene - at no point in the game does the story indicate Ridley is anything more than a space dragon to Samus. She says "my long standing nemesis - Ridley" during the narration and that's it. There's no mention of Colony 2-KL, Samus' parents being killed by Ridley's forces (and her mother being eaten alive in front of her at the age of 3 - that would have given enough reason for the PTSD), nor any mention that Ridley invaded her adoptive home, Zebes, enslaved her adoptive parents and turned Mother Brain against its creators, which led to the death of Grey Voice, the Chozo that gave his DNA to be infused with Samus so she could survive living in Zebes.
Instead of giving all of this pretty much character establishing information, the narrative is more focused on forcing the player sympathize and love Adam by making Samus tell us how she feels about in a vain attempt to convince us to feel the same.
Funnily enough, what I wrote about Samus' backstory is all in the 2003 manga, which is referenced at the very beginning of the game (Samus as a child having her DNA tampered with, and later on the Ridley scene). The game is referencing the manga but refuses to give the important information!
I remember reading that manga back then too. It was trash. The fact that Other M appears to be using this obscure manga as part of its DNA in story-telling is mind-boggling.
@@Metroid4ever And ironically enough, the manga establishes heavily the relationship between Samus and the Chozo, especially her being the adopted daughter and having received the DNA of Grey Voice. Yet one more source material for Other M to completely contradict by making Adam her father figure!
Yeah, even using that obscure material as basis for the plot, Sakamoto still felt the need to ignore its most important part!
@@isauldron4337 Your statement is correct, but you are wrong if you think Other M doesn't ignore that.
Other M, a story that was supposed to be an entryway for newcomers into the series at the same time it links Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, doesn't make a single mention of the Chozo, who are the reason Samus even exists as a bounty hunter in the first place, but hammer down Adam's relationship to Samus that only exists in this one game.
The reason Other M doesn't do this is because it wants to pretend Adam is the father figure Samus never had so its "plot" can work. If there were any mention of the Chozo whatsoever, who raised her from age 3 till she was old enough to leave and work for the GF, the entire narrative would crumble down.
Not mentioning something doesn't necessarily equal ignoring, but Other M doesn't mention the Chozo precisely because it wants to ignore their existence!
What Bothers me even more then the chozo not being mentioned is that the game Does not even fully clarify that ridely and the space pirates are sentient, and not being controlled by mother Brain.
@@Majinhero Other M completely shits on the Metroid lore. It's like a soft reboot of the series, only using the iconic elements but ignoring all the lore behind them.
This video really does hit different after the new direct. I know it will be a uphill battle, but we believe in you, Sakamoto.
If Dread turns out as well as we'd all like to hope, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better redemption story in game development!
It's not often that a video feels like a gravely underappreciated gem the first minute it starts up.
I commend you for getting all the way through this without mentioning "the baby".
Y'know, for how often that one is played up, I really did expect it to be worse or more prevalent than it is! With how often everybody has driven the baby and the "you're not authorized to..." jokes, they felt a bit too easy to go after for the thousandth time.
@@TheGoldenBolt I have a theory about that.
The baby is mentioned a lot in the opening moments of the game, but tones down after a while. I think a lot of people got burned after the opening hours and left, only remembering "the baby".
It certainly says something about a game when people are criticizing it's negative impact to it's respective series for it's 10th Anniversary.
When you look at the Metroid franchise with games like Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, games that are on many people's "greatest video games of all time" lists, with many other titles only being slightly lesser than that, then you look at Other M it certainly stands out in all the wrong ways. With the advent of Samus Returns, the potential for a Metroid 5 (I'm confident it's on the way even though it's not officially confirmed) and Prime 4 being in development I am optimistic the series can bounce back, but you can't deny that Other M regardless of your opinion on the game has left a lot to be desired when it comes to Metroid in recent years. You can partially blame Other M for Federation Force's poor reception because it's biggest crime was honestly just really bad timing.
One thing defenders of Other M usually don't realize is that those of us that do criticize the game, *wanted to like it* when we first played it and ultimately felt dissatisfied with what we got.
A little bit of behind-the-curtain: This wasn't a video I ever intended to make! I was playing Other M again for another video idea (I'd played at least a small bit of it _years_ ago), and after just an hour I was just...fascinated with this game and its baffling issues. I had to read up and figure out what exactly happened, and the more I read, the more fascinated I became.
The other side, of course, is that as much as I may appreciate the intent and the history behind the game, there's so much about the game that I'd say deserves to be ripped to shreds. Providing context isn't an excuse, after all, it's just providing context!
@@isauldron4337 Like moving on helped save the franchise, when a game is shit it is gonna remain that way, no getting around that.
You forget things and you will lose focus, mistakes like this needs to be remembered so it doesn't happen again
That was excellent and perfectly encapsulates how I feel about Other M and Sakomoto. With regards to Sakomoto, I think that, especially considering how smoothly development went and how much of a voice the programmers had, he's probably not a mean and prideful guy, but someone who gets very obsessed with a certain idea, sometimes to a degree that hurts the game. To be fair, the overarching ideas of Other M are genuinely good! I would love a better writer to take over the story and show us how these ideas could really shine, but he was too focused on doing something specific and didn't realize that his work with the details and execution of those ideas aren't always that great. However, I have a ton of respect for him for, 3-4 years after that game came out, picking himself up, dusting himself off, and trying again. Metroid has always been ambitious and always been ahead of its time in one way or another. Sakomoto just needed to learn that executing those ambitions to detail while given the technology of the current day is something best left to those with a better eye for it.
For instance, I think his overall idea of who Samus is, strong and awesome but also compassionate, moral, and somewhat introspective, is not only something that can work but something that should work and is honestly how I view Samus myself. However, how he executed it gave the, I believe, undesired effect of showing Samus as submissive and weak. I highly doubt that this is what he wanted, but it is unfortunately what happened in the eyes of the players.
Sakomoto needed to learn to do two key things
1. Trust in his ideas and that he still understood Metroid (while making sure to take some key things into consideration not to lose track
and
2. Not obsess over the details, but let better writers/storytellers do these things, giving input only when necessary and being willing to allow other ideas to eclipse the grandiose visions he had and to become part of his ambitions
With Metroid Dread on the horizon, many of us are really excited. Yes, it's possible that Sakomoto still has some of the same issues, but I think Samus Returns and what we've seen of Dread has proven that he's learned how to create a vision while not being afraid to let others help. I'm glad that he's still as ambitious as ever, but has seemingly tempered that ambition through humility and learning his own boundaries. He's stuck to his guns with Dread, and, if he lets those who know what they're doing with the story and gameplay run with his usually fantastic overarching ideas, then it will certainly be a game to remember, and for the opposite reason as Other M
Metroid definitely isn’t dead. But this put it in a coma for a long time.
Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your masterpiece. I have a special love for this game but it's mainly because the run cycle is so cool.
"I didn't think much of other m I brushed it off as the bad one. Then I finished it a few weeks ago and yeah it's the bad one" haha it's funny the way you said it, but also I wish other people would do what you done by play a game before forming a final opinion.
Thanks again for taking part, I'm really glad to have had you on for this one!
This game had so much potential, I wouldn't mind another metroid game in a similar style, but obviously without the awful story and characters.
I completely agree, a more fleshed out, more sure of itself Other M with an actual control stick could be so much fun mechanically, especially if they can nail down the exploration more than this game did!
Excellent video! You got yourself a new subscriber :D
Thank you very much, I'm glad to have you on board, my friend!
The characterization, the overuse of the soldiers, the weird Ridley life cycle, the PTSD from her childhood, the Mother Brain proxy... so much of the narrative would have worked so much better as a prequel game.
It's part of what makes it even more (morbidly) fascinating that this was, from the jump, always meant to fill the gap between Super and Fusion. Just...how?
A lot of the Narrative beats would have worked far better as a prequel. Have it be set before she becomes a bounty hunter, as another soldier in Adam's squad. Maybe have it so that she doesn't use her Chozo tech unless she has to.
So during a mission gone wrong, Samus activates the suit and Adam forbids most of it because he has command of her at this time, and he doesn't know what the suit is capable of. In this hypothetical game, the authorization mechanic has a much stronger narrative purpose as it would mirror Samus' frustrations with authority, culminating with her leaving the Federation at the end of the game.
Samus as a weaker character would make more sense (not complete sense, I still wouldn't want the Ridley scene as is) because she's unproven and hasn't done any of the metriod game stuff yet. Though with a bit more Sakimoto level stubbornness in there.
Really, you could fix a lot of things about the game by moving it up to near the start of Samus' career. Her lack of confidence because this is her first big mission since leaving the regular armed forces, her fear of Ridley because this is the first time she's seen him since she was a child (or if we absolutely must have metroids and mother brain around at least the first time she's seen him come back from the dead), Adam's mistrust because she's still a rookie and hasn't made a name for herself yet...
Here's something that might make the PTSD work with Other M staying a midquel:
What if it's just a side effect of not being allowed to use her full arsenal reminded her of the time she met ridley with none of her arsenal at her disposal?
Hearing how there's a traitor in the group, I thought for sure it would be Adam. That's why he's so controlling over Samus, even in regards to powers like the suit or grapple. He's the one sabotaging things to keep the Federation's secrets and Samus presents a problem, so he needs to keep her under his thumb. Adding a bit more to Adam's character, like actually being somewhat likable in the flashbacks, serving as an inspiration to Samus would also help when it comes to the twist. Samus must confront her former master, soomeone who only cares about his duty to the Federation, and stop him, for the good of humanity.
Metroid Other M is such a missed opportunity. Sure the cutscenes and looks are pretty, gameplay is fine....outside of the power up restrictions.
But MAN the story and dialogue is downright awful.
It's an absolutely baffling project, one of the only examples of a game - that I can think of at least - where nothing went wrong after the flawed core concept. But that alone was enough to sink the entire series for the better part of a decade.
I respectfully disagree that the gameplay was “fine”. It wasn’t. Forcing you to use a sideways Wiimote and having to switch to first person by changing how you hold the remote (and this not being able to move while first person aiming) was game breaking for me. I was already cursing that I had to move in a 3D space with a goddamn Dpad, but this was beyond the pale.
I watched ProtonJon play through the whole game on stream and my god is the story a mess. The whole dynamic between Samus and Adam is basically Poe and Holdo from The Last Jedi done a million times worse. Let that sink in.
@@StormsparkPegasus you can't be serious and you aren't being serious. This is like 3d land or 3d world, not like mario 64s equivalent prime
@@StormsparkPegasus unplayable? How come everyone I know, me included, that played the game when it came out had 0 problems with it? It felt more like a 2d game yeah, but that was why we liked it. Fusion and zero mission on gba were the rage where I live and we played prime and this. You have to differentiate and not call unplayable an scheme you could figure out
Okay after playing Metroid Dread I’ve realized a few things. I loved the scene where Mercury Steam remembered that Samus was raised by the Chozo. And that she spoke in the Chozo language. Now they need to go back to “Other M” and change it to fit in the timeline. They need to remember that Adam was a Commander that Samus had so much respect for, that if he asked her not to use power up do to the safety of others, that she wouldn’t. And not that he’s “like her father”. No. She had a father in Old Bird.
Other M has such great gameplay, and on Nintendo’s new consoles it would feel and play even more amazing, and they would be able to tweak out all the bugs. Movement would be so smooth with today’s controls, and you can have a 1st person view for looking/shooting if needed, but it doesn’t need to be required, it would just be a button press.
Then they need to go and bring in their best sound designers and orchestra, they need to bring the music back to Metroid, just like they did with the prime series, and Samus Returns. But with all new themes.
Music in Metroid let’s you know how Samus feels, it makes the mood.
They need to bring back the “purple” Gravity Suit, and not just a feature.
Missiles have to be useable in 3rd person, and not just first person view.
The counter needs to be updated to the new counter strike that’s in Samus returns/Dread, it would make the gameplay so much smoother then trying to manually dodge, or trying to jump on the enemy’s head.
Now let’s focus on the story.
First off we need a title that makes sense, and not a code for Mother. This is a game where everyone aboard a space ship dies, and so we need a strong name. Also
Samus never called the Metroid a baby in Samus Returns or Super Metroid, she called it “the Infant Metroid”, so let’s completely ditch her saying “the baby”. That got old pretty quick.
Now… Let’s address the PTSD when she sees Ridley, up to that point Samus has faced Ridley 5 times, and not once did she go PTSD. She can have a panic attack because yes she completely destroyed him in Super, and she’s completely shocked that the creature that killed her whole family in front of her is alive, but give the lady some dignity, and not make her out to be crazy.
And finally…
Adam didn’t shoot Samus in the back to stop her, instead the cloned infant Metroid attacked Samus, as she thought it just hatched and that she might develop a bond like before, and he shot the Metroid killing it, and saving her. That’s why she was so exhausted, because it had drained her life energy to feed.
Now the Voice acting/translation needs to be updated to our culture style, and not Japans culture style. People in other countries don’t always understand others cultures, and it makes things feel weird/awkward or dry. Instead let the actors and translation teams do what they do best. “Act”.
I think people really feel that Other M is a bad game because of a few missteps along the way, and because they forgot some of her real past. But at its core it’s a good game, and it has so much potential. Let’s make it be the game it deserves.
Glad I finally got around to watching this video especially now after just finishing Dread. It feels like Sakamoto really learned a lot from Other M and it atleast deserves credit in showing him and other developers what direction to not take the series in, and how that has lead Dread, atleast in my opinion to becoming a modern classic.
After just recently replaying Samus Returns it has become much clearer to me, that they had already learned some lessons from Other M: The way Samus behaves in the face of adversity. The cutscene at the end of the Digger fight has her calmly blast him again to finish him off, not even looking at him. Compare this to Dreads depiction, especially the Kraid fight, and it becomes clear that they heard the fans' opinions on the Ridley encounter. Reminds me alot of Samus in Prime 2, where each encounter with Dark Samus has her calm and in control, even dismissive in parts.
To me, the biggest lasting impact I feel Other M had that I just feel so sad about
Is that now they'll never try to give Samus a voice again. I love the idea of a Metroid game that is a bit more cinematic and tries to give Samus character, but now Other M will forever be the catalyst for Nintendo to say "Well we tried it once, didn't work out, let's never try again." instead of trying to acknowledge what was bad and trying to improve on it.
Maybe I'm being a bit optimistic here, but I think that Nintendo wouldn't necessarily be against a story-based Samus. If this were still that same Wii-era company, absolutely, but I think they've adapted to the times a bit in recent years. I think they'd just be a bit more hands-on to make sure the writing holds to a certain standard, and that they don't have the director working with actors through a language barrier!
@@TheGoldenBolt I can only hope, but it'll be a while before we would actually a more cinematic Metroid. I'd love for Prime 4 to be, but I think they're going to stick as close to Prime 1's structure as they can. At least a lack of moving forward seems to be a common thing with franchises that have gone on hiatus like Star Fox Zero. And who knows how long it'll be before Prime 4 comes out, let alone something else afterwards.
I guess I'm not as good at being optimistic ._.
It'll definitely be a while, that's for sure - but at least when it comes to Metroid, a game like Prime 4 struggling behind the scenes puts it in _great_ company with other Metroid titles, so I'm oddly hopeful thanks to the development issues. Like I said in the video, it wouldn't be a Metroid game without a little struggling, as Other M showed us!
Play metroid dread. Can confirm she at least gets a line where she speaks that bird talk (chozo). It was cool. I'm not sure if she speaks again just yet think I'm 80% done with the game
Have you played Dread?
This seems like a similar case to the prequels where one man's ambition caused him to have too many ideas that did not translate well when bringing it to a unified whole. Also, it seems like Sakamoto needed someone to tell him no or to tell him why something was too far or just did not work but no one could or would say anything that criticized him and, much like the Star Wars prequels, the game suffered because of this.
I'm really torn on Sakamoto. On one hand I absolutely admire that stubbornness to go against Nintendo's usual approach; IMO they've been too dismissive of a more narrative approach to games and the Metroid series has stood so high in part because of that more cinematic angle.
On the other hand, everything I hear about the plot in Other M just leaves me confused as to what his writing intentions are.
Even so, I don't think it's fair to dismiss him as "the other m guy" when he seems to be also responsible for most of what's good about the series.
'll say it over and over. This game would have been way better storywise if it was written as the last mission Samus did for the federation before becoming an independent bounty hunter and before Zero mission.
By having a Samus that never unlocked any function of her suit yet, by having her still under federation and Adam orders. By having her very first confrontation with Ridley, which would explain the PTSD. By having this mission being the reason she decided to quit the federation after the death of her friends/comrades in a mission that was provoked by federation actions and Space pirates.
The story could have been about MB creation by the federation, using biological engineering and sample from multiples monster aliens, before being stolen by the space pirates (or going rogue). Madeline would be just the interface of the brain.
For the armor upgrade, there is many ideas that could be used. For example, having the tutorial being about the federation analyzing the suit for active duty (indicating that Samus was using federation equipment until then) and have the upgrades locked in the suit. Have Madeline(MB) being the one to unlock them as the story advance, under the guise that the suit function was also studied there, only to reveal later that MB also contain Chozo sample, and using that, she at the end, deactivate the suit in the final confrontation with her.
Imagine how the final sequence would have been so much better in a fight of Samus zero armor. Heck, you could have made a whole theme about Samus over-relying on her equipment and suit function, and her overcoming her PTSD by learning personal inner strength, which came into climax when she face down MB with nothing else than the zero suit and the blaster.
No one would have made to much jazz about Samus being over-emotional, she was still young and not yet the badass hunter we know. Its not about waiting for authorization, it would be about learning of how to use the suit. Adam would need of course some rewriting, and each member of the federation team would need personality, at least enough so we are sad each time one of them die.
Sakamoto is a good reminder to have a good ambition but being open to ideas, the stubbornness just sounded like such a hassle to deal with. I can imagine it feeling like it was only Sakamoto’s work and not the team.
This video was wonderful! I'm one of the few fans of the game (one of the few times I beat a game then immediately replayed it), and it's been a little saddening to see so many people just beat on it without taking into consideration what it did right. As wonky as the gameplay was, I had an absolute blast with it, and exploring the ship post game was really fun too.
I think with a little tweaking the story could've quite powerful, but the idea to have Adam authorize her abilities really damned the narrative. I love the idea of showing the emotions inside one of the most badass and iconic video game heroes ever, it's just too bad the execution was so half-baked. You really brought into perspective just how fundamentally flawed the game was from both a narrative and gameplay perspective, and I can appreciate that while still loving the beautiful mess the game is. Thanks for making this, and keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for the kind words, my friend! Your comment made me realize that "beautiful mess" accidentally describes a good number of the games I've made videos on this year, which was an unintentional throughline, whoops!
Had a blast with this game
I find it so fascinating that they messed up the incentives and mechanics of close quarter combat, considering it's Team Ninja.
Ninja Gaidon (from memory) did a great job of encouraging you to go in for the kill to get more health or to absorb essences to finish enemies off quickly. And it's so weird that the same team forgot that pretty important design trope.
Eitherway, thanks for having me on Kevin!
I would absolutely love to hear a more complete history of this game's development, just to see how they tripped at every turn and still happily pushed on none the wiser. It's probably the only game I can think of that's quite this out of tune with itself, and that's what makes it so fascinating.
Also, thank you once again for taking part!
See, the thing is that they did not, 99.9% of the blame lies with Sakamoto who was and is a Prima Donna. The game is what he wanted, how he wanted and got released when he wanted it. Team ninja _argued_ to get better controls, to use nunchuck or classic, Sakamoto shot them down time and time again. Its on the interviews. What the studio should've done is honestly resign from the project in protest rather than work with a man who would disregard their knowledge and experience in favor of a rather damning vision.
Wasnt Team Ninjas decision for the lack of pick ups or incentives to engage in fights. That all laid on sakamoto. Team Ninja, despite any protests they did, from the strange control scheme, to being denied even the use of the nunchuk, that all fell on sakamotos decisions.
He kept telling them no, regardless TN's experience with this kind of genre. So any issue you had with the game, a lot of the decisions came from sakamoto himself. TN simply followee orders in the end
I'm one of the few who enjoyed Other M, probably because I'm so old school that if a game has bad controls (like they did in the 8 or 16 bit days) I just accepted it for what it was and went along for the ride anyway. Also, Madelen Bergman, who was the scientist who was saved in Other M, was the one who broke the rules to create the vaccine to save Samus in Fusion, as a return for her life being saved by Samus. Also you had to figure out who the Deleter was by process of elimination. I still enjoyed it, was awed by its scope & ambition. The thing I didn't like was the "where's waldo" segments where you had to look in first person mode for a clue, I got stuck at one of those after checking everything, and after 5 minutes I just looked online for help
Metroid Other M was my first entry; quite the thing; My family didn't have money, nor internet at that time, just a WII and 4 games of my choice. In my country it was very popular to play Smash 64 on internet-boot emulators; and once I had the chance I thought it was a good idea to play Other M because "Samus".
Well, I did liked the game to the point I even completed it to 100% without guides and all. (unlike my "game" runs of today).
Now I see its flaws, and outmost cringe. But, the good times are still here u know, specially with my youthful surprise with those rendered cutscenes.
To me this Samus is way different than the original for good reasons, same with the story.
And now that I reflect on it. Its best to keep it that way.
So funny story...
I owned a Wii at the time and bought Other M brand new as my FIRST Metroid title....
And I REALLY liked it!
Other M got me into the other games and made me a fan of the series.
Looking back years later after having played: Metroid, Super, Fusion, and Returns, I must admit that Other M felt very much like a third party Metroid game (or like a spin-off).
I really like the combat of Other M. In this game the missiles are more powerful than the charge since it take longer to activate. The loop of staggering enemies with a charge shot, toppling with a missile and then finishing the with a lethal shot feels fantastic once you get the hang of it.
I'm glad Sakamoto kept this concept and tried to carry it over to Samus returns. I'm also willing to give Sakamoto another chance. A metroid 5 would give him the chance to applied what he's learned from Other M and Samus returns. He just needs a duel director to properly interpret his vision, similar to how Kojima had people helping him express his vision without going too overboard with the Metal Gear series.
@@StormsparkPegasus So you honestly believe he had nothing to do with the amazing Super Metroid, Fusion, Zero Mission, and Samus Returns but he is solely responsible for Other M? Do you see how dumb and biased that sounds?
He's the one that hired Mercury Steam. I guarantee he's the one who came up with the additions to the story. I'm not saying he came up with everything, but he was definently part of the process. He's the one that did most of the developer interviews, which means he had to have some hand in its creation.
And you can't take away the fact that Other M is the game that introduced the melee takedowns that are used in Samus Returns. Mercury Steam are fans of Metroid, so there is no doubt that they played Other M and enjoyed all the lethal strikes and wanted to keep a similar feature in the next metroid game.
Basically, give the man some credit and stop trying to through him under the bus like he's the sole problem with Metroid.
@@StormsparkPegasus He was the sole Director of Super Metroid and Zero Mission, while Other M had 3. Plus Sakamoto has always had the final word when it comes to the stories of these games. It's not like Sakamoto got all this control for no reason, he earned it by writing the stories of the previous 3 games. I'm not saying he's a flawless writer, but he is pretty much the only writer for the series. If he leaves and never works on Metroid, who will write the stories? Who will resolve the cliffhangers of Fusion and Samus Returns? Takehiko probably, but I guarantee he would ask Sakamoto for direction because he's earned that respect from his team. I'm not saying Sakamoto should stay the only writer, I think he should have people helping and questioning his decisions. But I definitely dont think you should throw out the main guy because of one poorly recieved story and expect everything to be perfect.
@@KiddKyle67 Sakamoto is not very good at fully 3d games. Alot of Japanese developers have a hard time adapting to the times.
Genetically altering a Metroid to be immune to ice is like genetically altering a tadpole to being able to breathe air.
There are so many moments in this game that make me want another game in the same style. Just one that does it the right way. Many moments of fleeting brilliance in this game. The speed booster especially is so much fun to use, and feels like I always imagined Metroid to be in 3D.
32:00
".....in Sakamoto's eyes, Samus has never been a strong character. She's been a little girl playing dress up."
I was just about to make some joke about Japanese sexism but I restrained myself.
of course the own creators don't understand what made their games sucessful,
just like fucking star wars with the prequels...
@SNES Nes Because Sakamoto changed who was (and still is) a strong badass bounty Hunter who in the eyes of great horrors and fearsome enemies never cowered or even surrendered to a frightened weak woman only following the order of the man “above” her, even becoming his damsel in distress. If that’s not sexist I don’t know what is.
@SNES Nes sexism: relating to discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex or gender. And I’m pretty sure most agree Samus’ character was devalued immensely in this game.
@SNES Nes ''the big boys will now leave the chat'' and that's how you revealed that you're actually an edgy 14 years-old in need of attention.
I just hope the metroid series gets the recognition it deserves after all its been through whilst never growing beyond a reasonably sized dedicated fanbase
"Floting through the vacume of space, with the leftover debrie of the 40th planet samus had blown up this week"
The Golden Bolt 2022
About the point of smooth development cycle =/= good product, I feel like Radiohead are a good example. Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac are in my opinion their finest work, yet it's a project they've gone on about afterwards having almost broken up the band, because they were stressed and unprepared prior to recording. And yet, it's their most creative albums, when they stopped being a band and just became a musical collective, in a way. By contrast, their next album, Hail to the Thief, which they described as the best recording experience they ever had, was massively inferior.
SomecallmeJohnny as Sakamoto? I'd watch that movie.
This game _definitely_ damages my perception of Fusion; I can't read those internal monologues Samus has during her elevator trips without hearing Jessica Martin's poorly directed voice. Not to mention she's surprised the GF is trying to clone Metroids. _Again._
Random thought: You know what might've given those random GF troops a chance to be decent/actual characters? If Samus' suit was somehow modified to be a comms bridge between _the entire squad._ You're already an outsider tagging along on a GF mission. Having the powersuit act as a communications hub between the squad literally forces interaction between all the characters. Maybe some of the other guys don't trust her either because she's a world-blow-upping loose cannon. Maybe the Japanese guy who only says two words ("Got it!") is a naive fanboy that idolizes Samus' heroism/reputation. Maybe they all sink into a panic when evil mustache dude (Deleter?) starts picking them off one by one and Samus has to struggle to save whoever she can because we may actually _give a damn_ about one of the 5 guys not named Anthony or Adam there.
... Okay, maybe _not_ Adam. He's a prick.
The game was already so _far_ from being a proper Metroid. Seeing how Samus reacts _to_ or interacted _with_ those soldiers beyond the by-the-numbers tripe the game actually delivered might have been interesting for all their characters.
Finally watching this masterpiece after the Dread announcement! Really hope you make a retrospective series for the Prime Trilogy.
This was very well put together, awesome job! You've got yourself a new subscriber. I was surprised the first time I heard SomeCallMeJohnny's voice in the video.
I know there was an article around the time Samus Returns was announced, I believe from Kotaku, where Sakamoto said he still stands by what he did in Other M but I can't find it anywhere.
I get the feeling that the Ridley Freakout and Adam shooting Samus in the back are there to make Samus weak for the exact amount of time the plot requires since the plot couldn't progress as intended otherwise. For example, for the Ridley boss fight, if Samus walked into the arena and the first thing she sees was Anthony getting knocked off a ledge into lava prompting Samus and Ridley to fight, would the story progress any differently? No, since the freakout doesn't add anything. There's no character growth from Samus, there's no consequences since Anthony lives in the end, it seems to serve the purpose of forcing Samus in a weakened state for as long as the plot needs and that's it.
I feel like the only character assassination moment for Samus is when she complied with the bad guy's request and just let the villains win. Remember at the end where this suspicious Colonel shows up and is like "I know Adam and his platoon got wiped out so now you're an outsider. I can't let you talk to the witness (Madeline Bergman) so you need to leave empty handed." At this point I expect Samus to say or do something, at least show she has a backbone and then Anthony can show up to verify her story. It's not like she's helpless in this situation, she knows that there was a Deleter placed into Adam's unit at the very least. However, Samus doesn't do anything. She closes her eyes, clenches her fist and bows her head as if she's been completely defeated and outplayed. I'm not saying Samus would threaten violence, but there's no way she would stand by and let someone suspicious do what they want, especially when Samus knows the Federation has been up to no good and when Adam's last order, one of the last things Adam said to Samus, was to find the survivor (Madeline) and bring that person to safety.
One last thing, you know when Anthony is being attacked by a monster and you need to look at a Grapple Point for Adam to authorize the Grapple Beam? If you don't look at the Grapple Point Anthony gets thrown into lava and dies. I suspect that's just a gameplay mechanic or something but I find this fact funny.
Thank you very much, I appreciate the kind words! I know I've heard of that Sakamoto interview, and while I couldn't find it easily either, I felt his quote regarding a Metroid show more telling. Just to use my channel as an example, I've made some very, _very_ poorly videos when I look back at my first year - to the point that I remade one of them! - but I'd stand by them even today now that I know better. And those videos were just me, I'm not throwing a few hundred people under the bus when I call them bad. Sakamoto standing by his attempts with Other M doesn't also mean that he can't have taken from that experience and learned.
Of course, his deferral on the Metroid show can just be taken as a sort of "I'm not responsible for television shows," too! I think it's a bit of both, and I think both that comment and the one you noted can be equally true coming from the same man, even on the same day!
I like to think that people at Nintendo and MercurySteam watched this video after a long day of putting their heart and soul into Dread, and thought "just you wait"
I hope they read the 18 page breakdown of how terrible Other M is on TVTropes (Mother May I).
This was a pretty good analysis! I especially think the ending bit about whether or not the director should take the reins again was well spoken, and the ratchet/clank comparison was pretty apt as well.
I personally had a lot of gripes talked about in the vid, but 15 bucks isnt a bad price for what i got. At points, the atmosphere was worth it.
What you said at the end is _exactly_ it - on sale? It's not nearly as sour a taste in your mouth! If I paid $50, I'd justifiably be a lot more miffed, but the majority of players got it at $30 or less - I'm actually a bit surprised the reception hasn't warmed up over time as those players started sharing their experiences more!
I'm just glad the galaxy's most kickass warrior is back and better than ever.
Samus Returns was one thing... but holy hell, Metroid Dread is _another entirely._
Please never go away again, Samus. Gaming isn't the same without you.
Insanely good video. Hope we will these kinds off "analysis" kinds of vids more often. They take a long time and a lot of time to makeN but the results are always very impressive.
Thank you very much, my friend! I definitely want to keep pushing out stuff in this style, although Other M is obviously a unique beast so things wouldn't be _quite_ like this. Something in the vein of this crossed with the Legend of Dragoon video is what I'd like to do relatively frequently going forward, with smaller "regular" videos sprinkled in. If September goes well, I'm hoping to have another big one in October, maybe even two!
Ripley who Samus is based off in her most cinematic and action orienated movie Aliens compared to a group of military trained US colonial marines. Marines who just about an hour earlier proclaimed themselves as the "ultimate badasses the state of the badass art." Within an hour and first contact with the Aliens. "It's game over man it's game over, what the hell are we going to do now." Ripley "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit... It's the only way to be sure."
Samus "I cannot authorise the use of that until my sensei tells me to." If Ripley was like this in Aliens. "I cannot use the flamethrower to stop the Alien Queen unless Hicks tells me to. I cannot save Newt with the mech suit unless Hicks authorises me to work the machinery. "Get away from her you bitch! Hicks was that language acceptable for a lady?"
Look how they massacred my girl!
If dread turns up to be really good and I really hope that it will. Sakamoto has truly found his way again, and has redeeming himself with Dread and Samus Returns
Johnny being the voice of Sakamoto? Talk about drawing the short straw. Joking aside, enjoyable video. Nice to see someone criticise stuff in Other M that isn't just the story, as I've seen a lot of people claim the gameplay's still good and I'm wondering if we played the same game. It's functional, and that's as nice I can be about it. That's not even covering the pixel hunts and the over the shoulder walking to the next cutscene segments.
One of the most annoying authorisations for me outside of the ones mentioned was the Wave Beam. You climb up a hill, navigate some electric traps, get to a room with a button blocked by glass. No way to get to it, so you go back down. Then you get trapped and fight space pirates, THEN Adam authorises the Wave Beam, THEN you go back and shoot that damn switch. Another one I remember being brought up in another video years ago was regarding the Speed Booster and how you effectively ran around in one big circle to get back to a point where you needed to use it in the first place.
As for the last statement about Sakamoto... as long as he works with someone who's not afraid to pull him back and say no if his ideas are bad.
I did give him an out to go with somebody else, but he bit the bullet for me on this one! It felt fitting to have the guy that introduced me to Metroid voice the closest thing Metroid has to a proper father.
Excellent Analysis on the gameplay front. I suggest looking up "The Other M that never was" by Lexicon Lookout here on YT if you're interested about the differences in the story between the Japanese and English version. It delves into how much of Other M's connections with Fusion were lost in translation such as the reasons why you even encounter the Nightmare chronologically a second time in the BSL or what Samus actually even accomplished in Other M - the old army, the ringleaders, being disbanded due to her securing a witness. Even Authoritarian Prick Adam, Samus' stance on him and some other plotholes are a result of the translation being unfaithful.
It's crazy how deep the rabbit hole on missed potential goes.
That's a video I definitely have to give a watch when I get the time, I didn't realize _just_ how different the story beats were between the localization and the original!
Thank God for the following games
1. Metroid Samus Returns
2. Metroid Dread
3. Metroid Prime Remastered
I'd include AM2R but I'm not interested in fanmade games.
40:58
ooooooooooooh man oh man oh man oh man oh man. That aged......VERY badly!!!
*Cries in Metroid Prime 4*
I beat Super Metroid, Recently beat Metroid Prime (1) and I just bought Fusion. I’ve never played Other M, but this video really explained why this game is so disappointing. But I believe Metroid is not dead just yet. Metroid prime 4 will be here and I feel like it will be the resurrection the series needed. Though if Nintendo treats Metroid how they did on Wii U. Then sadly, metroid might truly be dead. Also really awesome vid man!
It's a shame that despite how much hard work was behind the scenes no one noticed that the game concepts were flawed from the get-go:
From a narrative point of view it makes no sense making an origin story when the game in the timeline was the send to last game in the series (at that time). By that point Samus should have been a celebrity not being treated like a random grunt that gets second guessed by foot-soldiers. It's like playing Metal Gear Solid 4 and the story instead of focusing on Snake's late life suddenly deciding he's a newbie and patronizing him for no apparent reason.
Gameplay wise the modern NES idea sounds terrible on paper, I even recall an interview where Sakamoto stated that he chose the NES-like layout because it _was a throwback to the glory days of the series_ which confused me a lot. Sure the NES Metroid was a groundbreaking title back in the 80's but let's be honest: it aged like milk (Even back in 2010) and everyone knows Metroid real breakthrough was Super Metroid. Now to be fair the control scheme is not that bad IMO and you can actually get used to it but it is definitely an acquired taste.
Also the _simple controls will appeal the most players_ was an incredibly blindfolded statement. Back in the mid 2000 all the rage was Halo, Gears of War and Uncharted all of them shooters but *action* games that required more than a d-pad and two buttons to play and had massive audiences, casuals among them and "complex" controls were never an issue.
Thanks for the video! I've always loved the idea of Other M. The concept of expanding Samus as a character is really exciting to me, and the gameplay while not perfect was really cool. I'm in love with the potential this game had and hope one day we get something like Other M that lives up to that potential. I unfortunately think things are going to be played safe for a long long time though.
I've been a hardcore metroid fan for as long as I can remember, and I remember getting other M back when it first came out. I was young and didn't understand that a videogame was capable of being bad and I remember playing it and just being happy because I was able to experience a new metroid title because I only had one other entry at that time. I can distinctly recall being confused about the story, but not quite grasping what was going on or that it was bad, EXCEPT FOR RIDLEY, which even at the time of being 7 years old made absolutely no sense and I really disliked it even then. my other metroid entry was prime 3 and needless to say I noticed how samus did not behave anything like that fighting ridley(s) in that game. the gameplay was a GIANT red flag for my younger self. I found myself confused at the conflicting game mechanics and not understanding those choices (definitely not as thought out as I'm making it sound here but I was very confused) even at my young age. I remember distinctly being confused that I couldn't move in first person and i even tried connecting nunchuck to see if it worked because of my other metroid entry being prime 3. the missles weirdly didn't confuse me and I don't remember it ever bothering me at the time. i played through it many times as a boy and discovered a hole in how the game was to be played, you can hold down the 1 button and wiggle your d-pad frantically and automatically dodge through anything. I haven't played other M in years and my opinion about it has soured drastically and I really don't like it at all, but I do feel bad for sakamoto because I can tell that the failure of the game crushed him. :(
At this very late date, I'm saying the lack of Itagaki is really what did Team Ninja in, and I'd never say for sure if he were a part it would have been a good game, but it all seems to correlate. I absolutely hate to boil things down to one guy on a dev team, but it really tracks with every project they've had since his departure. A linear Metroid that had a lot of drama could have been fine, not one anybody would want as a trend for the series, but I think this game sucked because they lost a visionary.
There's 3 ways to dodge in this game. I've had this game for 11 years and it is my favorite metroid game. And i only knew of 2 ways to dodge. I never knew shaking the wiimote would dodge.
Every time I see an old video mentioning Metroid Dread, I feel so grateful for the actual Dread game being good enough to honor all the folklore around its name.
I wonder if Sakamoto every considered to feel sorry for Other M (like Aonuma felt sorry for OoT's Water Temple). But I'm beyond glad that Samus Returns and Dread didn't followed up Other M's way of storytelling. In fact, Sakamoto just acted as a producer for this games, being all the rest handled by Fumi Hayashi at EPD and Jose Luis Marquez at MercurySteam.
One thing about Samus that doesn't sit well with me is her varia suit redesign. In previous games, you could tell it was space level battle armor. This games version looks like a cosplay or wardrobe for an actor in a film. It's too small looking in comparison. Her blaster especially went from an arm cannon to a funnel.
Also I love how you got SomeCallMeJhonny to voice Sakamoto's interview quotes
Hopefully whenever the heck Metroid Prime 4 it can make up for how this game turned out .
I'd like to think it will - it's struggling enough as it is to get off the ground, which for some reason is a great sign with Metroid games!
45:40 - Thank you for leaving in Johnny's laughing fit, that was amazing! 🤣🤣🤣
Welp, here's Sakamoto's last chance
"Other M killed Metroid"
Metroid: "I got better"
Samus: BUT WILL STILL DON'T KNOW WHO THE TRAITOR IS YET!
With Metroid Dread being announced and set to be released this year, Sakamoto has another chance to not only prove he still understands this series, but to truly bring the Metroid series back into spotlight after so many years. I have hope he can do it.
Also, if there’s one great character in this game, it’s definitely Anthony Higgs. PLEASE let him come back!
17:40 the not fitting Samus' character joke slays. Well done.
Stories aren't about content. But execution. One could take Other M ideas and make a better game (some even say Fusion is said game). Even if I tried to put myself in the shoes of an apologist of this game, is very hard finding what it was trying to tell since the focus jumps around so much. The conflict of Samus losing the baby Metroid isn't even related or explored to her past both in K2L and in Zebes. The conspiracy story with the Deleter and the Federation was more well told in Fusion, since at least in that game the authorization system served as a way to slow her progress while they got data on the X parasite. Even the (what I'm assuming) were the strongest beats, Adam sacrificing, Ridley confronting Ridley and Madeline Bergman losing MB didn't felt satisfying.
As a game I think it's strongest achievement may be the framing of the camera to emulate both the 2D games and add more depth. Since some rooms (not all of them) felt like good recreations. The control decision was a mistake. Nintendo even in the Mario Galaxy games quarrels with the notion that new players have a hard time using an analogue stick. But I think that should be carried more by the level design than the control scheme. I think both new and old players were frustrated by using a single wiimote to both move and aim the missiles. If the issue felt that hard to deal, they should have made it entirely 2D, I mean a lot of Nintendo IPs went back to that style so it would have been more casual friendly.
In short the thing I learn from Other M is that you have to be focused, experiment but also keep things simple and iterate on the stuff that feels solid enough. In a videogame story, more often than not, less is more. Is not about showing, rather it is doing. IMO narrative driven games should be tested both with cutscenes and gameplay and also by the gameplay skipping all cutscenes, and in both styles be fun to play.
9:40 another issue with the wiimote only control is that they were trying to make the game accessible to new players yet the game is rated T.
That's one I'll admit I hadn't even thought of! Obviously my view is skewed as a "core" player but I didn't think of the rating messing with its intended outreach. Even back in 2010 that certainly would've had at least some effect!
The game looks so good, aside from the controls catastrophe.
Honestly it would have felt perfectly fine if it was designed to use the nunchuck
yeah aside from the controls the story the combat the linear handholding level design the lack of music etc it was great lol
Smooth transition between gameplay and cinematic my ass. You know damn good and well when Samus is about to transform into melodramatic robot mode. Also, you ever notice how in most Metroid games, control is rarely if ever taken from the player? Super Metroid did it only a couple times in Tourian. Once when 'the baby' nearly kills you. Once when you're physically unable to move thanks to the brain laser that for whatever reason is capable of draining not only energy but depleting your ammo (I still don't get how that works), up until you finally recover and can start fighting again and avenge the dead Metroid.
Zero Mission's cinematics are short, sweet, and to the point -- just an excuse to display some art for a few moments, or introduce a boss.
The Prime series games are usually light on cinematics, and only take your control away during situations where there's not much you really need to do other than listen, anyway, IIRC.
Fusion only has talky-talky in dedicated navigation rooms, and apart from that it takes cues from Zero Mission (occasional cinematic moments that are very brief), and Super Metroid/Prime (only taking away your control when you either can't really do anything or there's nothing you can really take action for anyway).
The Metroid series has, when at its best, told its story and narrative passively -- keeping you firmly in control of Samus at all times. Events unfold around you while you're still in control. Things are shown, not told. And if Samus ever needs to speak her mind about something, it's very quick and concise -- like the mission introduction summaries (in logbook format) at the beginning of games. The games don't insult your intelligence by telling you how you should feel, and more often than not, it's up to you to feel.
Even for all its verbosity, Fusion did great at 'show don't tell' (alongside the actual telling) -- when the SA-X is stalking or chasing you down, making you the hunted instead of the hunter, you don't need to be told Samus is breaking out into a cold sweat or her heart is pounding as she flees deadly energy blasts from an opponent she can't even hope to hurt. It's evident in the fact that you ACTUALLY CAN'T DAMAGE that monstrosity and its attacks deal ridiculous amounts of damage. You can come to your own conclusion that she must be in fight or flight, getting the hell away, and when it finally loses sight of her, breathing a sigh of relief, only for the fear to give way to a slowly boiling indignation, anger, rage, and hatred... "If I only had my fully powered suit, I'd make that damned false copy of me PAY."
The atmospheric music was greatly done in that game as well, giving you the senses of unease and trepidation. You know that for all your losses, you are a powerful warrior. But you've got to have caution. Something is terribly wrong, and you can feel it in your bones, in the air... It's not enough to make you panic and run (unless you run into that unkillable foe), but enough to make you proceed with caution. You're no stranger to danger, but you haven't stayed alive this long by being reckless. When every hair on the back of your neck is standing on end, you know it's a warning sign... and one to be ignored at your own peril.
DOOM 2016 later showed us that we can understand a lot about a character even when they don't speak a single word. Just in how expressive they are. Actions speak louder than words, and you can understand just by the Doomslayer's gestures and actions during the brief scripted scenes (which never take you out of first person even for a second) what he's feeling. His contempt, his outrage, his frustration, and defiance. We can see exactly where he hesitates, and where he doubles down. We can figure what he's contemplating when he looks aside at a nearby dead body while Samuel Hayden is prattling on about good intentions and the greater good.
And this is an important point in how Other M fell flat on its ass, in my humble opinion. If it had relied less on taking you out of the character's head and more on syncing the player with the character -- if it had been more like DOOM 2016 would later be (and I don't mean making Samus just a mindless killer), or even just taking cues from Prime 3, there would have been better ways to express Samus through actions instead of words. Hell, you can even have non-verbal voice acting cues to add along to it. Samus can give hints as to how she feels in a given fight based on sounds she makes within a given battle. Really, less is so much more.
Hell, if you want flashback sequences, make them controllable/in-game engine. Let us feel what it's like to be in her shoes. Even work with moments of controllable helplessness -- If Samus is disabled, you can still try in vain to move, struggling, stumbling, inching forwards at a far too slow pace to get anything done while the scene plays out. But these kinds of moments need to be sparingly used, otherwise it loses its impact. Super Metroid's scene with the Metroid and Mother Brain was so profound because you'd never before been put into a position where you couldn't move, and could only watch in horror as you were able to VISIBLY watch the Metroid's health drain away from the attacks it was taking (a brilliant use of the 'bosses change color as they get closer to death' mechanic), while it brings you back to health.
Super Metroid was not legendary because it was a movie in video game form. It was great because it played to the strengths of the medium of a game, and wasn't trying to be something it wasn't. It knew it was a video game first and foremost. It didn't try to tell a story like it was a movie, a novel, a radio show, or any other kind of medium. It did what games do best.
It let you EXPERIENCE and be a part of it.
Samus is my favorite video game character.
_Especially_ Other M Samus, right? 😏
@@TheGoldenBolt other M samus is sexy as hell. She also has a few avatars on the switch profile pictures. Hopefully that means they're bringing a definitive edition version of other M to the switch in HD.
Other M was my first & is so far my only Metroid game & the way Samus used sense move, lethal strike, & over blast, especially her lethal strike on Ridley, made me love Samus as much as I do today & Samus Returns made me love her so much more because of the way she used melee counter, especially the ones she used on Ridley. I also like Samus talking in Other M.
35:11 This is exactly what the Space Pirates were doing in Prime to help them adapt to the Phendrana Drifts and was done to cement the idea to the player that the SP were not thinking things through, since the result of this was that they weren't able to contain the Metroids. Either this is intentional and the point is that the SP and Federation aren't so different, or Sakamoto just didn't realize what he'd done.
If anything then I'm happy that I can stand today and say that at least Other M's failure meant something. It seems that the lessons learned from that games fall have served only to make Samus Returns and Dread better games, and I suspect that the choice to reset Prime 4 to make it something better fitting the name might also have been motivated by Other M's fall. After many years we can finally say once again, that the future of Metroid looks bright.
This gives so much insight into why Other M is the way it is. I never hated this game, I think it was good before, now I think it's just ok. I do believe that Sakamoto really did ruin this game with his ambition.
You know what this reminds me of, George Lucas with Star Wars. He's another director that had full control when he worked on the prequel series, surrounded by only yes people and audiences generally hating those movies.
But unlike Sakamoto who did get his redemption with Metroid Droid, Lucas never really got that, he sold his work and never had a role with the next movies. Just something to think about.
I guess my point is that I'm happy that we got Metroid Dread, this was pulled from the depths of development hell and was abandoned, and it turned into the game to revive the whole series for a new generation, being the best selling Metroid game of all time, and Sakamoto did get his vision of this game to life, a fear based Metroid game with those E.M.M.I. robots. Just makes me happy that there is a happy ending with Sakamoto, well, I guess not ending, a happy new beginning.
Cheers to one of my favorite game series of all time, to Sakamoto and the rest of MercurySteam for being a fantastic development team, and to one of my favorite characters Samus Aran, welcome back Samus, we've missed you dearly.
I really hope Dread will sell well. It would definetly send the right signal, plus the game is awesome and deserves it.
Dread was a huge success
Still bothers me that Samus's suit in Smash Bros is her Other M design. There was even a cutscene in the game that depicted her in the flat-shoulder Power Suit, but then she's also depicted as having the yellow Power Suit with ROUND shoulders in the beginning of the game as well as not having the Gravity Suit (excuse me, "feature") at the end of her adventure from Super Metroid. This game is like a case study of infinitely questionable design choices.
Honestly, that part was the least of my worries! (Although I did try to find a good place to talk about the Gravity Suit "that's not Samus!" fiasco.) I was okay with the creative license of dropping the alternate suits from the opening cutscene, since this was that attempt at being an intro to Metroid to new players too. Trying to use a midquel as the new-player-outreach game though...God, I really don't know how anybody expected that to work when Fusion was still stuck on the GBA.
Retrospectively if this killed the franchise, Dread definitely revived it 🤙
What about Metroid Samus Returns? While it may not be as good as AM2R which I've never played because I'm interested in fanmade so I can't judge, last I check Samus Returns was still pretty well recieved.
@@robertkenny1201 I mean, Federation Force came out the year before Samus Returns, but I get that no one wants to give it the reviving the franchise credit, I don't either lol. But yeah, Metroid has definitely been revived by now.
I was such a fan of Metroid that I completed this entire game 100% the week it came out. I honestly liked it but when the reviews came out I realized how bad of a Metroid game it really was
If anything, at least Samus is pleasant to look at in this game
There was more tension in created in the Fusion appearance of Ridley than the entirety of Other M, and that was done with no words or cutscenes. I still remember the dread I felt discovering the frozen Ridley and realising i'd have to fight it again, all of which was built off the difficulty when facing Ridley in Super Metroid. That's the narrative strength of this series, building emotion into environmental (including sound) design, and the gradual development of confidence and strength in being able to discover techniques and master the environment.
The Japanese script has some minor, yet important distinctions that does make it a bit more clear what Sakamoto was trying to say.
The biggest problem with Sense Move super shots is it incentivizes standing still and *waiting* to be attacked. Samus Returns has this problem too.
Personally, I don't mind the incentive to wait, since to some extent it fits Samus's character (better than the rest of the game, too!) - but it'd be so much better of a fit if tied to a button as opposed to _forcing_ the player to stand still like you said. Or if there was a stronger incentive to be aggressive with the jump attacks, like say a slight health regen upon successful CQC attacks or something!
i like how you kept in the laugh from the voice actor who recited Sakamoto's quotes. XD
When I played this game for the first time I was a kid and I really loved it because it looked quite spectacular. It was my first Metroid game, so the plot problems didn't bother me that much, and the little experience I had with videogames didn't allow me to feel frustrated about the gameplay technical problems. I loved it so much that I started playing previous Metroid games, and I loved them even more (especially the 2D ones). I played Other M a second time 3/4 years ago, and, although some things bothered me a bit more (especially Samus's emotional moments and her being a bit too sexualized), I still think many of the ideas that were put into it are very interesting and worth developing. Prime games are very good, but tbh I am more interested in seeing a new game inspired by Other M.
The things this game get right would make it a 9/10, but the things it gets wrong would make it a 2/10. Probably the strangest way to get a 'meh' result in gaming history.
And that plot is thirteen year old shadow the hedgehog fanfic levels of bad. Its a big shame.
I been a Metroid fan since 2004, Fusion was my first game and I loved it back then still play it over the years and i have played all the other games even the one on Nes and honestly the Prime series i never really loved kinda liked the 2D ones more. But recently started playing Other M on a Odin handheld with upscale graphics. It feels just like it's on a switch I really love the 3rd person aspect of this one really wish they make another one like this It's amazing to me to see Samus 360
Game play feels so good regardless of the story potholes it's good I recommend 💯
We need another one like this or a port to the switch.
I enjoyed hearing John's voice. Also this was a really good and comprehensive review.