I love Metroid.
So when Metroid: Other M came out I was excited and despite the negative reaction others were having I was willing to forgive a lot. And I did.
Overall I thought there were some really good parts to the game, but overall I wasn’t completely satisfied. Recently*, with my foray back into Super Metroid, I thought it would be good to replay Other M and just see how it feels in comparison.
I didn’t like it.
I played for an hour. Half of which was watching the worst cutscenes this side of Conker’s Bad Fur Day.** The dialogue was like something from a Jack Perez movie.
The premise that Samus just wasn’t going to use missiles or bombs (even in life threatening situations) until she was told to… is killing me. LITERALLY. (Samus: “I would rather die a meaningless death at the hands of an alien creature than disobey the orders of a commander I am voluntarily following. He would never forgive me. And I would never forgive me. Because deep under this cold metal exterior, I am a sad, lonely orphan.” Federation Soldiers: “For she is an orphan girl! She is, hurrah, for the orphan girl!” Samus: “And it sometimes is a useful thing, to be an orphan girl!”)
[Side rant: why is a Grapple Beam not acceptable until it’s been authorized… it’s not a weapon. “Samus! Why are you walking? I didn’t authorize the use of your legs yet!”]
The game auto-everythings. Auto aim, auto missiles, can’t fire missiles unless you’re locked on and in first person mode. Can’t do this, unless something, something! Press a direction at an appropriate time and you’ll auto dodge! Jump at an enemy and press the correct button and maybe you’ll land on their head and shoot their skull.
Yes. It looks great. It’s a really BA*** move. BUT it’s annoying, because B) they tell you this while the enemy in question is attacking you and you’re trying to get away, and A) it’s the same two buttons you use for all the other attacks.
A Direction and (1).
I get it Nintendo. You made a one button mouse. Why don’t you build 600 tap to jump games?
Don’t get me wrong. The entire game is not horrible. Seeing the creatures from Metroid and Super Metroid brought to life in a beautiful SD quality and rendered in 3D is fantastic… okay, so I’d rather it be in HD, and some of the creatures look super cartoony, but to see the 3D representation of the 2D enemies we know and love! Or love to hate! Or… whatever.
I hope to be able to continue playing it after I’ve cooled down a bit.
The first boss fight pulls you in and out of first person mode, in and out of cinematic mode, it’s hard for me to tell what’s really going on. When am I actually playing?
I remember there are some points that I really enjoyed how they converted the 2D game to a 3D feel, but after tonight’s attempt at a second play through, I just want to go back to 2D. Granted, I want a 2D world that looks like this:
But I want a 2D world. I can handle that. This 3D world gives me the feeling that there is more I am missing, but it’s hard to tell what’s explorable and what’s simply fancy background.
I feel like this game had very great potential and they gave it too much story and they made it too complicated. We’ll see if I am able to finish it again.
*Minutes ago, at the time of this writing.
**I don’t think I ever played Conker’s Bad Fur Day.
***Bachelor of Arts