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Metroid: Samus Returns (Mercury Steam, Metroid 2 reimagining, 9/15) announced for 3DS

TheMoon

Member
Someone show me a good looking Other M screenshot

Game always looked ugly to me

there ya go

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art obviously wasn't as interesting as the crazy alien worlds on Prime but the game still looked good.
 
Other M looks good technically; the visuals are shiny, the game runs super smooth and Samus' model in particular is very detailed. It's the art direction that suffers a bit and the whole game ends up looking quite sterile.
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
So it's always because of a bad game except when it isn't because other newly brought up reasons. Pikmin example - not addressed because it doesn't fit the story you are emotionally invested in: That Other M was so bad it blocked the series from continuing.

Pikmin 3 was originally a Wii game, it was never really on hiatus like Metroid was. It just got shuffled around. We already know that Pikmin 4 is in development too so I don't see how it's comparable. There is a Pikmin game coming out this month on the 3DS.
 

Rran

Member
I think when you are dealing with a beloved franchise, a truly bad product from the original creator is always going to lead to this type of criticism. It's no different to what George Lucas, Ridley Scott, and many other visionaries have to endure. If you want the adulation that comes with great works, you have to accept the contempt that comes from a bad product. If Samus Returns is good, then Sakamoto will restore his reputation, you will always be judged on your most recent work.
Yeah, but I think there's a difference between being judged on your latest work and being defined by it. It was one game--yes, it's a disappointment for probably a majority of Metroid fans, and I totally can understand having a degree of skepticism with his name attached, but I don't feel he's quite deserved the level of vitriol many have for him just yet.
 

GenG3000

Member
Pikmin 3 was originally a Wii game, it was never really on hiatus like Metroid was. It just got shuffled around. We already know that Pikmin 4 is in development too so I don't see how it's comparable. There is a Pikmin game coming out this month on the 3DS.

And Federation Force was a 2009 DSiWare game that got repurposed into a 3DS game. So you see, Metroid was never on hiatus.
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
And Federation Force was a 2009 DSiWare game that got repurposed into a 3DS game. So you see, Metroid was never on hiatus.

Federation Force started development before Other M came out and then got shelved for 7 years. So I don't think that really helps your argument.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Why is Sakamoto being treated unfairly?

This is usually in reference to people who seem to think the only thing Sakamoto has done in the past decade was Other M. You'll be surprised how many aren't aware of the other popular series he's helped produce like Wario Ware and Rhythm Tengoku.
 

NotLiquid

Member
God damn I forget the hideous yellow palette that Samus' suit had in Other M. Not to mention all of the areas being your standard grass/ice/desert/lava world connected by corridors was so damn boring.

Other M was pretty alright looking graphically but in terms of art design it was so fucking anemic.
 

D.Lo

Member
God damn I forget the hideous yellow palette that Samus' suit had in Other M.
It's literally the same as Zero Mission

metroidzm_02.jpg


In my opinion, Samus in-suit seriously looked awesome in Other M. She only looks better in Zero Mission and Prime 1.

Metroid 1 (goofy) and Fusion (hunchback) are the only 'bad' in game Samuses, others are decent but nothing particularly great, eg Dark Echoes standard suits looked dirty and Dark/Light not that good, Corruption suits were boring.
 

Cpt Lmao

Member
I think Other M had some sweet ideas, and a lot of potential. I reckon if it was overseen by Retro (rather than Sakamoto), which would have led to Jennifer Hale as voice actor (and other superior design choices), then it may have gone down as one the best Metroid games.
 
I think Other M had some sweet ideas, and a lot of potential. I reckon if it was overseen by Retro (rather than Sakamoto), which would have led to Jennifer Hale as voice actor (and other superior design choices), then it may have gone down as one the best Metroid games.

It would of been a completely and utterly different game if Retro did it instead of Sakamoto, lol. It most likely wouldn't of been called "Other M" and haves themes regarding motherly shit.

I think, ultimately, Other M had the potential to be be on par with Metroid Fusion, which, in-spite of its big focus on narrative and linearity, was at least still a solid action game in its own right. Problem is, well....

Ultimately I think the problem with Other M's gameplay is there's basically two completely different visions and directions clashing directly against each other.

Sakamoto's vision was obviously just another one of his 2(.5)D Metroid games, complete with simple 2D controls. Team Ninja's vision on the other hand, was just another one of their 3D character action games with slick and stylish combat/animations. They tried to make a compromise between both directions and it just didn't really work. They should of chosen one path.

It probably should of just been 2.5D, but I do kinda agree with The Gaming Brit that a full fledged Metroid themed character action game utilizing beam combos and shine-sparking and stuff could of been neat if done right.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/03/11/gdc-10-metroid-director-wanted-classic-controls

Team Ninja stepped in to work on the project and was selected because the team played off the Nintendo-based team extremely well, bouncing ideas back and forth throughout the development. Sakamoto used a specific instance as an example: he insisted that the game would be an on-rails side-scrolling adventure that used the Wii remote exclusively like an NES/Famicom controller. But Team Ninja really wanted to make it a nunchuk-analog controlling game for 3D foreground/background exploration. Sakamoto stood firm on the Wii remote exclusivity. When the Team Ninja came up with an idea that could incorporate Sakamoto's Wii remote focus into a non-on-rails design, he was skeptical -- but when he finally saw what they came up with, he thought the solution was perfect. They called it "Famicom Game Plus."
 

Oddish1

Member
I think Other M had some sweet ideas, and a lot of potential. I reckon if it was overseen by Retro (rather than Sakamoto), which would have led to Jennifer Hale as voice actor (and other superior design choices), then it may have gone down as one the best Metroid games.

If we're gonna speculate on what could have made Other M better I say it should've stayed 2D, low budget, and had a minimal story. There are good ideas storywise, but not enough focus on them due to like, 4 other useless side stories clawing for attention.
 

NotLiquid

Member
It's literally the same as Zero Mission

metroidzm_02.jpg

It really isn't. Zero Mission is more saturated, has a subtle tint leaning more towards orange and the in-game sprite works because most of the locales need to be colorful on account of the platform.

In contrast the only areas Samus look good in Other M are the heated areas with the Varia Suit on. In most other areas and cutscenes she looks desaturated and horribly out of place. The yellow hue having a slightly green-ish tint does not help, it doesn't mesh well with the red imo.
 

TheMoon

Member
Federation Force started development before Other M came out and then got shelved for 7 years. So I don't think that really helps your argument.

It does because the original argument was a shit argument anyway. This whole discussion is way down the poop shaft.
 

GeekyDad

Member
It does because the original argument was a shit argument anyway. This whole discussion is way down the poop shaft.

Hear, hear!

Thread was dead for like two days; someone brings up Other M again, and then it's two pages of unnecessary shit spray.
 
Palatable not palpable.

And understandable? As in comprehending the story? It's a silly story told like a cheesy anime but really quite simple to follow?

And if you mean understanding why the story was like it was? Well, it's basically a Metroid Fusion remake. I had the exact same problems with Fusion back in the day, they were just amplified by the voice acting in OM. In Japanese, OM dropped back to 'tier 2 Metroid' for me, instead of 'Ew I hate it', so that's why I recommend the Japanese version.

You mean Other M was universally criticised? It reviewed extremely solidly. It did sell very poorly. But the negativity is a later backlash, it was not there at the start, to say it was universally criticised is absolutely not true.

Federation Force received mixed reviews, including some good reviews too, and most of the negative reviews are complaints were about the context rather than the game itself. I found it a high quality game, just a frustrating use of a talented resource.

Thank You!!!!
 
Looking at new amiibo and just realised my 3DS cannot use them and I need a £20 adapter? Wtf, they better unlock shit in this game.

Amiibo as DLC sucks balls.
 
Why is Sakamoto being treated unfairly? He wrote Other M. He directed it. He produced it. He chose Samus's voice actress (In English too, btw). He forced the pixel hunt segments. He chose Team Ninja. Everything wrong with Other M is because of him the decisions stemming from the ones he made.

Other M wasn't just a bad game. It was so terrible that it made everything that came after it worse because of it. If Other M didn't exist, the reaction to Federation Force would've been mild instead of insipid, especially after such a long time.

I believe his biggest mistake was thinking Team Ninja was a good fit for a Metroid game. It was team Ninja who put their foot down to make it a fully 3D game. Sakamoto wanted to make it like Pandemonium!/Klonoa. The control scheme would have worked much better if everything was kept to a 2D plane. How a story can ruin a game for people is something I'll never understand, even as a huge Metroid fan. Did the story suck? Absolutely. If the rest of the game was amazing would it have mattered? Not to me. But the level design, overall world design, mechanics, and atmosphere were garbage level compared to what Retro did. Because despite all that, there is some fun to be had in Other M, even if it's near the bottom of the list of quality Metroid games. And unlike Tanabe, the man has directed some of the best games of all time.

There was already a few great responses, but just wanted to say that judging someone's ability to make a main series entry, based off of their spin-off, makes little sense. Even people who insist that Tenabe wants to turn Metroid into some action Star Wars franchise are off. Retro wanted to make Prime 3 even more actiony with Power Fantasy elements, but he moderated them and decided to keep Metroid unique as there are enough titles like that. I think the guy gets Metroid enough to make a sequel.

No, they wanted to make it a game about Samus taking actual bounty hunting missions, and he told them that Samus isn't really a bounty hunter.

Miyamoto made Yoshi's Story.

Federation Force was just a mediocre, poorly-judged spinoff, those happen all the time. It was not an insulting main series game like Other M that shat on everything people liked about Metroid.

Obviously the quality of the game was universally criticised but it sold like rancid dog shit. That's the main reason why Nintendo put the series on ice for such a long time.

You mean like when Super Metroid came out and then the series was on ice for 7 years after that?

And Mark Cerny did Knack. What's your point ?

I've never played Knack so I can't really comment on it. I do like Cerny though. Even though he seems more of a hardware/tech guy these days he always seemed to be involved mostly with games that emphasize fun. Too bad he doesn't work closely with Naughty Dog anymore... They could use a reminder on that.
 

Toxi

Banned
Replaying Zero Mission, I wonder if Samus Returns will have the same sort of crazy puzzles for some power ups. The ones in Ridley's lair are especially ridiculous.

Also, this made me chuckle.

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Replaying Zero Mission, I wonder if Samus Returns will have the same sort of crazy puzzles for some power ups. The ones in Ridley's lair are especially ridiculous.

Also, this made me chuckle.

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Yep, one of the things I'm looking forward to most is the shinesparking challenges. Even if they are just for simple missile expansions, it's super fun to finally figure them out.
 

MoonFrog

Member
It is.

Just finished Zero Mission 100%. Can't wait for Samus Returns.

Yeah I did Zero Mission 100% for the first time some weeks back. The stealth section typically zaps me of any desire to go back and power bomb shit, but felt like doing it all this time.

As I said upthread, SM and the Primes are very different from Zero/Fusion. It is very easy to get 100% in SM and the Primes and get it all very conveniently. Zero/Fusion play around with boost, grip, and what not a lot for some pretty tough power-ups.
 

Toxi

Banned
Yep, one of the things I'm looking forward to most is the shinesparking challenges. Even if they are just for simple missile expansions, it's super fun to finally figure them out.
Speed Booster isn't confirmed for Samus Returns yet, right? I really hope it makes it in.

Something else I'd love from Samus Returns: An awesome hard optional boss. With the additional combat mechanics in Samus Returns, I could see it being a lot of fun to fight something that's challenging even with 100% of powerups.
 
What I find interesting is that, even in Metroid's absense, Nintendo still frequently referenced the series in promotional material.

You have those skins in Monster Hunter, the avatars on the Switch's OS, that Japanese n3DS commercial with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, those UNIQLO t-shirts, etc. Nintendo still acknowledged Metroid as a key brand, even if they haven't made many games for it until recently. Samus was among Nintendo's main mascots from this slide from an investors meeting some years back.

V6EDM29.jpg


I dunno, it's definitely a lot more you can say than for something like F-Zero.
 
i hate and love the shinespark missile expansions, in zero mission i always think "no way i will ever manage to do this", but when i do it is so satisfying.


So, do people here follow any metroid sites/channels?

2 years ago when i was replaying through all metroids i used this site to clean up some expansions that i didn't get because their maps are really good: http://metroid.retropixel.net/


Also, this channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxaJmZn5opOIosuOxS5Z9Fw is really really good and i stumbled on it recently when watching some related videos, he talks about the lore of the series, explain some things about the things etc. He is also a pretty positive dude so i really liked the channel for that.
 

Raitaro

Member
What I find interesting is that, even in Metroid's absense, Nintendo still frequently referenced the series in promotional material.

You have those skins in Monster Hunter, the avatars on the Switch's OS, that Japanese n3DS commercial with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, those UNIQLO t-shirts, etc. Nintendo still acknowledged Metroid as a key brand, even if they haven't made many games for it until recently. Samus was among Nintendo's main mascots from this slide from an investors meeting some years back.

V6EDM29.jpg


I dunno, it's definitely a lot more you can say than for something like F-Zero.

The only thing that is making me even more sad is the lack of Pit / Kid Icarus support. He could have been a mainstay character if Nintendo hadn't shelved him after his second game on GB...(by cancelling his SNES game)...before bringing him back but only very briefly...
 

Toxi

Banned
The only thing that is making me even more sad is the lack of Pit / Kid Icarus support. He could have been a mainstay character if Nintendo hadn't shelved him after his second game on GB...(by cancelling his SNES game)...before bringing him back but only very briefly...
Poor Pit is stuck until Sakurai is unchained from Smash Bros.
 
Speed Booster isn't confirmed for Samus Returns yet, right? I really hope it makes it in.

Something else I'd love from Samus Returns: An awesome hard optional boss. With the additional combat mechanics in Samus Returns, I could see it being a lot of fun to fight something that's challenging even with 100% of powerups.

No, but it's been in every Sakamoto Metroid game since Super, so... It had damn well better be!

Optional boss would be cool. Give me Mecha Kraid!
 
The only thing that is making me even more sad is the lack of Pit / Kid Icarus support. He could have been a mainstay character if Nintendo hadn't shelved him after his second game on GB...(by cancelling his SNES game)...before bringing him back but only very briefly...

I suppose. I wouldn't want them to milk the franchise though; Uprising was great on its own, it didn't really need a sequel. I would've been cool with something that harkened back to the classic games by being a side-scroller but with the modern look and characters, but I don't think Kid Icarus is necessarily something that needs a bunch of sequels. Let em make another when they have a great idea with how to push forward.
 

-shadow-

Member
Can't wait for the game and that wonderful Legacy Edition!

Edit: does anyone know if NOE has uploaded the 3D trailer yet? Or are they still using the 3DS layover version?
 

TheMoon

Member
Can't wait for the game and that wonderful Legacy Edition!

Edit: does anyone know if NOE has uploaded the 3D trailer yet? Or are they still using the 3DS layover version?

they probably never will. for no good reason. or they'll do it when they update the game's eshop page once it's out when you don't need it anymore.
 
Pretty awesome that the official reveal trailer has crossed 2m views on Nintendo's channel. Now I just hope this reception also translates to good sales when it's released in September.
 

Narroo

Member
Tanabe getting the Sakomoto treatment.

oversees three great games, makes one fuck up (not even as bad as Other M) and people get overly cautious towards him.

That's where I'd disagree: Prime 2 was okay, but a bit stale while Prime 3 was mediocre and threw out what made Prime 1 a great game. Federation Force was unsurprising to me given the trajectory of the Prime series.
 
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