Illustration by Kamryn Nordsiek
I am a gamer of at least 20 years and a HUGE Metroid fan. I’ll admit that with my most beloved franchises, sometimes I’ll pass judgement on a new take before I get a full idea of what it’s about. I did this with Other M and remained hugely skeptical from the moment I saw it. After some time, however, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and let myself relax a little bit and read more about it. Over time, I actually became pretty excited about it and was pretty ramped to dive into this next chapter in the Metroid timeline. Ultimately the game fell incredibly short of my expectations and I actually deem it to be one of the worst titles in the series. Here’s why. (note: there are spoilers listed below so if you plan on playing the game and want to be surprised by it’s incredibly lame story, you’ve been warned)
Samus Aran was a pretty big shock to the gaming industry upon her arrival. For the first time, a video game starred a female character who wasn’t in need of being saved because she could do it herself. Other M takes the concept of our strong Heroine who can manage herself just fine and flushes it right down the toilet… in the cutscenes. During the actual gameplay segments, Samus is as ruthless as ever: Running hard, shooting hundreds of enemies without blinking an eye and, this time, even using her physical strength to submiss enemies to the ground before blowing their FACES off.
In total contrast, the game’s narrative portrays Samus as a whining, scared, submissive character that goes against every single thing her foundation was built upon. Yes, I understand that she’s been a silent protagonist for most of her history so we have no actual proof of what she was thinking about under that helmet but actions most definitely speak louder than words in this case.
Other M reduces Samus to a familiar female role that has been seen many times in the past; Big-breasted and helpless without her male counterparts to save her ass at every turn. Many people would say that the games title, “Other M” stands for “Other Metroid”. Because this game takes place right after Super Metroid, we know that all the Metroids have been officially eradicated from the universe. Thus, another metroid game, another M. Either that or Other M stands for “Other Mother” as in Mother Brain. This makes sense in a way and I agree with these interpretations of the title but I’m inclined to think that the real “Other Mother” is Samus herself.
The game begins with a recreation of the final scene in Super Metroid where the Metroid hatchling she found at the end of Metroid II sacrifices itself to save her from certain death by Mother Brain. In Other M, this act causes Samus to spiral into a deep and melancholy state where she loses all track of time and has constant flashbacks of the hatchling’s sacrifice, whom she now so lovingly refers to as “The baby”. This is the same hatchling that Samus had no problem turning over to the Galactic Federation moments after they first came into contact with each other. My problem with this is that they’ve put a heavy emphasis on Samus’ maternal instincts (you know, something that ALL women have no control over) and made it a driving force for her character.
There’s also a heavy amount of inconsistencies with not only the way she behaves under your control and during the game’s cutscenes, but also in her actions from past games. During gameplay, Samus is fearless. That’s one of the many reasons why we’ve grown to love her as a female role. That’s why they made the decision to make her a female in the first place way back in the very first title.
“Look guys, she’s a woman and you had no idea until you beat the game. She acts just like all the other gruff and heroic male characters from every other video game on the planet”.
In Other M’s cutscenes, she is fearful and constantly worried over some things that she wouldn’t break a sweat over in previous titles. She is always losing her cool and remains in a panicked state for most of the game.
Here’s my favorite example: In the game, you fight Ridley. I expected it because you fight him in every single Metroid title. It’s a rule or something. When Samus sees Ridley for the first time in Other M, she literally freezes in fear at the sight of him. The cutscene actually shows her standing next to him, trembling and unable to move then, after a camera angle change, shows her as a TODDLER. Like she’s so overcome by Ridley’s massive size and power that she feels as helpless as a baby in his presence. Now, I totally understand a reaction of fright or worry because Ridley is a powerful foe. I even understand one of slight bewilderment and fear because he should, by all means, be dead as he was on Zebes when it blew up. This metaphor is entirely inexcusable. To show Samus feeling so helpless in the face of an enemy that she’s stomped at least 5 times in the past. It’s not until she is saved by one of her male comrades that she snaps the hell out of it and regains her composure.
Which brings me to my next point. Stereotypical male authority of females. So often throughout the game a man has to step in and get Samus out of a jam.
You know how in all the Metroid titles, Samus has to start the game without any of her upgrades from the previous titles? It’s a classic staple of the series. They used to not even bother explaining it but, as time went on, they at least found some sort of half-believable excuse. In Metroid Prime, she starts the game with awesome equipment but a shockwave sends her crashing into a wall and shorts out a bunch of chips on her power suit – in Metroid Fusion, she gets overtaken by a virus and her suit has to be surgically removed. Do you know how they explain it in Other M? She has her upgrades on her over the course of the entire game but she won’t use them unless she’s given strict authorization from her commanding officer… even in a deadly situation where the upgrade could save her life.
Let me paint the picture for you: Samus comes to part of the ship that is filled with scorching lava. Any seasoned Metroid veteran knows that her Varia suit will protect her from this extreme heat but she still powers through the areas while sustaining damage. If you don’t control her fast enough she WILL die in these areas. It’s not until right before you fight a boss in this area that you get authorization to turn on your Varia suit functionality to protect yourself from the deadly heat. She doesn’t do anything, unless the MAN tells her to. Yes, this is the same Samus who dropped out of the Galactic Federation and became a self-employed bounty hunter because she doesn’t give a crap about listening to authority… just saying.
The last area I’m going to touch on is the actual gameplay. It can basically be summed up in 3 categories: control, flow, difficulty.
Control – The movement in the 3D space really isn’t all that bad but Team Ninja’s decision to force players to use a 4 directional D-pad instead of the omni-directional analog stick was a poor one. You’re constantly making zig-zags when trying to go straight which poses a problem considering you have to maintain a straight course to engage the speed booster. I know why Team Ninja did this, too. I also hate them for it. They did it so that you can shoot missles by pointing the wii-mote at the sreen, giving you a “wouldn’t that be cool” first-person perspective through Samus’ visor. No, Team Ninja, it’s not cool. It’s not cool because now I can’t MOVE while I shoot missles. Here’s a fantastic solution: Give me control over Samus with the Nunchuck. This way, I can use the thumbstick to move. If we really must go into first person perspective, that’s fine too. Trigger it by pushing the C button on the nunchuck and now point at the sreen… now we can MOVE in first person view a-la Metroid Prime 3. Two problems solved with one decision.
Also, I’ll just say that, as seen with the Ninja Gaiden games, Team Ninja knows NOTHING about platforming and Other M is no different.
Flow – This is a really simple one to break down. Metroid titles are usually labyrinthine. I’ve played Super metroid more times than I can count and I still get slightly lost on my playthroughs. Other M holds your hand all the way through, giving you a nice little marker on your map telling you exactly where to go. The puzzles are obvious, and the story is amazingly predictable. Enough said.
Difficulty – This one isn’t as big of a deal if it didn’t conflict so much with Samus’ actions during the cutscenes. The game was super easy. Most of the time I died, it was because of some bad platforming mechanics. The game has a built-in invincible dodge that only requires you to tap in any direction right before an enemy touches you. This mechanic is cheap and way too easy to exploit. If you find yourself in a fight, all you have to do is constantly tap the direction that you want to move. Samus will still get there because of the digital control and she’ll dodge every single attack because the game registers it as a dodge. Remember the fight with Ridley that Samus trembled in fear at like a literal infant? I didn’t even lose a full energy tank. So terrifying. (I always die when I fight Ridley in Super Metroid). The game lets you restock your missle supply whenever you want and, when you get low on health, you can recharge that too. There’s also a save room that fully replenishes your health and weapons every 20 feet.
Basically, this game was one of the biggest letdowns ever. What makes matters worse, is all of the original minds behind the Metroid series love the crap out of this game which pretty much solidifies my fear that I’ll never get a new Metroid experience that lives up to the games that made me fall in love with the series. I tried really hard to like this game and not cast my often un-justified judgement that I usually reserve for when someone rapes one of my childhood favorites. Now I feel kind of like an idiot for letting my guard down.
