Topic: So in Metroid canon...

[theANdROId]

Well written!  One of these days I really need to get around to playing Other M.

[X]

Give it a go theANdROId. The gameplay is much closer to the traditional Metroid games then the Prime series was. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. The story however is very questionable and raises question about Yoshio Sakamoto's state of mind  , but don't let that stop you.

[Super Waffle]

I heard the actual gameplay for Other M wasn't that great either.  Like, it tries to do its own version of the Metroid Prime scanning thing, but it breaks everything that was fun about it.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

The gameplay is actually OK, but there are some things that made me question what the developers were thinking.

-Mid-exploration and with some attacks, everything is fine.  You run, jump, shoot, interact, everything's slick and great.  This is actually done really really well, even though you're running around in a 3D environment, it doesn't feel weird or anything.
-But then, for some reason they made it so that you ONLY use the Wii remote to move (no analog control, no extra buttons). Okay...
-and they made it so that you have to enter First-Person Mode by pointing the Wii remote at the screen in order to shoot missiles, and expose enemy weakpoints.  Essentially, that 'mode' feels like a different game, a 'crappy Metroid Prime', essentially.
-in this mode, since there aren't many buttons (Wii Remote Only), you have to do questionable things to dodge attacks.  I forget what the maneuver was (not sure if it was pressing the bottom B button, or shaking the remote) that you had to do to dodge.
-you also had an unlimited supply of missiles.  They handwaved it saying they were 'energy  missiles' so Samus's suit woud auto-recharge the gauge with time, but it feels weird to not collect missile  expansions in the same fashion as in other games.
-it's got a worse problem than Metroid Fusion when it comes to the whole "Wait Until Authorized" to use certain abilities Samus has already kept from previous games.  Some of these make sense (don't detonate a large PowerBomb in the ship as this is an area with scientists and navigation crew, etc. etc.  you're endangering lives blah blah blah)... while others make no sense whatsoever (why wouldn't Samus have the Varia suit or Gravity Suit turned on by default?  What harm is it doing?  Is it ripping a hole in the ship using gravity-defying powers?  They didn't even bother handwaving this one).

If they didn't do the first-person mode, it probably would have ameliorated the public's reception to the game.

[X]

I haven't played the game in years now however in order to dodge (I still remember how to do it), the enemy must attack you. A physical attack or a weapons based attack, it doesn't matter. There is no special trick either. Essentially when you are just about to receive damage you have to maneuver out of the way. It's fairly automatic in execution so long as you input the command (jump button + D-pad direction desired) just as you are about to take damage and Samus will avoid the hit.

[Inccubus]

Hmmm... would be interesting to see someone try making a fan game version of Other M.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I haven't played the game in years now however in order to dodge (I still remember how to do it), the enemy must attack you. A physical attack or a weapons based attack, it doesn't matter. There is no special trick either. Essentially when you are just about to receive damage you have to maneuver out of the way. It's fairly automatic in execution so long as you input the command (jump button + D-pad direction desired) just as you are about to take damage and Samus will avoid the hit.

Right, that's what it was.
It was basically like the little 'lightning bolt' that happens when enemies are just about to attack Batman in the Arkham games or the Assassin in the Assassin's Creed games.  You see the attack being telegraphed, and you press a direction at that point.  It was easy, but cumbersome when in first-person view as your mindset is different than when in sidescrolling/roaming mode.

[Super Waffle]

Hmmm... would be interesting to see someone try making a fan game version of Other M.

What if it were a parody of Other M?

[X]

Hmmm... would be interesting to see someone try making a fan game version of Other M.

I'd like to see this come to fruition! And maybe the fan game version would "correct" most if not all the damage that was done to Samus' character. That and changing up several things so the whole 'Baby' aspect isn't on forced upon you. And since there was a lot of harping in the original (mainly by Samus and Adam) have them cut out any and all unnecessary dialog that does nothing for the story, let alone fit the story. Other things like restoring the finding weapons and suit power-ups rather then have them authorized would work better too. And definitely get rid of the scene where Adam shoots Samus. That made no sense what-so-ever.

[Inccubus]

@X: Yeah, that's more or less what I was thinking.
One thing they easily could have done to rationalize certain aspects of her suit being disabled would be to have mentioned some technical problems related to suit maintenance or something like that.

What if it were a parody of Other M?

That could be really good if done right.

[X]

The Prime series had good ideas for Samus losing her suit abilities. Team Ninja should have taken ques from them.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

I always thought she's sell 'em for money.  Bounty hunter and all.  Needs to pay bills.

[X]

I always thought she's sell 'em for money.  Bounty hunter and all.  Needs to pay bills.

No need for that. She's a bounty hunter. Catching or killing bounties lands her the big bucks depending. And considering how good she is they'd pay her extremely well. I've always thought that when it comes to Chozo tech that Samus would consider it more personal since she has a connection with them and the Race in question. I'm not sure if she would be willing to sell off all that advanced tech to the Galactic Federation considering the lack of wisdom they have been showing in recent games such as Fusion and Other M. It would be very risky in the sense that it'd be like giving your kid a gun without teaching him about the responsibilities that come with it. However according to Other M the GF already has access to some of the Chozo tech such as power bombs, the plasma beam, and the Ice beam. Don't know about the other tech. And in terms of where she lived I had always thought she dwelt in her hunter ship. Kinda like Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon. Sure you'd want to rent a room somewhere on-world for a couple of days but your ship would be your home that goes wherever you go. Convenient.

[Inccubus]

And I just thought of this. You know how the suit actually LOOKS different in Other M? That would have gone perfectly with an explanation from Samus herself that she just finished reprogramming parts of the suit so some features are now incompatible until they get upgraded as well.
Damn! They missed a golden opportunity here to enrich the game play a bit. She is on an advanced research station, right? How about instead of removing almost all item pick ups, she has a list of things she needs to get to do the upgrades herself? Then they could have placed work stations all around the facility so that when you gather the right data and components the player could perform the upgrades themselves. More of a payoff for extensive exploration and maybe a better use for the "scan visor".

It would have given the whole fire tunnel sequence thing a very different flavor. They could have the situation happen the same without making Adam look like a callous asshole.

[X]

They kinda did that in Metroid Fusion although not as extensive as what you've described. That idea sounds like fun actually, yeah they missed out on a golden opportunity. But I don't know how much more they could've squeezed into the game since the Wii doesn't have bluray.