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It's no secret... well, maybe it is a secret, that I'm a big fan of Metroid. I hold Samus Aran to the highest standards in the realm of video game protagonists, outranking my beloved Sheena Fujibayashi, Tifa Lockhart, and Shantae. I grew up with the Metroid games and have played every single one thuroughly, with the lone exception being Metroid II: Return of Samus... (thank you for the Game Gear instead of a Game Boy, whomever exactly got me the Game Gear... -_- ).
Anyone whose played the games know what to expect, usually. A 2D action platformer with tons of powerups, a sense of isolation wherever you go, and sheer fun. Sometimes it's changed up. Sometimes you're on multiple worlds, such as Metroid Prime 3. Sometimes you don't need an entire arsenal of powerups, such as in Metroid Prime Pinball. And sometimes they... well, they don't end up as good as you'd hoped, like in Metroid Prime Hunters. Yeah, Prime was a pretty varied series, wasn't it?
Anywho, outside of Prime, the series is tried and true. 2D, side-scrolling, Ridley, power-ups, the works. So when Team Ninja was brought on to bring new life into the series, there was a lot of optimism, but also a lot of skepticism. Would it stay true to the Metroid formula? Would giving a voice to Samus be the death of her character? Speaking of Samus, would we see her playing vollyball in a skin-tight bikini?
Well, the game will always have the distinct honor of being the most different Metroid game not named Metroid Prime Pinball. That's a good and bad thing, really.
The game plays in an allegedly 2D perspective, but you'll really have free reign of 3D movement to your disposal. The 2D perspective comes several times and you can get from points A to B with nothing more than a press in one direction, although you'll find yourself using SenseMove frequently to avoid enemy fire, but this also moves Samus out of her position. I know it sounds bad, but it really isn't as it'll never plop you in the middle of a lava pool or anything like that.
Enemies are definately a bit harder to kill this time. Even the spiked Zeemers will now pounce at you viciously in lieu of just crawling around. For many enemies, you have the potential to perform a lethal strike that'll deal massive damage and usually finish them off if they're not a boss.
Being a direct sequel to Super Metroid, you technically begin with all of your abilities equipped, but because you're working with the Galactic Federation and under Samus' old CO, Adam Malkavitch, Samus, out of apparent respect, will opt only to use her blaster and morph ball until Adam gives the OK to use otherwise. Sadly, you don't still have the Hyper Beam.
The game sounds incredible. Fully orchistrated soundtracks are definately the way to go. Samus' Theme from this game happens to be one of the best sounding piano melodies I've heard. It's never overbarring and is always very suiting to the mood. Plus, the graphics are some of the best Metroid has ever seen. The attention to detail, including in the out-of-game cut scenes is amazing for a non-HD game.
The game length... well, it's kinda short, actually, but I think that's a problem with Metroid games overall. They've recently been made fairly short to promote the same speedrunning magic that Super Metroid brought forth. Unfortunately, you'd imagine that some games just don't know when they haven't overstayed their welcome yet. Still, it flows nicely for the story at hand.
There are some nitpicks I wanna make about this game before I get to my big issue at hand. First, obviously, I don't like the mechanic that Adam Malkovitch has to okay your use of some weapons that would save your life in this hostile environment. Plasma Beam, Power Bombs, Super Missiles, Diffusion Beam, Space Jump... but, I guess it keeps the story moving and keeps things from being too easy and boring in the begining. Still, it's kind of a lame reasoning in this scenario if you ask me. You're the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy and you're taking orders from people who should be fearing you. You blew up several planets before, after all.
Another issue is using missiles. It's very minor after getting the Plasma Beam, but the only way to use them is by turning your Wii Remote towards the screen like it was Samus' arm cannon. I'd most definately had appriciated it if it had 3rd person support too. And it isn't like you're always hurting for missiles either. Using Concintration can restore your missile supply.
The next issue I wanna bring up is load times. Excessively minor, but once in a great while you don't get to progress to the next mass of areas without facing a quick load time. I don't know why. I guess Retro Studios had a better time with it than Team Ninja does.
Then thee is a scaling issue. Yeah, I get it, women aren't neccessarily taller than men, but Samus Aran is listed at 6' 3" tall in the Super Metroid Player's Guide, yet compared to Adam and Anthony "Remember Me" Higgs, she doesn't really appear to be that tall at all. Now, granted, there are some tall guys around, especially in the military, but I think it seems a little... wonky. Now, I'm not saying that Samus should be darn near amazonian, but she isn't some runt either.
The final nitpick I have is the story progression. Every so often, you are forced into 1st person view and you have to either scan or shoot something in order to keep things rolling along. Sometimes, it's very obscure.
Now, my big issue that I take with Metroid Other M, or rather, Team Ninja. Samus' characterization. Ignoring the fact that they ditched the great Jennifer Hale as Samus' VA (responsible for Naomi from Metal Gear Solid and Sheena Fujibayashi), but the characterization for Samus in this game just flat out sucks. Now, some would argue that there aren't many inctinces of her characterization period, what with her being yet another one of Nintendo's silent protagonists, but it has been shown before. Metroid Prime 3 Corruption, Metroid Fusion, and the Super Metroid comic have all presented Samus as a very take-charge woman. Strong, indipendent, but always with something hidden. And she also keeps that "Yeah, the Federation isn't exactly too high on me, what with me being a bounty hunter and all," motief. In this game, it's almost a complete 180. Samus is presented as a bit bratty in her past cut scenes, a lot more submissive when it comes to dealing with Adam, and even overly emotional at times.
Sentimentality really doesn't suit Samus' character up to this point, either. We get way too much time spent about her worrying about her relationship with Adam in comparison to the story. Don't get me wrong. Samus' father-like figure should have a prominent role where applicable. Metroid fusion took care of that. But geesh, we get it. Things didn't end well in the past.
Still, in the end I gotta go with gameplay and this game is VERY fun from start to finish. Yeah, sometimes you get a new skill sprung on you when you least expect it, but the overall game makes the experience well worth at least one playthrough. Me? Well, I've already unlocked everything. It isn't the longest game, as I mentioned, but the overall experience, especially if you don't have a high opinion on how Samus is portrayed, is well worth it.
Rating: 9/10. Yeah, lots of nitpicks, but like I said, it's a very fun game. Would Samus' characterization remaining constent changed things? ...nah. Y'know, it may have even hurt it.
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