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While Nintendo has plenty of hits under their belts, they also have a very small handful of misses. While Metroid: Other M wasn’t a miss in terms of sales, it certainly left many fans with a bad taste in their mouths. This entry in the series was arguably one that derailed the entire Metroid franchise for awhile.

In an interview with the Kinda Funny Gamescast, former NoA president Reggie Fils-Aimé opened up about his thoughts on Metroid: Other M both prior to, and after launch. Reggie was very candid about the situation, saying that he thought the game was going to be a defining moment for the Metroid franchise.

“I really thought that that was going to be a defining moment for the Metroid franchise. It was giving much more of a perspective about Samus. I really thought that was going to be a killer moment in the franchise’s history, and it wasn’t. It didn’t deliver – not the business results, it really didn’t touch the player the way we hoped it would.

Interestingly, I was in a large group meeting, a strategy meeting with (Satoru) Iwata and (Shigeru) Miyamoto and the game developers, and we talked about why not. I was always the brash American. I was the one who would say what I believed was truth to try and help the business move forward. The point I made to the developers was it took too long to get into the meat and potatoes of this game. The first five hours of the game, you kind of plotted around. There wasn’t a lot of payoff, there was a lot of dialog, and I’m sure I pissed people off in the room. But the learning here was the player wants to get into this much faster. Yes, there are elements we need to do from a tutorial standpoint to help them understand the game mechanics, but you need to move things along much quicker. And hopefully that advice had a little bit of an impact on the developers in the room.”

[Reggie Fils-Aimé]

Reggie’s assessment of Metroid: Other M after the fact doesn’t seem to align with what most fans complained of. While there were definitely pacing issues, most fans believe it was the characterization of Samus herself that really took away from the entire experience. Samus was often depicted as the strong, silent type in previous games, but Metroid: Other M gave a very different portrayal of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter.

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riftsilver

I still think Other M is greatly misunderstood. Its definitely partially due to the way the localization butchers a lot of key story and character moments.

I really enjoyed it back when I first played it, it's not a Super Metroid by any means, but I thought it was a fun game in the series and I enjoyed seeing Samus in a new light, but I understand that many people already had imagined her in a specific way and that it clashed with their vision of her, at least in the west.

If I'm remembering correctly, Japan didn't seem to have much of an issue with her charactizations because they had already been explored in the Manga that was published over there.

riftsilver

2y ago

I still think Other M is greatly misunderstood. Its definitely partially due to the way the localization butchers a lot of key story and character moments.

I really enjoyed it back when I first played it, it's not a Super Metroid by any means, but I thought it was a fun game in the series and I enjoyed seeing Samus in a new light, but I understand that many people already had imagined her in a specific way and that it clashed with their vision of her, at least in the west.

If I'm remembering correctly, Japan didn't seem to have much of an issue with her charactizations because they had already been explored in the Manga that was published over there.


sligeach_eire

2y ago

I've heard before alright that the localisation was a case of lost in translation for the Western release of Other M. But even still, it was daft how Samus had some abilities that she couldn't use until she was given permission by Adam which could have literally cost her her own life.

The controls were not good in Other M. The nunchuk should have been used. But the bones of a great game are there. I prefer the 3rd person view, switching to first person for certain aspects like scanning and precise shooting. I wish Metroid Prime 4 would be like this. Samus is too sluggish, she can't be agile and do the combat from Other M when stuck in first person. She loses abilities too, like the Speed Booster. Joey over on GameXplain covered it well recently.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5ljG8ydpsr4

The relevant section starts @4:10.


kingbroly

2y ago

*taps finger repeatedly*

The tutorial not being fast enough? That's it? The game copies Assassin's Creed 1's tutorial formatting to a T, right down to the simulated enemies. That game was panned for its' tutorial. SR's and Dread's tutorials were both stretched out more. The complaint about the dialog...Samus talks a lot, but says nothing, particularly in moments where the player is really wondering what the heck just happened. It doesn't even get into the quality, or lack thereof. It's easy to say Reggie missed the mark, but why? But I can look at Metroid Prime Federation Force and come to the same conclusion, because they thought that was a good idea in the first place.


realdealrusty

2y ago

@sligeach_eire

Yeah, I think the controls sounded good on paper but failed to translate into the fun type of gameplay I typically associate with Metroid and Prime. Even if Samus' characterization had been looked upon more favorbly, I still think this criticism would substantially hold it back in my eyes.

Edited 1 time

hammergalladebro

2y ago

For me the biggest problems of Other M are its controls and those "locked in first-person" moments.

Maybe if it were a completely 2D game the Wii Remote sideways controller would've worked, but it's not, it lets you move in 3D, a 3D Stick is needed.

For the latter, sometimes it's not very clear what you're supposed to look for and you're stuck there until you find something.

I honestly don't mind Samus portrayal at all. I actually appreciate the attempt of showing her human side during a mission.

Will definitely get the digital version available in the Wii U eShop before it closes.


thegreatking

2y ago

Other m is trash, i bought the game finish it and then give it to a friend, it doesnt deserve a spot in my collection


wertypite

2y ago

Other M has had a hard time with the Metroid fan community. And all because of the story, which confused many with the lack of logic in what is happening in the gameplay part and wrong representation of Samus character. But what if I say that Other M has an amazing story that innovatively works on the perception of the symbiosis of gameplay and the whole plot as a whole? What if I say that Other M takes up deep philosophical topics without getting pretentious and stays true to its characters and story? You will tell me that I am joking, but I will tell you otherwise. I am absolutely serious. You could also appreciate the depth of the plot of Other M, but unfortunately you got a terrible English localization, with the most incorrect dialogues, which destroys the entire original plan of the developers. Therefore, I want to present you a video where there is an gamemovie with completely new English subtitles. Try to look at it and try to comprehend it. After all, it is there that you can find reflections on the uniqueness of our life experience and possibly even your gaming experience, meet Samus who became disillusioned with the Baby Metroid, and also see the story of a woman who is afraid of being weak and cannot accept that she is still child at heart.

Here's the link to video: https://youtu.be/XvZG-TJes4w

Upd: I also hope that those people who blamed Yoshio Sakamoto for the bad script will now come to their senses and start blaming the Nintendo of America presidency for the incompetent translation that ruined the game's eventual potential to become a masterpiece for Western critics.


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