Was Metroid Other M the right direction? (NO FLAME WARS PLEASE)

Ya know, I'll admit that I was little annoyed that Other M is setting in ship again =/(aka, not on planet, its kinda annoyed me that it had similar setting to Fusion)

Technically, couldn't they do Metroid game with all power ups since from beginning? And just do harder enemies and have all map instantly researchable with only thing needed is to defeat some bosses to get to final boss?

That...would be incredibly boring. Roughly speaking, that would be the equivalent of giving Megaman all the boss's subweapons at the start of the game. And part of the fun of these games is unlocking new powers to play with along the way. To see you character's improvement and increase of variety.

"I really don't think the specific power-ups are the problem, because at the end of the day, they're really all just different colored keys; an item you obtain in order to gain access to new places. It's how the system itself is presented that makes it work or not work."

Then removing the element of being keys would be an important step. The first two games barely used them as such.

"That...would be incredibly boring. Roughly speaking, that would be the equivalent of giving Megaman all the boss's subweapons at the start of the game. And part of the fun of these games is unlocking new powers to play with along the way. To see you character's improvement and increase of variety."

I agree with that. It's a big part of the exploration.

The game needs some form of key. If you make the entire map immediately accessible from the start of the game, then you can beat the game in five minutes by doing a beeline to the final boss.

All games have keys, whether they're items, abilities, checkpoints, or events, that unlock the next portion of the game. Metroidvania games prefer to rely on abilities for this purpose.

edited 27th Sep '10 2:27:58 PM by TobiasDrake

Then not make the keys so obvious. Perhaps there is more than one way to get into the next area, and each requires a different power up. So you can chose which way to get into the area that you like.

But I repeat, the first two games barely used them as such. As in there was some key use, but it was used sparingly. The overuse of it now is part of the frustration.

edited 27th Sep '10 4:21:11 PM by DragonQuestZ

More than one way to get into an area is fine and all, but there still needs to be "keys" and "locks" at the right points. You don't want the player getting into the wrong areas too early or it breaks the sequence. That's what makes the difference between an exploration game and an outright sandbox title. Metroid isn't a sandbox game.

And even sandboxes have story-based keys.

edited 27th Sep '10 5:26:40 PM by TobiasDrake

With all due respect, I remember a number of "keys" in Super Metroid, especially the plethora of color-coded doors that practically taunt the player with the knowledge that they can't get in - yet. In addition, there were plenty of areas such as the hazardous heat based areas that required an upgrade to survive in, or the entrance to Meridia that required the power bombs to blow open a tunnel.

It's kind of an important element of Metroid that the game foreshadow areas you can't enter, and reward you by showing you either finding a direct key, or allowing you to alter the environment to enter a new area.

"With all due respect, I remember a number of "keys" in Super Metroid"

That's the third game. I wrote "the first two games".

Hurrr, durrr, forgot about Metroid II. It's the only one I haven't played from the nostalgia era.

On the other hand, I'd say Super Metroid's use of them was probably ideal. I actually had a lot of trouble getting into the classic Metroid since I played it after the end of the NES era (though I did play on an NES) and well after I'd played Super Metroid. I got through Zero Mission all right, but there was also a bit more meat on that edition. Reflecting back, I'd say it's probably because it's missing the depth of some of the later entries and the ability to flesh things out even on a more linear path.

"the ability to flesh things out even on a more linear path"

You think making linear is fleshing it out? That just means you change the game flow, not adding to it.

I think she meant they fleshed things out despite Zero Mission being more linear then the NES original, hence the "even." Zero Mission was by no standards linear.

^ I thought it kinda was.

^Everything is linear compared to original Metroid, whats with lack of backgrounds and stuff.

edited 27th Sep '10 11:37:55 PM by SpookyMask

^^ Um, how? It even had sequence breaking programed in.

edited 27th Sep '10 11:36:38 PM by SpellBlade

^ My standard for non-linearity is Sim City and Animal Crossing. That's how.

^ o-o; Okay, I just deleted my argument of linearity of Super Metroid, but that comment just kinda makes me want to add it back.

^^ Oh, I was comparing it to the rest of the series.

^ Ah, then I agree.

In Metroid, all you needed to get everywhere was the long beam, missiles, bombs, and the ice beam. The Varia suit was just for protection in the first two games.

That is what I meant by no key system.

And that actually is fleshed out. Just because we didn't get a lot of fancy graphics and backgrounds doesn't mean it wasn't.

^ Hmmm? Could you get the bombs before you get the morph ball?

Edit: Ahh, the original Metroid. I haven't actually played that much, so I wouldn't really know.

edited 27th Sep '10 11:57:49 PM by Meophist

Okay, the morph ball as well, but that was also part tutorial as well as a key, showing you that you can go left in a side scrolling game (remember that was still a big deal back then), and that the crouching system was different.

Sorry, I should have been more clear. What I meant was games like Fusion that chose to flesh out other elements in the franchise while making the main portion of the game more linear.

edited 28th Sep '10 6:42:03 AM by Rebochan

Metroid Other M was a step in the wrong direction, just like Sonic Adventure. Lucky for us, Nintendo already has a competent developer(Retro) to clean up this mess.

The game was extremely linear, discouraged exploration by means of locked doors, and made missile powerups even more useless by not letting you even try to obtain them until the end of the game-Again, thanks to locked doors.

The story was also a huge problem. -None-(Or pretty much) of the so-called "Haters" like myself are hostile to the concept of story in Metroid. It's just that this one was incredibly poorly written.

I'm pleased to see you've played Metroid 2, OP. That's a true underrated gem that, I believe, is the pinnacle of "Metroidness".

edited 28th Sep '10 7:41:55 AM by myhandsomevolcano

Metroid Other M was a step in the wrong direction, just like Sonic Adventure.

Um, not to say I disagree, but, uh, would you mind elaborating on this, please?

It certainly started a Broken Base but at that time a wrong direction? Do elaborate.