The freeze frame preview on the second video is fucking glorious and hilarious.

Oh my god! Samus has emotions?!? Seriously, I don’t get it – okay, it is indeed a bit over the top, but nothing to bad. I can understand most of Samus feelings, so what is the problem? Of cause I can only speak for me, but I really don’t get what is so bad about it. Could it be that you just miss understand her character? Most of the time Samus speaks as a narrator, and in that matter she tells you everything she feels – that might be to much, but that didn’t stop me from thinking that Samus is still the coolest videogame character (for me). She had made mistakes in the past, she regrets them. She feels bad for her friends, she is shocked because of Ridley (she though he’d be fucking dead!) and she feels for MB. Okay, the lost one is kind of stupid, but the rest of here emotions where very human – and that what Samus is after all under her Power Suit.

When you mentioned lighting in the first few seconds, i was amazed that the lighting in your hotel is better than normal, lol.

I want to argue with you on Other M Spoony but…I don’t think I can. The voice acting was BAD Samus being the worst and acts like a emo teenager. Over all though I did enjoy it. Though its only good for one play though for me. I was going to go get 100% for getting all the hidden stuff but….eh, seems more anoying, seeing as I can go to youtube to see the ‘hidden ending’ or what not. Story wise it was ok. I thought some of the flash backs were fairly good. Like when *spoiler* Adam sends his bro to die and Samus jumps at the opportunity to try to go save him. *end spoiler* Though having to wait till ass face tells you you can use something is stupid. The only thing that was explained away for that was the Super Bomb. That I was like ‘ok that could kill people we are trying to save I’ll go w/ that…but can’t I use my sup’d up beam?’ The mind numbing part was when I had to get him to say I could use my heat resistant armor so I don’t die. That is mind numbingly stupid. Oh I will say your a bit over kill on the ‘she freezes at every monster thing’. She only did that once at Ridly. Still not the greatest thing to have happen to her seeing as shes killed him b4 but the shock of seeing him alive might make her freeze a bit.

God, I can’t even believe what they did to Samus… I own Prime, Prime 2, and Fusion. Loved them all. Fusion is where Adam first shows up. He’s dead by then, and Samus has some lines of text about him, but they can be neatly summarized as “Adam. Was my first CO. Don’t really like COs, but this one was okay. Good man. Shame he died.” That’s it. No angsting, and certainly no slavish Bella-esque hero-worship. Spoilers ahoy ahead for Fusion, if anyone cares.

Samus is assigned an AI CO, which she decides to name “Adam” in her head because the AI’s mannerisms remind her of Adam, who is the only CO she ever had before she left the Federation. Turns out, the AI’s personality matrix or whatever is actually based on Adam. During the game, Samus openly disobeys some of the orders given to her by Adam, i.e. going into restricted areas, retrieving power-ups that Adam’s been holding out on her, destroying Metroid research, etc. Adam gets angry, but Samus gets pissed right back and actually responds like a Chaotic Good badass should.

Keep in mind that Fusion takes place pretty much right after Other M is supposed to go in the timeline, I refuse to believe that this is the same Samus, the Samus that goes behind her CO’s back in order to get the job done and be awesome, and this… thing, that will run through a superheated lava world WITHOUT TURNING HER VARIA SUIT (temperature controls) ON just because Adam’s fallen asleep at his desk or some shit and hasn’t bothered to tell her that she doesn’t have to actively sabotage her own chances of survival for no good fucking reason. They,… boy, they BETTER retcon this shit, because I will not play any game that has me playing as Bella Swann in a tin suit. I’ve been angry about it since I heard about it, because I love the series, and I love the subtle characterization of Samus through her text logs, body language during the Prime cutscenes, etc, just as this badass who you send in to get the goddamn job done, probably culminating in a planet-shattering kaboom. That’s it, I don’t want to get worked up about this. I’m just going to say that as a fan of the series and a former Nintendo fanboy, I am not buying any new Metroid games unless they cut this shit out.

P.S. This should also be taken as proof that Link should never speak, ever.

I liked both your reviews Spoony. About Metroid, unfortunately I haven’t played the game, but I have been watching a playthough of it to see the story and what some of the gameplay is like. I can definitely say that, from seeing the story in these playthroughs, I 100% agree with you on how fucking terrible it is and how much of a fucking betrayal it is to Samus. As a fan of the series since Super Metroid, I was pretty pissed at how they handled the character. Plus, the terrible character, horrible story, and over-abundance of cutscenes and stuff really ruins the mood that the Metroid franchise has established. Honestly, the gameplay doesn’t look very good to me as well, but I do need to play it to make my final decision on the game as a whole…

I think that Samus’s reaction would only have worked if this was the first or second time that she’d fought Ridley. It only pissed me off because she’d fought him so many times by the point this game takes place that it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

From what I can tell, Other M is a very polarizing game. I don’t know if I’ve heard anyone say it’s “alright”. It’s either people who loved it or outright hated it. I personally thought it was good game, even though some parts were bad decisions on the game maker’s part.

I know that it was a minor complaint but there were only two areas that frustrated me as far as platforming goes and they were both similar puzzles, involving jumping between a wall and a spinning column. As for the length, I don’t remember any of the 2D Metroids being particularly long either, so the “even for a Metroid game” doesn’t quite sound right to me. The other games in the Metroid series encourage speed runs as well. I however, HATED, the first person view in most of the situations it was used, particularly the forced pixel hunt moments, and that missiles could only be used in first person mode.

And now for everyone’s favorite topic: Samus Aran’s character. I did hate her at the beginning of the game, with all the rambling and pointless blathering on, but as the game progressed either she started getting better or the pain started to numb. I think the painful monologues were mostly towards the beginning of the game. EXCEPT for the one already infamous scene you mentioned. That was the first, and as far as I remember, only scene to actually piss me off with the characterization. Though it wasn’t the reaction itself; so much as the fact that the reaction was out of place for the time the game takes place. And there’s only one scene where she freezes, though it is stupid enough to feel like it happened multiple times. The way Spoony describes it makes it sound like it occurs with every major monster encounter.

Adam was mentioned in Metroid Fusion, for those who don’t know. I don’t know if I’d call Samus’s relationship with Adam “pining” because their relationship was more like a father-daughter one and he was her former CO as well. And it isn’t as if there aren’t characters that want approval from father figures and to make them proud. And the taking orders I think partially is a difference between our values and Japan’s since the obey authority is more or less a fact of life for them. Though when you get the heat proof suit is the only time needing to be authorized frustrated me.

Its strange how I agree with most of Spoony’s points but still thought it was a good game; probably the weakest of those that I’ve played, but not as awful as Spoony thought it was. I guess it’s just going to be yet another love it or hate it sort of deals.

As far as the “Spoony doesn’t like anything” I think that most of the big title games that have come out recently have been polarizing games as well. Though, I can’t remember too many games that Spoony posted videos about liking. Does anyone remember any games other than Persona 4 that got the “Spoony seal of approval”?

I want to support the series to tell the company “I like Metroid, please make more later” but I just don’t think I’ll drop the $50 or $60. maybe I’ll try it later on used. which is too bad for me since I’m a good loyal fan of Metroid. In regard to the Metal Gear style conspiracy (i still like Metal Gear) was covered in Metroid Fusion so its not a surprising plot point.

Lawyer movie=Intolerable Cruelty

Poughkeepsie tapes? fucking TERRIFYING! i coundn’t sleep for 2 days after watching it! hell, i BARRICADED MY DOOR!

don’t wiki it, don’t Google it, there are no DVD’s of it, nobody knows why. just download, and watch

Its funny how your hair is drying while your vlogging, one second its wet then its dry.

“As far as the “Spoony doesn’t like anything” I think that most of the big title games that have come out recently have been polarizing games as well. Though, I can’t remember too many games that Spoony posted videos about liking. Does anyone remember any games other than Persona 4 that got the “Spoony seal of approval”?

Dead Space, System Shock 2, FFIV, ( you spoony bard) FFVI Bioshock, SWAT4, MGS1-4, Tekken 1-6 MVC3 ( I know it’s not out yet, but he said he liked the demo.) D&D!

A female character who’s always moaning and trembling in fear as well as only taking orders from a man? gee, that’s not completely sexist at all |:-(
Seriously though, that’s a worse bastardisation of a character than what they did to Link in zelda wind waker.
But hey, if Samus likes this Andy so much maybe she should show him her zero-suit ;) lol

“Many of the more memorable reviews I do are the negative stuff”

I must say, Party Mania is what I remember most.

Still hope the Schlumper thing can make a comeback.

I really hate when the silent characters are given a freaking voice! Just imagine Gordon Freeman (of Half Life) speak!

hmm, actually i take back that bastardisation comment, windwaker was definitely the worse one, turning link from a badass silent warrior to a goofy moron? i dont think so.
I guess shigeru miyamoto should just stop trying to add emotion to things :L

I really hate when they turn metroid a first person shooter, if you see Metroid was much more like Castlevania, try making Castlevania a FPS… and the music and atmosphere was all terror science-fiction like Alien and now we stick with Manga steriotypes and a game not scary at all… nice points Spoony!

That’s why I say that Dead Space is the true sucessor of Metroid, they get the space science fiction terror right! I miss very much the fear I feel to be alone in a hostile planet with a monotone music…

I’m on the fence in terms of Samus’ character in question. Keep in mind I’m a HUGE metroid fan, but yeah, on the fence personally. I’m agreeing that having Adam keeping her equipment in check and those freeze ups against guys like Ridley are huge eyerolling moments, but I can kinda see where they’re going with this as they’re trying to make Samus more human. It’s clunky as hell with how they’re going about it however, but it honestly didn’t bug me all that much as they’re not trying to destroy her character. The former part being just a part of game play and whatnot as you can’t have everything from the get-go and expect a challenging game.

Personally, being a writer myself, I’d have the excuse that Adam thinks there are a lot of survivors still around the ship and Samus’ weapons being as bad-ass as they are would kill a good number of them if misused, and as the ship is further investigated and the body count piles up, deadlier weapons get unlocked one at a time! A bit dark, but it would lighten up the “She’s depending solely on a man” and keep the game fun. I’d also cut back on Samus’ dialogue as that would lighten up the whole emo argument you’ve got going on there. As for freezing up when she sees Ridley, well I’m making the argument that since Samus killed him in Super Metroid, seeing him brought back from the dead is a none too pleasant experience.

I’m going to agree that Other M has it’s problems, out of all the metroids has got to be the weakest. But um… Ruined the franchise forever? … Seriously? Do you not remember Hotel mario, or Zelda: Wand of Gamelon/Faces of Evil? Mario and Zelda are still alive and kickin’ dude (although everybody loves the cutscenes for those games)! If anything, people will probably pass this game over, and the only thing people will remember is the black guy, Ridley being a cute deadly moogle, Samus being a bit mopey because she forgot to take her mood medication, and Adam. Franchise killer this is NOT!

She joins the group under his command. If you are in a army-like group and they have a commanding officer, male or female, you defy their orders and you get punished for it. The other male soldiers have to follow the orders too. Besides, Samus has a history for being a rebel and for breaking protocol and it forced her to follow the chain of command. Try your conversation in the marines or the army.

It’s no where near as sexist as Spoony describes, but that’s up to the viewer’s own personal opinion on what sexism means and what agenda they have. I’m tired of the same old ‘I’m a gruff, grizzled bastard with a big gun who kills things’ or the ‘I’m a gruff, grizzled bastard with a big gun who follows the other guy and we kill things.’ Saying that Samus doesn’t need emotions could be as sexist as the way Team Ninja portrayed her.

I kinda owe it up to Team Ninja being Team Ninja. Boob Physics. Wrong people to develop the game, wrong decision for Nintendo, but it’s FAR less offensive then many reviewers have been throwing it around. It’s all perspective.

I went to see the Last Exorcism when it came out on a Friday at the first showing of the day. The Save the cat moment for me was different. It was when Cotton talked about the Exorcism that went bad and how he had nightmares about him doing the same to his own child. That moment I truly liked the character and supported him.

As for the ending, I was in shock. I had to walk around the mall and think it over. Then I realized they hinted at this in the movie. The very beginning when they arrive they mention the mix of beliefs. That the demon that might be inside her is known for its lies. That the brother had issues and gotten angry at god. That’s why I loved the movie because it really did make me think.

I also disliked the question of how the camera got out. Maybe the preacher didn’t die? But its still too up in the air. The music also pulled me out of the story when I realized it was playing.

I never once felt cheated of my money. Very glad I seen this in the theaters.

—–

All I will say, I would never declare you like nothing. One I know you have your opinion and I watch you because I do love to hear other opinions even if they differ from mine. Esp if they are said in an intelligent manner. Heck, I loved your rant with the last Transformers movie.

I’m still at the beginning though and so I won’t vow if I love or hate it yet. I’m kinda distracted with Zelda oricana of time because this id the first time I had a chance to sit down and play it at my leisure.

I will say the wall jumping is far easier then Super Metroid for the Super nitendo. I’m still having little bit of trouble with getting used to the controls, too. And my boyfriend also hated the monologuing as well. lol I also loled when I heard they have a manga. Its a shame they weakened my most favorite female character into a Mary Sue. I still want to play more before I decide.

I’m sorry for what I going to say, but I think you don’t really understand neither the story neither the game. To many of your complaint go against fact that are logical, I would say not perfectly executed but necessary.

I will start with the gameplay, have you played the firsts Metroid games, because many of your complaint could actually be directed to them. Other M is a pure continuation of the original gameplay, where the betrayal was the Prime. The prime series are great games in my opinion, but many fans of the original game didn’t really liked them for many reason, primary because the games are now FPS and yet not even a shooter experience. The original games have a strong focus on the shooting experience, super metrtoid offer the biggest arsenal among all the others games and one could clean a room rapidly, something the Prime series couldn’t replicate despite the new view; the FPS view was also criticized, because…well…Metroid are not FPS simply. Other M simply retook the principle of the original game, the view(most of the time you play on 2,5D, not in FPS), the action is energetic like the originals game, the level design is good(not on the same level was super metroid or Prime), and the length is actually what are the original game; Metroid always been about speed running, I could finish super metroid in 3 hours and I know people who could finish the game in two hours. I’m not saying the game is perfect, there defaults, the way the camera FPS work is not always perfect, the level design could be better, the fact that actually when you finish the game there a new section to explore…well is not really a default, but they could actually put directly in the game, because people are actually missing a part of the game, a really good part, specially in term of level design, but the way is put in the game is not really good.

Now for the story…Read the mang…I’m just joking, but I would say most of your complaint about Samus could be said in Fusion, where is actually the first game where Samus really talk. I’m not going to say the story is great, there a lot of problem, the execution is clearly flawed, but I don’t find the story that bad. The fact that Samus mobs is not bad, because most of time she not saying, not even showing, you know it because she narrate is feeling, but not show to the others characters. The way they try to play it is simple, behind is armour she not that strong, because she lived all his life in that armour, a shell against the world just like is cold attitude. The problem is not the mobbing but the world choose, they’re cheesy and this is where the problem lie, because showing is intern emotion and is extern coldness is a good thing. Strangely is still work whit the serie…well fusion, because the character is a bit more naive, in fusion she seem a bit more adult, who take place some years after other m, showing that she have grow.

About the relation with Adam, actually is logical. Adam was is first CEO, a father figure who train her, making what she suppose to be, and she cannot go against him because of that, accepting the order from Adam is the only way she know to show the respect she have for him. I’m not saying the order are totally logical, because Adam refusing the usage of the varia suit is not logical, the weapon are because they’re destructive force who could destroy the station and/or kill the others persons on it, but the suit…not really a good justification. For the most part is still work, the story show she have respect and emotion for the others character, but never want to show them. Furthermore Adam is also bound by the rules, himself have to respect them, and this is the reason why is on this mission, because the federation know his the only one who could have some control over Samus.

The whole conspirator theory is already in the saga, the prime series show the federation are probably not that clean, in Hunter there a character who seem to have rebelled against the organization for a unknown reason, and in fusion a lot of the dirt is revealed. Other M play on the same category, developing that aspect. Again I’m not saying the execution is flawless, but is not that bad, specially because you make a comparison whit MGS; in my opinion that series have some of the worst execution a story can have, and the only reason why people pretend is a good story come from the philosophical bullshit the games uses, the same reason why matrix was considered a good story until many people realize this was not a good reason…but I write in the end a real paragraph about MGS, because I really need to spill the bag.

To go back to Samus, the game try to present her as a real character, because we have all internal movement and external reaction, most of the time we choose to not show the internal behaviour. They actually create a character who is a real person, not just a walking armour, and I will say a woman. By woman and not talking the fact she accept what Adam say, but she show feeling a girl would have for a father, and even a bit of love; making the character more deep, because loving this character has a father figure and a love interest, is a normal Electra complex for a person who never have the chance to have a real father; she choose to love the figure representing the law, a path she must walk to survive, and by choosing to follow all the order she actually show is love. Other M present a interesting case in term of woman in gaming, not only in is story but in the way many critic/gamer react, for them a strong woman…is not a woman, is a male figure who pretend to be a woman. What a lot of people want for a strong female character is a Vasquez, who is in fact a joke as a female character; Vasquez is a man dressed has a woman – not even a tomboy who will be acceptable as a female character – she have no feminine quality in term of psychological aspect, she act has a man because actually the character was wrote has a man, thus explaining why one the character ask her if she never been mistaken for a man. Samus she not a Vasquez, after Fusion she was cast as a tomboy, a woman who never will act a simple and weak woman, will fight for her and the other, but having preoccupation a woman will have. Before someone say some woman in real life look and act like Vasquez, I would say is false, any woman – even the most butch of all butch – would have some psychological state that will show feminine quality, preoccupation normal for a woman to have, something that Vasquez lack(is one of the subtext in Aliens, Cameron wanted to create the perfect strong woman, who is Ripley, in other hand he use the perfect cliché of what is essentially considered to be a strong woman in a action film, Vasquez, he wanted to show why one was superior to other in term of characterization)

Now THE problem with the story, is essentially not is execution(who is flawed), but the where it take place in the time line. The main problem go from the fact, that actually Samus have already make a shit load of mission, and the way they show her don’t really work from that aspect. Showing is emotion is not a bad thing, the concept/emotion behind the word are good, but the word choose are to much juvenile for a character who is a adult. I have the impression the game was first written to be one of the first mission of Samus, specially because they want to talk about is relation with Adam, but they choose instead to show is death(not really a spoiler considering Fusion state he have die in a previous mission whit Samus). Showing is death was not a bad idea, but we still don’t really know him, and explaining the over excess of narration to explain who is him. Another problem is the freezing against Ripley, logical if actually Samus was fighting him for the first or second time, but not the fifth time. Is not a bad story, only misplaced in the time line…and even that is not that bad, if they actually choose others words and not use the freezing against Ripley. One of the point of the story is to show the progression of Samus, because in the end she have grow, becoming less naive and stronger psychological.

But more important, the game is not ruined because of the story…people don’t play game for story, because the art in gaming is not to show or tell, but to play, to interact, doing something, where others arts you could only just watch/hear, they’re passive art, and gaming behind the only one who let you act. A game don’t need a story, a game need a justification to act, and thus good interaction, which is my opinion Other m do. Is a good game, I prefer the other games, Super Metroid is a superior game, but that not making the game bad. I mean your point against the game…is only the story, not the gameplay(yeah I know you don’t like the Metroid gameplay, but you recognize the game is actually good), so why complaining against the game, specially worst a game whit not a single value; deadliest warrior have nothing, bad combat, no justification to play more to one hour, where Other M last 14 and have replay value(which by the way is more that most of the actual game, who last half that time), and a real gameplay.

Now MGS…really a good story, I mean is badly written, plot hole, over written, to much of plot twist, the directing is bad, sometime I feel Kojima is a strange mixture between Michael Bay, Lucas and the Wachowski brothers. The Bay part come from the juvenile humour(scat joke are not good joke), most of the character are stereotype(racial one), to much lingering on the female part. The Wachowsky brothers is for the unnecessary philosophical blabla, they’re pointless, only present to make the story more intelligent; is a flaw specially because they’re not contribute to story, the character talk about thing they should not talk because is not the moment, and is over use. Finally to Lucas is the way Kojima can write a romance, or just keep the mythos in place.

I watched quite a few reviews of Spoony and I never seen him throw around the rape word lightly.

If they did take a strong silent character and make her a overly emotional and unable to decide things without a Daddy figure’s permission, then they really did rape the character concept. That is a drastic change from what we were given in the games before. Be like taking Bruce Campbell’s characterfrom the evil dead series and making him a pacifist, after all he seen in all the movies, unable to kill anything at all. Then having him break down histericaly when he is forced to. Not saying Samus does that. Just saying that would be a rape of Ash. Like this is a rape of Samus.

Btw I’m never throw around the rape word lightly.

I have one pet peeve. About the whole adding mood music to found footage. I SWEAR TO ALL THAT IS NOT HOLY, THEY DO THAT. They did in Murderball, they did in 9/11 docs, it’s something they honestly do in documentary. I’m not sure how you can be taken out of a fake documentary by acting like it’s a real documentary.

True we don’t like to see a female Rambo. Same time, keep in mind the people who loved the past Metroid games are used to a female character who have faced down monsters without pissing on herself. The game designers only saw that Samus was female and changed her to reflect their idea of females. She is a woman so she must be weak and insecure.

Samus has been a bounty hunter in space for awhile. She has seen alot of things. She shouldn’t be acting like a rookie, as she is in this newer game. She should not freeze up like a rookie. There is a line between trying to make her a fleshed out human and making her a Mary Sue.

Nice reviews but man it was unintentionally hilarious when Spoony had to pause when trying to remember some things that he actually liked, oh man good times……. Anyway enjoy Pax dude.

Nice reviews but man it was unintentionally hilarious when Spoony had to pause when trying to remember some things that he actually liked, oh man good times……. Anyway enjoy Pax dude.

I just checked and Last Exorcism is not going to be out in Poland (where I obviously live :P) so I guess I’m going to have for it to come out on a dvd and rent it at some obscure shop. Because from what you told it looks like a really interesting movie and I like those “exorcism” flicks :)

As for Other M.
I watched review on Gametrailers and while the gameplay looks good (I still don’t know WHY can’t you move while aiming that’s just stupid) I hated Samus “new” character as soon as I heard her talking.
What the fuck guys? How could they make her into such huge whiny ass… pussy :/. Hell she’s even more bad-ass than Boba Fett you mentioned and how the hell could they just switch her like that. Did nobody look at that and say “hey isn’t Samus a bad-ass or something? Don’t you think we did something wrong here?” I’m not a great fan of metroid games but I played some of them and they were fun, not great and “compelling” but pure fun. And as a person that really takes a great deal of interest in storytelling and characters in most games (because lets be honest, Duke Nukem 3D was not a “GREAT” game but it had super-duper character to move it forward) and less in actual gameplay, graphics et cetera.

In short I can play a bad game with a good story. But I rarely if ever play a “good” game with atrocious story, unless it’s REALLY good.

Not really. I’m not a huge nintendo fan, and im certainly no die hard fan of metroid in general. I just enjoy the games. Really, what’s so wrong with that? Now, I’m not saying your wrong for hating it, in fact, your entitled.

But comparing it to every FPS and action adventure game ever made is a little unfair. Your right though, there are better action games, and there are better FPS games, but the difference here is that those games that are better due to the focus on one or the other. Metroid is unique in that regard, at least the prime games are, as it mixes the two genre’s together. And that’s just recently. Going back to the days of it being an action adventure game exclusively. Super Metroid in its hayday was and still is widely considered to be one of the best games in the action adventure genre. And that is a huge genre. to be anywhere near the top of that list, hell to be in the top 50 games is impressive.

Now, again, your entitled to not like it. I was mostly curious to see if you had specifics, which.. you don’t seem to have. You don’t like it, thats fine. But if someone asks for games you think are better, your probably better off just saying what they are. anything less makes you seem like you hate the game for no reason.

see, this is where asking a simple question can get blown out of proportions. You assume because I enjoy playing the games I hold them in such high esteem. Truthfully, I fully admit there are better games… but very few, and none in quite the same way. The Prime trilogy in paticular stands out because it is that rare mix of action adventure and FPS. And while I hate to play the notion of numbers don’t lie, going back a little further, Super Metroid is widely considered to be one of the best action adventure games. period.

See, the trouble here is that you seem to think because i said i don’t agree with you, means your wrong. That’s not what i meant at all. If i had meant you were wrong, I would say as much. But this isn’t a math problem, its opinion. Your entitled to dislike it. But, if your going to say there are better games out there than Metroid, then perhaps you should actually mention them. And you can’t say that we’d disagree when you mention no names. thats a cop-out.

Now, Other M? its not that bad. Spoony summed it up, its a rental, unless your a die hard. in which case you probably already own it by now. the characterization is horrible, but i can’t hate the game for playing well. Team Ninja did good… nintendo screwed up, but it doesnt change that Metroid will continue.

He explained that much of his problem is to do with the story and the characterization of Samus, he stated the gameplay just about works but it’s not to his taste. I wouldn’t mind, but that’s right at the start of the second video and I don’t get what else he could say about the gameplay…..what more detail could he possibly add? So in short, he explained the problems he had with the game thoroughly, and specifically, for 20 minutes….yet you feel the need to ask the question again in a douchy way…..why? His position is clear, he’s told you why he dislikes the game so much it caused him to turn it off after a couple of hours. You will no doubt counter with “But he should have completed it, his opinion is worthless” but I argue, why would anyone want to force themselves to play through a game that has rubbed them up the wrong way in the hope there will be a shining nugget of greatness under all the emo shit? Only the masochistic or stupid would do such a thing…particularly if the gameplay isn’t engaging them.

I’m in the same boat as Spoony.. I respected the Metroid games but I never really liked them.. but I liked Samus. There are almost no female characters that actually have some balls (figuratively speaking) like Samus gave off the impression she did. She rarely (if ever?) spoke and she seemed to rush into things with nothing but strength and resolve. Hell one of the things I remember from Super Metroid (which was the one I played the most) was that she was just this its “all business” type of space mercenary.

Turning her into a spineless, pining, melodramatic coward not only does irreparable harm to Samus.. but it is a severe insult to women everywhere.

I’m reading some of the comments below and I’m seeing people trying to retcon Samus’ personality INTO the series.. STOP THAT. Don’t try to make this shit FIT. You should be trying to retcon it out, showing all the reasons it does not make sense! Good Christ people, if you actually try and work it in so this isn’t a total betrayal of the character, the next Metroid game will have a scene of Samus cutting herself in the ship’s bathtub.

Also… there’s a Metroid manga? And people are citing that as a defense of the game? Geeze some nerds will buy anything.

And Brian Pillman is dead, really worked out for him didn’t it???

That is in such bad taste…..sorry.

Sir,
How DARE you like Pepsi. Fake cola. I’ve been watching your reviews since the beginning and have put up with a lot of your shit…but now you’ve GONE TOO FAR!

Coca-cola is by far the superior cola! Admit it! Tell the world!

If you do not, i will no longer be able to take you and your frequent and (most likely) stinky belches seriously.

Speaking of which…Why is there not a compilation video of you belching through the years?

Someone needs to throw that together…

This is where I would arbitrarily say sorry just as I go to rip into people’s opinions but, no, I’m not gonna. Spoony, I love ya man, I think you’re incredibly intelligent and you don’t want to hate on something but I think your opinion is wrong and I know you don’t care anyway but I have to say this. And yes I am a huge Metroid fan (though I haven’t played the original, Zero Mission, or 2) and I have read the manga. It’s….okay; the writing is fine, Samus is fine (she does have a freak out over Ridley though), but it’s nothing you’ll really remember and I would say it’s not even close to required reading.

I bought Other M (yes, weird title), beat it just a few hours ago and adored it. Not my favorite (Fusion and Prime 1 still hold that distinction) but I still find it to be a great game well worth playing. And call me obsessive but I clocked the cut scenes: about 100 minutes give or take (even if a few run over 10 minutes) so that’s basically a movie. I had no major problems gameplay wise though the scanning sections bugged me.

As for the characterization, no, bullshit, I was fine with Samus. I’ve loved her through the years and thought she was great but I still wanted to learn about her. I got to…and I liked it. And I’m not some sucker for drama or damaged women or whatever. I despise Stephanie Meyer and I am sick and tired of overwrought drama just as much as the next guy (seriously, I’ve seen tons of series I’ve loved ruined by that) but Samus having vulnerability and insecurity makes her…HUMAN. A character unlike the fifty-bajillion boring, generic badass action girls who are so allergic to femininity and emotion that they’re completely unlikeable. And again, she didn’t have a character before that, not anything but what we were told. I wasn’t bugged by her being this more human character cuz I prefer ALL my characters to show a range of emotions. Some of it gets overblown but nothing I would call offensive. If there is rape involved it’s Samus shoving her arm cannon up the ass of people who think someone can’t be strong and have fears, doubts, and regrets. And the flinching. That’s once….ONCE. I’ve heard ya bash stuff I’ve loved before and like stuff I’ve hated, but I’m not going to sit idly by and let this slide without a word.

Keep in mind that there are, like, a hundred Links out there, so Wind Waker didn’t *turn* Link into a goofy moron, but it created a Link who was a goofy moron.And I’m fine with that, because Wind Waker Link had far more character than his predecessors did.

After reading your tweets on Other M, I checked out some other reviews online. My favorite was G4′s review, where Morgan Webb tears this game a new asshole. It seems that a majority of the backlash against this game will come from female Metroid fans, who just watched the strongest female protagonist in gaming become an intergalactic version of Bella Swan. *shudder*

Team ninja are not very good at righting women in their games…. Well not good a righting period.

And actually, Metroid Fusion was executed significantly better in comparison to Other M. Samus did have some text-based monologue, but it was only ever one screen full at a time, which would take maybe, I dunno, 25 seconds to a minute to read. Then you get past it and you keep playing.

Also, it was the first game to introduce Adam, and the idea of Samus having a thing with him was actually interesting exactly because she had to get over it and deal with it and handle her business. And she didn’t, you know, rely on her.

Team Ninja is fuckin terrible. They should never be trusted with any other franchise, especially one with any character that is a little more fleshed out but happens to have a vagina.

you liked scott pilgrim but not this?

at least other m is a half decent beat-em-up.

This sounds so much like your Twilight reviews. I agree with your point but the first 15 minutes of your review was talking about the guy in the email! lol. Don’t worry about those people, because talking about them brings the review down when the review is so fantastic otherwise.
Great review though spoony.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007) is a suspense kind of documentary thriller flick that never was released in the big screen, I think because of the references and footage of the 9/11 terrorist attack to the twin towers. I believe it is a rare copy to find in dvd or vhs format, as I never finded it. I remember watching it a few years ago, but don’t recollect it all that much. I remember that I didn’t like it, as I never was impressed by the Blair Witch gimmick.

See ya.

For once, I appreciate Spoony for (nearly directly) addressing subjective reasoning. “He doesn’t like it; here is why.”
So many people turn on their “favorite reviewers” almost immediately because their opinions didn’t coincide.

When people speak their mind, they tend to use the imperative stance. Why? Because what they are saying matters to them. Speaking in a matter of fact style is expected because it’s a part of human nature.
In so many reviews that create fan backlash, that imperative tone can (and will) be interpreted as “My opinion is right and yours isn’t because I stated it as fact.”

Why mention this trend? Well, because I’ve seen this happen to several popular internet critics over the last year. They have their so-called “dethroning moment” and forever cease to have any credibility. Credibility I might add, in a job that is by far SUBJECTIVE IN NATURE.
I’ve met people who LIKED the abominable Hostel Movies. I’ve met people who think Justin Bieber is the 2nd coming of Michael-Jackson. And no matter how much I disagree with them in an objective standpoint, I can’t tell them they cannot like or enjoy any of that.

Spoony doesn’t like the backtracking nature of the Metroid games. I can see why, but personally, I love it. I love branching off of old content, or using a new map in a new way (secret passages).
Do I hate him for ragging on the gameplay? Of course not!

I’ve seen moments of sheer hate and petty backlash from several internet reviewers. Some individuals who think that their opinion should define the entire industry because it would make THEM (and only them) happy.
Spoony, I salute you for not indulging in that petty revenge. Your comments on how Nintendo demolished Samus Aran’s character intrigue me, and I felt the same way as I dredged through the endless dialogue.

Samus as a character has been defined by her actions more than her monologue. Even Metroid Fusion managed to preserve her strong sense of character because her reminiscence came across (to me anyway) as a professional analysis. She kept most of it to herself, only lashing out against her Galactic Federation taskmasters when the situation demanded action.
She NEVER whimpered or pined after this man who, all told, hasn’t had to put up with shit compared to her.
Samus endured having her very image and essence ripped out of her and used against her (later in Fusion, this happens again!), she’s fought against insurmountable odds and won.
She has watched her foster home and family succumb to decay and corruption.
The only time she hesitated was the infamous scene at the end of Metroid 2 (shown in the beginning of Super Metroid), and that kindness later saved her life. This one scene and its consequence establishes that beneath her quest for revenge and cold professionalism, she’s still humane.

Team Ninja tries and fails to establish in one game that took one scene.
This simpering, submissive drivel completely contradicts the character that’s been presented so far.

Adam was mentioned all over the place in Metroid Fusion, she mentions her love for him. His personality is in the computer that is giving her her missions. when she founds out about that, even way back then she falls apart a little bit. I can’t believe they would make her fall that much apart though, thanks for the heads up, will avoid ^_^

As I was listening to Spoony, I found myself wondering if he’d played Fusion (When he claims that Adam had never been mentioned before, that reveals that he hadn’t) because a lot of his complaints about Samus’s characterization occur there as well, but, as you say, Fusion handles it a lot better. Firstly, it’s very understated in Fusion. There’s a vulnerability to Samus there which is very new to the series, but it’s not a profound vulnerability, just a few hints.

Even more than that, though, in Fusion, Samus has just been through a huge, life-changing ordeal: she’s lost her armor, lost her ship, nearly died from a parasite infection, and she’s had her very DNA altered. It would have been hard to really buy Fusion had those events not left Samus traumatized.

It really cheapens Fusion to have it turn out that, in effect, Samus is actually *stronger* and *less vulnerable* in Fusion, compared to the way she is in Other M.

Why? Why the fuck is it so impossible to keep a series from ruination? It’s like everyone in the entertainment industry today is aggressively trying to mark down EVERY SINGLE SERIES that had any merit back in the day! Is it really so hard to realize what Samus is all about? Samus is one of the only girls in gaming that has kept her dignity this long. Of COURSE they had to take her down next. FgUDaHUDJgUDJAGA–Shit, man. Next Zelda? Let’s make Link talk. And while we’re at it, let’s make Mario into an emo drama. WE NEED TO MAKE THESE CHARACTERS STARK AND EDGY, SO THE GAMERS OF TODAY HAVE SOMETHING TO RELATE TO.

I think the best thing Other M did for me was make me want to play the Prime games again.

the Poughkeepsie Tapes was about the cops finding a closet full of video tapes that a serial killer made. And it’s basically a fake documentary about them. I would be lying if I said I didn’t find a couple parts scary, but over all it was average at best. The main problem for me was the “footage” of the serial killer wasn’t very convincing. The tapes are suppose to have been shot on VHS by the killer but it should be obvious to anyone with half a brain that the whole thing was shot on hand-hold digital cameras then they threw some Aftereffect filters on over the footage in post production to make it seem like grainy old video cassettes, Which ruined the whole creepy feel for the film they were going for.
Also the killings were clearly staged.
You can Probably find a DVD of it off Netflix or something. My brother had a copy he ripped offline
Watch it late at night. You might find a few parts scary

I LOVE METROID, and I HATE this game. I also love Spoony even more for having the balls to say the truth despite it being such a sacred franchise (which is now much less sacred…).

l also want to point out that I find Spoony wrong on many topics related to Nintendo. I find his views on Zelda to be ridiculous, I don’t even think he’s played one since Ocarina of Time. Majora’s Mask has one of the strongest and most artistic narratives in gaming even now frankly. Yes, the Wii is the weak console but it has put out good looking games before, better than Other M too. The visuals in this game PALE in comparison to Metroid Prime 3, a proper Metroid experience.

This game is the FARTHEST a Metroid game has ever been from it’s roots in all regards. The changes made to the gameplay itself, take it even FURTHER away from those roots even if they are interesting changes. The constant viewpoint changing RUINS the immersion factor the series is so well known for. The loneliness is more or less gone too. The game constantly leads you by the hand and tells you where to go, exactly what Metroid shouldn’t do. The game has a move called ‘Concentration’, where Samus magically believes her ammo and health will return and it does (and the game has no health/ammo pickups), Call of Duty style. As a Metroid game, this hurts.

The story is just horrendously made, but the sheer lack of logic with the fiction and the unforgivable portrayal of Samus as a blithering idiot just plain hurt me.

It’s not the ass-shots that bother me, even if the amount makes things cross into ‘objectified’ territory.

The sexism is just ridiculous… (and it IS there). Whether it be in the story (space-age societies are still sexist? really?) or the fact that she is under the thumb of this dumbass the entire game, not even being able to use her equipment designed to protect her for no LOGICAL reason (which is MUCH worse than the simple, ‘you lost it’ angle).

As Spoony mentions, her attitude is appalling even besides pining over and being talked down too by Adam, she gives thumbs down to military officers for god’s sake. She almost literally shits herself after seeing an enemy that she has already killed MULTIPLE times. You’d think by that point she would get the message, but no… she must be saved by MAN!!

The problem with this ‘freeze moment’ is that the game takes place late in Samus’ career, and here she is acting worse than a newbie.

And I thought Princess Peach had it bad.

The reason why this retcon of Samus’ character hurts so damn much is not simply because she is a heritage character who has been around for 2 decades. It is also because Samus represents EQUALITY for women in games. The fact that Samus was female never meant SHIT before, and THAT is what true equality means. Now though well… she’s about as pussy as it gets.

I’m willing to admit, the gameplay in the game is interesting and experimental, it’s not amazing or even have much content but nobody is saying it’s bad per se. The problem is that as a Metroid game it is a piece of shit. Metroid Prime was the HIGHEST rated game last generation, and anyone who accepts this as a worthy successor is not a true fan of the series.

The Last Exorcism ending works for me, but barely. Saw it twice, the foreshadowing was very thin, but really you should have seen it coming. As per the found footage being found, my thoughts are that somehow Cotton, the father, and Nell somehow banished the demon and got away/defeated the cult. With the film being shown as some sort of warning, that’s a big stretch, but that’s the only way I see it and not auto-call bullshit.

well I know something good that will come out of this other M fiasco, 2D OLD SCHOOL SEQUEL TO SUPER METROID, FUCK YEAH!

I want to fucking bitchslap the people at nintendo and at team ninja for making this atrocity of a game to samus’s character.Heres a checklist to the grievances guys.

whiny incoherent pussy Samus- Check

Broken willed not suppose to be happening later in career Samus- Check

And finally not supposed to fucking talk, Samus talks- Check

Congratulations, team ninja and nintendo, you made squall look like a decent character

I didn’t even know you owned a Wii. We definitely need to hear more of your ramblings on MGS. That’d be kickass. Thanks a ton for the updates though! I hope you have fun at PAX!

I wonder though… what would YOU ask Warren Spector?

It’s odd how sexist people will get to say that Samus without emotion is badass, but Samus behaving like most human beings: whiny, obedient irrationally to the one that they love/highly respect, and being scared of the never-dieing zombie super dragon thing is the worst thing they’ve ever seen. People are up in arms about sexism, yet are screaming how Samus is a pussy. You have your opinion, and that’s great, but please stop behaving like a whiny, annoying, emotional person. Maybe Samus is more like us then we thought.

I was never a fan of Metroid, but my friends were and I respected that. I never bashed the game, I was an MGS fan. I always kept my space from it. Then I got a call from one of my friend, and he was screaming at me over the game. He was so pissed and so betrayed he told me he wanted to borrow my MGS collection. The game was so horrible he said he was gonna switch to MGS from now on, and now he’s all Sony. Nintendo is just completely ruining their franchises now. What will happen next, a Mario game with a dark Watchmen style story, a Zelda Game where link talks and act like he did in his T.V series, or maybe even a Sonic Game where Sonic is emo like Cloud. Love the review Spoony as always. Also I love your mention of Hideo Kojima, he is my idol, and it’s cool to know you respect him too.

Oh, agreed, heh. As far as I’m concerned, Spoony is on the right course, and I’d only stop watching him if he tried to tone his rants down in an attempt to please everyone.

I have never taken spoony seriously :P

I read the manga and I can tell you right now that she was no where near this during the manga. Spoony’s right, as much as I love the Metroid series, Nintendo has literally raped Samus and the franchise. I mean, gameplay wise, Other M is ok, but the story side was such bullshit. Samus is the women that will stick her arm cannon into your mouth and fire off a super missile if you so much as attempt to order her around. This whining bitch is NOT SAMUS. Nintendo has betrayed me for the last fucking time and betrayed the one franchise and character that I loved from Nintendo. I honestly can’t buy another Nintendo product, let alone another Metroid title untill I see all of the reviews.

Here’s the link that has a bootleg two-part streaming of the movie. It’s the only one that I can find and the quality is not up-to-par, but you can follow what’s happening throughout the movie. Also, watch it all the way through the end credits because there is a bonus scene in the end.

Part I: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=49992196&searchid=61f14d75-12c0-44a7-8abc-c2cb61f9d422
Part II: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=49992777

P.S.: This is NOT a torrent site.

If you want the scoop on Cabin Fever 2, Phelous did a review of it.

The metroids in prime that where cold-resistant where phazon mutated and phazon is long gone by the time these events take place, and she is not assigned to a specific CO in prime 3, she is working together with the entire federation army because it’s a full-scale war going on.
She is given information on whats going on and what needs doing, but no direct orders on how she should do things, just strategic advice (from more then one source).

Wait A minute – they have Samus react in shock when she encounters Ridley?

Did they forget that in series chronology, she’s already fought and killed him four times? At this point in the story, the only way running into Ridley could be a shock is if he rode in on a unicorn and gave Samus a puppy…

Samus has shown that she has emotions on many occasions before now, such as when she spared the hatchling Metroid, and she wasn’t a ‘robot’ before this game as some of the Other M designers put it. You can make a character human and relatable without tearing down what makes them competent and professional. An ordinary person probably would freeze if a giant space dragon showed up, but Samus has fought Ridley many times before and has looked death in the face countless time. The Samus in this game looks and acts like a petulant rookie and not in any way like her previous incarnations.

I try not to make a big deal about the side characters being idiots in a story unless it’s REALLY bad. Let’s face it, there’ve been far worse cannon-fodder side chars than those soldiers.

But yeah, that’s just another aspect of the characterization fail that results. Keep in mind I’m not defending what Team Ninja did with the characterization, I’m making note of how they screwed up the presentation of the established character. Spoony’s reasoning is inaccurate, but what he’s pissed about is definitely worth being upset over and I do think it’s important to have this sort of information correct. The character we get in the manga is exactly what you’d expect Samus to be, even when you put the humanizing factor into it. Other M is what you get when you fuck up trying to present that character.

Vasquez only show one emotion, overconfidence, she think is the best, always have reason, and go against is superior because she think she superior. Vasquez as a character always been a joke, fearing to have a personality and building is exterior, trying to compensate for the fact she is a woman, being the perfect cliché of the action girl. She don’t have a love interest, or to be more exact she have one but don’t love him; when he rest whit her in the tube she rejected him, even knowing he make a sacrifice to die whit her, Vasquez can’t make the decision to show actual felling for his comrade.

Her reaction are not justifiable and even less realistic for two goods reason. First a this point she don’t think the aliens are a real menace, even though she had seen the facehunger she still think they’re not a menace for anyone. The second reason is she know why is superior said to not use the guns, she know they’re in reactor and a single shot could make a explosion, and yet she choose to kept the munitions, putting the whole expedition in danger. Yes she seem to have reacted in a perfectly good way, because she survived the initial attack, but this was luck, she could have killed all the others persons. Her reaction come from only the fact she overconfident and only to think to her.

The fact she refuse to show emotion to her comrade, who is clearly in love whit her from the beginning, and the fact she go against her superior without a good reason are one of the reason why she not a good female character. She the counterpart of Ripley, who in Aliens is a tomboy. Ripley fall in love, have a maternal instinct, and accept to show her feeling, but also go against the cliché of the weak girl, when she need to act she act, learn how to fight, etc. Vasquez is essentially a man in is characterization played by a woman, coldness, refuse to show is vulnerability, overconfident, etc are the characteristic of a male figure in a action movie, which is the reason why she not a good strong woman. Most author don’t know how to write a strong woman, and just put a woman in place of a male character, which is essentially Vasquez. Like I said, one of the subtext of Aliens is the role of woman in a society(the queen, the child, a woman accepting to be a woman, and the woman who refuse to be herself).

By thinking the womans are not different from man, except from the sexual organs, you are actually sexist. You limit the definition of a woman only on his sex, you refuse to consider the psychological difference between a man and woman. The difference exist because of two things, how society react to woman, and the value of the reproduction organs. Society imprint way of thinking in a person, the social environment act as a model to the person, a woman would not act the same way as a man. Even in matriarchal society we see some similarity between the woman of a patriarchal society, because sex is a pressure who mold some thinking and reaction in a person. Some of the social pressure of being a woman is the same in all society, because all woman know they’re are the only one who can bear children, making them aware of the sexual structure. Because of this fact, all woman have some similar psychological structure; I would even go further, even animal female show similar structure to woman, because of the similarity of the situation(the same can be said about man). Is normal to woman to express some weakness, because is the consciousness of being the essential part of the reproduction, and thus need to be protected, and man in counterpart like to play the role of the protector(this role is also present in matriarchal society) Woman will react more maternally in front of a children, because the link they (will)share whit a infant, where a man will not react necessary be paternally whit a children. This fact come also they have better empathy, because the way mother react to children make them aware more easily emotion, and also being a good defense mechanism.

When I’m referring to butch, I’m not saying bad thing about lesbian, but just using the concept of a really muscular woman who is possibly a lesbian, this type of woman(who Vasquez seem to be) still show the feminine quality I talk(even the fact to show weakness, because is still a good seduction mechanism, even among lesbian). Vasquez don’t show emotion, only disdain and amusement(expriming is lack), who could not be considerate emotion, she don’t try to seduce or repulse the advance of her comrade, she don’t care and act as man. Vasquez act as man, because is the way the character was written.

Vasquez don’t have any chance of survival, because she only act for herself, where Ripley act for other and for her. Vasquez is the type of character who think the only way to survive is to against other, she refuse to considerate order, or the felling of his comrade. Ripley have a better understanding of the world, and thus know the chance of survival come from the fact you need to protects others. The whole point of Newt is not only to show to Ripley a maternal side, but to show she accept to risk her life to save the future(Newt being a kid is a representation of the future of humanity), explaining what she doing in the end of Alien3. Vasquez don’t care about the future, but only for herself and have overconfidence of her natural ability, where Ripley admit having weakness and can actually found a way to battle her enemy. Vasquez would not understand the Queen will fear for the safety of the egg, or try to compensate her weakness whit logical reaction and will probably just shoot.

I admit is a strange lecture I try to gave, you are a woman and should know this better than me a man, but you see in my first writing sexism, something is not true. Sexism is what you do by refusing to accept psychological difference, thinking a female is necessary weak or over emotive is sexism(which I agree and is not part of my first argument), but refusing the fact woman have difference and actually play on the emotive side is sexism(showing weakness is a good seduction mechanism and also defence system, because this will galvanize others peoples) . Furthermore by going against what I’m saying you show your emotion, and thus giving me reason; a man will not care to reply(not necessary agree), because this will be actually showing some kind of emotion, where the north American society don’t encourage.

About Samus, the chozo blood and training permit her to have a better control over the armour, but not to repress feeling. Is one thing having a better logical side, is something totally different to control the unconscious of emotions. Samus most of the time actually refuse to show is emotion(except in front of Ridley, which I consideration stupid and incoherent whit the story), but accept this presence because she consider them a good way to evolute. Man try most of the time to repress emotion, is not just the fact they don’t show them, they try to forget them(explaining the necessity to be more incline in physical situation, because is a sane way to put the baggage away). Samus refuse to show her emotion, but absorb them to be a better person.

Except in Fusion, she rarely show inner though. In Metroid 1(zero mission) she didn’t show nothing special. Metroid 2 nothing. Super Metroid nothing. Prime 1…nothing…wait she actually show surprise, and close is hand to form a fist, probably showing anger. Prime 2…the exact same thing and a bit of honour in the end. Prime 3 she do show some anger against Dark Samus, surprise, perhaps sadness over the death of a bounty hunter(the teenage girl, showing actually a feminine side), and honour. Wow in 6 games Samus have the ability to show 4 different emotion…seriously do you considerate that as characterization. The only other game showing characterization is Fusion, where actually she more mature than in Other M, but logical because the game take after this one. The two games use the sames device, inner thoughts and the same kind of personality. In Other M the character grow in the end, you have really the feeling she have a better understanding of is world, and how to react.

Okay now I would seem like a total nerd, but the tit and ass of Samus are actually less big. Samus is not only the first woman in gaming, but also the first one to be more a character and less a masturbatory material. In the first Metroid(original) she have big breast, in Super Metroid they’re a bit less big, and Fusion and Other M( Zero mission use the same design) they’re again less big. The reason why you think she have bigger boobs come from the flashback, where she seem to put them in a bra to make them more visible; I don’t think he was done for a narrative quality but actually can work that way, this could show in the past she wanted to be attractive to please, and now she don’t need it anymore.

People try to make Samus a symbol of feminine power, which she never was. Be frank what kind of personality she had before? The answer was nothing, a man could be in the armour and most of the people would not differentiate. Samus was used as masturbatory material from the start, better ranting make her to do a striptease essentially. Only in Other M she actually become the image people gave her, because she a woman who want to fight for her and the other and accept her weakness, but also go against the order when she feel she need to do.

By the way Samus only freeze one time,and is against Ripley, considering they’re no reason why he could be on the station I could say is logical, because the surprise come from his presence. I don’t like the whole freezing, because Samus had already fight Ripley so many time, but is the first time he should not be in that environment.

P.S : Tvtrope is not a good source for analysis, they explain the convention, not the internal logic in a story.

I think the manga was meant to improve upon that story – clear it up and make more sense of it. I’m pretty sure the manga replaced that older story as the official version of Samus’ backstory. It’s certainly more worthy of the honor.

I’m sure someone’s already mentioned this but yes the Poughkeepsie Tapes did come out, it was, you know, okaaaay but wasn’t very wave-making. Love to see a review of it ^^

I don’t think Team Ninja failed to understand Samus, honestly… I just think they didn’t understand how to PRESENT Samus. Like I’ve noted, despite the MASSIVE fuckup in characterization, you can see the basics of Samus as presented in the manga within it. You could make this same game and just a few MINOR tweaks in the story’s presentation would make it a perfectly accurate representation of the Samus we learned about in the manga.

This game actually takes place second to last in the timeline, right before Fusion if I’m not mistaken. I’m sure you were trying to rationalize the Ridley scene when you figured that it must have been something really early on, but trust me, there’s no rationalization to be had.

And it’s one thing to give Samus a voice and a character, but it’s another thing to take what has traditionally been the idol of “look, a female character that doesn’t need those feminine moments of weakness / submission that developers seem to think mandatory when making a female character,” and turned totally on her head with just one example after another. I’ve been with the series since the early days as well, and I’m actually stunned to see somebody else has such a history with it and was not disappointed by what was done here.

I’ve seen the argument though, that “Hey look, we don’t KNOW what she was thinking in the other games. This doesn’t violate anything established. She could’ve been scared of Ridley each and every time.” And it’s stuff like that where I just have to stop and think that they really don’t understand the allure of Samus as a unique character, amidst the sea of angsty “I’m a female character and I’m strong but as a female character I must necessarily have emotional issues to sort through,” Samus, at least, used to be a break from that. But there she goes.

SPOILERS unfortunately that doesn’t happen at the end. I think your interpretation could have worked, but it wasn’t what I got out of the game. It seemed more like the writers wanted to recreate Samus from the ground up as a new recruit, which clashed heavily with all the awesome stuff she was supposed to have done in the past. But yes, sadly at the end she is still just as codependent and meek as at the beginning.

its funny how many of you think it’s bad without playing it. it’s being raved as an incredible game, and I played it to know this. stop sucking spoonys dick for a minute and look at it from a gamer pov.

I don’t know all that much about Metroid, I only played Zero Mission – it was really okay. Castlevania games are better, I think. Also haven’t played this game yet. Gonna give it later, maybe.

ANYWAY, don’t have much to say about the “femininity” aspect (though from what cutscenes I’ve watched, I notice that Samus seems to be about a foot shorter for some reason), I haven’t seen enough for that issue. I haven’t played the game, Spoony seems too pissed off to give an honest assessment of the issue, I don’t know. But here’s my one little complaint: why the fuck does Samus need to take orders from some pinhead? Why should she listen to him when he says “don’t use an ice gun”? More importantly, why should “I” the person playing Samus, have to listen to him? I’M THE PLAYER!! The character I’m playing as has an Ice Gun! Why can’t I use it??? The character doesn’t want to? What the Hell? I mean, Samus taking orders, who cares, why do I have to take orders?

Remember Okami? Ammy finds the item that the Nine-Tailed Fox needs to take over the world. Then she gives it to the priestess lady who – surprise surprise – is evil. That’s bullshit. I’m in charge of Ammy, and I’m not stupid enough to just give away important items to random NPCs who might be possessed by the Big Bad. Things like this make me furious. I’m the character, I should decide. Maybe Samus wants to listen to Adam, I don’t. Fuck Adam. If I want to use my Freeze Gun, I’ll use the damn Freeze Gun. And I’ll blow Adam’s stupid head off with it.

Here’s the thing, I don’t WANT to take orders from somebody in my games. When the character I control has a certain set of skills, I should be able to use them 100% of the time. Basically this entire thing is simply a different way of gaining skills from the beginning, like Link finding his weapons in dungeons. But this is done in such a stupid way, I can’t believe it.

Is it really as bad as I think it is?

Michael Clayton?? xD

And as for Last Exorcism, it didn’t look good. Whatever. But there’s another movie coming out with the “camera POV effect” called Catfish. That movies, despite how much I hate films with this effect, looks awesome. Gotta see that.

Well, yeah, every game kinda has that backstory thing. Its not like in Mario you can just say “screw Peach” and not save her. What’s the point of playing?

My only complaint is that in-game actions are not in your control. I played Zero Mission, I never saw anything like this. Samus came in with nearly no weapons (a stupid move) and you had to find them. Here you HAVE all your weapons, but you can’t use them. Its a choice that should be up to the player that is restricted for no good reason. Its stupid.

It is a little contrived – I won’t deny that. But given what we’re dealing with, NOTHING really works for the purpose of disarming Samus as well as that does. Even damaging the suit like in the beginning of Metroid Prime makes less sense. The Power Suit can take on hordes of enemies with awesome firepower and barely get scratched(until it runs out of energy, at least), but getting knocked into a wall breaks all of it’s functions all of a sudden? I’ll buy Samus following orders to keep her ass out of trouble first(and Other M STILL gave us moments where her Power Suit seemed weirdly weak).

In this case there’s no perfect solution. It’s a case of simply making some semblance of sense. Perfect solution? No. But nothing is. I’ll maintain it makes more sense than any other depowering of Samus in the past(except for Metroid Fusion), but yeah- it is still a bit flawed. Just not as big a flaw as Spoony implies. Like I said, I think he got a little too wrapped up in the mischaracterization to analyze it properly.

I think Sino is Linkara’s name for Superman in his first review, although I may be wrong.

Well at the end of metroid fusion she did admire Adam for the sacrifice that he made for her, but in this game she admires Adam a bit more than she should. Also rules and regulations aside the galactic federation never had much control over samus’ actions. they did however give her a single final order and she met that goal how she pleased. that is the beauty of metroid. Metroid Fusion Adam had control over your power because he was giving them to you, he held back on a few because he wanted to keep you weak and controllable. Samus was angered by this, but in this game she is actually asking for it. I do agree with spoony the character is really really offbeat here.

Also Adam is portrayed differently here too, he called samus lady because she was strong and he was practically making fun of how masculine she really was. Not because he saw her as something delicate. I think that team ninja based their efforts too much on the melodramatic manga in staid of focusing on what actually makes samus and her universe great, little words but lots of shooting.

Yes, also as others have noted actions speak louder than words. Just because Samus was afraid doesn’t mean she failed to act when she needed to. It’s stuff like that which makes a character both identifiable AND admirable.

Every one here has already said exactly what needs to be said about Metroid, the other M, again really dumb title.
But if I can say one thing, why Team ninja? I mean if you Samus to be sexy I get it, but why them for the story.
Who wrote the story line for Super smash brothers brawl, for the adventure mode? Because that was a damn good story, and probably far better than this.
I was digusted when I heard from Spoony what they did to Samus, Samus is not a whiny little Reyden bitch, she is a bad ass mother fucker!
I’ll have to rent it to find out for my self, but jesus, I’m not holding any hope for this.

By the way, I was expecting you to hate, “The last exorcism.”
But the way you described it, it actually sounds good, better than, “The exorcism of Emily Rose.” Based on a true story my ass.
Any way, thanks again Spoony.

-According to Wikipedia, the Poughkeepsie Tapes was released THREE YEARS AGO. But there’s not a single review of it on Rotten Tomatoes, so I guess it’s not surprising that even you missed it being released.

-The whole Eli Roth thing reminds me of J.J. Abrams and how everyone basically ties Lost to him despite the fact that he left the show after the first season. Second season at the latest. I don’t know why; I guess he can’t focus on one project for very long. And yet people keep saying that it’s HIS show, like when the Critic made that animation about Lost. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine; I’ve got the idea in my head that anyone who attributes the whole show to Abrams isn’t a REAL fan because they don’t really know about the show. It’s kind of a stupid opinion, I admit, but I can’t really shake it.

-Excellent piece of advice for everyone who wants to write any sort of fiction at all, not just screenwriters. The example I immediately thought of was The Lies of Locke Lamora, which stars thieves and con artists scamming noblemen out of their wealth for fun. The reason I liked these guys was both the good-natured, profane, The-Wire-esque banter between them and the ballsy and clever schemes they pull in order to make it happen. I picked up the book on an impulse and it’s been on my top ten list since I got a quarter of the way through it.

-So as for the ending… I really want to buy it, but the niggling doubt I have is that it seems contrived that her father is the only person in town who isn’t in on the summoning. It just seems like it’s like that just to give the story an excuse to involve the preacher. I haven’t actually seen the movie; I’m totally going on your summary alone. I should probably see the movie myself. It sounds like my kind of thing because I love these kinds of twists that mess with your mind. I’m the guy who owns a copy of House of Leaves, after all.

-Oh my God, the orchestra stings. See, I’m going to bring up The Wire again, because it doesn’t bring music out of nowhere despite not being a documentary at all. The only music, with the exception of the end-of-season montages, comes from radios and jukebox and shit like that. Seriously, Spoony, you really should see The Wire sometime. And the Diary of the Dead thing made me laugh quite a bit.

-Yeah, that whole letter of betrayal thing strikes me as a bit of a stretch, but just a bit. I personally will probably always like your stuff, even when your Final Fantasy X stuff makes me kind of uncomfortable. I’m not the kind of guy who abandons critics he knows and loves because they bash one thing I really like. I have a hard time taking the piss out of things like you do, which is part of why I watch you in the first place.

-Likewise I don’t hate you for liking things I don’t. Pepsi, for instance. I don’t like the taste of Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, or any similar soda. My preferred drink is Sprite, though fruit sodas and lemonade aren’t out of the question, either.

-OK, now you’ve piqued my curiosity. I simply must see the cutscenes of this game for myself, or play it, or SOMETHING, just to see what you’re talking about. Fusion and Zero Mission are the only games I’ve played, and they were excellent. Fusion had the log entries, but they were brief, they were in the background, and they didn’t make her look like a wuss, instead giving her a bit of an emotional core. But it was in the background, not like this.

-I like manga and I’ve never seen the point of reading manga based on video games. I’ve never seen the Metroid manga, but I’ve seen the Kingdom Hearts and World of Warcraft comics. The KH manga looks like shit. If I had pets that live in cages, I would line the floor with the pages of it.

-Oh yes, and Adam was the focus of the logs in Metroid Fusion, but there it came across as a respectful partnership or something along those lines. Certainly not like Bella Swan! Actually, now that I think about it, this whole story thing was the weakest part of Fusion, but it sounds ten times better than this.

-Oh my God, when you mentioned that Samus should never get raped, I remembered the one VG Cats comic with her and Master Chief. Fuck you, Ransoomair. Just fuck you.

-Good luck with PAX, Spoony. It sounds like an exhausting ordeal. You may need a lot more hemp before you’re through.

Bearded Idiot. Because I feel like nitpicking.

For what you’re saying about Last Exorcism, it seems like they had two possible movies with two possible endings, and they chose the low-brow easy ending consisting of nothing but entertainment value. Like empty calorie fast-food.
They fucked with Samus? Fuck them! I will hunt them to the end of the world! I will dance on their graves! THEY WILL SUFFER!!! Definitely a rental. Fuck Team Ninja.

I’m with you Spoony. How the hell do you fuck up Samus? But now that I think about it, other Nintendo game series have fucked up at least once.

are you drinking a whisky and coke?

You have a point, but at the same time, given that this takes place not long after the events of Super Metroid, I think Samus being somewhat unsure of herself kinda makes sense. Samus always looses everything. In Super Metroid, the Baby Metroid that she had grown to love was taken from her and she was unable to do anything to protect it. This my own interpretation from what I’ve seen, but it makes sense to me. I’m not exactly happy with some of the ways things were handled story-wise, but given what she’s just been through, I think she has every right to be emotional.

Ok, now it is safe to say that Spoony are really willing to get some controversial attention.

When ever a big franchise game comes out and someone reviews is (not directly aimed at spoony) I always take their reviews with a grain of salt. Metroid even for when it was forced released was one of those games you either enjoyed or hated. It’s also not an easy game and on top of that it’s always been a long game. I just can’t picture some of the people that review metroid as actually having sat down and blasted their way through the entire series till now. I mean Metroid has had some major releases over the years and no one paid attention to them aside from fans of the series. Metroid the other M is getting the same treatment like she did when she went FPS…and even then that title got slept on. As a fan of metroid it just feels like someones just trying to rain on your parade. These guys reviewing the series aren’t metroid guys. They don’t own cubes they dont own Wii’s (willingly) they play these games because it’s their job then they go back to playing Halo or COD or whatever else is out there. As soon as I see someone put Halo and Metroid in the same sentence I wish I could slap them. Stop comparing Metroid (a one woman army) to Halo (a fps space army combat game!). Apples and oranges! Now here come these guys picking up a Wii title and picking up Metroid and expect something else probably COD7 or Halo4. Then they realize hey wait why isn’t he shooting bullets? what are these beams, hey wait again.. this isn’t a guy it’s a chick! Dammit! why do I have to jump around on walls… why am I turning into a little ball? dammit what is this! Hey is she talking? I hate her voice! Where are my frag grenades! where is my energy sword. Ah screw this game. I liked the one I played as a kid better (takes game out and goes back to playing Halo or whatever).Then you get bad reviews because of that…then you get people who buy the game not knowing what it is and expecting something else then they get upset and bash it too. I get Spoony played the game for 2hours but 2hours in a metroid game is like 10 minutes…and I know he isn’t the only one that did that. What these guys who haven’t really sat down to play these metroid games don’t understand is that Samus has been through some serious S–t over the years and in the later games it shows in her status among other hunters. If they want to go back in time and make a game about when she was dorky so be it who cares. It doesn’t change the character she ultimately ends up as. When it comes to metroid the only thing I want to hear about is the game play. I don’t want to hear complaints about a story when I know these guys haven’t really been following the series like that. So what they made a manga about Samus they also made lunchbox’s about her too and no one gives a 2 scoops about that either. Mario had a comic,Zelda had a comic (oh yes I owned and read them) and I assure you know one gave a —k than about character development of Mario or Zelda and that was when those games were still relatively new. So what does a manga have to do with a game? Why even bother to bring it up? If you Metroid pro’s want to really complain you should be complaining about the cliff hanger at the end of Prime-3 and wondering why we get no relief in knowing if Dark Samus is really dead or not! You want to complain about stories go rant on that…atleast that one matters.

And about the character of Samus…some people now are making a fuss about the game but honestly I think they made her character soft the moment they took off her outfit years ago. If you guys want to complain about ruining her character complain about that. Samus’s suit is her character when you take that off your just left with the person behind it and that person is someone that you don’t even know. That’s what was always so weird about seeing her in the blue bikini and besides Samus has always been eye candy. If you want to complain…go complain about the fact she doesn’t wear a bikini suit anymore.Over the years it’s like they put more clothes on her and I’m quit sure I remember her hair being red too.

Pepsi Forever!!!

The Last Exorcism was kinda “blah” to me. Maybe I’m just spoiled by more exotic horror fare, but it just didn’t seem as intense as advertised…kinda boring actually.

However, in my defense I will also say that I saw this movie with some friends of mine (including my church’s pastor and his wife), and even my pastor’s wife (who is a scream queen par excellence) wasn’t that affected. Bear in mind, this woman was terrified of DEEP BLUE SEA (Yes, friggin DEEP BLUE SEA, the stupid “CGI sharks that can swim backwards and try to kill LL Cool Jay” movie) and this didn’t really affect her.

Joyous day. I’ll just quote myself:

“It isn’t a generic anime female archetype. Go watch Eyeshield 21. Sena is weak to the point where it’s irritating. He doesn’t believe he can do anything, he does things for bullies so he doesn’t get beaten up, and his only friend, a girl, has to protect him. By the end of the series, Sena is completely confident in his abilities and is a better hero for it. It’s called “character development”, and it works for both females and males, and frankly the typical male hero gets irritating, especially in female form, because females are so much more unique, and games don’t take advantage of that, and gamers don’t want it because they have completely childish expectations of their heroes. I was reading about this issue on another website. It’s like how Batman fans get all angry when he shows any emotion, because they hold him to the standards of a god. I’m sorry, but… grow up.”

I wouldn’t know. I mean, Other M never says anything about why she’s afraid of Ridley, besides the fact that she thinks he’s dead at the beginning, and most people wouldn’t remember that. Furthermore, I don’t think I would’ve BOUGHT it if it weren’t in the Metroid series, nor payed any attention to it. Also, I didn’t call any of you stupid. I said ignorant.

Also, I’m doing a far better job than you, actually thinking before complaining about a ruined character. You’re spewing off your emotional beliefs because Samus has changed *shrugs*. Response is above, anyways.

I am not a big fan for Metroid but I will try to defend it by saying that “Other M” I think is a prequel and the telling of why she is a BAMF and why she doesn’t take shit. The story pretty much explains why before she was a badass she was taking orders and whining and doubting her ability of being a bounty hunter. I really want to play this game after watching some of the gameplay from screwattack

Dumbass… U dont have to like the game, but ur full of shit.

I hate this Spoony cuntbag more than anyone else on the internet. Even more than The Irate Gamer

I don’t know what’s worse. Your complete lack of giving a coherent thought, not knowing what you are talking about game wise, thinking graphics are the best thing about games, or the fact you spent 25 minutes bitching about a single fucking game.

Yes, this is the internet, where you can say everything you want to, and act surprised when people disagree with you. This coming from a man that gained fame from trolling FF8 fans, and he won’t tolerate one person to troll him. It seems kind of… hypocritical, doesn’t it?

I haven’t watched the last exorcism but about the exorcist movies, I totally agree with you, I liked the first movie, the second movie was crap but the third was good. but I’m curious about The last Exorcism. there are no news about the movie screening in my country. maybe I’ll get it on DVD later on.

Your sarcasm is showing.

Haha I think that’s the point, mah boy

Spoony’s claim to fame is snarking games and has been since he reviewed Bayou Billy and wrote a text review of Doom 3. If you don’t like videos dedicated to bitching (or whole series in the case of Phantasmagoria 2 LP where he mainly ridicules the game the whole time) he may not be your thing.

You can develop a female character without having her revert to either the damsel in distress archetype or the gun slut archetype. Roivas from Eternal Darkness, Alyssa from Silent Hill 3, and so on and so on. I can give you half a dozen examples where this is done. If I make a black character in a game and make him a dumb, hold-mah-gun-sideways gansta thug, that is not character development, it is fucking lazy writing. Period.

So you try to tell us that Noah is talking about what he don’t know although he is telling in his video that he played it and explained details about graphics, gameplay and story ?

Are you stupid ? Don’t answer it, i know the answer ^^.

Honestly I like Spoony more for the Vlogs than the reviews. I used to be a big fan of all the TGWTG guys; but the ones I’m sticking with are people like Lordkat and Spoony where you see a lot ‘more’ of them. Lately I’ve been listening to the D & D logs with Lordkat and really enjoying them.

The videos are good, but they’re not what I tune in for these days.

One thing that I thought was really stupid about The Last Exorcism was how the preacher guy obviously pulls this demon out of his ass (he tells the dad, “Dude, it’s totally… this guy. Abalam. Yeah.”) and it actually turns out to be the demon that the girl’s possessed with? That doesn’t make any damn sense.

Sure, that’s why it happens.

But why is it okay? It’s okay for men to not make any effort to writing believable women? It’s okay for a company to not give a crap about what they put out there?

These games might be largely made by men, but it’s not like there is a man alive who has never interacted with a woman. Do they really think all women fall into a broad stereotype, or is it just laziness? Don’t companies have any interest in not driving away a potential market share to a gender that comprises about half the population?

It just seems to be a combination of laziness and short-sightedness, and I still don’t think it’s okay at all.

Ah, guess we can’t put links into comments, haha, makes sense.

I think people should check out IGN’s review of the game, they really enjoyed it.

I don’t think Spoony is wrong, it’s his opinion after all, and opinions can’t be wrong. But I think people should see other reviews before deciding to get the game or not.

Why Are you here
That like Spoony Goin to work on Deadlist Warrior

A comment so nice I posted it twice.

It’s not a prequel. It’s specifically set after Super Metroid. This is the Metroid series in chronological order:

Metroid 1/Metroid: Zero Mission (remake)

Metroid Prime.

Metroid Prime 2

Metroid Prime 3

Metroid 2

Super Metroid

Metroid: Other M

Metroid: Fusion

That’s it. Other M is only a prequel to Fusion. There’s *no excuse* for Samus to be acting like this.

Man, I was pissed off when I watched Sean Faust’s review of Other M. But when Spoony compared Samus Aran to Bella Swan, I wanted to kill people. Because I know that Spoony wouldn’t go that far, make *that* comparison without just cause.

Look, there are ways to make strong characters deep. Giving them insecurities is a way to go, but you have to be really, *really* careful. Because the line between justified angst and crybaby wangst is very, very thin. And doubly so for women, because of how easy it is to fall into that trap.

And the thing with authorizing the weapons? WTF, really? None of the 2D Metroid games ever had to justify why Samus didn’t have all her gear. Even Retro Studios didn’t bother with Metroid Prime 3. Just don’t give it to her at the beginning of the game. Problem solved.

But having Adam decide when she gets her stuff? Not only does that make Samus into Adam’s personal bitch (which is bad enough), it makes the *player* into Adam’s personal bitch. Fuck that shit.

My brother and I made the unfortunate mistake of pre-ordering this game.
We’re pretty big Metroid fans, and we figured it couldn’t be THAT bad.

Oh hoh hoh hoh.
I pretty much agree with you, Spoony, on what you had to say. Although there are a few occasions where I could correct you or slightly disagree, it’s pretty much so insignificant it’s not worth bringing up.

The gameplay was just okay, and the story was so horrendously bad it is undoubtedly the biggest stain on the series to occur. (And I don’t like the backtracking much either, but it hasn’t made me hate a game in the series quite like this.)

I do applaud the developers for trying something new with the gameplay instead of just copying the old. That is risky, and I have to admit they have some big ones for trying something new with such a revered series. However, it still didn’t quite work. And the story was so obtrusive and unrelenting, it ruined the pace. You’re right in saying that the backstory itself isn’t too offensive to fans, but the characterization of Samus and the execution of the story are unbelievably abysmal. I have to admit there are a few things they included in the game that were actually treats for Metroid fans, but it came nowhere close to making up for the rest of the piss-poor plot-pushing. Samus’s lines in particular are so badly-written I couldn’t even believe it. Even from the start of the game it was terrible.

It isn’t enough that they ruined Samus Aran as a character, but they also left loads of plotholes or vaguely-and-poorly-implied things in the story. If they wanted to throw the story in so badly, they should have at least told all of it.

Some people always say that gameplay is the most important thing, and yes, it is. However, when the story is this obtrusive AND this poorly-conceived, it intrudes on the gameplay and slows the pace of the game. Especially since every cutscene in this game is unskippable.

I have to add that I think it’s pretty funny that so many people go to such lengths to lambast you for your thoughts on games like this. While I agree with you on this game, I certainly don’t always agree with you on other games (I, for instance, am a Zelda fan. Although I’ve gotten fed up with its same-ness too, so I guess that’s moot by now, but you get the idea). I don’t see any reason to get angry over something like that, and maybe it’s just that some people don’t understand the hyperbole you often utilize as well. The entirety of your Final Fantasy reviews (or I daresay all of your videos) are based on this idea– that you’re not a hateful guy, you just use hyperbole in such reviews because it’s humorous.

I dunno, people have a high propensity to be morons.

It’s nice to hear someone who isn’t invested in the Metroid series to agree with my friends and me.
I initially worried that we were just overreacting as fans often do.

On the other hand, Other M has prompted me to go back and replay all the good Metroid games.

We meet Adam malkovich on metroid fusion well “meet” they explained what the character was at least
and spoony I can tell you something metroid fusion gives more of what samus personallity is that this fucking piece of crap that Metroid: Other M is

as Yahtzee pointed out in one of his extra punctuation giving emotions to a woman is not bad it actually makes her a human the same way emotions could make a man a human but what they did with Samus on metroid other M is just disgusting

why she would be scared she freaking beated ridley 2 times already not to mention his other incarnations the problem is not only were the game takes place (timewise) but the horrible HORRIBLE writing that is given to us

I could understand if it took place when she was kinda new to the bounty hunting but she has YEARS of experience and starting to give her more character depth while making her what every japanese man desires to be its just fucking stupid for her character she is now a MOE the weak MOE that acts rough but still wants that MAN and wants to give him sandwiches

also it was supposed to be a father and daughter kinda relationship more than anything but well you see how they screwed up with the writing

If you scroll down, you’ll see that there are a lot of ‘like’ votes on hate comments about spoony’s review of the other M. Unfortunately, there are still too much Metroid-Trolls fuckers around here ^^.

God, does it hurt to be as stupid as you are?

That doesn’t matter. You’re writing for a human character. Men have written good women characters before and women have written good men characters before. It’s entirely possible for GOOD writers to write good characters. Face it. They made Samus a shitty character with shitty dialogue and a shitty back story.

Just to say here cause it’s relevant – yeah I don’t get how people can say you don’t like anything, your most memorable review in my opinion was the FF8 one and I doubt that’d have anywhere near as much effort put into it if you weren’t a fan of the earlier games. Gotta point out that buying tie-in stuff doesn’t mean you’re an obsessive fan, just means you consider spending a fiver on a manga or comic or novel or whatever worth it for the extra story you get. Warcraft’s a good example, the ingame story sucks and 3 is copy pasted right out of Starcraft but the novels for it are quite good.

Back to Metroid – I hope you realise the term “Bella Swan-esque” should never be used lightly, if they really made Samus that bad they have a good chance of stealing the record for franchise murder from Uwe Boll. And damnit am I the only one who liked FF13? It’s not as good as 12 (another popular one) or 9 or the older ones yeah but it’s a decent addition to the series with probably the best soundtrack to date.

“Of course, there are exceptions so don’t pick my statement apart too much – For example, I think Miss Roivas, the main character from Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube, was well written and a way you do female characters right.”

Don’t forget The Boss from MGS3. She was a hella strong AND BELIEVABLE female character. Nothing about her seemed fake or contrived. I thought she was very well written. AND she was written by Professional Troll himself, Hideo Kojima.

I’ve also seen a few peeps mention Roivas from Eternal Darkness, and I never saw it before, because I was playing through a pretty well written game, but yeah. She is a very strong female character.

Or just completely ret-con this thing. That’s soundin a pretty guud..

I really do have to question the order of events. Samus defeats Mother Brain and the Space Pirates. Samus defeats the Metroid threat. Samus…becomes a second-guessing, emotional, introspective woman?

I hate just listening to the idea. :<

I “like” posts that will end up being removed because I am a proponent of free speech, unlike some people.

You’ve been trolling the comments section of a video you don’t even like for… let’s see… your first post I see was 4 hours ago, so, probably 4 hours now? You really have no life and I can see why this video game means so much to you man. How many times have you hit “refresh” hoping for someone to respond to your posts? When someone like me finally does does it make you feel warm inside? That someone has actually acknowledged your existence for the first time today? This week? You are a sad, sad person and I honestly feel for you. I bet it’s hard to go out in public because people stare don’t they? The sun hasn’t touched your pallid skin for some time now I bet. But before I go, I have do have some good news. I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to geico.

I will take his vlogs over game reviews actually.

Protip: Use paragraphs and spacing. And just because Sakamoto created the character doesn’t mean we have to be happy when he fucks up her characterization. Also, whiny, codependent women are not original. Which is one of the reasons that people are hating this. They took everything in her characterization that was unique and individual (and yes, she did have a characterization, but you kind of had to take the time to figure it out from text logs and body language), and replaced it with cookie-cutter “woe is me, my past is so sad and I freeze up at moments when I should be taking decisive action with the huge gun attached to my arm” angst. It’s not original, and we don’t have to take it. If she was going to have fear and angst issues, they should have placed this game a LOT closer to the beginning of the timeline, where such qualities could be smoothed out, not one game from the end.

That’s sad. And massively unhelpful.

The best way to deal with games like Other M is to *not buy them*. That’s the only way game developers learn. It’s “fans” like you that swallow everything that developers make if they put the right name on it that makes long-running series start to suck. The degeneration of the Final Fantasy series is a *direct* result of fanboys that buy anything named “Final Fantasy.”

Well, we are talking about a game who’s gameplay *and* storyline both suck ass. Sure, he could have complimented the music or graphics or whatever, but with a game as chock full of idiocy and bad game design as FFVIII, there’s not much room to go over what actually works.

He’s actually much nicer to FFX. He starts off his review of that with some of the good parts (after a nice bit of rage at the main character).

Spoony, I just wanted to say thank you for speaking up about the total pussification of Samus in Other M. What Team Ninja have done to her is the equivalent of the Wonder Woman comics where she’s always getting tied up and is desperately smitten with Steve Trevor for no good reason. Even though I am a guy, Samus was just as much of a hero to me growing up as she was a sex symbol, and what Team Ninja have done to her is like watching someone neuter Boba Fett. I really hope that Team Ninja never touches this franchise again, because they have already demonstrated a total lack of respect for the main character.

how so? it’s his opinions, and i fully agree with them

im pretty sure he tolerates it, even in his Deadliest Warrior follow-up, he said he was wanting troll comments

why not?

sel loathing and so on is as i se it werry typical japaneses culturar weiws as they allways pull that bullshit, be hillarius if they let theri hands on duke with a emo nerd he would become hahahaha.

theo i dont get it myself i read the manga and dint get why did seh ahve to crawl ina corner to wheep every time? seh dint do that in teh game its sett upp as (metroid 1)

Yes i totaly agree its the worst metroid game ever made, and i payed 70 dollars… i feel dirty.

Fans are bashing it left and right.
Samus is not the same as she used to be.
It betrays the series.
It’s the worst Metroid ever made.

I’m still fucking buying it regardless. Why? Because I’m a blind fanboy who’ll still enjoy it somehow, that’s why.

ITT: Trolls trolling trolls.

There pretty much wasn’t anything good about the game when I played through it. The story was bass-ackwards and retarded as all get-out, the characters were either WAY too happy, WAY too emo, or WAY too evil (with the exception of Quistus), the magic and stat system was PANTS-ON-HEAD retarded, and getting money was idiotic at best.

Because he didn’t like anything about the game, doesn’t mean he was trolling the fanbase. He WAS making fun of the fans, because alot of those fanboys are probably ones who thrashed him for his views “OH, HOW COULD YOU NOT LIEK TEH GAYM? ITZ A BYOOTIFULL LUVSTOREE! UR A BAD PRSON 4 HAYTING.”, and Spoony has the right to respond to them in any way he sees fit, because they responded to his views in anyway THEY saw fit.

About the other ways to draw magic. It was still busy work. I remember drawing magic asking the exact same question Spoony was asking himself, “Why the shit am I doing this? I could be killing this monster that’s beating the shit out of me because I need to stock up on this spell.” And yeah, I also agreed with Spoony about the casting system being pointless, because, in essence, stocking up on magic and associating it with a stat was far more useful than just using the spell altogether. Saved time too, because then you wouldn’t be trying to stock it up again. And the other ways to get magic was still busywork and too time consuming to make it a fun concept to the game.

I find you to be fairly far off-base with your “Other M” thoughts, Spoony, as are all the haters. I don’t see any of this hyperbolic “emotionalism” that everyone else seems to be reading into the characterization. The Ridley scene in particular is a fitting callback to what happened to Samus as a child and such admitted vulnerability only makes her more bad-ass as a character when you realize what she has conquered and continues to conquer despite her temporary misgivings; we all have those, do we not? It lets encounters in the other Metroid games take on a new dimension of daunting uncertainty when you understand that the character you’re playing is just as human as you are, though she is one who has molded herself to continually overcome in the face of unspeakable odds. That’s what we admire about our comic book heroes, yes? Samus has been a hero of mine since I was a child and I certainly don’t mind letting her finally open up about her own mistakes and shortcomings for once. Imperfection, emotion, uncertainty, doubt, courage, triumph: They all give our most beloved heroes that depth we love.

As an aside, the Ridley CG cutscene is getting overblown to a fairly ridiculous level. By “Other M”, Samus had beaten Ridley for the fifth and “final” time in “Super Metroid” (killing him in his own lair and blowing up the entire planet of Zebes; can’t get much more dead than that, right?) and after going far out of her way to cut across the galaxy and attend to the Bottle Ship she happens to run into her “dead” arch-nemesis again in the most unlikely of locations and scenarios. Pretty sure I’d be in shock (which is the state she is in; hardly this “weepy” moment everyone makes it out to be seeing as it takes her seconds to recompose herself and kick Ridley’s ass) if I realized that a lifelong foe was turning into a perpetual nightmare from which I could seemingly never escape no matter how far I ran. Again, this is the kind of quasi-frailty we desire in our heroes if only to know that they are as susceptible to fear, doubt, shock, and terror as are we. But we admire them for their ability to overcome and defeat those dark spectres with such clarity and bravado.

Normally I would say I at least understand where you and the haters are coming from but I honestly do not. There are legitimate story complaints about “Other M” that do not in the least involve the evolving humanity of Samus as a character. Haters will hate but I appreciate that Sakamoto is willing to take risks and open up Samus more as a character whilst trying to stay true to the core atmospheric and explorative foundations of the series proper. “Other M” has its weaknesses but the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts and I, for one, am glad Sakamoto was daring enough to ask his fans to accept Samus as a human being and not assume her to be some calculating, kill-happy bounty hunter; something I never assumed her to be as you apparently had, Spoony. The ending of “Metroid II” gave us a window at her sympathy and compassion for the first time and the opening of “Super Metroid” only proved that further. Why her actual characterization and evolution as a character in “Other M” comes as such an offensive shock to so many has me utterly perplexed. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone (particularly fans) who has played through the rest of the franchise.

But, to each his own. I did appreciate listening to your thoughts, Spoony, as I always do.

opiop

You know, Noah, you’re really starting to annoy me for some reason. This reason probably being that you, all of a sudden, began considering yourself a critic, or a comic, or a journalist. Fact is – you’re neither. You’re a reviewer, a guy who just talk about stuff he likes or don’t likes on camera hoping somebody gives a shit about his opinion. That’s all fine, whether you’re shitting on something or giving it a praise – it is only your opinion and you’re sticking to it. Now, when you, somebody extremely hypocritical, biased and predisposed in every way possible starting to say things like “I think I can judge this or that” it’s just sound ridiculous.

No, Noah, no. You can’t judge anything, you can’t give justice to anything. You don’t have even the starting amount of what it takes to be a critic or a journalist, like: impartiality, objective analysis, considerations. What you can do is review stuff , saying do you like something or not. Which I enjoy, and which is what you were doing before recently. You can be as much amateur for this as it can get. But you can’t say stuff like “I think I can judge this right”. Not you. Not in a million years.

By the way I don’t like Metroid in a slightest, just you – the biggest hypocrite in a universe acting critic kinda annoyed me.

To a degree, he’s a comic. He doesn’t stand on stage and deliver jokes, but he does sit down and work on jokes, sketches, etc. He puts effort into his jokes and, from the obvious props, backdrops, effects, he puts effort into making them ‘click’.

And, no offense, but no critic is impartial. Robert Ebert, one of the best critcs around, has bias. I am, in no way, comparing Spoony to Ebert. I am simply giving an example.

Spoony, at least, admits he’s biased. He’s admitted he’s got his own taste in movies. He has the impartiality to admit he doesn’t -like- a game or movie, but that it is good. He can say if a movie or game is good, technically.

Hell, in the Metroid review he openly admitted that he doesn’t like the Metroid games and how they play. You can’t blame him for that, not all games are everyone’s taste. However, he also went on to say that they were good games.

I didn’t read the other comments so someone may have cleared this up already, but I can tell you about the Poughkeepsie Tapes. I live in Poughkeepsie, and the apparently there was a guy a few years ago who lived here named Kendall Francois. He would kidnap strippers and kill them and hide the bodies in his attic. Supposedly before he killed the strippers, he recorded himself torturing them and one of the videos (could be a hoax) was uploaded to the net not long ago. The movie is basically about that. I think you can actually find it online if you really look hard for it.

There’s one thing I really don’t understand about people defending this version of Samus. They always try to claim it’s more realistic because some real life women would react to her past the same way. First of all, who cares if some more emotional women would react this way. Those type of women wouldn’t push themselves to become bounty hunters. Secondly, Samus was raised by the Chozo to be a warrior. Experienced warriors trained since childhood would not act like this.

In fact, that could have been the route they chose to take with Samus’ background. What was it like being raised and trained by the Chozo? How did being spliced with them and submerged into their culture change the way she acts and thinks compared to the norm? When people are raised by parents of different cultures they can clash with other people in terms of thinking. How would being raised by a completely different species affect their interaction with others?

I do think they could have given Samus emotions but her reactions should be very strange compared to any regular human. Since Chozo are more like birds she should probably have more of the personality of a bird. Think of how birds are-strange and enigmatic yet somehow awesome- that’s exactly what Samus has always seemed to be. The fact that they ruined one of my favorite video game characters, and the only female character I could latch onto as a child, pisses me off so much it hurts. I should have wrote this back story shit. Obviously I can come up with better.

While the voice actress for Samus isn’t too bad really, it sounds like she was directed to act like she was stoned half the time.

From what I’ve read Sakamoto was actually pushing for most of the changes.

I think you meant to replay to me, lol. If Samus was a normal soldier, I’d agree, but she is a bounty hunter and at the time of the game well outside the authority of the Galactic Federation forces. Not only that, it is well documented that Samus has unique weapons that cannot be replicated and which are the only provenly effective means to fight Metroids, which the Federation knows it will be facing. Since this woman has almost wiped out the entire species I think it would be smart for a military commander to let her do her thing and go in first, while having his more fragile forces clean up and follow behind. It is just arrogant to try and regulate someone outside of your command and who has weapons you don’t understand AND who could very well be the last hope for humanity!

What makes it even more ludicrous is that Adam is supposed to care about Samus personally. You don’t care about someone and then intentionally decrease their chances of surviving a dangerous encounter.

But then Samus does need to be told when to fire her gun in this game so maybe Adam is right after all.

lol i dono i really liked Metroid Other M…. and no, I’m not a fanboy at all. Metroid was never one of my favorite series’ either and I do not like the Prime series at all… but other M I thought was pretty darn good. Sure it had its flaws like the way the upgrade system worked I will admit was horrendously stupid, but i don’t think it had anything to do with her being a woman, they were just looking for an excuse for her to not have her weapons and that’s the dumbass crap they came up with.You’re offended by sexism on this but I’d have to ask, would the system have been different if Samus were a man? I really doubt it, and if not you can’t really call sexism on that. And being unable to shoot missiles in third person so you have to point the wiimote at the screen… but that’s more the Wii’s fault than the games lol. Nintendo is in love with their idiotic gimmicks and cant stand to let you use a real controller… but other than that I liked it. I understand that Samus’ personality wouldn’t be to everyone’s liking but she wasn’t THAT bad lol and its better than having no personality at all as in previous games… and okay spoony this mayve been how you see the character but you cant betray your characters personality until that characters personality has been defined… Samus hadn’t been. As you say she was a blank slate, just because this was the way you saw her doesn’t mean that’s the way the developers saw her. and btw… I only remember her freezing in terror once. I will admit that it probably shouldn’t have happened either but she was staring the thing that had killed her parents dead in the face after thinking she had disintegrated him so at least it is a little bit more understandable
But again, as i always say, your opinion is your own. You have as much right to it as I have to mine. I’m not offended by your opinion in the slightest, I’m simply stating mine.

Indeed. Her inflections are all over the place, and she isn’t the only voice actor who has this problem.
Their entire presentation reminds me of when Capcom started adding voice acting to the majority of their games (ignoring the engrish, all of the voice actors sounded a little too bubbly).

I want them to bring back Samus’s bikini! Damnit! after playing all those hard ass games I want my T&A reward! What happened to when Samus used to show some skin after you beat the game huh? This is some bull. Not only did she lose her Bikini but she has even more clothes on now and she doesn’t even make a sexy pose anymore. I no longer care what any reviewer complains about when it comes to Metroid if it doesn’t involve the return of bikini Samus. How can you ruin that formula? Bikini chick + Space suit+ heavy weaponry = Metroid. How did that become Lifetime Channel movie+space+weapons = Metroid? Beating the game feels so empty now. It’s like winning a race and receiving no medal.

“As for the Varia Suit thing – I’ll say that it is the stupid result of trying to have a story mechanic and gameplay mechanic in one. Your gameplay certainly changes between when you have the suit and when you don’t, right? Also, when the lava starts rising, the urgency increases more. One could say that this is abusive, but let’s go to Samus’s other suit, shall we? When you get the Gravity Suit, you’ve been playing around in odd gravity for quite a while. And Samus was able to activate her suit as soon as she stepped into the gravity areas. This isn’t masochistic or abusive – frankly, it’s a gameplay mechanic. After all, that part did give you an upside-down platforming challenge, and a heavy gravity one, along with a heavy gravity boss fight. But does it make sense story-wise? Not even a little bit. I think that authorization was the second worst mistake they made in this game (forced first-person sequences sucked), and it makes the story come off poorer than it actually was. It’s all in the execution, and the execution here missed the mark.”

Quoting myself from somewhere else.

Take away her power suit, and Samus seems far less capable than any one of the other soldiers.

That’s clearly bullshit, as she proved in Zero Mission after she crashed her ship and infiltrated the Space Pirate’s mothership. Again, think before you make comments.

And you the lack of Intelligence… bravo.

THAT was Zero Mission. THIS is Other M. I’m not saying that Samus is incompetent without her power suit in other games, I’m saying that Other M contrasts that by showing her as mostly ineffectual without it. I mean, even Brawl showed Samus as more effective without the power suit.

You want bikini Samus? That’s what fanart is for.

lol. the plot hole at the end makes sense. Unless… did the preacher survive? someone must have run off realizing the “importance” of the film and hid it somewhere… no no… no way to save this.

seconded

He wasn’t just bitching at the character of Samus. He was bitching at the bad character, as well as the overall writing in this game too. I’m standing by him on this one. I haven’t even played it that much, but I already hate Samus and I CAN’T SKIP THE BROODING CUTSCENES (which some of them go on forever)!!! ;_;. Less expositing and more blowing-shit-up plz, kkthnxbai.

The writing is pretty bad, and the game mechanics, like the Spoony one said, “work”. I don’t particularly like the mechanics, but they work, and some people could probably really get into the controls.

I don’t bother to listen to reviewers anymore, God Hand got low scores everywhere, but is still beloved my most gamers for it’s simple, old-school gameplay, even if it was hard as hell. Also because Halo 3 and H3: ODST got near 10s EVERYWHERE even though most die hard Halo fanboys acknowledge they don’t match up to the original. Not to mention Jeff Gerstmann was fired after trashing Kane and Lynch after his former employers, GameSpot did extensive advertising for the game before the review. Please tell me you watched the whole video.

Team Ninja has no respect for women, so of course they’d dumb down Samus Aran

Again, Team Ninja wan’t in charge of the story, just the gameplay. While they are quite misogynistic, this particular issue isn’t their fault.

Spoony is giving you his opinion and he even tells you some of the good aspects about it and who it could appeal to. Your English is pretty good by the way.

I watched the entire video and I was angry at the end. You can’t trash a decent action game just because you don’t like the story. You can’t, not when you are a big reviewer. And Spoony’s review are watched by a lot of people. Maybe not as much as Ign’s or gamespot’s, but a lot. To quote spiderman “with great power comes great responsibility”. A decent game is a decent game. It doesn’t deserves all this shit.

By the way, Sean on tgwtg gave Other M a 7/10 rating. Spoony gave a “worst game ever” rating. So, Sean is payed by evil corporations too? Or maybe one of them was over reacting and treating the game without impartiality? :-)

The ending you described for The Last Exorcism bumped this movie up to a “must-see” for me!

Looks like spoony has no fucking idea what he´s talking about.

Dayum, the poughkeepsie tapes. It’s been a while since I heard about that movie. As far as I know, it isn’t available to purchase anywhere. The film was finished about 1-2 years ago, and It is really only available through torrents and such.

So I tried Metroid other M. I find Sopny to be a bit harsh towards it, though it’s a very passable game. In one sentence I would say it’s what I was afraid Metroid Prime would be. The biggest flaw: the controls are a bit awkward making some combat maneuver a bit tricky, i.e.: jumping on the back of an enemy takes time to get used to.

at some point, referring to the flame thing, i meant to put in there something about “when i say you, i don’t mean you specifically, i mean as a general statement” kind of thing. i should have been more specific. actually there was a little more rudeness pointed at you than the other way around to tell the truth

what i was trying to say is that spoony fans in general (and he pretty much says this in the review trying to head it off at the pass) is that spoony pretty much has been doing the same thing for years, but it’s only ok if the fans hate the thing he hates too. for example: people will cheer him on about standing up to spike tv, will get in flame wars with people actually against him on that matter, but then a couple weeks later, talks some shit on something THEY like, and suddenly all their support dies and THEY are the ones starting the flame wars. it just seems very unfair.

and the impartial thing, isn’t really a fair complaint for this reason: all reviewers HAVE to inject their opinion into reviews, they are relating their personal experience with the game and giving their reactions, good or bad. now while i agree with you, it’s usually a good idea to balance it out with some opposing points, if you really REALLY hate a game, you’re gonna be mean to it, no matter how well other people review it. and it isn’t wrong to voice those complaints. now if he say, decided he hated this game before he played it due to some built in hatred for the game series…yeah THAT would totally be impartial, but he played this one (all the way to end i think) and if he really felt like the story and characters were so abysmal as to ruin the experience, it’s not unfair for him to say so, as long as he gave the game a fair chance to prove him wrong. and while you may disagree, i actually think the story/characters/ voice acting/ etc are VERY important to a gaming experience, and if they suck, it will ruin a game for me and i will say it’s a bad game. like devil may cry. i can’t say it didn’t bring some really new gameplay elements to the table that have paid off (mostly after being explored in other later games) but i HATE that shirtless emo douche Dante, and i HATE his whiny little smartass voice and i HATE his supporting cast and i HATE that he people just can’t get enough of him, and it really does reuin the game for me. it makes it not fun, it makes me consider it a bad game, no matter how many people might disagree with me. i think that’s the boat spoony is in right now. while he may be didn’t notice or mention some of the positives about the game, if he really hated all the other stuff as much as it sounds like he did (as much as i hated it with devil may cry) then he’s pretty much justified in saying it sucks. though, it really is just his opinion and people really shouldn’t take it as gospel, for good or ill, ya know?

and while i agree, this vlog wasn’t all that funny, i think his rage was ‘meant” for comedic affect, even if it didn’t work out that well. i don’t see his vlogs as any real serious review of anything, i just sort of see it as his random bullshit thoughts that pop into his head he just wants to get out, so he makes a video to give people something to watch so they’ll stop bitching about when the next FFX episode is coming (half of which are asking only to be offended about what he says about it, it seems to boot). I just kinda put em on in the background while i work on something, i don’t ever really watch them because i really care about what he’s reviewing. in fact, if it IS something i care about, i usually skip the video all together because i don’t want to have my perceptions colored of course, but even more so because spoony is the king of the spoilers. i know i’m rambling off here, but i think it’s hilarious that he always says “i’m gonna try not to get into spoilers here…” and then he pretty much tells you the whole movie start to finish. haha. I actually just watched the “kick-ass” vlog he posted when the movie came out, and i’m glad i waited til i saw it cuz he pretty much ruins everything haha

anyway, i’m rambling off topic here, but i think i got out what i was trying to. i’m sorry that last post sounded like i was specifically pointing my finger at you, like i said i meant to point out that was more of a general statement, but i was writing that at like four in the morning and it just didn’t work out that way :)

I have played this game and I enjoyed it that is my opinion. But worst game ever just because you don’t like the story? That’s just ridiculous. Given Samus’ past she almost certainly would be a little screwed up, how would you fare if you were the sole survivor of a massacre? I only have two real problems with this game one is the scaning sections, they’re terrible. Second is that Samus overcame her doubts at the end of the manga (I found it online by coincidence, I didn’t go actively looking for it) so her being doubtful miffed me somewhat.
The authorization I don’t have a problem with, Samus is working for Adam on a federation ship it makes sense for a bounty hunter to obey the wishes of her client. As for Adam he is discussed a couple of times in Fusion besides that he hasn’t made a appearance.

Just wanna say, thanks for giving a little of a feminist perspective here. Misogyny in games is a big issue and it rarely gets noticed by most much, or if it’s noticed, it’s more vague.

The reason i call this a feminist perspective is not because you complain about the weak characterization, but because you claim the game would be better with a stronger lead, who happens to be female. That gender equality would make a better product. Thank you.

Chronologically, Samus has beaten Ridley at least 4 times before this game takes place, and she did it in a kick@$$ manner in the Prime games. There’s where that doesn’t make sense. Second, Samus is an INDEPENDENT bounty hunter, meaning she has full authorization to use any of her weapons. Choosing not to until Adam authorizes it is just foolish. She didn’t wait for his authorization in the manga, even when she was still in the federation.

lying

Next to Fusion, there was nothing you could count as a possible thing as characterizing than in maybe little in Prime series. So how can you say she was always the badass in the earlier games (NES, Gameboy, SNES) ? Explain me this, because everyone is saying this.

The reason we haven’t had gobs of charaterizing dialogue is because the very nature of the Metroid series mostly precluded the possibility of it. Samus hasn’t exactly had a whole lot of people to talk to in these games, you know. In Fusion, there was AI-Adam, in Prime 2, there was U-Mos, and in Prime 3 there were a bunch of people, and Samus reacted to them, but never spoke for some reason that I don’t particularly care about. But she did react to them, and the way that she reacted to them (and yes, I’m talking about more than shoot/don’t shoot) through body language and text logs told you something about what kind of person she was. It was all very subtle and “show, don’t tell” and such, and as such, not a lot of people got it, including yourself, seemingly. Not that there’s anything drastically wrong with not putting the pieces together. But the characteriztion was there, whether or not everyone picked up on it at first.

Don’t see how mentioning the manga makes you a no life metroid obsessed nerd. Its not like most people import it or something it’s a like a 20 minute read on free reader websites.

I always felt Team Ninja made some of the most boring, overrated games in existence, but I bought Other M anyway just because I like Metroid.

Short version: It’s a reskinned Ninja Gaiden. It’s not Metroid.

I always felt Team Ninja made some of the most boring, overrated games in existence, but I bought Other M anyway just because I like Metroid.

Short version: It’s a reskinned Ninja Gaiden. It’s not Metroid.

1. The manga takes place before Metroid. Even if Prime isn’t considered canonical for Other M, it’s been 3 games, two Ridley “deaths”, and somewhere between 7 and 10 years on in-universe time since she freaked out facing Ridley. So the PTSD argument is crap on the face of it. She has never been shown having Ridley-flashbacks before aside from that manga, and she never does after Other M. I actually had to go and learn this crap just so I’d know how wrong the apologists are.
2. I like how Adam kept singling out the lone female in his squad(in flashbacks), yet isn’t hit with a sexual harassment suit. And how Samus sees him as a father figure, but he’s portrayed in Other M as a misogynist jerk.
3. I don’t think this’ll kill the series. Given how mixed the reaction has been, I’m not even sure it’ll kill the chances for a sequel. Which is a shame.

Honestly I think the Japanese have a issue with portraying strong female leads as a strong female lead. For the record, I do not think a co-dependent relationship makes any character more interesting.

So what I heard about Other M is that they wanted it to spell “MOM” because of the story’s “central theme of motherhood” which they hammered into Samus.

What pissed me off the most about this game is the sheer potential it had. Giving Samus a voice and deepening the story of the series could have been done SO FREAKIN’ WELL in the hands of a decent storywriter! I mean, Metroid is iconic. It feature the first ever female protagonist in video gaming. It broke down some walls.

And Team Ninja and its sexist pigs for writers went and completely destroyed an iconic image.

I mean, seriously. Play Super Smash Brothers(the first game) and select Samus. After that, make her taunt on the stage. There, you’ll see her cocking her gun-arm in this badass “Yeah, I’ll whoop your ass SO HARD” way that you know that her gender has nothing to do with that; that, sure, she has breasts and a vagina, but she’ll kick you ass up and down any day.

And Other M turned her into this submissive little bitch waxing rhapsodic about her “father figure” Adam(the same Adam with whom she’d displayed a lot of romantic chemistry with in past titles. Hell, it was the series’ most popular ship.) who went about simpering at all the boys.

I think Yahtzee put it best:

“Making Metroid heavily story-based was the first mistake and mistakes 2 through 75 all involve turning one of gaming’s toughest female icons into a shrieking mimsy in a submissive relationship with a pretentious bell-end in a fancy cap.”

But, once again, Metroid Other M had a lot of potential for me. A lot. I think giving Samus “hidden depths” beneath her longtime badass persona could’ve been done quite well, showing her more sensitive self(which WAS hinted at even in the games where she wasn’t a complete sub) but still being an all-around badass moving on from her past. Instead, she was shown to be like this 24/7…

Ugh. Just ugh.

I think that’s what destroyed this game for me: All of the missed potential. Seriously. Giving Samus a three-dimensional character and deepening the Metroid story, in the right hands, could’ve been pulled off so awesomely…

Except the story was done by the staff behind the Ninja Gaiden series, itself a massively-sexist and shallow series.

By the way I read alittle bit of the, “Manga,” and it is stupid, and boring. It feels like it was done in the 90′s, like just a way to cash in on, “Metroid.” And this comic was done some time after the “Prime” games! So this hasn’t even out that long either. So people who complain that the comic tells a better story, and say it better captures Samus, are wrong. The games came first, so get over it!

By the way I read alittle bit of the, “Manga,” and it is stupid, and boring. It feels like it was done in the 90′s, like just a way to cash in on, “Metroid.” And this comic was done some time after the “Prime” games! So this hasn’t even out that long either. So people who complain that the comic tells a better story, and say it better captures Samus, are wrong. The games came first, so get over it!

By the way I read alittle bit of the, “Manga,” and it is stupid, and boring. It feels like it was done in the 90′s, like just a way to cash in on, “Metroid.” And this comic was done some time after the “Prime” games! So this hasn’t even out that long either. So people who complain that the comic tells a better story, and say it better captures Samus, are wrong. The games came first, so get over it!

Well, these are very well done vlogs, nice job! and eh, I do agree with your views on the Last Exorcism and Metroid: the other M. all I have to say about Other M is that it reeks of Dead or Alive, at the mention of Team Ninja it automatically made me think of all the female characters in DOA and female characters of Ninja Gaiden, and all I have to say is …ugh. and you have gotten me interested in the Last Exorcism, but yeah, I thought it was just another Exorcism movie. a rinse repeat title, but now I’m interested in seeing it. so I know this is an “old” video but I still think it’s a good one, cheers!

…I likes Pepsi too.