Dangerous mommy minds: Metroid: Other M

So did you hear about the new Metroid game? It’s a sequel to the 1994 SNES classic SUPER METROID.

“You mean METROID FUSION for Game Boy Advance?”

No. This is a different one. You see, this is a narrative-focused Metroid title where Samus actually expresses herself.

“Hmm… sounds like Metroid Fusion.”

Well, no, it’s different. In *this* Metroid, unlike all the others, it doesn’t take place on a planet. Instead, it takes place on Galactic Federation ship that functions as a laboratory, simulating various environments (jungle, volcano, arctic) to study life forms.

“Oh, you mean like Metroid Fusion?”

…I guess. But this one’s different, because you find out there’s a sinister plot by certain members of the Federation to harness *metroid clones* as a weapon!

“Metroid Fusion did that too.”

Alright, well let’s try this. Alongside being a story about Samus and the Federation, it includes a relationship aspect between Samus and a man named Adam Malkovich.

“Malkovich is first introduced to the series in Metroid Fusion. I’m pretty sure you’re talking about Fusion.”

Okay, how about this? In *this* Metroid title, the emphasis on free-roaming exploration is reduced. In essence, the game holds your hand by arbitrarily locking doors to make sure you head directly to where you’re supposed to go. You really can’t go back and collect more items until the endgame scenario, where you use power bombs and other endgame features of Samus’ power suit to find new paths between the sectors of the ship. That’s unique, right?

“Nope. Fusion did it first.”

Well crap, maybe I *am* talking about Fusion. But this is a Wii title co-developed by Tecmo’s “Team Ninja” and is fully 3D.

“Ahhh, I see! You must be talking about METROID: OTHER M.”

That’s the one!

–

That conversation actually happened. In my brain.

But I think I exhausted the similarities between Fusion and Other M. I’ll stop playing silly games with you and get to the real review.

Other M is a story of Samus the orphan. Samus, the little girl who craves authority and yet rebels against it simultaneously. This is truly a narrative-centered game. The opening sequence recalls the end of Super Metroid, transitions to a quick tutorial, and then jumps right back to more flashbacks. We learn about Samus’ teen years in the introduction. Before Other M’s release, all we knew of Samus’ childhood were her early years, raised by the Chozo race. Now we learn that in her teens, she was a member of the Galactic Federation, reporting in to one Adam Malkovich.

(Those who played Fusion learn that she used to report to this Malkovich fellow, and that her new ship has an AI that is essentially Adam’s mind and voice. So it’s no surprise that Adam, as a living character, appears in the game that fits in the timeline between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.)

After these opening scenes, Samus will spend the rest of her time navigating a ship in ruins. This ship, named the “BOTTLE SHIP” (it’s shaped like a bottle), had sent out a distress signal. Samus responded to it as an independent bounty hunter, but upon a fated encounter with Malkovich and his squad, she agrees to take orders from Adam while on the ship.

The rest of the game involves tearing through the ship’s 3 main sectors, as well as some special areas, to uncover the originator of the distress signal, as well as what exactly was going on in the BOTTLE SHIP all this time. Teaser/spoiler: expect to find Ridley, metroids, scientists, and “traitors” along the way. Non-spoiler/teaser: sector 1 is forested, sector 2 is icy-cold, and sector 3 is lava-hot. Are you surprised?

Some of the basic rules of the game have changed. For example, Samus no longer finds little purple globes to regenerate health. She regains full health at save points, and Samus can also regain a small amount of health using a “concentration” technique when her health is low. Similarly, missiles can be recharged merely by “concentrating” (hold Wiimote vertical, press and hold A button), and they are fully refilled at save stations as well. Missile expansion packs come in singular doses (1) instead of groups of 5. Generally, this reduction in numbers continues to apply with energy tanks as well. There are now “energy parts” you collect, which are like quarter-heart pieces in the Zelda series. Get four energy parts, and you’re given a new energy tank. Oy. “Super missiles” are not their own ammo form (as in Super Metroid), but are simply a charged missile attack expending 5 missiles. Power bombs have no ammo, but rather a lengthy cooldown, and can only be used in the endgame scenario anyway.

Oh right, and then there’s the whole “how you upgrade” problem. And, in my mind, it’s a real problem, though I’ve been told by friends that it’s ridiculous of me to get so bent out of shape about it. You know how, in most Metroid titles, Samus starts with next to nothing (often because of a traumatic/catastrophic event) and then slowly regains those powers by collecting items? With the exception of 2 or 3 special upgrades, Samus has it all already. But she won’t use it unless Adam gives her the okay. At the game’s outset he mentions that she simply cannot use Power Bombs on the BOTTLE SHIP because it might inadvertently kill innocent people. But he’s actually limiting you a lot more than that. And then, he doesn’t give Samus the directive to use certain things until *after* the need is felt. Example: you run through the volcano zone for a solid 30 minutes, including two “ultra-hot” rooms that drain your health, before he simply declares over a radio: “activate your Varia suit!” Hey, now you’re immune to the heat damage! Shouldn’t you have activated that *before* you entered the lava rooms? That’s just ridiculous. And the first time you ever see a spot compatible with the grappling hook, what’s the harm in activating it right away? Yet you can’t use it until a particular life-or-death situation, and again Adam gives the call. It’s just stupid.

The new suit expansions are great, though. There’s an item called “Accel Charge” that decreases the amount of time it takes to charge for a beam, missile, or power bomb attack. There are also “Recovery Tank” items that increase the amount of health you get back in those dire low-HP “Concentration” scenarios. These are vital to success. Why? Because the game is really hard, there are boss fights every 20 minutes or so, and you will see the game over screen a lot if you can’t recuperate your health after the inevitable catastrophic damage taken. Unless you’re just sick-awesome at the game.

Which, I suppose, is a possibility. The game plays plenty like the NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA games that Team Ninja developed, though with added Wii Motion Control gimmicks here and there. You don’t use the nunchuck, and (this is really clever) the switch from first-person to third-person depends on how you hold the Wiimote. Hold it horizontally, like an old NES controller, and you’re in third-person. Point it vertically at the screen, and you switch to first-person. As long as there’s nothing blocking your signal and everything in your room is set up *absolutely ideal* for the platform, you’ll be set. Anything less than ideal, and you can plan on dying more than once because you couldn’t fire a missile in time. Yes, missiles are only shot in first-person mode.

There’s a laundry list of things I dislike about the game, and when I scour the Internet, it seems I’m not alone. There are these moments in the game (about 10 total) where the action freezes, and you just have to zoom in on the particular thing the game wants you to see. This is very hard to do, especially in a dark room and with little context. You’re just slowly moving your Wiimote’s pointer icon around the screen, looking for something to glow. It’s like Where’s Waldo from hell. One of these activities took me a full ten minutes, and in another instance I broke down and went to a walkthrough for help. I’d actually rather play the NES game WHERE’S WALDO than try to do another set of those mandatory mini-games.

But for all the things I dislike, there’s something counterbalancing on the “like” side. The combat and exploration are generally strong. The music, despite very few throwbacks/homages, is especially strong (end credits orchestral music is made of win!). And while I generally dislike hand-holding, the “post-endgame” scenario that allows you to freely roam the BOTTLE SHIP to get 100% items is great. The ending is a little anticlimactic, but I won’t deny that I enjoyed both the “final” fight and the “final final” fight (was that the Ghost Ship boss from Super Metroid?).

The story itself, well… this is completely subjective. Some people will hate it, and they’ll hate what Samus has become. Me? I kind of dig it. All this talk about mothers and children is great; they rarely get too detailed or too specific, all they do is acknowledge the sway and power of it. Sometimes the cut scenes are overly long (not XENOSAGA long, but close). At other points, you’ll find yourself wishing you knew more about the back-story. And who is the “Other M?” It’s MB. But who’s MB? Not Mother Brain, but … well … sort of. You’ll see, if you play.

***DOUBLE SPOILER***

***x2 SPOILER END***

I know this review is rambling and unstructured, and that might bother you. But if it doesn’t bother you, you may be like “huh, that was funny and pleasant.” The same rule holds true for Metroid: Other M. The irksome things may absolutely ruin your experience of the game. It’s a risk. It’s a threshold of lethality (your enjoyment being the killed object). But should it not irk you, if you can just brush it off, what remains is a very fun, enjoyable game that expands on the overall lore of the Metroid series and offers a new, hybrid form of gameplay. Give it a shot… you just might love it.

Played: 12 hours
Platform(s): Wii
Price: $49.99