Metroid: Other M - The Black Sheep....or so we thought

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Airas said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

I mearly stated Super (and the original) have a general path for you to go down, eventhough it allows you to explore elsewhere.  And in the first game, that freedom to explore is actually a negative because you die so often and upgrades are in abstract places.  Whereas in Super and its remake, Zero Mission, its a benefit.

I still do not understand what you mean by this. What exactly is the general path in Metroid? The only times I remember the game following a path are at the very beginning and at the very end, in the area with the Metroids before the final boss. Everything else is pretty much a blank slate.

Meaning the path has limitations based on your item upgrades.  In order to gain access to Norfair, you need the High Jump Boots.  In order to progress in Norfair, you need the Super Bomb to open doors.  Its pretty straight-forward how the game wants you to progress.  yes, you do get to explore to find the items.  But there are set roadblocks to keep you from going to a new area or boss.

In Prime on the other hand, you enter countless areas that require certain items (Super Missile, Power Bomb, Spider Ball, Grapple Beam) but you can't enter those areas for upwards of 10 hours after you find them.  I was mearly saying Metroid Prime is too focused on 'free roaming exploration' to the point that it went beyond the balance Super Metroid had in progression and exploration.

My OVERALL point is that people need to sto complaining about Other M being 'too linear' while claiming all the other games are 'total free roaming'.  They have set roadblocks and do not allow you to roam freely unless you get certain items.