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

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

RolStoppable said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

Airas said:

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.

You don't even know what sequence breaking is. It describes intentionally breaking the set path of the game by picking up key items long before you are supposed to get them. Metroid Prime does have a set path, it's just that the game at times makes you go back and forth a lot, but that is intentional design. You are supposed to reach Phendrana Drifts without the Super Missile and the Boost Ball the first time. Hell, the Super Missile and Boost Ball ARE both located in Phendrana Drifts, so how is this supposed to be a good example? No offense, but ridiculously stupid would be more fitting. Now I am going to tell you how similar Super and Prime actually are.

Phendrana Drifts is one area you will revisit a lot of times. The first time you'll collect the Boost Ball, go back to Tallon Overworld for the Space Jump only to go back to Phendrana again to gain the Wave Beam. That's followed by collecting the Super Missile and the Thermal Visor and beating Thardus (all located in Phendrana). After getting the Spider Ball from Thardus you go to Chozo Ruins to find the Ice Beam which you are going to use in Phendrana again in order to get the Gravity Suit which you need in Tallon Overworld to make it through the Wrecked Ship. Later on you return to Phendrana for your fourth visit overall to collect the Chozo artifacts.

Norfair is one area you will revisit a lot of times. The first time you'll collect the Hi-Jump Boots, go back to Brinstar to defeat Kraid for the Varia Suit. Back to Norfair to collect the Speed Booster and Ice Beam only to got back to Brinstar again to find the Power Bombs. Immediately back to Norfair to find the Grapple Beam which you need to access the Wrecked Ship where the Gravity Suit is located. Once you've gotten the Space Jump from Maridia you go to Norfair for the fourth time in order to access the depths where Ridley is located.

You see, there isn't much of a difference in terms of roadblocks and "going out of your way" between Super Metroid and Metroid Prime. Just like it doesn't take long in both games to reach Norfair and Phendrana Drifts for the first time, it takes long and repeated trips in both games until you've done everything important in these two areas.

Yes I do know what sequence breaking is.  What I said was Metroid Prime is confusing and FORCES you to look for ways to get around the main path.  Because the 'main path' is hardly viable.

My first time playing Super Metroid, I followed nearly the same path as I have the 20 times I have played it since.  And even when I actively went looking for other ways to progress, I still found I needed to stop at the same areas, at the same times.  Whereas in Prime, you can end up going between Chozo Ruins and Pandera Rifts a dozen or so times your first play of the game.  And your explination of the path for Prime is definitely from someone who has played the games multiple times, not the avg experience of someone first time through.  Even people I know have QUIT Prime because they couldn't figure out what to do next.

And in the end, this is all just another way to say Other M sucks because its linear.  While I wouldn't mind then allowing you to explore more for items, them telling you the main areas to go is not a negative.  As someone has already pointed out, they do the same thing in Prime.  Yet just because you choose to turn off the hints, doesn't mean everyone else does.  I kind of think its a good idea for people who aren't willing to spend hours trying to explore the world.  Yet they could have done more in Fusion and Other M to allow for exploration for those who do like to explore.

Also, I don't like your constant implication to people that the reason they have a certain opinion is they haven't played the games enough.  If anything, that just cements my point that the people who claim Super/Prime are the best is because they've played them dozens of times and know all the ways to sequence break and speed up the game.  But even myself, who's played every Metroid game and Prime some 5 times, gets lost.  You may have memorized Prime inside and out.  But I still contend its a rather confusing game with lots of backtracking.  Moreso than any of the 2D Metroids.