Nintendo Developer Hints at Metroid Wii U

[gumby_trucker]

RolStoppable said:

gumby_trucker said:

TBH, l would have liked to have Samus on screen a bit more often, preferably with me controlling her and performing agile acrobatic moves freely. In particular, platforming in first person, while executed well in those games, didn't feel as eIegant to me as in the 2D games and felt like somewhat of a step backwards for the series in my eyes. Now that l think of it, combat seemed to suffer from this issue as well. There is something very empowering to the player about the way Samus moves in the old games, which I think Other M managed to get mostly right.

The elegance of Super Metroid cannot be replicated in a 3D space which is why there should be new 2D games (not in the strict sense of sidescrolling, just gameplay that takes place on a 2D plane at all times). The Metroid Prime games at least had the player keep control over what could be transfered into 3D while Other M took mostly everything away. Now you have auto-aim, dodging that is stupidly easy executed and doesn't require any skill and ledges you can't run off which makes well-timed jumps unnecessary. What you are left with is a game that treats you like a baby, because you apparently can't handle a real game. Maybe Other M feels empowering to you, but to me it feels kinda offending, because not only aren't my skills required, they are flat out denied.

l don't disagree with you about Other M. When I say Samus should be more agile and acrobatic, by no means am l suggesting this should come at the expense of control. Otherwise, just as you say it isn't empowering at all. The funny thing about Other M is that it's actualIy not too hard to imagine those flaws you mentioned fixed. Dodging could easily be made directional with the d-pad, artificial walls could be removed from ledges and other areas, and even auto- aim could be eliminated by having Samus only shoot in the direction she is facing. I don't remember if the game used all eight directions on the d-pad for movement but this should definiteIy be the case if they continue to go with this style. As for aiming diagonally at the ceiling or at higher ground, this could have been done by pressing the B button along with facing the desired direction on the d-pad. ln fact l am hoping that this kind of control scheme (along with the first person view) is something Nintendo include in future games, if they intend to continue making Metroid in this style. They should have also given the player these options in Other M ,IMO, leaving the current ones only as an option for novices.

Also, I agree that having this level of agility is not completely possible in 3D, but if it was played in 3rd person then at least there would have been room for more interesting and sophisticated moves which definitely couldn't work in first person. That's why l feel 3rd person should be the main view, with first person used for scanning and perhaps certain weapons where it is more appropriate. A lot of people hated this in Other M but I thought it worked.