mZuzek said:
There are so many fallacies in this post I don't even know where to begin with, but let's go: 1. The series DOES revolve around Samus, that's not a fantasy, it's a fact. Every game in the series ever has revolved around her, that is until Federation Force which I think everyone here knows how well received it was. The reality is, the Galactic Federation was never part of the original concept of Metroid and it was never supposed to be such an important thing - the main Metroid storyline has always been about following the events involving Samus, the Metroids, the Space Pirates, Ridley, and the Chozo. Just because the Prime series has strayed away from that core story more and more over the years doesn't suddenly make their stories about other bounty hunters or the Federation any more relevant to the franchise. 2. Metroid Prime Hunters is a "part of the Prime trilogy"? Look, I'm pretty sure trilogies come in three, and as evidenced not only by their titles but also by the game literally called "Metroid Prime: Trilogy", I think Hunters isn't a part of it. It was also not directed by the same person who directed all 3 Prime games, and neither was Federation Force. They might play a role in the story or something, but these games are undeniably spin-offs of the Prime Trilogy, which on its own is already a spin-off of mainline Metroid. 3. I know he shows up at the end of Prime 3, but really that doesn't make him any more relevant. I think most people's reaction to that was "what was that all about?" rather than "oh damn, that's Sylux!". He hasn't left a mark on the series, because he hasn't been involved in any mainline games or any games fans truly care about really, and at this point he feels more like a character Tanabe really likes and wants to shove in somewhere rather than one fans or even the franchise itself care about. That's all, really. I don't hate Sylux's existence or anything, I just don't care about him because he's a character that hasn't been involved in any important way in games that matter, so I know nothing about him. However, I do dislike the idea of having several other bounty hunters show up in Metroid (hated them in Prime 3), because it goes against the franchise's original essence, which is isolation. That's why games should focus on just Samus, and Samus alone - because that's what keeps that feeling of isolation intact, and having dialogue and other big characters showing up all the time detracts from that (never mind having more characters playable). Thankfully Tanabe has said that Metroid Prime 4 will focus on that idea of isolation on an alien planet, so hopefully that means the game won't dwelve into such things. I think the reality is, I probably hate most stuff Prime brought to Metroid. I love the trilogy because they're great games, but in the end I don't like Dark Samus, I don't like the other bounty hunters, I don't like the "dark world" stuff, I don't like the Leviathans or Aurora Units or whatever. All that stuff doesn't really feel like Metroid to me. Then again, there were also some awesome stuff that came from the Prime games, such as Phazon, more development on the Space Pirates and some really cool lore (Tallon IV, Aether and Bryyo were particularly awesome) that added to the franchise without detracting from its essence.
Edit: oh and about the speculation about Sylux being related to Samus, or what happened in the past between them and all that... that's what I mean when I say that stuff doesn't belong in Metroid. Metroid isn't a space soap opera, it never was and it never should be. It's supposed to be about isolation, about the dread you'd feel alone in an alien world, stuff like that. I wouldn't mind those kinds of story beats in, say, Star Fox, but in Metroid it just doesn't belong. |
I tend to agree with what a lot of what you say but not everything. Yes it's true that Metroid isn't or at least wasn't a Space Opera but that doesn't mean it couldn't end up happening in the future of Metroid in a smaller scope and Other M felt like a sample of that. Yes the core series are about the world around Samus and her journey and we always play her but in the end the Metroid universe does not only focus on just her. She is the central character as I have mentioned and perhaps I used a poor choice of wording when used the word "fantasize" and I apologize for that. Regardless of that they have been gravely expanding this in the Prime series and this is very apparent in the recent years with Hunters, Corruption, and even Other M which is a core game in the Metroid saga regardless of what fans think about it or their personal feelings toward that game. It's a done deal, accept it. Your response to my reply very much reminds me to how Alien fans receive the later movies. A film franchise which Metroid shares many similarities with that is also expanded past it's central character and created a larger lore universe yet fans cling on to the older films despite the original creator/artist (Ridley Scott) of that series wanting to expand and move forward. It's almost like you're cherry picking elements of the story based on the games you've played and completely disregarding the information from the games you haven't played or think isn't important, if this isn't the case then I misunderstood you and I apologize in advance but it kinda came off that way. Also what is the original concept 30 years ago isn't quite as relevant today as we push forward, this is true for many series that push forward or even change direction as Prime did (Metroid is nice because they still give us both play styles of an amazing series). The core concepts that we have known and love should stay and I've never said I wanted Samus to be replaced. Fuck no! She's my favorite video game character and I hope she's here to stay, but I welcome the expansion of exploring new characters, new worlds, and new stories in the Metroid universe that I've grown to love over the years.
As for Metroid Prime: Hunters. It might not be the most liked Metroid game but it's definitely not a terrible game. It had stellar reception and phenomenal reviews when it came out. It was a solid title in the Metroid universe and a fantastic FPS multiplayer experience. It was also a great DS game and performs very well on the hardware it's on. As for your point of regarding trilogies, of course it means 3 games. No Hunters is not part of the Trilogy collection since it was a handheld game. Yes Metroid Prime: Hunters is absolutely considered to be a chapter in the Metroid Prime trilogy that takes place between Metroid Prime 1 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Had you played the game you would know that, so for clarity sakes it's probably best we call it the "Prime Series". I'm not going to pretend that it's importance to the trilogy isn't there. The 3 games and Hunters are all part of the complete story. All the interviews I've read, Prime 3's cliffhanger, and what I've heard regarding Federation Force's ending. Prime 4 will allegedly continue Sylux and Samus's story which suggest it has some connection to Hunters. Hunters is considered a mainline game as far as the story is concerned. It's not some spin-off like Metroid Pinball as some like to claim and it actively pushed the lore forward. Personally I love the other characters in the series. Even in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, though Rundas is no Noxus but I'd argue that the Hunters characters were far better in terms of character design. I love the battles with the other hunters quite a lot, but I know a lot of people didn't and found it repetitive since they just seem to pop up and start hamming you lol. A quick Google search will reveal a lot of Metroid fans loved those characters and Sylux has been overhyped by fans for Prime 4 since Prime 3 launched.
Personally I'm on the side of the fan base that prefer the Prime series. So the two of us clearly value and praise different parts of this amazing series. That really goes to show how vast Metroid really is. Don't get me wrong I love the main side-scrollers as well but the Prime games excite me more and I'm very excited to see what they do next with the Metroid universe. I'm very excited to see how they expand the series. I didn't hate Other M either but I certainly was a tad disappointed with a few things. In the end I actually really appreciated that game for what it was. I can only hope that you end up falling in love with Prime 4 for whatever reasons you end up liking the game for. Hopefully for those who prefer that side-scrolling outings, Nintendo gives us a side-scroller for the Switch. It would look so beautiful on the handheld screen that my mouth is already watering up thinking about it. Honestly playing Metroid: Samus Returns I'm often left thinking how blown away I would have been if this had an HD Switch version.
