I think everyone is familiar with the whole "Miles Mackenzie" controversy by now, so I'm not gonna waste any time explaining it. I just wanted to say that people MAY be going a little bit too crazy over this. I've seen people go from this game being one of their most anticipated ones to literally say they don't want to play it anymore. Or, at the very least, being worried that Metroid Prime 4 will be a turd or something that doesn't feel like a Metroid game at all. Just because of the addition of NPCs and Mackenzie in particular.

As a Metroid fan myself, I can see why some people could be a little worried. After all, this is something that goes against the conventions of Metroid. Right?

Well... not really. I see people often say that Metroid is all about atmosphere and isolation. About the sense of discovery from both exploring the world itself and uncovering the plot by ourselves. But the truth is that from the entire series (I'm gonna leave the spin offs out of this)... at least half of them challenge this conventions or do a poor job at following them. And before someone says "duh, Other M was shit", I'm not even talking about Other M (although I could, because I believe it's a very good game even with its flaws). I'm talking about Metroid Fusion. I'm talking about Metroid Prime 3. I'm talking about Metroid Dread. Games that are beloved by fans, scored very well... and do things in a way that people would not consider "very Metroidy".

Metroid Fusion is incredibly linear. It constantly confines you in an area, it makes it impossible to sequence break, exploration takes a huge hit... Not to mention you have Mr. Adam Malkovich over here telling you where to go and what to do. All of this goes completely against what, in theory, makes a Metroid game... a Metroid game. It goes even further: Samus talks for the first time. And I don't mean in a "here`s a quick lifeless summary of the events of the previous games" like in Super Metroid. No, I mean Samus expresses herself for the first time. We know her thoughts. She reflects on her past. She talks about how she feels. She even expresses... fear. The unstoppable and ruthless bounty hunter, Samus Aran, was notified of an explosion in a distant space station and I quote: "[the explosion] awoke a nameless fear in my heart [...]". This is insane if you think about it.

Metroid Prime 3 takes a more direct apporach regarding the plot and narrative. We have more cinematics, more exposition, NPCs from the Galactic Federation that talk to Samus directly and fight alongside her in some moments, an AI that also tells us what to do and where to go (although it's not as constant as in Metroid Fusion), more focus on combat and action... While it still feels like a Metroid game, it's undeniable that it did some things differently. This game introduces many things that we are seeing in Prime 4, but some "fans" apparently forgot about the last entry in the series and the one from which they supposedly have been waiting a sequel for 18 years.

Metroid Dread is a funny one, because it recieved almost universal praise from Metroid fans from day one and some of them even went as far as to call it "one of the best metroidvanias in recent years"... and while I too think it's an incredible game, it very much pales as a Metroidvania in comparison to not just the most open games in the franchise, but other titles as well. For example, while it's not Fusion's level of linearity and confinement, it's pretty much a linear game most of the time. The game makes a great job at hiding this fact from the player to the point where it tricks us into thinking we are "exploring" and finding things by ourselves, but in reality it often confines the player in a very restricted area and it often only leaves you one possible path to follow (and it's often marked on the map with the symbol of your last beam upgrade). It's almost impossible to hunt for expanssions during most of the game because of this. Sure, there are a few intended out of order upgrades, but it's a far cry from Super or Zero Mission. Also, Mr. Malkovich returns to tell us what to do and what not to do from time to time. Not to mention the soundtrack of this game was definitely not up to the standard of the Metroid franchise. It was very forgettable for the most part and you could argue that music is a big part of what creates this so called "Metroid" atmosphere.

Even Metroid Prime 1 did things differently from what was common for the franchise at the time. Going from 2D to 3D is one thing, but making the game First Person? All put together makes for a very different kind of game. One could argue at the time that Metroid Prime was not a good "Metroid" game. But nowadays, such thinking would be seen as silly and dumb.

So, what's the point of all of this? Simple: Metroid's identity is not set in stone. It hasn't been for well over 23 years. There's not a "Metroid" list of things that a game has to follow to be a good Metroid game. Pretty much every game starting from Fusion and Prime does things differently. You are still in alien territory. You are still Samus. You are still shooting, jumping and exploring for upgrades that open new paths. But they have been experimenting with everything else ever since. And for the most part, Metroid games have continued to be great. Some of them had some controversial aspects among fans, but in general you don't see many people say that Fusion, Prime 3 or Dread are "bad Metroid games". On contraire. And they are believed to be great despite them going over very different directions from their previous entries.

What we are seeing with Prime 4 is, in my opinion, a tiny little aspect of a game (one nerdy character that serves as a tutorial and stays with you for about 10-20 minutes tops), a game that is not even out yet and know very little about... and people are treating it like if it completely makes the game unplayable or something. "This is not Metroid, it breaks the immersion". Holy shit, have you guys played Metroid over the last 23 years? Sure, it haven't had a nerdy and overly comical NPC tutorial character before, but almost every entry since 2002 had many, MANY things that were arguably even more impactful than this... and you guys LOVE those games and call them Metroid.

Look, maybe when the game comes out I will realize that this whole Federation companions thing has been done in a terrible way that makes Metroid Prime 4 a bad game or at least a not so good game. Maybe. But from what we know right now, going nuts over Miles Mackenzie (a single NPC in an upcoming game that otherwise looks phenomenal), specially considering the amount of changes and additions the Metroid franchise has gone through almost since its inception (like, Metroid II is incredibly different from Metroid I too, this trend didn't even start with Fusion/Prime) seems like overreacting to me. Not only that, but it makes me question if these people being devastated for this situation are actually Metroid fans at all.

The game is less than two weeks away. Let's just wait and see what happens.

If you dislike people walking away because of NPCs, then you'd hate me. I'm a Metroid junkie. I've been playing the franchise, literally, since NES. I consider it my favorite Nintendo IP ever, period--and I walked away because of the motorcycle. lol

For me, some IPs can change. Metroid is not one of those IPs. Yes, Prime went 3D, but it was like OOT in that all you got was Super Metroid in the third dimension. Adding in NPCs and motorcycles and open world elements and all this stuff... it just feels like a new IP to me. I'm (sadly) not interested.

I don't hate you xD But I don't take too kindly that you are responding to my thread without having actually read it. Which is funny, because your attitude is basically confirming one of my points xD

I know nothing of this “controversy”. I guess I need to google it then…

I don't think people are mad as much because Samus is not isolated, but mostly because Miles Mackenzie seems to be a character that is totally out of place in the Metroid universe. His cheappy Marvel humour is totally outdated - not funny at all if you ask me.

Metroid is the kind of game that you need to have the right atmosphere in order to take it seriously, so an atmphoshere breaker is definitely a minus.
They are supposed to be in a hostile place away from civilization with their lives at risk, stupid jokes don't make any sense.

If he is just a 10-20 min NPC tutorial character who you forget for the rest of the game, then it's not as bad.
But if he is there for most of the game people are right to complain.

Overall game looks really really good, so I'll be getting it regardless.

Is it overblown ? Oh absolutely, the gaming community can't really pause for a moment to critically think the moment semi-ppopular YouTuber wants to post the hottest takes on said video game.

Are NPC's in the Metroid games a new thing ? No. NPC with bad dialogues then ? No, that already happened in Other M.

The complain most seem to point out is about their ruined immersion, how the series is ONLY about Samus isolation going through alien planets XYZ to bust herself out of there ...

Except in Metroid Prime 3 really ,which if you look at what MP4 is doing here, is simply a progression of what was previously (Galactic Federation being involved, Sylux's whole shabang, interactivity) done.

It's funny because Appart from that one aspect, previews have quite glamorous about the game's environments, puzzles and gameplay thus far. So really, if you wanna throw the whole basket of apples away because of a single rotten apples, be my guest.
Some have waited waaaaaaayyyy too long for that game to see this momentous moment ruined by a single element.

Though in some cases, it's just people who had no intention of playing the game to make noise regardless.

Look, during the first few trailers, people acted like "This is a Metroid Prime game alright ? Where's the evolution ? The hook ?"

Here you go, Retro Studios is paving the way with new staples for the series and some are getting into a itsy fit because "This isn't their Metroid anymore!" despite the fact that they initially complained it was just a Metroid Prime game at first.

Sometimes, I believe people really just don't know what they want until they've played these games for themselves.
Like remember how Metroid Prime 1 was judged during its initial reception before people played it ? In the modern Internet of today, people would've gone ballistic over that

The previous post sums up my exact thoughts.

The reaction online reminds me of the first time I was banned here many moons ago. A user whose literal username was SamusAran told me that "maybe Metroid isn't the franchise for you" because Prime 3 was my favorite of the trilogy, thanks to its early areas and plot featuring NPCs that you actually talk to and interact with instead of merely shooting them. To me, it makes the game and protagonist feel more immersive and have more depth and stakes instead of merely controlling what amounts to a soulless robot in a bodysuit (I am well aware that Samus is a human woman, but for the vast majority of the franchise, she might as well be a robot following programming). I ripped him to pieces and basically told him that he loves and relates to Samus so much because he too doesn't have friends or social skills to make them either.

In hindsight, that was overly harsh and immature of me, lol. However, I'm still in the camp of favoring a more fleshed out Metroid universe with some world building beyond the atmosphere you see in the background or read from scans as you run around by your lonesome. I find myself more motivated to play as Samus when she has more personal motivations and it's not just "The Federation told me to go hunt/investigate ___, so I'm doing it". When there's other sentient characters in the universe that are worth saving beyond the resident flora and fauna just going about their business. When I can see that there are things going on in that universe with NPCs having their own agency and motivations to make it seem more fleshed out instead of it being 100 percent everything that ever exists is designed to give Samus a puzzle to solve, upgrade to acquire or obstacle to overcome.

I am aware that there is an active user here called therealsamusaran, but given how long ago that old post was and that the current user seems like a much more agreeable, sociable person, I highly doubt they are the same person, heh.

He seems a bit annoying, but far from the point were I wont play it. Im ok either way. If this does well, then we get more Metroid. If it doesnt do well, the future is probably 2D Metroid only and Im ok with that.

As someone who played the series since the 80s and watched it evolve. I am just going to repeat what I said in the other thread. Metroid has changed since the NES days. Every Prime game changed how the IP is and mechanics and a bunch of things. MP4 is no different. 

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"People online whine about yellow paint. I am not a fan myself but so many people are lost without it and are not terminally online like us. Not enthusiasts like us. This nerd character has yellow armor. He is literally yellow paint the character. He will be in the game for the length of a fart in the wind. Sure longtime Metroid fans like me don't need him. However this is the beginning of a new trilogy(?) Maybe. They want more than the typical 1.2 or whatever million sales of Prime. This game is aimed to cast a wider net. I'm okay with that. It seems the choice is either back to long droughts with no new Metroid game or some yellow paint with more frequent releases. Fire Emblem did the same thing with Awakening. They made it more accessible. After that the series went from barely getting releases in the west and knocking at deaths door to being a staple series. Metroid is not in dire shape like FE was before Awakening but Prime needs to grow.  "

Long story short: there is an NPC in the tutorial area of Metroid Prime 4 that cracks cheap jokes, points you to the next objective and has a nerdy personality. People over the internet have reacted very strongly against this inclusion, to the point were some people are worried about the overall quality of the game and question if it will feel like a Metroid game. Some are going even further and said they don't want to play the game anymore.

The NPC in question (I should clarify that his screen time as far as we know is about 10-15 minutes and limits to just the tutorial area):