In general I have to agree, though it's worth noting that the Prime games took advantage of their mechanics for some excellent boss fights, too. Maybe not as good as one or two in Other M, but still good.

Wait, what?

Are you saying that the Prime Trilogy isn't canon?

I don't know. I don't care about Metroid canon in the same way I don't care about Zelda canon. Discussions of timelines actively offend me and I'd rather not get into it.

I'm saying that the Samus in the Prime series and the Samus in Other M are very, very different women with very, very different perspectives, treatments by other characters (and the authors), and reactions to situations.

Prime Samus isn't the "real" Samus, but it's how I always thought of her.

I see.  I don't care much for timeline discussions either, but if it is in the game, I consider it canon.  I think the Prime Samus has as much right to be considered the "real" Samus as any other Metroid game's Samus.

I always thought that the Samus from Super and the Samus from the Prime games seemed the same to me anyway.  If Other M's is so different, that one is going to feel like the outlier to me.  I've never played the portable Metroids.

Anyway, Amazon says Other M is "Shipping Soon".  Hopefully it will go in the mail tomorrow.  After that things always seem to get here pretty fast.  Maybe I'll have it Monday.

You'll finish it in a day or so. About eight or ten hours for yoru first runthrough, so if you have a free day you'll blast through it. It's of typical length for a 2D Metroid.

As to their canonness: Other M makes reference to every chronologically preceding game except for the Primes, pretending as if they didn't happen. For Sakamoto, they may not have. Doesn't matter.

It shows the difference between the Western and Japanese views of Samus. The Western Samus is defined by hardness - the Japanese Samus is (now) defined by that hardness being a veneer. I hope it doesn't surprise you that Ridley is in this game.

The Western version of Samus sees Ridley and says "I'm going to ruin his day."

The Japanese version of Samus sees Ridley and has a PTSD flasback that incapacitates her.

Not exactly sure what you mean, I guess it helps I've only played one Prime game to completion since I felt the controls were terrible in the GC games, sadly I was broke when Trilogy hit so I didn't get it and go back to the first two, but as far as the last Prime and the rest of the Metroid games I've played it all pretty much seems in line, I would say Corruption made a more "manly" Samus, she was more prone to do what she wants and such but that whole trilogy deals with phazon and the way it corrupts others, less caring, more aggressive, etc eventually corruption even Samus so it made since if she was little less caring and more of the "cold badass" everyone seems to see her as.

As for the other games

Metroid - probably the most character void hell you don't even know Samus is a woman till the end

Metroid II - Disregards direct orders to kill every Metroid cause one hatched right in front of her and saw her as its mother

Super Metroid - Seen now she had attachment to the baby Metroid, but even in game before taking off she rescued the animals of the planet before it blew up.

Metroid Fusion - Adam is introduced as an important person in her life, she's really emotional, hell her skin was fried and the only way to save her was to use the research they did on the baby metroid to make a suit that fused to her body, which could be seen as the baby saving her for a second time.

Metroid Mangas - shows how Ridley terrorized her, killed her family, killed the Chozo, and Adam is apart of that series as well.

Overall it pretty much all fits Metroid she's essentially starting out on her own, Phazon breaks out and starts to slowly corrupt the universe, even she is effected, she fights it off and saves the world once more, now she has to kill all the metroids in existence but cannot kill off the last one, that one saves her life against a much more powerful enemy, other M shows a more learned Samus but has a softer heart after her experiences, which leads to Fusion where she's pretty broken down.

Maxwell I find your outline of narrative to be neither compelling nor convincing!

As to their canonness: Other M makes reference to every chronologically preceding game except for the Primes, pretending as if they didn't happen. For Sakamoto, they may not have. Doesn't matter.

That's...stupid.

It shows the difference between the Western and Japanese views of Samus. The Western Samus is defined by hardness - the Japanese Samus is (now) defined by that hardness being a veneer. I hope it doesn't surprise you that Ridley is in this game.

No, it won't surprise me.  I have heard the grumblings surrounding this part of the game.  Besides, Ridley is in almost every Metroid game.  I expected him to be there the second the game was announced.

My view of Samus is pretty much the strong and silent type, and very intelligent.  From what I have been hearing about how much Samus talks in this game, that is about to be shattered forever.  

For the people who've finished the game or are close to it... is there any place in Other M nearly as amazing as Phendrana Drifts, Sanctuary Fortress or Skytown Elysia from the Prime series?

The first time you run through the Pyrosphere (or whatever it's calld - the fire place) is pretty freaking great.

The game's environment is kind of an homage to Zebes, though, and doesn't pretend to be anything else. It's not really mind-blowing in any one area like the Pirate Ship from Prime or Elysia from Corruption.