PDST isn't silly, and Khuutra's post did not imply that. Samus having PTSD is silly, the hero of an action adventure game having PDST is silly.

You say PTSD isn't silly, and then go on to mention that a hero having PTSD is silly. Wow.

Right, I'm done with this thread.

That is NOT inconsistent. Having PSTD is not to joke about. But making a character have it seemingly out of nowhere (the manga can't count since few have read it) is what the issue is.

Why not argue the point? You can't defend the idea that having a the player hero have an inhibiting mental disorder is not a bad idea?

Ahem. I am by no means a proponent of needless cut scenes, but I can think of quite a few ways to have neurotical episodes as the basis of a very mechanically interesting game - in fact, I know a few that have done it already. It is this kind of dogmaticism that leads to bland game design.

With that, Metroid: Other M still looks to be a suboptimal Metroid experience.

^If we are talking about hypotheticals like that we're talking about completely different kinds of games. This is an action adventure we're talking about, something like the above might work well in a horror game, but if you put it in something like Metroid it wouldn't go down very well.

Even in a horror game it would have to have some degree of control left to the player unlike Other M where control is taken away in order to show the player character breaking down totally independent of player input.

And one of the first Silent Hill games would have done it right. You'd have control, but be trapped in seeing the flashback of her trauma, and unable to stop anything, since it's in her mind. Then things turn to normal, and you're laying on the ground with Ridley going after the rest of the squad.

But that still would have made more sense in a prequel game.

That depends. Breaking genre conventions can be a powerful thing. Like I said, there are games that effectively remove the player's agency during gameplay without breaking his suspension of disbelief. Not just horror games, but rpgs and action adventures tend to do this, as well as some of Nintendo's own games (Sunshine being a prime example).

In this case, if Samus did not have acess to her suit during the Ridley battle and had to avoid or combat him indirectly... that could be a very powerful gameplay experience - regardless of what you think of her characterization - and a cutscene like this where she 'breaks down' would be a potent way of introducing the player to this concept.

^Honestly, that idea sounds abysmal to me, and I think most people would find it annoying rather than enjoyable, but hey, if it's your own money, sure.

It may be more persuasive to use examples from successful games, not games that underperformed compared to their predecessors.

If the Zero suit should be in a game, it should be something like the suit... whatever generator is missing, and that's one of the first power up she finds.