First we need to establish what is and is not appropriate in a given story; assumign that everything is appropriate because it is realistic is not good management of narrative. In the same sense, it would be realistic for Samus to have been sexually abused at some point during her career in the military (the statistics of rape in the Army would terrify you), but we can both agree that such a thing is not appropriate for Metroid. Why? Because the tone of Metroid and its general narrative is not steeped in human drama, which is to say human drama that is rooted in the interactions between people. Samus's primary characterization comes in relation to her environment, and the adversities she overcomes in competing with the world.

The idea behind the drama of Metroid has its foundation in survival; Metroid is like a big haunted house story where you're trying to get into the bottom of the house and kill whatever's down there. It's about isolation, and the only characterization we get is in response to the environment. That makes perfect sense, and it's been the established context of Metroid for twenty years. Outside of Fusion, the most characterization we've gotten for Samus outside of responding to the environment was in Corruption, when she and a Federation general nodded to each other in passing out of mutual respect. One can already argue that this goes too far (Soleron and Demotruk would), but the fact remains that it is there and it's the most extreme the series had. Samus is still internalized, still able to go into the haunted house and find what's waiting for her in the basement.

Every kind of story has different kinds of appropriate characterization, because the different modes of characterization that you have is inextricably tied to narrative form. Change characterization and you change the form of the story, if not its entire genre. By attempting to shoehorn characterization for Samus on a more human level (and shoehorning is what is happening, here) Sakamoto has changed the form of the story, and it's not for the better. It's not appropriate for the tone of the series over the past twenty years, it's not appropriate for the genre it's in, and it's not appropriate for the setting.

More, Samus having this filial piety toward Adam in particular is doubly problematic, because it suggests that Adam is the only father figure Samus has had (which she even says in-game, around the time he bites it). This ignore the fact that Samus was raised, trained, and nurtured by the Chozo, and there are actual preivous Sakamoto expansions showing her growing up with the CHozo (particularly in Zero Mission); her identity up to now has been tied in with her Chozo upbringing and philosophy, not her military years. In many ways this can be interpreted as a retcon of the character, both in the people she values and in the outlook she's been raised to have. Samus was raised to be the lasto f the Chozo, in body and in spirit, nad pretending that she owes filial piety to Adam is ridiculous. If a Chozo suggested she should do some wild shit, you know what? I might actually buy it. I wouldn't, not in the end, but I would have to htink about it for a while because the Chozo actually did shape Samus as a person in every conceivable way. If she owes filial piety to anyone it's to them.

However, even that would be inappropriate. It bears repeating that filial piety, while an intrinsically human trait (like seeking approval) is not appropriate in the established Metroid universe, which is about combating threats from the outside. You can enjoy the expanding on her chracter - that's fine - but that doesn't change the fact that it's a brazen incongruity. I'm fine with changes, but changes hsould work within the established structure of the universe and its storytelling logic. Other M's characterization of Samus doesn't do that, especially in that the game is no longer about her trying to find her way into the basement of a haunted house, it's about her relationship with her stepdad. The form of the story has changed, and that's reason enough to bitch but when the script is bad? Ouch.

Oh, and for the record, for everyone who was tlaking about Mary Sues earlier:

A Mary Sue is an authorial self-insert. Silent protagonists are rarely Mary Sues, and they can't be Mary Sues just because they allow players to act out power fantasies. Adam is a previously unimportant father figure who exists outside of the canonically important formative period of Samus's life but is so prominent that she thinks of him as having raised her instead of the Chozo, she thinks of him as always being right, she desperately seeks his approval in spite of this not being in keeping with prior characterizations or storytelling norms for the series, and he heroically sacrifices hismelf in such a way as to set up Samus going back to retrieve a momento of him, the man who changed her life most.

That's right

Adam Malkovich, the previously absent father figure who's suddenly responsible for everything about Samus, is Sakamoto's very own Mary Sue

That's pretty hot.

I'm still waiting for Khuutra to reply to me. :(

EDIT: Nevermind about that! ^

I'm also arguing about Mass Effect on another forum, you gotta cut me some slack

Some people just don't understand them krogan

@Khuutra

I stated her characterization was feminine because it is. Its feminine and very emotional. This, I believe, is the main issue everyone is having with the game.

You don't think the characterization of Samus in this game fits her based on the past games, since the characterization is feminine and emotional I have to assume that your opinion is Samus shouldn't be emotional or feminine.

However, I fully disagree with this and basically agree 100% with what wfz is stating. This story line presented her inner most thoughts and feelings towards her world and those are not at odds with Samus in the past.

Also, I wasn't framing servility and a need for approval as feminine. Those are two separate issues. Her soft tone and general demeanor in this game is feminine. As a separate state of events she is also being very emotional due to her inner push for approval from Adam. As I stated above, I think its the combination of these qualities, feminine and emotional, that is the big problem for many users.

I also think that this is because they believe that this makes Samus weak, which is rubbish. Its a common theme to have a strong successful person seek the approval of those they hold dear to them, even when its an irrational gesture because they have no reason to seek that approval, in many movies and other fiction because its parallels real life and real human emotions.

Now, to talk more directly about "#4". Yes, I agree that the blind restriction of her abilities because Adam said not to was a poor choice of a game mechanic to fit the typical lose everything at the beginning of the problem. However, from the perspective of how the game was laid out, it does make sense in terms of weaponry, just not in terms of suits and other enhancements. BUT, that is only a solution they chose for the common Metroid requirement that is a necessity of every Metroid game. As I stated before, the other games ways of removing her abilities are just as stupid, but they are what makes Metroid, Metroid and I enjoy that aspect of the game. Would I rather of had them stripped by some accident and had to search for them vs being told to activate it, yes. But, its still a Metroid game and has been an incredible game thus far.

Sorry, I don't acknowledge the idea that emotions and femininity are intrinsically linked. Try again.

Thanks for elaborating Khuutra, I understand what you meant. I suppose I played all the Metroid games a little differently, I never really scrutinized and formulated what Samus' personality was like, so it felt perfectly fine in this game for me. In previous games, my understanding was that we were being presented her outer shell, what she shows "common" people on a daily basis. People who aren't close to her. But when you get inside her head, and see her around those who she is close with, she becomes a different person, more emotional and complex and not the stoic "I'm perfectly fine and I kick ass" girl that she gives off with her shell.

I think the reason I see it this way is because I completely see how humans do that on a daily basis. You can pass by someone and see them as very different than you would if you became their friend or saw how they were around their spouse or parents.

I understand you don't like how she was portrayed, because it was radically different from what you're used to. But can you at least agree with me that people present themselves differently depending on who they're with, and they may come across as a hardcore badass with no issues, while to their family they are completely different? Like the popular kids at school, etc.

How I see it is, we've only seen Samus' shell in the way she presents herself to others, but when around close friends and family figures, she is a completely different person. I know I am! So it made total sense to me. Now, the hardcore facts of her childhood I'm unfamiliar with, so I didn't find a problem with Adam bein a father figure. Since you know more about the story, you'll see things differently than I do of course. I'm just giving you my perspective.

I agree with you that some things, while apparent in our normal world, would be wrong to include if they go against her core character. But I don't think we've seen her core character much at all in metroid games. From my perspective, again, we've only seen her shell. Maybe it's all just a matter of my perspective being different from yours. What you saw from her in the Prime games, you took as her deeper inside self, and I only took it as seeing her shell. Am I hitting it anywhere near the mark here?

You say you're disappointed with the change in the story of the game, from haunted house to "inside samus' emotional life." I completely understand that. There's not much really to talk about there, it boils down to personal preference. I love old Metroid, and I loved this game, but I can definitely see why some people wouldn't.

I didn't say they were intrinsically linked. I said they were the primary characterization of Samus in this game.

It's not even about what constitutes her core character, really, but about what mode of characterization is appropriate for the kind of story that Metroid is supposed to be. You did touch on that in yoru last paragraph, so there's not much to argue about.

It's not intrinsically bad for one game to break the mold (the fact that I find the script atrocious is another matter altogether). It's fine for the mode of a story to change, but some would pretend that people should not be bothered by this incongruity.

Then we're back to my original point. Femininity is not the problem here. Weakness and servility (you've acknowledged the servility, now) are.

Of course, as I said to wfz, changing the mode of storytelling is a problem in and of itself, and no one should be surprised when the game fails to perform to expectations.

Okay sorry, I just wanted to make sure we were clear on the other points I was making. I don't know what to argue or make conversation about with your other points. If we go by what the Metroid series has been, yes, the mode of characterizatoin in this game is so radically different I definitely see your point. But I think Sakamoto was trying to really change things up, wasn't he? It's definitely not like the older Metroid games at all, it really is a new take on the series and the portrayal of how we see Samus. What i mean is, whether or not she's had this side to her, we've never been presented it before, so it's definitely new. Some will hate it, some will accept it. It's personal preference on whether you like the material or not.

I will say that the writing in this game definitely makes me scratch my head. There are plenty of things to discuss about this Metroid game, but we don't need to get into that.

Whether or not Samus has always had this inside person to herself, which we are seeing now, doesn't matter to you. What matters to you is that what you have seen of Samus and how she has been portrayed (her outside self perhaps, or if you believe so, her inside self) in previous games is different from what we have now, and it changes the entire mood and stage for the game. Whether or not she has kept these feelings inside, the fact that she is showing them now changes the game in a way you dislike. You'd rather not get to know this side of her and you'd rather keep the Metroid games feeling like how they used to be.

I'll ask again, did I hit it anywhere near the mark? I'm just trying to figure this all out.

EDIT: I apologize if my writing feels convoluted or confusing to read. I hope you understand my points. I'm also multitasking and my brain is fried. >_<