Mr Khan said:
Righto. On Point 2 we're still setting that disagreement in point. You're portraying filial piety as inherently negative. She regretted the disagreement that led to their departure as, maturing, she found the wisdom in his actions. It's a matter of growth, which in its turn could easily be used as the explanation for why this Samus acts differently than ones before. It's a cultural point, too, in that we find the idea of rebelling against parental authority to be a sign of strength, while the East sees filial piety as a foundational virtue.
Relating to the Authorization system, it is rather nonsensical in points, but Samus has been subjected to such peculiarities before. Why did the explosion on the pirate frigate not simply kill her, or, failing that, leave her with energy but a still-fuctioning suit? Why didn't the Ing? These could be seen as straw-men, but my broader point there is that this game's power-up system standing on loose ground in terms of plausibility is nothing new, it's just that the matter of that plausibility changed to an issue of character
As to point 6, the breakdown is being given more weight than it should be. Here we're talking of a moment's hesitation that caused Ridley to grab her, which he proves at other times that he's totally capable of doing irregardless of Samus' emotional state. Her hesitation was a slight moment of weakness that is being overblown by many detractors rushing to declare the death of the character
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I'm going to take this as a sign that we do not disagree on points that are not explicitly mentioned.
I married into a Chinese family and in a month's time I will be playing indefinite host to my in-laws while they transition in their move back from Taiwan. I'm familiar and comfortable with the idea of filial piety, and even in Western culture the honoring of one's father or mother is one of the foundational cores of a moral character. Filial piety is not an inherently negative trait.
The problem is that it's unprecedented with Samus, and used to introduce an aspect of her character that's incongruous with our understanding of her up to this point. She was orphaned and raised by the Chozo - insofar as the games tell us, that's the only two experiences she's had being on the receiving end of parenthood. It is badly, badly out of charascter for Samus to take the idea of filial piety, apply it to Adam Malkovich, and use that as an excuse for the ridiculous shit that goes on in this game.
You can't handwave the Authorization system as a matter of mechanics, because Sakamoto very explicitely set out to tie in mechanics with story. The Authorization system is there because of the story. The Authorization system is rela, it's concrete, and it results in Samus needlessly hobbling herself for no reason until Adam tells her that it's okay to turn on her freaking Gravity Suit. There is no way to paint this in a reasonable light in the context of this game's narrative. I defy you to do it.
Point six was in reply to superchunk seeing the breakdown as being incongruous with the rest of her characterization. In context of this game, I think it fit perfectly well.
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