Lord, I understand that people judge whether or not they want to buy a game based on what they already see of it, but I also know those people do not have enough knowledge to start smack-talking and labeling the game without playing it. Don't we get on people's cases here for bashing on a game they haven't played? Why should Malstrom be allowed to? I'm still just not seeing how he can make such accusations without having true knowledge of the game. I can understand him not wanting to buy it, but he can't start speaking for the game without experiencing it. I take it you feel differently about this, can you please explain in greater detail so I might understand?
Now, in this game, I understand her reaction was very unexplained, much like the Sith are in Star Wars (as Lord pointed out). The only way you can really understand this is if you care enough of the whole metroid story to have read the manga. Samus has displayed PTSD before, and it's coming up in this game. It was questionably implemented since the developers didn't bother explaining Samus' backstory more, but that's a different issue.
On the other hand, when she saw Anthony sacrafice himself for her, she snapped back to her senses and regained and perhaps even found more courage, to stand up against her fears. She subsequently beat the hell out of Ridley and continued on her quest in well shape. The fact that she managed to overcome her fear in the do-or-die situation showed a lot of courage and strength, imo. It takes a LOT to be able to push back the emotions rasied by PTSD, and she managed to do it very well.
Was there anything else you had questions about?
Even if he hadn't played the game, he was going off the patterns he had seen.
Basically, when the developer got these kinds of notions, odds are that the game wasn't going to work.
Then again, he even applies it to other media (like what he wrote about Star Trek, and how it kind of sucked that they had to rip off Star Wars just to revive the franchise*). You want to experiment, either do it in smaller amounts with the works you've hit it big with, or try making new works. Don't treat the big works as a laboratory or blank canvas art studio. Sure copyright and patent law allows you to do that, but it's rarely smart. Those laws just mean customers and rivals can't steal your ideas and art. It doesn't mean they have to buy whatever you give them. This is me trying to condense a lot of his points, but I believe I got the gist of them.
* Incidently, Red Letter Media (google it) says Star Trek 2009 makes a better Star Wars movie than the prequels.
EDIT: As for the Ridley scene, I still say it should have been a flashback or prequel scene. Then we could have seen that Samus was still vulnerable, but that finding the strength would have shown why she is now as strong as she is.
I understand what you're saying with the last statement, and rather I think it's a fault that Other M had to chronologically come last in the series. I wish it had been a prequel or early game in the series. Why? Because in all recent games, Samus has shown no fear when facing Ridley, mainly due to Retro not following the Manga and Samus' personality portrayed in line with how Sakamoto sees her. Sakamoto basically came in and changed her character from what we've seen in recent games, while sticking true to the manga.
The main downside to this is that almost every metroid fan has played the games, but not read the manga, so they see this new game and think "what the ****, Samus?"
When it comes to PTSD, it's not something you get over. I know we had this conversation a number of times earlier, Lord, but I just wanted to stress it again. If it was a normal fear, I totally agree with what you're saying. It should have shown her scared earlier, but this time being stronger and more fearless. However, that isn't how PTSD works. It isn't something you can work through and get over, at least so easily. I haven't heard of anyone recovering fully from PTSD, but I'm sure at least someone has. For Samus' case however, she hasn't "gotten over" it. It's not in the nature of the disorder to "get over it."
Poor, poor, poor, poor, poor implementation and realization of the game and character? I can completely see the argument there. However, it doesn't not make sense to someone who has read the manga and understands the sitaution fully. The only thing left open still is why she never reacted against Ridley in any of the recent games. The answer to that is because Retro made those games, not fully understanding or not wanting to portray the Samus character as seen in the Manga and as Sakamoto saw her.
Remember in Super Metroid, it could be argued that Samus saw Ridley and froze, giving Ridley about 5 seconds of screentime to then swoop off the baby metroid, something Samus could have easily stopped if she was thinking clearly. It's hard to really tell what's going on during that scene, so I won't draw any conclusions, but it is something worth noting.
Lord, I understand that people judge whether or not they want to buy a game based on what they already see of it, but I also know those people do not have enough knowledge to start smack-talking and labeling the game without playing it. Don't we get on people's cases here for bashing on a game they haven't played? Why should Malstrom be allowed to? I'm still just not seeing how he can make such accusations without having true knowledge of the game. I can understand him not wanting to buy it, but he can't start speaking for the game without experiencing it. I take it you feel differently about this, can you please explain in greater detail so I might understand?
Now, in this game, I understand her reaction was very unexplained, much like the Sith are in Star Wars (as Lord pointed out). The only way you can really understand this is if you care enough of the whole metroid story to have read the manga. Samus has displayed PTSD before, and it's coming up in this game. It was questionably implemented since the developers didn't bother explaining Samus' backstory more, but that's a different issue.
On the other hand, when she saw Anthony sacrafice himself for her, she snapped back to her senses and regained and perhaps even found more courage, to stand up against her fears. She subsequently beat the hell out of Ridley and continued on her quest in well shape. The fact that she managed to overcome her fear in the do-or-die situation showed a lot of courage and strength, imo. It takes a LOT to be able to push back the emotions rasied by PTSD, and she managed to do it very well.
Was there anything else you had questions about?
Even if he hadn't played the game, he was going off the patterns he had seen.
Basically, when the developer got these kinds of notions, odds are that the game wasn't going to work.
Then again, he even applies it to other media (like what he wrote about Star Trek, and how it kind of sucked that they had to rip off Star Wars just to revive the franchise*). You want to experiment, either do it in smaller amounts with the works you've hit it big with, or try making new works. Don't treat the big works as a laboratory or blank canvas art studio. Sure copyright and patent law allows you to do that, but it's rarely smart. Those laws just mean customers and rivals can't steal your ideas and art. It doesn't mean they have to buy whatever you give them. This is me trying to condense a lot of his points, but I believe I got the gist of them.
* Incidently, Red Letter Media (google it) says Star Trek 2009 makes a better Star Wars movie than the prequels.
EDIT: As for the Ridley scene, I still say it should have been a flashback or prequel scene. Then we could have seen that Samus was still vulnerable, but that finding the strength would have shown why she is now as strong as she is.
I understand what you're saying with the last statement, and rather I think it's a fault that Other M had to chronologically come last in the series. I wish it had been a prequel or early game in the series. Why? Because in all recent games, Samus has shown no fear when facing Ridley, mainly due to Retro not following the Manga and Samus' personality portrayed in line with how Sakamoto sees her. Sakamoto basically came in and changed her character from what we've seen in recent games, while sticking true to the manga.
The main downside to this is that almost every metroid fan has played the games, but not read the manga, so they see this new game and think "what the ****, Samus?"
When it comes to PTSD, it's not something you get over. I know we had this conversation a number of times earlier, Lord, but I just wanted to stress it again. If it was a normal fear, I totally agree with what you're saying. It should have shown her scared earlier, but this time being stronger and more fearless. However, that isn't how PTSD works. It isn't something you can work through and get over, at least so easily. I haven't heard of anyone recovering fully from PTSD, but I'm sure at least someone has. For Samus' case however, she hasn't "gotten over" it. It's not in the nature of the disorder to "get over it."
Poor, poor, poor, poor, poor implementation and realization of the game and character? I can completely see the argument there. However, it doesn't not make sense to someone who has read the manga and understands the sitaution fully. The only thing left open still is why she never reacted against Ridley in any of the recent games. The answer to that is because Retro made those games, not fully understanding or not wanting to portray the Samus character as seen in the Manga and as Sakamoto saw her.
Remember in Super Metroid, it could be argued that Samus saw Ridley and froze, giving Ridley about 5 seconds of screentime to then swoop off the baby metroid, something Samus could have easily stopped if she was thinking clearly. It's hard to really tell what's going on during that scene, so I won't draw any conclusions, but it is something worth noting.
Alternatively, a few flashbacks showing Samus at least getting some kind of reaction, even in the Prime games, could have gone a long way.
Also, even if she had PSTD, the fact that she's done what she's done even not taking the Prime games into account, is inconsisted with PSTD. All those hours all by her own except for enemies. Heck, seeing Samus X from Fusion should have started its own problems for her.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
I understand what you're saying with the last statement, and rather I think it's a fault that Other M had to chronologically come last in the series. I wish it had been a prequel or early game in the series. Why? Because in all recent games, Samus has shown no fear when facing Ridley, mainly due to Retro not following the Manga and Samus' personality portrayed in line with how Sakamoto sees her. Sakamoto basically came in and changed her character from what we've seen in recent games, while sticking true to the manga.
The main downside to this is that almost every metroid fan has played the games, but not read the manga, so they see this new game and think "what the ****, Samus?"
When it comes to PTSD, it's not something you get over. I know we had this conversation a number of times earlier, Lord, but I just wanted to stress it again. If it was a normal fear, I totally agree with what you're saying. It should have shown her scared earlier, but this time being stronger and more fearless. However, that isn't how PTSD works. It isn't something you can work through and get over, at least so easily. I haven't heard of anyone recovering fully from PTSD, but I'm sure at least someone has. For Samus' case however, she hasn't "gotten over" it. It's not in the nature of the disorder to "get over it."
Poor, poor, poor, poor, poor implementation and realization of the game and character? I can completely see the argument there. However, it doesn't not make sense to someone who has read the manga and understands the sitaution fully. The only thing left open still is why she never reacted against Ridley in any of the recent games. The answer to that is because Retro made those games, not fully understanding or not wanting to portray the Samus character as seen in the Manga and as Sakamoto saw her.
Remember in Super Metroid, it could be argued that Samus saw Ridley and froze, giving Ridley about 5 seconds of screentime to then swoop off the baby metroid, something Samus could have easily stopped if she was thinking clearly. It's hard to really tell what's going on during that scene, so I won't draw any conclusions, but it is something worth noting.
Alternatively, a few flashbacks showing Samus at least getting some kind of reaction, even in the Prime games, could have gone a long way.
Also, even if she had PSTD, the fact that she's done what she's done even not taking the Prime games into account, is inconsisted with PSTD. All those hours all by her own except for enemies. Heck, seeing Samus X from Fusion should have started its own problems for her.
PTSD is triggered by specific sights, smells, etc, that remind the person of something tragic in their life. It is the act of seeing Ridley that causes PTSD in Samus. Samus can take down any enemy as long as it doesn't directly remind her of Ridley and subsequently trigger PTSD. PTSD isn't like a normal sense of fear, it has a very strong emotional connection to something tragic and specific in your life.
To give it some context, you remember my friend's father I brought up the other day? He's 50 and recently retired from the military. Sometimes when they have a barbecue, it triggers his PTSD (of burning bodies in Iraq) and sometimes, rather rarely, it doesn't trigger his PTSD. Sometimes he's just more emotionally susceptible to it, and sometimes he's not. It has nothing to do with him being weak. He's a Sergeant Major, and he has won extremely privileged awards for being courageous and saving numerous innocents who most likely otherwise would have been killed. And he risked his very own life to do that. To save innocent citizens over there.
(Now that I'm done with his little back-story) On the contrary, he can cook on the stove, bake, fry, or otherwise prepare his food in any way and it won't ever cause PTSD. It's very specific what triggers it. For Samus' case, it's Ridley. Ridley was the one who killed her parents and ruined her life, tried to kill her, and traumatized her when she was only 5 years old. The sight of him makes her recall that past and it brings her PTSD to face. I wouldn't doubt that the smell of him and the touch of him would do the same, but it has to be Ridley. It has to be something that reminds her of Ridley and the attack on her childhood. Samus X, for instance, wouldn't bring that out at all. Samus X is nothing like Ridley.
The reason I'm bringing this up is to make sure we are all on the same page, that PTSD isn't a sign of weakness or incapability. It even happens even in the most courageous, strongest, and elite warriors.
I understand what you're saying with the last statement, and rather I think it's a fault that Other M had to chronologically come last in the series. I wish it had been a prequel or early game in the series. Why? Because in all recent games, Samus has shown no fear when facing Ridley, mainly due to Retro not following the Manga and Samus' personality portrayed in line with how Sakamoto sees her. Sakamoto basically came in and changed her character from what we've seen in recent games, while sticking true to the manga.
The main downside to this is that almost every metroid fan has played the games, but not read the manga, so they see this new game and think "what the ****, Samus?"
When it comes to PTSD, it's not something you get over. I know we had this conversation a number of times earlier, Lord, but I just wanted to stress it again. If it was a normal fear, I totally agree with what you're saying. It should have shown her scared earlier, but this time being stronger and more fearless. However, that isn't how PTSD works. It isn't something you can work through and get over, at least so easily. I haven't heard of anyone recovering fully from PTSD, but I'm sure at least someone has. For Samus' case however, she hasn't "gotten over" it. It's not in the nature of the disorder to "get over it."
Poor, poor, poor, poor, poor implementation and realization of the game and character? I can completely see the argument there. However, it doesn't not make sense to someone who has read the manga and understands the sitaution fully. The only thing left open still is why she never reacted against Ridley in any of the recent games. The answer to that is because Retro made those games, not fully understanding or not wanting to portray the Samus character as seen in the Manga and as Sakamoto saw her.
Remember in Super Metroid, it could be argued that Samus saw Ridley and froze, giving Ridley about 5 seconds of screentime to then swoop off the baby metroid, something Samus could have easily stopped if she was thinking clearly. It's hard to really tell what's going on during that scene, so I won't draw any conclusions, but it is something worth noting.
Alternatively, a few flashbacks showing Samus at least getting some kind of reaction, even in the Prime games, could have gone a long way.
Also, even if she had PSTD, the fact that she's done what she's done even not taking the Prime games into account, is inconsisted with PSTD. All those hours all by her own except for enemies. Heck, seeing Samus X from Fusion should have started its own problems for her.
PTSD is triggered by specific sights, smells, etc, that remind the person of something tragic in their life. It is the act of seeing Ridley that causes PTSD in Samus. Samus can take down any enemy as long as it doesn't directly remind her of Ridley and subsequently trigger PTSD. PTSD isn't like a normal sense of fear, it has a very strong emotional connection to something tragic and specific in your life.
To give it some context, you remember my friend's father I brought up the other day? He's 50 and recently retired from the military. Sometimes when they have a barbecue, it triggers his PTSD (of burning bodies in Iraq) and sometimes, rather rarely, it doesn't trigger his PTSD. Sometimes he's just more emotionally susceptible to it, and sometimes he's not. It has nothing to do with him being weak. He's a Sergeant Major, and he has won extremely privileged awards for being courageous and saving numerous innocents who most likely otherwise would have been killed. And he risked his very own life to do that. To save innocent citizens over there.
(Now that I'm done with his little back-story) On the contrary, he can cook on the stove, bake, fry, or otherwise prepare his food in any way and it won't ever cause PTSD. It's very specific what triggers it. For Samus' case, it's Ridley. Ridley was the one who killed her parents and ruined her life, tried to kill her, and traumatized her when she was only 5 years old. The sight of him makes her recall that past and it brings her PTSD to face. I wouldn't doubt that the smell of him and the touch of him would do the same, but it has to be Ridley. It has to be something that reminds her of Ridley and the attack on her childhood. Samus X, for instance, wouldn't bring that out at all. Samus X is nothing like Ridley.
The reason I'm bringing this up is to make sure we are all on the same page, that PTSD isn't a sign of weakness or incapability. It even happens even in the most courageous, strongest, and elite warriors.
Okay, assuming Ridley is the sole trigger, I again bring up they should have shown it's happened before. I think you agreed with that already, but same page and all.
But even taking that into account, it's still not likely to make fans just accept that the manga was the real story any more than Buffy and Angel fans accept that the comics are the official continuations (comics being really low these days compared to TV), and it would have been best to wink to the manga at most.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
Okay, assuming Ridley is the sole trigger, I again bring up they should have shown it's happened before. I think you agreed with that already, but same page and all.
But even taking that into account, it's still not likely to make fans just accept that the manga was the real story any more than Buffy and Angel fans accept that the comics are the official continuations (comics being really low these days compared to TV), and it would have been best to wink to the manga at most.
I definitely agree with your first paragraph, yes. I also agree with your second one. It was poor implementation. There were a million better ways to go about the entire situation, and we could talk about this for days. Sakamoto blatantly went against what almost all gamers saw Samus as, whether she was intentioned to be like his vision or not in the beginning of the series doesn't matter. Due to everything that's happened, people have gotten used to Samus being a certain way. Seeing her reacting completely differently compared to older games will bring up a lot of justifiable outcry.
I just want to make sure everyone who is out-crying is doing so in a way that is representative of the real problem. Not doing so will incite anger from the opposite camp who back up this game, and the arguments can lash back and forth. It's best to stick with what the true problem is and focus on that. If it's a legitimate argument, no reasonable thinker should be able to lash back at you because you've made a sound argument and formulated your own sound opinion. Then everyone most people can be happier and the flames won't be shooting back and forth.
Then, maybe more people can have sensible discussions like you and I have had, rather than the constant bickering and flaming of opinions.
Okay, assuming Ridley is the sole trigger, I again bring up they should have shown it's happened before. I think you agreed with that already, but same page and all.
But even taking that into account, it's still not likely to make fans just accept that the manga was the real story any more than Buffy and Angel fans accept that the comics are the official continuations (comics being really low these days compared to TV), and it would have been best to wink to the manga at most.
I definitely agree with your first paragraph, yes. I also agree with your second one. It was poor implementation. There were a million better ways to go about the entire situation, and we could talk about this for days. Sakamoto blatantly went against what almost all gamers saw Samus as, whether she was intentioned to be like his vision or not in the beginning of the series doesn't matter. Due to everything that's happened, people have gotten used to Samus being a certain way. Seeing her reacting completely differently compared to older games will bring up a lot of justifiable outcry.
I just want to make sure everyone who is out-crying is doing so in a way that is representative of the real problem. Not doing so will incite anger from the opposite camp who back up this game, and the arguments can lash back and forth. It's best to stick with what the true problem is and focus on that. If it's a legitimate argument, no reasonable thinker should be able to lash back at you because you've made a sound argument and formulated your own sound opinion. Then everyone most people can be happier and the flames won't be shooting back and forth.
Then, maybe more people can have sensible discussions like you and I have had, rather than the constant bickering and flaming of opinions.
I say it's like new coke. Sure there was a good reason, in that the company's market share tanked, and they needed to do something drastic. But to the strong loyalists, they neither knew, nor cared, about the reasons. They saw it as wrong. Of course the negtive publicity just turned into publicity for the classic flavor, and maybe that will happen here.
In a nutshell about the manga, it's irrelevant to the main characterization of Samus to those who play the video games, as those things are thought of as side stories, not canonical material, no matter how much the owners of a work say otherwise.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
Sure I'll still need ronin the wizard to post these (still can't get the formatting right myself), but his latest post shows he, and the gamer who emailed, actually agree with me about Call of Duty being about local multiplayer. Malstrom states it's just the PC developer mindset that insists otherwise.
EDIT: Before anyone brings it up, this is not about the tech issues with putting split screen in all versions. This is thinking it's just supposed to be online because the developers want it that way, and simply assume the customers do without a coresponding proof that X>Y, where X is online prefering players and Y is local prefering players.
A flashy-first game is awesome when it comes out. A great-first game is awesome forever.
I'll agree that much of Other M's story could have been done tremendously better. It is very similar to the star wars prequels on that point: the overall plot is excellent, but the execution is questionable at points
My bigger sticking point was the scene where Adam shoots Samus, causing her suit to malfunction, because he thinks that the baby Metroid is too dangerous for her to shoot. That was a real "wtf" moment. If you presume that the Metroid is dangerous, why cause Samus to go into her most vulnerable state where she doesn't even have the damned suit to protect her, and *then* try to figure out whether or not you can harm the Metroid?
The scene could have conveyed the same message if Samus had been attacked by a swarm of baby Metroids that she was unable to freeze, who then managed to overpower her, and Adam comes in with another plasma gun and manages to stop them, but hits her in the process, knocking out her suit. That's the sort of thing we're looking at here.
Welp, I purchased and finished Metroid: Other M. I got more money than sense, and don’t wanna miss out on anything Metroid.
I was aware of the radical changes, yet I played through the entire campaign. The game didn’t resemble anything that is Metroid. It followed more on the lines of Metal Gear Solid, without the stealth aspect. Get items to progress, that’s all it is. The story they chose is typical japanese biohazard drama. Oh, the evil of human science against nature and all that. What a plot twist! Your superiors are corrupt! Also, Samus is like a lapdog to Adam: She has all the items already she gained from Super Metroid…but will not activate each of them until Mr Malkovich says so. Thus…Samus has been wading through Lava, getting clobbered by gravity, unable to help herself get better by getting hard to reach items…because she wasn’t allowed to activate vital functions yet. Try and process that for a moment. It made me sob. Any cutscene has Samus also literally reading off the storyboard.What I mean is, she narrates everything that happens during the cutscene. You see a guy sigh, she says the person sighs and whatever he’s thinking or whatever. They made her a boring William Shattner. I rather have him narrate the game, maybe I’d keep attention.
The cutscenes interrupt almost the entire time, as well as sections where they included the brilliant first person mode forced on you to seek something, almost like pixel hunting. I don’t have no problems with this, having played lots of adventures, but it’s a common complaint. The voice acting is soulless, and the story just doesn’t make sense and is jumbled together, almost wanting so hard for the Prime trilogy to not exist. The worst part is how useless Samus is presented. Almost everyone else is pretty competent, and have way more impact to the ‘story’ than she is. Yes you fight bosses and crap but Samus has almost no bearing to the story other than a link to Adam. The game was way too easy, or they nerfed the european version…. dodging is trivial at best, which is offset with stupid damage done to you if you do get hit once or twice. Samus is really weak in this game, done by the developers to force you to fight like a stupid ninja. Flip flip flip, charge shot. The ENTIRE game.
The ending got promising with the Queen Metroid. It was like a reunion: My first Metroid game is Metroid 2, so seeing that terrible creature in 3D gave me a bit of a shiver… then it went down in like 3 minutes. Every boss in Other M is such a let down. Why not play it on Hard? Well…you can’t! First, complete the game…and get ALL the items, 100%. They let you do this in an after-game section where you are FINALLY free to go around the ship. Pff, great. You have all the abilities already so getting the items is incredibly useless. Oh but you get to unlock Hard Mode and not to forget a Gallery and Theater mode! Ofcourse, Hardmode still won’t let you skip the damn cutscenes. So you have to do all that linear work AGAIN. Forget that.
Also, they made all the former rivals, enemies, nemesis… they made them relatable. As in, Ridley suddenly has a cute gestation phase, starting as a little furball that looks like a cute white version of Critters (Old horror movie, pretty fun to watch) some incredibly stupid looking middle phase, and finally to Ridley. Mother Brain is turned into AN ANDROID AI. (To control the Metroids) I am not kidding. There was some affectionate moments with MOTHER BRAIN and stuff, it was so awful. The Space Pirates have also been reduced to feral creatures with no concept of culture, pretty much kicking at Metroid Prime’s clever lore. (I love the Space Pirates there, they are cold, heartless and evil and even try to mimic Samus’s Morph Ball, with deadly outcomes) They really softened anything remotely scary and mysterious about the enemies, at least Kraid was able to ditch this stupid game.
….I can drag on and on on why the game fails on so many levels, but I can also understand people liking this. If this was anything other than Metroid, I might feel better about such a work. But they sacrificed everything that Metroid is just to have their own legacy as a developer. I think someone has a hard-on for Hideo Kojima….
I immediately went to play Metroid Prime Trilogy to get rid of the rank taste Other M left…it’s odd how welcoming Prime 2 is and how much that game is more Metroid than Other M ever can be. Let’s hope that Retro takes note and hopefully may try a proper 2D Metroid experience. Prime pretty much shows they know their stuff.
Sorry about that. I never been this angry at a gamebefore. I guess Metroid was really a part of my youth. The discovery when you find out there’s no concept of levels, just one entirely seamless world connected. It was amazing for 10 year old me to go around a creepy alien world, filled with creatures that are not after you but are still dangerous, the local flora and fauna. The music that I still remember today, the awesome ambient sounds and of course the encounters with the Metroids and the Queen…I don’t even remember the music of Other M. That is such a red flag.
Anyway as a question with this honest rant; How much influence do you REALLY think Sakamoto has with the original Metroid? He said someone on the development team suggested to make Samus female…. isn’t it pretty much him?
Keep on up with the awesome blog!
Honestly, I don’t think Sakamoto and others remember much of how the original Metroid was made. It was twenty four years ago, after all. How much do you remember twenty four years ago? Probably not much.
Since you are a fan of Metroid II, these images should capture your attention:
If you look into my crystal ball, you will see what Sakamoto plans to do in a remake of Metroid II…
Closer, reader. Look closer into the crystal ball… Behold the future…
“Hello! I am Queen Metroid. You might be surprised that I now talk, but that is because Sakamoto has remade Metroid II. I am now a friendlier creature! I will have a conversation with you throughout the game. But first, let me share with you my emotions. Confession time…
“Samus isn’t the only one with maternal instincts. After all, I am the mother of ‘baby’ Metroid! My Metroid children have been getting a bad rap. The real enemy is the Galactic Federation and their eeevil biological military tests. We Metroids are actually friendly and benevolent creatures! We are just victims of the evil Galactic Federation. Oh yes… The future of the Metroid storyline is Samus restoring the Metroid race and smashing the evil Galactic Federation! We Metroids are now cuddly and friendly! Yes we are!”
“Hi there! I am Zeta Metroid. In part of the new era of Metroid, I not only talk, but I wear a stylish hat and play piggyback with children. Remember, we Metroids are not evil. It was all the Galactic Federation’s fault. I delight in entertaining children. See those furries? They live with me on the planet! Before, you would rescue the furries before the planet would explode, at least on Zebes anyway. But now you can give them piggyback rides! This interaction is a new form of gameplay introduced by brilliant innovation.”
“Don’t be scared! I am the new and improved, ever lovable, Omega Metroid! It may look like Samus Aran is about to shoot me. But no, she is about to clean my teeth. I am much friendlier in this game! And the Metroid II remake has a whole new art style: perler bead style!”
“Oh god. How did this get here? I am not good with Metroid.”
“Hi boys! This is Samus Aran. In my upcoming remake of Metroid II, I have a new item which are certain implants that allow me to float through space. Unfortunately, the implants broke my suit like an eggshell. I will always be in the Implant Improved Zero Suit for now on so expect tons of close camera angles… giggle.”
“Has your vast collection of Metroid Manga made interaction with flesh and blood women impossible? Never fear! As I prance around in the Zero Suit throughout the Metroid II remake, I will somehow get parts of my body in front of the, strangely always zooming in, camera”
“Team Ninja will do the Metroid II remake because of their special ‘innovative’ physics to gaming!”
“Special references will be made to Deep Red and Suspiria as Sakamoto’s ‘creative process’ has been inspired by Italian horror films. This is so players will believe they become more cultured playing this video game and, thus, become superior to other human beings who do not play this video game.”
At seeing the completed version of Metroid II Remake, Sakamoto cries.
At seeing the completed version of Metroid II Remake, fans cry too… but for other reasons.
Hello. I’ve just been reading your posts on Metroid: Other M. Excellent reading material, but there’s a couple of things that caught my eye in particular.
You mentioned that Metroid Zero Mission might have been created so that Sakamoto could re-define the game on his own terms (i.e. easier game, more focus on Samus Aran’s character, etc) and that Sakamoto was disdainful of the Metroid Prime Trilogy, since had little involvement with it. Well, Sakamoto might have actually taken steps to diminish the Prime trilogy’s impact on the Metroid universe.
Let me explain. When Metroid Prime was originally released in North America, it was effectively stated that the final boss, Metroid Prime, came to Tallon IV in the meteorite that struck the planet. It looks very likely that Retro were originally planning to tie the Metroids’ origin to the sentient planet Phaaze (which appears at the end of Prime 3). This would not only have given the Metroids a much more epic and sinister origin, but it would have made the Prime trilogy an important part of the series, if not a direct continuation of the original Metroid games.
But when Sakamoto released Metroid Fusion (around the same time as Prime was released), he snuck in an extra plot detail in the instruction manual; the Chozo created the Metroids themselves to combat the X-Parasite. This point was never revealed in the game, was never an important part of Fusion’s plot, and so naturally, Retro had no idea of this development until Fusion’s release. And when they did discover it, they were forced to rewrite Prime’s plot for the international release (and all versions of Metroid Prime Trilogy) in order to avoid continuity issues with Fusion. The rewritten script no longer references Metroid Prime arriving in the meteorite, and I presume it’s now supposed to come from the Tallon IV Chozo.
So now the Metroid Prime Trilogy has a less important “sub-series” status within the Metroid series storyline, and it’s all thanks to Sakamoto. Co-incidence? Possibly…
This is interesting. If game journalism actually existed, this would be a fruitful field for a game journalist to perform a story. Sakamoto recently admitted in an interview that the purpose of Other M was to establish a story so others wouldn’t do something ‘differently’.
Sakamoto was in charge of aligning the lore during the original Metroid Prime to the previous Metroid games. This was his only real role in Metroid Prime. Retro would be unable to declare or hint at the origin of Metroids without Sakamoto’s approval. There is certainly a story here and a brave journalist should ask Sakamoto directly. It was his responsibility after all to keep all the lore of Metroid consistent.
Nintendo franchises have a relationship to mythology and is the true reason why the content endures. Metroid is very similar to Meteoroid which comes from Greek “meteoros” or “high in the air”. Even Samus Aran has mythological roots though I can find no equivalents of in Eastern mythology (more on this later).
There is a reason why I reject ‘Game God’ism and say there is a teleological view, a reason found in nature or human nature, why something is popular. Retro, of the West, appeared to understand that relationship better. This might be why they were linking Metroids to meteoroids, Samus Aran as a Boba Fett type of character. Just looking at Zelda, one will easily say that it is reminiscent of some Celtic Fantasy or something with the young man and his magical sword to save the world. When Nintendo stays true to that, success happens such as Ocarina of Time. When a ‘game god’ decides to abuse his position and dump his own ‘vision’ into the game, we end up with strange stuff like trains in Zelda. They clearly don’t fit in the game, but why? Unstated, we sense it is breaking the mythic base of the game.
Sakamoto probably really believes he is a ‘creative god’ which is the scary thing. I can’t see how anyone could think Sakamoto games have a good storyline.
Reggie Fils-Aime is smiling today. From an AP story today:
A study about consumer attitudes toward 3-D television found many who were less interested in the technology after they actually experienced it.
Still, 52 percent of consumers who tried out 3-D televisions said it was a better experience than they had expected, according to a study conducted by The Nielsen Co. for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. The study was released Thursday.
“There is a lot of interest in 3-D TV but there are barriers that you have to overcome to make it a successful experience,” said Char Beales, president and CEO of the association.
Aside from the cost of buying 3-D sets at a time the technology is just becoming available, the glasses required to watch them are a major hindrance. Fifty-seven percent of people surveyed cited the glasses as a reason they were not likely to buy a set. Nearly nine in 10 people worry that it will constrain them from multitasking while the TV is on, the survey said.
It suggests that the true breakthrough for the technology won’t come until sets are developed that allow 3-D viewing without the glasses, Beales said.
The percentage of people who said they were interested in buying a 3-D set during the next year went down when these willing consumers were brought in to see how it worked, Nielsen said.
People are also concerned there is not enough 3-D programming available yet to make a purchase worthwhile.
More than three-quarters of people surveyed said 3-D viewing is best-suited to special events like sports or movies than regular TV viewing, the survey said.
Seven in 10 regular gamers expressed interest in playing games in 3-D, Nielsen said.
I have never owned a Metroid game and never will (I tried Prime 3 and got bored to death). I think Metroid in general is overrated and up until I read your articles, I had never even heard of Sakamoto. Thanks to you I admire the man now and not because of what he has done in the gaming world (I couldn’t care less) but *because* of him ruining Metroid. I’m so sick to death of these Metroid fanboys (including yourself) who analyse every stupid thing about the series. You see them on game forums and on youtube.
“Oh but Samus did this in the SNES one”, “this doesn’t have that isolation metroid feel”, “why is she emotional in the new one”, “the mole on her chin has turned me off for good”, “I just got a papercut, wheres my mommy”. What’s wrong with you people? You call some of these fans Sakamoto cultists yet you sound like these other Metroid cultists who nit pick everything because they have nothing better to do. It’s like those Star Wars losers who go to conventions and have orgasms when 5 seconds of lost footage is shown. If you don’t like a game, move on with your life people. And don’t give me this “it’s my blog, why are you upset” crap. I like your business articles because I learn a thing or two but some of your views on games sound just as obsessive as those crazy people on the forums. Just as it is your right to post whatever you like on your blog, it’s also my right to point out some things that are annoying. This ugly Sakamoto man is now a legend thanks to you. He has cheesed off all you Metroid cultists and I’m loving it. I hope he continues to ruin your franchise for years to come just as long as Nintendo keep him away from my beloved Pikmin and Mario Kart. Harden up you whiners! ———————————————–
Despite Pikmin 3 coming, I consider Pikmin a dead franchise as it is clear Pikmin 3 is going to flop. Nintendo knows this as well. If Pikmin 1 and 2 only helped cause the Gamecube to have Gamecube sales, you know Pikmin 3 is going to help make Wii sales more like Gamecube sales (as has been the case to all sequels to Gamecube-esque games). The Mario Kart revival you have to thank Mario Kart fans for piping up after Double Dash failed to excite that much interest.Ever since Mario Kart went back to its SNES roots starting in Mario Kart DS, it has been pulling unbelievable numbers.
But let us look at what you said. I find it quite amusing for someone to illustrate their admiration of someone not by listing his or her achievements but only negatively against someone else. In order to place someone high, one must tear others down has been par of the course for Sakamoto cultists.
Here is what you said:
I’m so sick to death of these Metroid fanboys (including yourself) who analyse every stupid thing about the series.
You see them on game forums and on youtube.
“Oh but Samus did this in the SNES one”, “this doesn’t have that isolation metroid feel”, “why is she emotional in the new one”, “the mole on her chin
has turned me off for good”, “I just got a papercut, wheres my mommy”.
You’re confusing the Sakamoto cultists (also double as narratology cultists) with regular gamers. Most of the forum posts are from cultists who have declared holy war on any reviewer who has given Other M a bad review as well as launching crusades to ‘educate’ every non-believer in the ‘manga’ and that “THIS IS CANON!” The people you describe almost always have anime avatars which the cultists do have.
But what your email is telling me is that the Sakamoto cultists are losing the online argument. After all, why bother emailing me this anyway?
What’s wrong with you people? You call some of these fans Sakamoto
cultists yet you sound like these other Metroid cultists who nit pick everything because they have nothing better to do. It’s like those Star Wars
losers who go to conventions and have orgasms when 5 seconds of lost footage is shown. If you don’t like a game, move on with your life people. And don’t give me this “it’s my blog, why are you upset” crap. I like your business articles because I learn a thing or two but some of your views on games sound just as obsessive as those crazy people on the forums.
Let me stop you there. Why do you think that these are ‘my views’ on the games? They are not mine at all! They are the market’s views. If I say, “2d Mario performs better than 3d Mario,” there is data to support that. Since sales are so tied into social phenomenons, it makes sense to figure out what caused the phenomenon in the first place.
A question I keep asking over and over again is why did this game series become popular in the first place? Why did Super Mario Brothers become so big and other games at the time, and games afterward, did not? Why did Donkey Kong become popular? What about Zelda? What about PONG? What about Pac-Man? The answers to these questions spell everything out about the video game business.
What no one is asking or talking about is why Metroid became popular in the first place. Until Nintendo figures this out, Metroid is a dead franchise. It is as simple as that.
You said ‘complain as if you have nothing better to do’. You should recall that people like me stopped buying video game consoles for over fifteen years. We did go away.
But not this time.
It makes me wonder if people spoke up back then if things would have changed. “This N64 controller is insane, Nintendo! I don’t have three hands! Passing over that controller to someone is like passing them a hand grenade.” “What is with this Virtual Boy? No multiplayer? Only red? Portable but not portable? No one can see you play? LAME!” “What is with this Super Mario 64? Where is my Super Mario Brothers 5?” The N64 generation could have gone very differently for Nintendo. Of course, Nintendo wasn’t listening then.
But Nintendo is far more receptive now. They went from huge success with the Wii, destroying all records, to catastrophic decline. In the midst of that decline comes Super Mario Brothers 5 which sells out the Wii again. After Galaxy 2 falling flat in sales and Other M actually offending its audience, Nintendo has to be very perplexed!
To people like us, everything makes perfect sense. But Nintendo, especially the elder developers, seem so disconnected and caught up in their ‘bubble world’ to not see the reality around them. An example of this would be Sakamoto saying ‘Super Metroid’ was really about maternal instincts. Clearly, he wasn’t living in reality and did not have a grounded sense of how consumers viewed the game.
Just as it is your right to post whatever you like on your blog, it’s also my right to point out some things that are annoying.
Actually, you don’t have a right to email me. I’m only doing it because readers like it, and it is material to bounce on. These type of emails are the most entertaining.
This ugly Sakamoto man is now a legend thanks to you. He has cheesed off all you Metroid cultists and I’m loving it.
I’m actuallly getting tons of entertainment value from Sakamoto and Other M. I enjoy a good implosion. And every Sakamoto interview has me blinking in bewilderment as he says the craziest things. “No way! Did he just say that!?” An example would be him saying that Samus’ armor is a metaphor for how she shields her emotional self. It would be like Miyamoto saying that Mario’s overalls are a dramatic metaphor for the struggle of the working class with flying turtles representing the evil of those with leverage. Just crazy.
I understand I get on people’s nerves. But I think that is more of an annoyance that I am more often right than wrong. If you notice, I tend to stick to general principals which I know are true. For example, the future of gaming is not cinema. So I can easily declare any game wanting to sail to that siren to land on the rocks. With some common sense, it isn’t hard. Prior to Mario 5, I would say, “Nintendo needs to make a new 2d Mario because it would sell.” When has 2d Mario NOT sold? Even the ports to handhelds sell ridiculous amounts.
Much of what is said here is coming from a lens of history. Keep an eye of what is occurring around you today. Then decades from now, you will write about how when the Wii launched, it was so popular that you could sell a used Wii and get more money than what you paid for it new. And then, emailers will tell you that the events you actually experience are wrong while game journalists and marketers (alas, I repeat myself) re-write history to say how Wii was never liked at all but was only a slick marketing plot that ripped off the poor masses.
Sure you’ve already seen this video around, http://kotaku.com/5636283/happy-25th-birthday-mario as it is right up your alley (lol). In any case, while many watch this and get all sentimental with the music or childhood memories, if you look beyond those emotions, you can really see what you’ve been saying the past few years about 2D and 3D Mario and why one is a monster system seller and the other developer indulgence.
Glad your back from your sabbatical. There’s so much going on and its exciting! Can’t wait for Move/Kinect to release. I do recall Christensen make note that an imitation product would be the worse thing Sony could do. We’ll see. Don’t know if you’ve had a chance to check out Move for yourself, but brace yourself…its bad lol. - I always thought the 20th Anniversary was a bigger event than the 25th. Nintendo didn’t do anything then. So why are they doing something now?
The difference between the 20th and 25th Anniversary is NSMB DS and Mario 5 and their massive sales. It seems as if it were an attempt to put fire back into the lowering Wii balloon. Or it could be an attempt to sell Mario All-Stars for $50 (even back in SNES Era, we got the game free with a purchase of a console!).
A real tribute would be Super Mario Brothers 6 complete with Tanooki Suit. If Nintendo was smart, they would be planning that as the launch game for the Wii successor.
You said many times that in order for nintendo to sell systems was to put their games to take advantage of motion controls. The last big core nintendo games didn’t really use motion that much. Though this one seems to be the first one to use motion controls. Skyward sword seems to head this way. I watched some videos and it looks like they got it. I think if they nail it. It will be the best selling Zelda game.
Gaming is about mechanics in a similar way sports is. In a sports game, sure there is ‘skill’ and ‘strategy’, but one must build up mechanics first. You need to know how to throw a baseball first before you start doing cutesy stuff.
Video games are very similar. All good games revolve around some solid mechanics (such as controlling Mario’s jump in Super Mario Brothers). A big reason why video games are in decline is because game developers and business big wigs got the idea that ‘game mechanics are bad’, and that the audience does not like them. Instead, they think the audience wants stuff that isn’t the ‘boring mechanics’ such as cutscenes and story. Business guys like this because they understand movies and developer guys want to be movie guys anyway.
A video game is well crafted so a player consistently feels pleasure and challenge throughout the game. The talent for video game creation is not in cramming in ‘story’ and ‘cutscenes’ but in crafting the gameplay to be challenging but not frustrating, addictive but not a time sink, eye catching but not absurd, fun to watch but even more fun to play.
The move for video games, especially old game series like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, to be about story and cutscenes is only a PART of the problem. The big problem is the complete abandoning of the fundamental mechanics which were the reasons why we played these games in the first place. 3d Mario is a radical change to the mechanics that the Super Mario Brothers series revolved around.
The complaints about Metroid: Other M can be divided into two parts. First, there is the complaint about the story and cutscenes. Second, there is the complaint about the missing fundamental mechanics people expect from a Metroid game, especially a Metroid game claiming to be the successor to the 2d Metroids. Previously, missile upgrades would have to be crafted out so players would have enough in the area to tackle a boss. But in Other M, you have ‘CONCENTRATION’ which refills missiles magically. This ‘concentration’ indicates the developers were not even TRYING to do any mechanics and were deliberately trying to avoid them.
I think the main problem with Zelda is the drifting away from the core mechanics of the gameplay. Originally, Zelda was marketed as a hybrid arcade/RPG game. Today, Zelda is marketed as a story/puzzle game. Something has changed.
Motion controls doesn’t change the mechanics. If they made Wind Waker with motion controls, would that sell the game? No. The overall mechanics issue would still be there.
We still need to see more about Skyward Sword before saying anything. But I think Aonuma saying he plans ‘scenarios’ where he removes Link’s sword to have Link ‘run away from things’ is a red flag. It is a red flag because it tells me Aonuma’s path is on story and cutscenes and not on mechanics. Link’s swordplay was THE mechanic that all the Zelda gameplay revolved around in the first few Zelda games. Messing with that is like taking away Mario’s jump “for story purposes”. Gamers will get pissed and won’t care about the stupid story anyway.
Nintendo should realize that their best selling Wii games from Mario 5, to Wii Fit, to Wii Sports, to Mario Kart Wii all have something in common: the games are designed and focused on mechanics. NOT story. NOT cutscenes. NOT ‘surprise’ or ‘tricks’.
The old school complaint is that the mechanics of gaming keeps being watered down and stuff, that has no place in a video game, is being thrown in such as stiff computer models trying to ‘act’ as if the game was a movie. The best way for gaming to grow is to differentiate itself from movies and television, not emulate them. In general, the best way for gaming to grow is to embrace gaming mechanics (as opposed to novel mechanics, movie mechanics, television mechanics).
What I see in Skyward Sword is Nintendo adding motion controls to the old formula. It is a continuation of this nonsensical ‘surprise’ mantra Nintendo has where every new game needs a new gimmick or trick. It is so boring.
Want to surprise the audience? How about delivering a high quality Zelda game for once. People would be very surprised about that since no one expects it anymore. Zelda used to be the ‘golden cartridge’. Today, it is the bronze disc. Zelda no longer commands the awe and respect that it once did. And judging from the atrocious enemy designs in the E3 demo (that Aonuma is very proud of), I expect the reputation to tarnish further.
Above: Check out that yellow underwear. I would like a Zelda game where Aonuma has no fun during development. When Aonuma ‘has fun’, we get weird junk.
Hi Malstrom, I noticed you’ve been talking about Modern Warfare 2 quite a bit lately. You know what the COD series lets you do that most HD games don’t? Like other mega-successes (such as Halo), it lets you play with your friends on the same TV. A game that has quietly passed 1m units completely under the radar is Borderlands. I know I only bought my copy because I played it with my friend at his house. I was completely skeptical about MW2 until I played it at a friend’s place the other day; I will likely buy the game now. I know you’re not as interested in HD gaming, but I’ve noticed since reading your blog that what customers value really hasn’t changed that much. Being able to play the game with a friend helps sell games, yet somehow, few games these days have any local multiplayer whatsoever. Why do you think this is?
You don’t see local multiplayer because they are making PC games, not console games. The definition of a console is people gathering around a single TV. In PC gaming, it is everyone having their own screen.
This is really cool and you should absolutely check out this guy’s blog. He’s an 18-year-old gamer who grew up on the N64 and actually has not played any of the NES classics (what a thought! As a 26-year-old, I don’t feel much older than this guy, yet we’re two gaming generations apart!).
You know what’s really funny though? Read his thoughts on Metroid and Contra. He instantly talks about the lack of a detailed story in those games and how he’s just dropped into the game world with no instructions. We never thought like that back in the NES days! We played games, not stories. We didn’t give a damn about the “story” except to guess about things like “I wonder what the next boss is!” or “I hear Dracula takes up half the screen!”
The best part is when he talks about Zelda. Several hours into the game and he can only complete the first two dungeons. And he had to use GameFaqs to do it. Now, I’m not ragging on the guy. I’m simply intrigued. Remember how Zelda fanatics gave you shit and said stupid crap like “Zelda is and always has been linear”? Even this later-generation gamer recognizes that it’s non-linear:
“What I hated: Again, I’m not fond of how open-world this is. As I said earlier, just putting you in Hyrule and not telling you where to go or what I should be looking for was the only problem I had with this game. When I could find the dungeons, it was all because I looked up how to get there (and that was confusing sometimes too). *It should be said that I did not have the manual or map of Hyrule at the time while playing this. Thanks to those of you who linked it to me*”
Also, I think his thoughts on the game only reinforce your point that Zelda used to be all about combat and massive numbers of enemies. Again, look at what this guy says:
“The sword-shooting was entertaining and the vast array of enemies makes you figure out different combinations of sword and accessories to effectively take them out. The boss battles make you change up your tactics also since they can not be killed as normal enemies. The difficulty, in my opinion, was actually not at all frustrating for me. Once you died, you simply started back at the starting point without losing any of your items.”
You really, really should post this on your blog. This guy has created his own “blue ocean” of blogging with this “wading through the classics” journey. I’ll be reading his posts for a while.
His impressions are amusing. Someone emailed me saying that I was overemphasizing the difficulty of Metroid. This kid just gave up completely on the game. Look at what he says:
The combat was pretty fun and entertaining. Different enemies required different strategies to kill (those bee-like things were the end of me several times before I figured it out). Many times the game requires you to jump around to evade all these flying enemies while trying to shoot those coming straight for you, which ends up making a very intense fight that got me pretty into it.
Note how there is no ‘intense fight’ from monsters in later Metroid games. Even in Super Metroid, they are all push-overs. If there is any intensity, it was relegated to the ‘bosses’ in later Metroid games. NES Metroid is an extremely dangerous game. One misplaced jump, and you are stuck in lava.
I know this was probably one of the first “free roam” games ever, but it really frustrated me. I had no idea where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do. I frequently would fight my way 3 screens over to find out the door was locked and I’d have to turn around and fight the same enemies again. There was no map that I could tell of, so I was continually wandering around until I died. It just made me lose any interest I had in the game. *Edit : I was not aware that there was a map of sorts in the manual*
He had not even discovered that ‘missiles’ open up those red doors. He will keep being frustrated, wandering in circles, until he realizes that ‘missiles’ opens up a new context to the game. Just wait until he gets bombs and can blow up holes and go through them. Completely mindblowing as if the game shapeshifted in front of you.
It was not a bad game, but not my favorite by far. I could tell that if I got really into it, it could be really fun, but the constant running into the red doors that wouldn’t let me pass just made me too frustrated to keep playing. I later learned that missiles break the doors, but no longer had the patience at the time to go searching around randomly for the missiles while I constantly kept running into doors that require them. It did make me want to try out Super Metroid though, as I’ve been told it is a much better version of the original with some pretty epic boss fights.
He’s quitting before he even discovered that missiles break open the red door. If he actually went ahead with the effort and beat the game, when he plays Super Metroid, Zero Mission, Fusion and so, he would be vastly disappointed. He would wonder why the games are so ridiculously easy and why Samus Aran is, for some reason, doing ninja moves.
On NES Zelda I, he says… The familiarity with my childhood favorites was huge. Running around killing octorocs, getting boomerangs and bombs, the ability to upgrade your equipment through shops or in dungeons, a familiar storyline, heart containers, searching for the Triforce… I could go on and on. The similarities to be seen for anyone who played and loved any other Zelda game will enjoy this game. The sword-shooting was entertaining and the vast array of enemies makes you figure out different combinations of sword and accessories to effectively take them out. The boss battles make you change up your tactics also since they can not be killed as normal enemies. The difficulty, in my opinion, was actually not at all frustrating for me. Once you died, you simply started back at the starting point without losing any of your items.
The mechanics of sword-fighting and using different items differently for different monsters and different bosses is completely non-existent in modern Zeldas. Zelda was an arcade/RPG hybrid game. There is swashbuckling and items, but it was in a vast world where you got stronger armor and weapons. And you can get lost in Zelda.
You can’t get lost in a modern Zelda. But you can fall asleep. There is too much action going on in old Zelda for anyone to fall asleep. You have to keep moving or you die.
There are two types of game mechanics: the ones you see and the ones you do not. When thinking Super Mario Brothers, people would notice the power-ups and perhaps the level design. But they would not notice the mechanics of Mario’s jump, his run speed, his bounce speed, how momentum changes if he hits a block, but they would notice if they weren’t there. All these mechanics are running harmoniously in the background of the game, unseen by all, and are the true source of the game’s magic.
The cancer that is eating away at Nintendo’s franchises (and gaming in general) are sequels that focus only on the mechanics that are seen and removing or dismissing the unseen mechanics. With the original Legend of Zelda, the seen mechanics would be puzzle solving, dungeon exploring, story, Link the character, Zelda the character, Triforce, and the items. But the unseen mechanics were the swashbuckling, changing one’s tactics against difficult monsters and bosses, upgrading to better sword and armor, figuring out the vast maze of the world, and the real possibility of death.
Why are some mechanics seen and others not seen? Much of it is because the developer doesn’t want to see them. The seen mechanics such as puzzle solving and story and characters are EASY to implement. But the unseen elements of a maze-like world, swashbuckling, using different items for different tactics against monsters- all this stuff is HARD to implement.
What! You think The Legend of Zelda was the only top down action or RPG game of its time? There certainly were many other games then. But The Legend of Zelda was head and shoulders better than any other game out there. Those unseen mechanics were in such a clockmaker’s precision that Western developers could not compete with Japan.
Let me say it again. Nintendo’s introduction to the West, at least the United States during the 80s, was not an ‘offering of different and unique value of video games’. Rather, it was ‘these are the best video games. If you do not have a NES, you are missing out.’ And this was correct. The NES classics absolutely destroyed the competition. A game like Super Mario Brothers wasn’t a ‘better value’, it was a much better game. For the next decade, game companies would make Mario and Zelda clones. All of them would fail. Mario and Zelda were seen as THE BEST GAMES. As time went on, competition got more fierce especially during the 16-bit generation. Nintendo’s competition did not come from a Western company (like the Atari [and it's Jaguar]) but from another Japanese company of Sega. And Sega could make some damn good games. Some people blame the move to 3d as much of the loss of these fantastic game mechanics. But I think it was the act of giving a developer a ‘camera’ in the game. Developers cannot resist a chance to play ‘movie director’, and we all hate it when they do it. Yet, they can’t stop doing it. In a nod to Nero, they insist on fiddling as ‘movie director’ while gaming burns around them.
When Donkey Kong was released, it was immediately recognized as one of the best games made. Was it the ‘story’ that made the game popular? Was it the ‘character’ of the giant monkey? Or was it the unseen game mechanics such as Miyamoto’s way of making the player doing two simple things at the same time (jumping over barrels and climbing ladders is easy, but not both at the same time!).
Here is how The Legend of Zelda was described when it was originally released in the United States:
It starts with saying, “This game is not for the faint-hearted video player. It will make your nerves jump, your blood race, and your eyes pop with all the excitement!”
Do any of the Zelda sequels fit that description? Zelda II certainly does. So does Link to the Past and even Ocarina of Time. But the ones after? Yawn-fest. It now seems as if Zelda is made FOR the faint-hearted video player. Link has turned into Fairy Boy, who wanders around in Cartoon Land, and your nerves never jump and blood never race because you can never die. And your eyes don’t pop with excitement because the gameplay is about staring at digital walls looking for ‘clues’ to solve a ‘puzzle’. Talk about boring!
The description ends by describing the soon-to-be-released Legend of Zelda as: “A game that’s solid gold.”
This game is so special, we even packed it in gold. What’s so different? It has the fast action you’d expect from an arcade hit, along with all the depth and advanced role playing of personal computer games. The best of both worlds!”
Before any Zelda fan sends me hate mail and thinks I am making up those quotes, they come from the Nintendo Fun Club Letter. The role playing mechanics of Zelda (which were probably most pronounced in Zelda II) and the arcade mechanics (growing weaker and weaker with each incarnation until no one notices them anymore) were what made Zelda as Zelda. Those mechanics were what brought a phenomenon that caused people to buy Nintendo merchandise from books, clothes, cartoon show, and even cereal.
I wish the story was placed back in the background where it belongs and 100% attention is given to the mechanics. Link’s sword shot lasers not because of any ‘story element’ but as a critical mechanic within the game. People would use their imagination and somehow have these mechanics weave a strange but interesting world. It was the mechanics that created the ‘story’, not the other way around.
Above: Younger Zelda fans are dismayed at the ‘errors’ of this cartoon. But the cartoon was “inspired” entirely on the mechanics of Zelda for better or worse.
Above: This commercial is absurd yet oddly appropriate to descibe the Zelda phenomenon back in the day.
I'm sorry, but that makes no sense. She has been in numerous situations where PTSD pops in, and she has never become a crying ssack of worthlessness. She NOW becomes PTSD. After 6 instances of saving thye Galaxy and having to run for her life.
