Best and worst enemy designs

by **Doc Scratch** » 06.22.12 2:45am

Looking through the awesome translations of Other M's concept art on this site, I was especially intrigued by the enemy design. Now, a lot of Other M designs were pretty much direct translations of the sprites from Fusion; the Space Pirates and Sidehoppers come to mind. However, there are some new designs, and I just wanted to see how the rest of the Metroid community felt about them.

So please, list here your favorite and least favorite Metroid: Other M enemy designs. Please explain why you liked or didn't like them.

If you didn't like any of the designs, or if you liked all of them, please go more in-depth. I'm looking for feedback on this aspect of the game.

EXAMPLE POST

Doc Scratch wrote:Favorite: The Groganch (Tree dinosaur) is one of those Metroid designs that is just weird. It fits very well into the environment you first encounter it in; you can clearly tell this was intended to be a forest enemy with how it blends in and how it might use that long neck to reach leaves. It's colored very realistically, almost like an enemy from the Prime games. The six legs do a good job of divorcing it from a regular sauropod design. But best of all is the gimmick; damage the Groganch enough, and it flips over so that its weak spot is on its back and it's now crawling like a spider! And the transition is great, since it really moves exactly how you would expect such an ungainly creature to move. Unfortunately, the Groganches have so much health that their battles are not particularly enjoyable, but that wasn't the fault of the excellent visual design.

Least Favorite: There are a lot of designs in this game that are just "humanoid <insert animal>". Some of them (Like the horseshoe crab) are better than others (Gryptians). However, the worst by far is not bad because it's uncreative; it's bad because it looks stupid. The Kyratian is an humanoid frog with giant electric robot tentacles on its back that fights with kung-fu. It's also obnoxiously colored, to the point that it looks like a neon clown when it glows while invincible. Who the hell thought this was a good design? It completely takes the player out of the game to see an enemy so manufactured. Unlike the Grogranch, the Kyratian doesn't feel natural in its environment; hell, it doesn't feel natural anywhere outside of a kung-fu dojo.

NOTE: This thread is primarily about visual design. I know that sense move+instant charge massacres everything, but I want to know which enemies you liked and thought were memorable, and which ones you didn't enjoy.

by **okey** » 06.23.12 5:32pm

Favorite: The guys who turn into doors. I think they're called Death Bulks which is an awesome name. Its pretty cool when you try to open your first power bomb door and the thing sprouts limbs and starts chasing you around. They're also one of the few enemy types that are actually dangerous. Unfortunately you don't get to fight them until the epilogue, and by then you have so many energy tanks and missiles that they aren't as scary as they could be.

Least favorite: This is a tough choice but I'm going to pick those helicopter robots. Other M has a lot of generic enemy designs but these guys feel like placeholder assets from Ninja Gaiden. They aren't any fun to fight either because it's hard to tell when you're actually hurting them.

I would have picked the weird electric space pirate thing, but you beat me to it. It looks like a Power Rangers villain (which describes a lot of Other M's monsters now that I think of it...)

by **Thunderchin** » 06.23.12 9:42pm

My favorite enemy design is the design of the cover art that I caught a glimpse of as I was throwing it in the garbage.

Seriously though, I liked that tree-monster-thing.

The garish looks of the Space Pirates on the other hand...oh Lord. Can you say "16 bit rehash"? That design looks terrible in 3D!

by **okey** » 06.24.12 12:05pm

Thunderchin wrote:The garish looks of the Space Pirates on the other hand...oh Lord. Can you say "16 bit rehash"? That design looks terrible in 3D!

I kinda prefer the 2d space pirate designs but yeah this was the wrong setting to use them in. They're bright and colorful but you only really fight them in dark metal hallways. It's jarring.

Something is off about their animations too. They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin. They even do that thing where they circle around you only to attack one at a time.

by **Thunderchin** » 06.24.12 1:41pm

okey wrote:They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin.

Didn't the whole game feel that way? I'm honestly thinking myself to Zebes and back trying to think of anything else as far as enemy or environment designs that were good, or at least mediocre.

by **Emperor Ing** » 06.24.12 3:01pm

While some enemies were generic (like the robo-turrets which screamed BORING), some were pretty inventive (Like aforementioned tree-horse-spider and the plant-dinosaur whose ass was a mouth), or at least pretty crazy enough to be in a Metroid game.

I liked the mecha-horseshoe crab as well.

by **okey** » 06.27.12 10:21am

Thunderchin wrote:
okey wrote:They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin.
Didn't the whole game feel that way? I'm honestly thinking myself to Zebes and back trying to think of anything else as far as enemy or environment designs that were good, or at least mediocre.

You said it. Other M has PSX/N64 era art direction. It's got no character.

I guess that's what happens when a developer that's never made a 3d game teams up with a studio that had a lot of their best designers walk out on them

by **Emperor Ing** » 06.27.12 10:09pm

PSX art direction?

I personally like the blocky look of some of the old polygon games. It gives them character. And some simply look great. I'm just curious to know about your examples!

by **okey** » 06.28.12 2:25pm

You know what? You're right. I'm being too harsh on the PSX here.

Other M's art direction can't even compete with games made for a system with 2MB of ram.

by **Mayan Mystery** » 07.09.12 11:44pm

Personally, I thought other m's enemy designs were all terrible compared to the previous mp3. Everything looked cartooney to me. I would have liked to see classic metroid enemies put into a prime-like design rather than just giving 2D enemies 3D graphics and animation. If I had to choose however, they did an alright job at [spoiler]Ridley[/spoiler] considering how many different design versions of him exist in the classic metroids. The [spoiler]regular metroids[/spoiler] also looked pretty good. Worst enemy design? It's a tough choice between the fumbleye, sidehopper, or dessgeega. They were all terrible to me. I want to see more metroid games that have the art quality of prime 3.

Doc Scratch Posts: 574 Joined: 09.15.10 2:02am Location: Dead.	Best and worst enemy designs by Doc Scratch » 06.22.12 2:45am Looking through the awesome translations of Other M's concept art on this site, I was especially intrigued by the enemy design. Now, a lot of Other M designs were pretty much direct translations of the sprites from Fusion; the Space Pirates and Sidehoppers come to mind. However, there are some new designs, and I just wanted to see how the rest of the Metroid community felt about them. So please, list here your favorite and least favorite Metroid: Other M enemy designs. Please explain why you liked or didn't like them. If you didn't like any of the designs, or if you liked all of them, please go more in-depth. I'm looking for feedback on this aspect of the game. EXAMPLE POST Doc Scratch wrote:Favorite: The Groganch (Tree dinosaur) is one of those Metroid designs that is just weird. It fits very well into the environment you first encounter it in; you can clearly tell this was intended to be a forest enemy with how it blends in and how it might use that long neck to reach leaves. It's colored very realistically, almost like an enemy from the Prime games. The six legs do a good job of divorcing it from a regular sauropod design. But best of all is the gimmick; damage the Groganch enough, and it flips over so that its weak spot is on its back and it's now crawling like a spider! And the transition is great, since it really moves exactly how you would expect such an ungainly creature to move. Unfortunately, the Groganches have so much health that their battles are not particularly enjoyable, but that wasn't the fault of the excellent visual design. Least Favorite: There are a lot of designs in this game that are just "humanoid <insert animal>". Some of them (Like the horseshoe crab) are better than others (Gryptians). However, the worst by far is not bad because it's uncreative; it's bad because it looks stupid. The Kyratian is an humanoid frog with giant electric robot tentacles on its back that fights with kung-fu. It's also obnoxiously colored, to the point that it looks like a neon clown when it glows while invincible. Who the hell thought this was a good design? It completely takes the player out of the game to see an enemy so manufactured. Unlike the Grogranch, the Kyratian doesn't feel natural in its environment; hell, it doesn't feel natural anywhere outside of a kung-fu dojo. NOTE: This thread is primarily about visual design. I know that sense move+instant charge massacres everything, but I want to know which enemies you liked and thought were memorable, and which ones you didn't enjoy. Suckers.
okey Posts: 786 Joined: 06.29.11 1:37pm Location: Philadelphia, PA	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by okey » 06.23.12 5:32pm Favorite: The guys who turn into doors. I think they're called Death Bulks which is an awesome name. Its pretty cool when you try to open your first power bomb door and the thing sprouts limbs and starts chasing you around. They're also one of the few enemy types that are actually dangerous. Unfortunately you don't get to fight them until the epilogue, and by then you have so many energy tanks and missiles that they aren't as scary as they could be. Least favorite: This is a tough choice but I'm going to pick those helicopter robots. Other M has a lot of generic enemy designs but these guys feel like placeholder assets from Ninja Gaiden. They aren't any fun to fight either because it's hard to tell when you're actually hurting them. I would have picked the weird electric space pirate thing, but you beat me to it. It looks like a Power Rangers villain (which describes a lot of Other M's monsters now that I think of it...)
Thunderchin Posts: 1753 Joined: 04.19.10 3:45pm Location: District 14 Website http://www.facebook.com/Thunderchin	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by Thunderchin » 06.23.12 9:42pm My favorite enemy design is the design of the cover art that I caught a glimpse of as I was throwing it in the garbage. Seriously though, I liked that tree-monster-thing. The garish looks of the Space Pirates on the other hand...oh Lord. Can you say "16 bit rehash"? That design looks terrible in 3D! HYRUL3 wrote:Damn you Thunderchin. Damn you.
okey Posts: 786 Joined: 06.29.11 1:37pm Location: Philadelphia, PA	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by okey » 06.24.12 12:05pm Thunderchin wrote:The garish looks of the Space Pirates on the other hand...oh Lord. Can you say "16 bit rehash"? That design looks terrible in 3D! I kinda prefer the 2d space pirate designs but yeah this was the wrong setting to use them in. They're bright and colorful but you only really fight them in dark metal hallways. It's jarring. Something is off about their animations too. They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin. They even do that thing where they circle around you only to attack one at a time.
Thunderchin Posts: 1753 Joined: 04.19.10 3:45pm Location: District 14 Website http://www.facebook.com/Thunderchin	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by Thunderchin » 06.24.12 1:41pm okey wrote:They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin. Didn't the whole game feel that way? I'm honestly thinking myself to Zebes and back trying to think of anything else as far as enemy or environment designs that were good, or at least mediocre. HYRUL3 wrote:Damn you Thunderchin. Damn you.
Emperor Ing Posts: 4944 Joined: 12.27.07 1:22pm Location: ENGAGING RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by Emperor Ing » 06.24.12 3:01pm While some enemies were generic (like the robo-turrets which screamed BORING), some were pretty inventive (Like aforementioned tree-horse-spider and the plant-dinosaur whose ass was a mouth), or at least pretty crazy enough to be in a Metroid game. I liked the mecha-horseshoe crab as well. Hiroshi Mishima wrote:must be some sorta side effect of the hatchling or maybe she should stop going down on Miyamoto.
okey Posts: 786 Joined: 06.29.11 1:37pm Location: Philadelphia, PA	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by okey » 06.27.12 10:21am Thunderchin wrote: okey wrote:They feel too much like generic action game enemies with a Metroid skin. Didn't the whole game feel that way? I'm honestly thinking myself to Zebes and back trying to think of anything else as far as enemy or environment designs that were good, or at least mediocre. You said it. Other M has PSX/N64 era art direction. It's got no character. I guess that's what happens when a developer that's never made a 3d game teams up with a studio that had a lot of their best designers walk out on them
Emperor Ing Posts: 4944 Joined: 12.27.07 1:22pm Location: ENGAGING RIDLEY MOTHER FUCKER	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by Emperor Ing » 06.27.12 10:09pm PSX art direction? I personally like the blocky look of some of the old polygon games. It gives them character. And some simply look great. I'm just curious to know about your examples! Hiroshi Mishima wrote:must be some sorta side effect of the hatchling or maybe she should stop going down on Miyamoto.
okey Posts: 786 Joined: 06.29.11 1:37pm Location: Philadelphia, PA	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by okey » 06.28.12 2:25pm You know what? You're right. I'm being too harsh on the PSX here. Other M's art direction can't even compete with games made for a system with 2MB of ram.
Mayan Mystery Posts: 149 Joined: 07.07.12 12:59pm	Re: Best and worst enemy designs by Mayan Mystery » 07.09.12 11:44pm Personally, I thought other m's enemy designs were all terrible compared to the previous mp3. Everything looked cartooney to me. I would have liked to see classic metroid enemies put into a prime-like design rather than just giving 2D enemies 3D graphics and animation. If I had to choose however, they did an alright job at [spoiler]Ridley[/spoiler] considering how many different design versions of him exist in the classic metroids. The [spoiler]regular metroids[/spoiler] also looked pretty good. Worst enemy design? It's a tough choice between the fumbleye, sidehopper, or dessgeega. They were all terrible to me. I want to see more metroid games that have the art quality of prime 3.

Who is online