What Makes Metroid, Metroid?

[Dryn]

It seems that for some, Metroid: Other M lacks a few things that the other Metroid games have. For some unusual reason, when it comes to MOM, it is often compared to the Metroid Prime trilogy. I don't know why it is not compared to the entirety of the Metroid series. The Metroid Prime series would have had to have been compared to a previous Metroid game, so why have MOM be compared to MPT alone? When it comes to MOM, it seems that some people think that the game isn't "Metroidy," or "Metroidy" enough. So, what makes Metroid, Metroid?

If it's exploration, other games have this. If it's backtracking, other games have this as well. If it's upgrades, other games have this. If it's a combination, other games still have this. Yet, we don't describe them as "Metroidy."

[Zeroº]

It was a few pages back, so I'm not surprised you missed it, but we sort of have a topic that goes into detail about this: Here.

[ddddd]

Other M may get compared to the Primes because they are both 3-dimensional games with "realistic" level design.
There was no other 3d metroid when Prime 1 was released, so there wasnt anything else to compare with besides the classic games.

Other m has some of the most radical changes in the series (after the first person perspective of MP ofcourse), most important items are autorized, energy and missile capsules are gone, samus auto-aims, can recover energy and ammo at will, can melee combat, the music is different, some items are only usable on first person. It shouldnt be a surprise that some people dont see this game as metroidy as other titles.
As for me, if it features samus exploring some place and there are upgrades then is metroidy enough.

[KingBroly]

I think it's very easy to see what in Other M will stick around, what won't, and what will be drawn back and expanded upon. The Grapple Beam in first person is probably something nobody complains about. Missiles in first person are. Sense Move is too broken, Concentration ruins the exploration aspect. Authorization ruins the isolation and exploration, but as we've come to realize it's a one-time thing to make us hate it because it shows why Samus hates following orders. I think the E-Recovery Tanks and Accel Charges have a place in the series, but they need to severely dial back the mechanics in which they're used for.

I think Super, Fusion, Zero Mission and Other M all have a core design philosophy when it comes to level design, and that's its' looping nature. In Super and Zero Mission, almost every room almost has a complete loop. In Fusion they sorta stretched that to multiple rooms and with Other M they stretched that out even further. It's there, you just need to realize it. That to me is Metroid's core level design premise. Whether you like it or not, the Primes don't really share this core philosophy as you'll reach a dead end and have to backtrack through the same path you just opened up, just in reverse, so it's nothing new. I'm not hating on the Prime level design because I think it's great, I'm just explaining the big difference the two.

Let's also keep in mind that Other M is a casual friendly Metroid game. I expect the next game to be ruthless and have that stupid Super Guide. Of course I'd love for that to be a replica of Dark Samus or the SA-X to be the Guide because that'd be excellent fan service.

[Trishbot]

Yeah, this conversation has gone on awhile, but I'll keep my answer short.

I don't compare Other M just to the Prime games. The Prime games were their own beast, and they were big, beautiful, and powerful beasts. In the entire legacy of the series, Other M is superficially similar yet at its core vastly different.

All Metroid games are known for their exploratory gameplay structure. Even the quite linear Fusion, itself an anomaly amongst the other games, has robust sections of open-ended exploration. Other M is almost entirely linear. Other M is the only game with such a heavy emphasis on story, cutscenes, and narrative. Samus talks more than she ever has before, at great length on end. Exploration is heavily downplayed while combat is highlighted. This is the only Metroid game without discovering proper upgrades, instead using the rather poorly received "authorization" system. Samus spends the majority of the game following orders and isn't alone on the ship for the majority of the game. This is the first game that explores Samus's past with other human beings so thoroughly. Other M is a game of many "firsts" and it stumbles by trying to pave new ground without respecting the trail it has already blazed, both for Samus as a character and for the genre that Metroid games helped spawn, refine, and popularize (as recently as Batman: Arkham Asylum, Shadow Complex, most modern Castlevania games, etc.)

What makes Metroid "Metroid" is, to me, the essence of all the great Metroid games; the sense of exploration, the freedom of adventure, of self-discovery, of problem-solving, of empowerment, of isolation, the balance of puzzles, combat, and narrative, the joys of community involvement, of speed-runs, sequence breaking, puzzle solutions, and battle tactics, the sense of immersion as players transport themselves to big, strange, hostile yet beautiful alien worlds, and ultimately the sense of satisfaction and victory upon vanquishing the great evil and becoming the legendary space bounty hunter, a one-woman army of justice tearing a righteous path through the cosmos. Nearly every game has these elements, or at least a majority of them, and any game that neglects these elements is never as well-received as those that incorporate these aspects to culminate in a game with a variety of strong gameplay elements, all done well, and leaving a powerful, satisfying impact upon the gamers themselves.