Why don't enough people like Metroid?

[metroidhunter183]

Maybe its because all of the new videogames that came out recently. I think people don't really know much about Metroid because of that very reason, but If we spread the word maybe we'll get more devoted fans like us!

[LordElysian]

Metroid is unpopular for various reasons which I will detail, but I find it egregious to compare it to other Nintendo games. The Conduit got a lot mor hype than MP3, and we know the results of that.

Quite blatantly, it seems the majority of mainstream society is sexist. Look at the demographics of the PS3 and XBox and you will find it is for adolescent boys who would feel their masculinity is threatened by playing a female main character. Go ask any six year old boy right now and have him play any Metroid. When you tell him he's playing a girl, he will look at you like a rabbid animal and criticize the game and promptly leave. Unfortunately due to the subordinate nature of Samus as revealed in Other M, this only threatens a fragile sense of masculinity further. Any reward of seeing Samus in the Zero Suit is only after a certain set of goals are met and at that, she's usually staring off into space pondering who knows what. There's no stripping here like in Bayonetta.

There is something to be said of Halo: the campaign sucks, but you know what? You can play with your friends online and chat while killing aliens. Sounds fun, doesn't it? You play Metroid and the isolated feeling alludes to the newcomer that they are doing something wrong. Don't you remember backtracking for the Maru Mari (morphball)? Granted it was short but the isolated feeling intensified any feelings of doing something wrong. Additionally significant is the perceived difficulty of Metroid by newcomers. If you hadn't played Metroid before, what would your impressions be of it when you looked at the screens on the box?

Also of interest is the very content of the game. Try telling this to a friend, "After you infiltrate the Space Pirate Base, you go to Chozodia and fulfill the ruins test. After that you kill meta-ridley and escape the planet Zebes." You are going to get looks from people overhearing your conversation. It sounds plain nerdy, and it confuses the Halo-obsessed populace. Besides the people sharing your living space, who can talk to you about Metroid in-depth?

The only true way to solve these problems is to take to heart the lessons from the original Metroid. Blatantly lie and declare Metroid as an action-packed frag fest of aliens by this bounty hunter Samus Aran. Eventually, you can even freeze enemies, burn them alive, and run through lava. Of course you don't mention Samus is a girl; That's a secret. . In this case, Other M probably isn't the best intro game, but it isn't the greatest Metroid game either.

[Emperor Ing]

LE you bring up good points (for example, I'd hate to play as a girl when I was, you know, under the age of 8... ), but then again, stuff like Bayonetta. Sells. Well. Stuff like Tomb Raider. Sells. Well.

While sex appeal does have a role in all of that, you can't say that it's the gender alone that proves to be a barrier, because I simply don't think that's the case at this stage of the game anymore. They were highly marketed and (in the former case) well-made games that received a lot of critical praise, so they sold well. Didn't corruption sell better than usual because of its marketing campaign? If Bayonetta was all strip-tease and no game, it would not have sold all that well. See: Rumble Roses.


And really at this point no one really gives a fuck how nerdy anyone sounds because we now live in a big damn culture of nerds and geeks that either talk about Star Trek Star Wars Babylon 5 Burn Notice Dexter Arrested Development Scott Pilgrim Mario Bros. Supernatural Warhammer George RR Martin Tolkien or much much much much more.

[Smoking Spoon]

Really ? When I was a kid (8-9) I found Samus even cooler for being a girl ( Maybe because I loved Alien 2 so much ( Ripley ), haha.). But of course, back then, I didn't understand why Samus had to show herself in a bikini at the ending.

Would be funny and awkward if when we finish Zelda at 100% item we get to see Link in underwear.

[LesserChozo]

While sex appeal does have a role in all of that, you can't say that it's the gender alone that proves to be a barrier, because I simply don't think that's the case at this stage of the game anymore. They were highly marketed and (in the former case) well-made games that received a lot of critical praise, so they sold well. Didn't corruption sell better than usual because of its marketing campaign? If Bayonetta was all strip-tease and no game, it would not have sold all that well. See: Rumble Roses.

There is a fine line between acceptable mainstream sex-appeal and porn. A very fine line. Many games tend to push the boundary. Games starring women practically require sex-appeal to sell, unless they are specifically geared towards girls. However, too much sex and not enough game and people lose interest for varying reasons. Games starring men, on the other hand, are able to actually have sex in the storyline. They may be all controversial and what-not, but people accept it, because the sad truth is that gender equality is still just a myth and videogames are still geared mostly towards young and somewhat immature audiences.

Proof in point, Metroid: Other M. M:OM has a rich, deeply involved storyline, but what do people focus on? "OMG! Samus is a subordinate little bitch! The franchise is dead to me now." or "Where's the Gravity Suit! This game sucks." or, my personal favorite , "Shutup, Samus! Get back in the kitchen!" I'm not saying M:OM doesn't have it's flaws, but the fact that people so vehemently focus on the superficial only shows how immature videogamers still are.

[Smoking Spoon]

While sex appeal does have a role in all of that, you can't say that it's the gender alone that proves to be a barrier, because I simply don't think that's the case at this stage of the game anymore. They were highly marketed and (in the former case) well-made games that received a lot of critical praise, so they sold well. Didn't corruption sell better than usual because of its marketing campaign? If Bayonetta was all strip-tease and no game, it would not have sold all that well. See: Rumble Roses.

There is a fine line between acceptable mainstream sex-appeal and porn. A very fine line. Many games tend to push the boundary. Games starring women practically require sex-appeal to sell, unless they are specifically geared towards girls. However, too much sex and not enough game and people lose interest for varying reasons. Games starring men, on the other hand, are able to actually have sex in the storyline. They may be all controversial and what-not, but people accept it, because the sad truth is that gender equality is still just a myth and videogames are still geared mostly towards young and somewhat immature audiences.

Proof in point, Metroid: Other M. M:OM has a rich, deeply involved storyline, but what do people focus on? "OMG! Samus is a subordinate little bitch! The franchise is dead to me now." or "Where's the Gravity Suit! This game sucks." or, my personal favorite , "Shutup, Samus! Get back in the kitchen!" I'm not saying M:OM doesn't have it's flaws, but the fact that people so vehemently focus on the superficial only shows how immature videogamers still are.

Or at least, we know how immature are the one from the internet.

Yeah I know what you mean. . It's stupid, really.

[fox mulder]

I know why.....it's because even a majority of the fans hate it now.
Kidding of course. But SRSLY. Metroid lost a lot of support with OM (Nom,nom?)

[Opium]

I'm glad that such a large number of people don't like MoM. I can only hope that it will make them go back to the drawing board (the OLD drawing board, not a blank one.) There's also the possibility that they'll say FUCK metroid, we're not making any more!! But I don't even want to think about that.

[LordElysian]

I'm glad that such a large number of people don't like MoM. I can only hope that it will make them go back to the drawing board (the OLD drawing board, not a blank one.) There's also the possibility that they'll say FUCK metroid, we're not making any more!! But I don't even want to think about that.

Yeah. We all have our own reasons about why we don't like it, but in the end it wasn't a true "Metroid" experience. I just hope MoM gets removed from canon like an experiment horribly gone wrong (much like the bottle ship). Whether they were attempting a Metroid movie because they were mad the director isn't moving fast enough still eludes me. Not to mention the boring tween drama, mysoginistic rants on Samus' part that only artificially extended the game's length. Worse even is that exploration is very linear and kept to a minimum.

One can only hope Sakamoto sees his mistake and completely forgets MoM ever happened. Maybe next time (hopefully) we'll see what happens after MP3.

[spoiler]At the end of Metroid Prime 3, a mysterious ship stalks Samus and follows her after she leaves Elysia. The ship possibly belongs to Sylux.[/spoiler]

[Emperor Ing]

Proof in point, Metroid: Other M. M:OM has a rich, deeply involved storyline

Now now, I don't hate Other M by any stretch, but lets not fib ok ?

[kamus]

i don't hate MoM too, i really love it

[LesserChozo]

Proof in point, Metroid: Other M. M:OM has a rich, deeply involved storyline

Now now, I don't hate Other M by any stretch, but lets not fib ok ?

Maybe I'm just reading more into it than most. I feel that there is more going on than we see, especially when the previous events(games) are taken into account.

[Troid]

OM's story is mediocre at best when considered alone, and completely unoriginal when considered in context.

I could accept that, but the presentation is absolutely atrocious. The droning monologues (including during some flashbacks), they way Samus announces things that we've already seen ("Maurice/James/Ridleee??/Anthony!/An empty shell/...A...baby.../
I read you... Adam"), and the general reluctance to let the audience figure anything out for themselves.

[metroidhunter183]

i don't hate MoM too, i really love it

Same here!

[MaiAriSquee]

i don't hate MoM too, i really love it

Same here!

Indeed!

OM's story is mediocre at best when considered alone, and completely unoriginal when considered in context.

I could accept that, but the presentation is absolutely atrocious. The droning monologues (including during some flashbacks), they way Samus announces things that we've already seen ("Maurice/James/Ridleee??/Anthony!/An empty shell/...A...baby.../
I read you... Adam"), and the general reluctance to let the audience figure anything out for themselves.

...indeed!

Sorry to say I also share Opium's fear, what with all the backlash... SIGH.