The part of Other M that pissed you off the most

[Caleb89sw]

How did Sakamoto thought an Emotion-based power suit would be a good idea? He probably forgot how unstable we are with emotions, and that it is hard to control them.

It's better to have a mental switch button.

I think the more important question is why did he give Samus PTSD and an emotion/concentration-based power suit.

Typically people with PTSD can't reliably control their mental state all the time like people without PTSD can. This seems to be a very serious design flaw.

But all the times we've seen Samus' suit shut down, it was always due to external forces. Never internal. Once, when she is attacked by Ridley. Obviously the pain she endured prevented her from concentrating properly and caused it to malfunction. And twice when she is shot by Adam. Neither of those instances imply that PTSD had any influence on the suit. If that were the case, we certainly would've seen evidence of this during her breakdown in front of Ridley. The only time it is implyed is when portions of the suit flash into being as Adam prepares to sacrifice himself, but that's a minor issue.

[Daya]

I just realized something.
If we change the suit so that it works on willpower in Other M, nothing would change.

In the Ridley cutscene, fear strikes her, making her suit static.

In the Adam's death cutscene, um... the issue is still the same.

[rondus18]

But all the times we've seen Samus' suit shut down, it was always due to external forces. Never internal. Once, when she is attacked by Ridley. Obviously the pain she endured prevented her from concentrating properly and caused it to malfunction. And twice when she is shot by Adam. Neither of those instances imply that PTSD had any influence on the suit. If that were the case, we certainly would've seen evidence of this during her breakdown in front of Ridley. The only time it is implyed is when portions of the suit flash into being as Adam prepares to sacrifice himself, but that's a minor issue.

You're right, it's even worse than I said. It has the serious design flaw of being tied to a PTSD victim's mental state, but (like all good armor) it's also very fragile to external forces like being touched by a bad guy or getting shot once by a side arm.

[Infinity's End]

I think the more important question is why did he give Samus PTSD and an emotion/concentration-based power suit.

Typically people with PTSD can't reliably control their mental state all the time like people without PTSD can. This seems to be a very serious design flaw.

I know you were referring to Sakamoto in that sentence, but the Chozo gave her the suit. I doubt they could have seriously predicted her to be afflicted with PTSD. Her childhood (what was it, 4-16?) was 100% focused on the use of that suit and the concentration and control over emotions to use it properly. I think 12 years of intense training to use something, and the memory of the giant space dragon that killed your parents being your only weakness says something about Samus's character, and to me, it strengthens her, not weakens.

Just throwing this out there - Samus, being an irrational human (let alone an emotional woman), isn't really meant to wear the suit anyway - I think a lot of the reason the Chozo gave her the suit in the first place was to save her life. The "savior of the galaxy" was kind of a side effect. It's quite thoroughly referenced in the manga that her emotions get in the way of controlling the suit. No doubt the Chozo (with all their "supreme" knowledge) had 100% understanding of the human condition. They clearly have different emotional capacity than humans. I think Samus's emtions/mental condition being the only apparent flaw of the suit is a pretty damn small one, personally. No comic book/fictional superhero is completely perfect. None. of. them. Samus needs a flaw, and she has one. Let her have it. Don't complain that Sakamoto gave it to her or even try to insinuate that it was a bad idea, either. Because it couldn't be further from that.

(the Adam-shoots-and-temporarly-paralyzes-her scene is bullshit, though. I'll never forgive him for that )

[HYRUL3]

But it's a shitty weakness, and that's not her weakness, that's her armor's weakness. We have never seen this lame armor weakness before, at least not in games.

If you want Samus' weakness to be emotions, have her be too trusting/forgiving. Let her allow someone to live, who then kills someone important to her.

None of this "I'm losing my suit from stupid external forces that were never an issue before."

[Infinity's End]

But it's a shitty weakness, and that's not her weakness, that's her armor's weakness. We have never seen this lame armor weakness before, at least not in games.

<(umad, Hyrul3? )
Just because it wasn't in the games up until now doesn't make it wrong or bad.

If you want Samus' weakness to be emotions, have her be too trusting/forgiving. Let her allow someone to live, who then kills someone important to her.

Yeah, because that's NEVER been done a thousand million other times before in anything.

[rondus18]

I know you were referring to Sakamoto in that sentence, but the Chozo gave her the suit. I doubt they could have seriously predicted her to be afflicted with PTSD.

Oh no? Maybe they should have made some tweaks while they still had the chance.

Anyway, it was a bad idea and I'll insinuate it all damn day, dammit. It was both really terrible in its conception and execution. One of the problems with Other M is that it feels like a checklist of things they thought they needed to put in the game. Saying she needed a flaw because that's what other characters have so lets just go with it is exactly the problem. There is no understanding as to why a character needs to have a flaw or why so many do. Whether or not other characters have flaws has nothing to do Samus needing a flaw. A character flaw serves a particular function to a story.

The point of a character flaw is to ground them so we mere mortals can relate to them. A protagonist needs to guide the reader/viewer/player through the story. They are the character we need to relate to most (generally speaking). Understanding their drive and motivation in the story is very important and character flaws are tools that can help make this work. If you don't understand why a character is doing something and/or it's not a challenge for them then why care? Samus having PTSD or a suit that fails for not reason doesn't work because it doesn't make sense. The goal is to make Samus more relatable, but these aren't problems I can relate to or understand so it achieves the exact opposite effect.

The PTSD came out of nowhere and it was never explained. I don't understand what it means for Samus to have this condition and its portrayal it so shallow that I see it as a cheap gimmick and not a real substantive character trait. It was just there to be there and for a cheap attempt to create drama. I never came to understand what that problem meant to Samus nor did I see how she overcame it.

It just came and went... okay, that happened. Moving on.

I could go on and on about the portrayal of PTSD in this game and its portrayal in the media as a whole and the disservice it has done to the subject matter and people who have PTSD, but I'm just going to move on to the suit.

The suit is pretty much the same as the PTSD. It came out of nowhere and it's inconsistent with everything that has been established before hand. Samus gets hit all the time, but in a cutscene suddenly new rules apply. That's not a good flaw. I didn't know that could happen so the risk of it happening didn't mean anything to me. A flaw that establishes that Samus isn't invisible means nothing if we don't know it exists. If we didn't know it could happen and the gameplay establishes that it doesn't then when it does we think, "what? This doesn't make any sense," instead of, "I'm so emotionally invested in this scene I can't wait to see what happens next."

Samus just doesn't feel like a real, relatable character in Other M and her flaws were supposed to make her feel real and relatable so why not criticize them? They failed to achieve their goals.

[HYRUL3]

But it's a shitty weakness, and that's not her weakness, that's her armor's weakness. We have never seen this lame armor weakness before, at least not in games.

<(umad, Hyrul3? )
Just because it wasn't in the games up until now doesn't make it wrong or bad.

If you want Samus' weakness to be emotions, have her be too trusting/forgiving. Let her allow someone to live, who then kills someone important to her.

Yeah, because that's NEVER been done a thousand million other times before in anything.

Well, it's better than the Emotion Suit. Why would I be mad? I've said numerous times I like Sakamotos design skills but find him a terrible writer. 90% of my issues with OM are with writing, including the utterly ridiculous emotion suit.

And your point about "not being in the games until now doesn't make it wrong or bad" is ridiculous. She's had this suit how long an we are just finding out about this in the chronologically penultimate game now? Where did her suit malfunction from emotional issue in the other games he directed?

[Daya]

Where did her suit malfunction from emotional issue in the other games he directed?

Oh my god, it all makes sense now!

The reason why the Power Suit malfunctionned in Frigate Orpheon is that the electrical explosion reminded her of Ridley!

[Infinity's End]

*shrug* I guess it doesn't really bother me as much as it bothers the rest of you.
I am also certain the "willpower suit" has been established since the very first Metroid game, but it just wasn't explained in detail until the manga, and then further on in MOM. Yeah, it's flawed, so what. Primes nonwithstanding, I feel like Sakamoto thought that he couldn't have accomplished anything like that up until now. So now that the tech was there, he put it in. Maybe I just have lower standards.

I understand your frustration guys, I really do. But it seems to me that you're mostly angry because things about Samus were added/changed to her character that were never explained before in the other games, (and up until MOM, she never really had the slightest hint of a real personality) and now that those additions/changes are there and considered "canon" you're even more pissed, because they are weak and/or contradictory and/or poorly written and don't quite live up to your expectation and/or standard you have set for yourselves. Any chance that's close to being correct?

The mole is just one small example of that: CHANGE TO SAMUS + CONFLICT WITH PREVIOUS EXPECTATION = NOT WHAT I WANTED RAAAAGGGEEEEE

GODDAMMIT I got sucked back into another MOM argument. Fucking hell, I never click on this forum for a reason.

[HYRUL3]

That may describe other users, but not me. I call crap writing and stupid plot elements as I see them. That's all. That doesn't mean there's nothing to love about Other M. I just don't agree with some of the "canon".

Same with many movie franchises, other games, etc.

[rondus18]

I, for one, don't really care about the canon.

Fuck the canon. Samus was an Italian plumber before the Space Pirates invented Drano and now she's out for revenge.

[Chozo Guardian]

*shrug* I guess it doesn't really bother me as much as it bothers the rest of you.
I am also certain the "willpower suit" has been established since the very first Metroid game, but it just wasn't explained in detail until the manga, and then further on in MOM. Yeah, it's flawed, so what. Primes nonwithstanding, I feel like Sakamoto thought that he couldn't have accomplished anything like that up until now. So now that the tech was there, he put it in. Maybe I just have lower standards.

I understand your frustration guys, I really do. But it seems to me that you're mostly angry because things about Samus were added/changed to her character that were never explained before in the other games, (and up until MOM, she never really had the slightest hint of a real personality) and now that those additions/changes are there and considered "canon" you're even more pissed, because they are weak and/or contradictory and/or poorly written and don't quite live up to your expectation and/or standard you have set for yourselves. Any chance that's close to being correct?

The mole is just one small example of that: CHANGE TO SAMUS + CONFLICT WITH PREVIOUS EXPECTATION = NOT WHAT I WANTED RAAAAGGGEEEEE

GODDAMMIT I got sucked back into another MOM argument. Fucking hell, I never click on this forum for a reason.

I wasn't happy with the Adam shot scene either. No way one little shot could do that.

[HYRUL3]

I, for one, don't really care about the canon.

Fuck the canon. Samus was an Italian plumber before the Space Pirates invented Drano and now she's out for revenge.

Hahahahaha. R rated femme-Mario?

[Caleb89sw]

I wasn't happy with the Adam shot scene either. No way one little shot could do that.

It is a bit peculiar. Someone around here implied that perhaps the weapon Adam used was electric-based or some kind of advanced weapon of some kind. There's not much evidence to support it, but it makes sense and it's what I choose to believe what probably happened.