It seems to me that Other M would require an entire remake, with a new translation and some story adjustments to be good. Also, they do need to clarify all the Galactic Federation stuff, because just compressing several entities into 1 made Fusion's ending confusing and it made this game even less impactful than it was. In other words, Fusion also needs a remake. I imagine Dread didn't have a translation that muddied the meaning of things because it was made more recently, or at least I hope so.
I'm sorry, but for all the reasons to hate the Ridley Scene in Other M, why is it always "Samus has beaten Ridley multiple times before, her trauma from the event that saw her parents die because of a monster should be nonexistent" as the main reason? Like, that has always been the least problematic thing about that scene. Trauma isn't a "I did X, this will never bother me again" thing. It's constant, and sometimes even if you literally beat your demons multiple times it can still cause huge mental harm.
But always, we get this "strong people don't ever feel pain ever again if they conquer it," which is just insulting to those who do suffer trauma and PSTD. Like, if anything, that one scene could have been a great exploration on how just because you beat your demons doesn't mean they go away and how they will always come back even when you think they're gone forever. It's not, because that scene is hamfisted, comes out of nowhere if you weren't paying attention to the dull overtly long dialogue, its main message horribly muddled because of said dull dialogue, is horribly communicated (the fact that people think the scene is playing in real time despite time clearly slowing down so it's far shorter than what it is shows how poor the cinematic direction is), and really only serves so Anthony gets knocked out for like 5 minutes.
Like this is why I don't like Other M, because there actually some good base story ideas in there but because they are done so horribly people have taken the exact opposite message of what strength and weakness is.
We could have Ridley, the demon in Samus' life, she can't get rid of, he who killed and devoured her parents before her eyes and is an ever-present reminder, always returning to haunt her and bring this terror back.
Now, I'll add that one doesn't typically overcome their trauma and push through PTSD one time and call it good from then on, but, again, that would have required a deft hand and great care, and nothing we got reflects that.
But you addressed it much better than I did: stronger, more targeted, less muddled. There's no reason Samus couldn't, or even shouldn't, have PTSD after all she's been through, and the more she pushes through it the more she has to deal with. I have no problem with Samus having PTSD; it could be an interesting element that fleshes out her character and shows her as more human, even as she becomes less and less "human."
The writing around the idea, though, wasn't up to par. The game supposedly delves into Samus as a character, but it really doesn't accomplish that. If that's the goal, it should be written around that. To do so would even lend itself to a melancholy, oppressive atmosphere -- even isolated despite other characters being present -- in such manner as the series is known for.
But to read a text like that as intended also requires that foreknowledge be present. Without assuming the player knows everything they need for this, and without an info-dump beforehand, the knowledge needs to be woven in where it can be assimilated into the player's reading of the game.
As written, the scene doesn't lend itself well to a proper reading. And that's sad. Other M could have been a deft, artful exploration of Samus, of pain and loss, of trust and betrayal, and the ongoing struggle to push on and move forward.
One part of the previously posted video suggested that Samus is originally written as struggling with the fear of being weak, and that's one of the few elements suggested that would have actually made a notable improvement:
Even this, I assume a lot of people would have viewed as weakness in itself, sure, but the idea works within what we already know of Samus and presents a more well-rounded character. It doesn't solve everything else, and the PTSD scene is still poorly done.
I do think that the game could have been that deft, artful exploration of Samus, and struggling with trauma, PTSD, and the fear of being weak -- which could even stem from those --, but it wasn't written as such. For as much as it was stated to examine the character of Samus, something like PTSD ends up just used to create a fakeout death for someone else. The whole thing is unfortunate.
Like this is why I don't like Other M, because there actually some good base story ideas in there but because they are done so horribly people have taken the exact opposite message of what strength and weakness is.
To be fair to Other M, I suspect many of these people came in with these ideas of strength and weakness. Again, the reading of a text will draw from what people bring to it.
Pushing through despite constantly having to deal with trauma, despite having to deal with PTSD and the demons you just can't kill, and with the fear that you might be weak beneath it all, is all a sign of strength. I expect many of these same people would still see her as weak if these were well presented, as that's the viewpoint they bring to the text, but writing these well would actually present a strong character, one who is human beneath it all.
It might even make some of these people rethink their position on strength and weakness.
Because not, to pick on anyone -- sorry for pointing you out like this, but the post came at just such a point it's highlighting the topics discussed already and is direct contrast with the posts around it--, but the reality of trauma and PTSD makes this point inaccurate:
The problem with the Ridley scene is that it would have worked much more effectively if this was the first encounter between Samus and him since the death of her parents.
In fact, Other M would have worked A LOT better as a whole if it was a prologue to Zero Mission as Samus' first actual adventure.
It doesn't have to be the first time after a traumatic event for PTSD to kick in -- ask anyone who knows those are fireworks every year during the American Independence Day celebrations, but who have gone through trauma that they can't just ignore. This scene, and the whole game around it, just wasn't written in a way that it works.
As someone with PTSD, I'm just not super interested in using Metroid to explore that, doubly uninterested when it's paired with bad writing, triply so when it's used as a way to highlight Samus's feminine vulnerability
I'll call back to this real quick, because "She's strong and has already been through this" really is the perennial complaint about that scene:
But you addressed it much better than I did: stronger, more targeted, less muddled. There's no reason Samus couldn't, or even shouldn't, have PTSD after all she's been through, and the more she pushes through it the more she has to deal with. I have no problem with Samus having PTSD; it could be an interesting element that fleshes out her character and shows her as more human, even as she becomes less and less "human."
The writing around the idea, though, wasn't up to par. The game supposedly delves into Samus as a character, but it really doesn't accomplish that. If that's the goal, it should be written around that. To do so would even lend itself to a melancholy, oppressive atmosphere -- even isolated despite other characters being present -- in such manner as the series is known for.
But to read a text like that as intended also requires that foreknowledge be present. Without assuming the player knows everything they need for this, and without an info-dump beforehand, the knowledge needs to be woven in where it can be assimilated into the player's reading of the game.
As written, the scene doesn't lend itself well to a proper reading. And that's sad. Other M could have been a deft, artful exploration of Samus, of pain and loss, of trust and betrayal, and the ongoing struggle to push on and move forward.
It doesn't have to be the first time after a traumatic event for PTSD to kick in -- ask anyone who knows those are fireworks every year during the American Independence Day celebrations, but who have gone through trauma that they can't just ignore. This scene, and the whole game around it, just wasn't written in a way that it works.
I think this is where the disconnect comes in. Asking the average consumer of video games to have knowledge about how PTSD actually works is a bit of a leap. There's nothing factually or artistically wrong for Sakamoto to try telling a story about Samus's trauma and potential PTSD, but it was always going to be an uphill battle getting consumers and fans to accept it, and with Other M absolutely botching the attempt, he's probably been scared off of the idea.
I'd also point out that the three previous console Metroid games were the Prime titles. Despite Sakamoto's statements treating the games as a seperate part of the timeline and not taking them into account when writing Other M, Prime Samus was kind of the default version of her character for a while, what with the 2D games being relegated to the handhelds. People were adjusted to how Samus acted in those games, so Other M going for a very different Samus was always going to ruffle some feathers, even if Other M had done well as a story. In particular, Corruption was the release directly before Other M, and in that game Samus kills Ridley twice without a hint of PTSD, and during the ending gives a goofy thumbs up after nearly dying. Going from that game to Other M is a pretty big case of tonal whiplash.
Other M is still terrible; not just going to write it off as a "fluke" or whatever.
Everything he's worked on since Other M is better than it, by a wide margin, but he also hasn't directed anything since Other M either. It's been the general producer deal for series like WarioWare, Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi; though despite him having the same credited role as on those titles, Samus Returns, Famicom Detective Club and Dread seem like projects he had a lot more personal involvement in, and on the whole those turned out fine. I say it's less "Other M was a fluke" and more "Sakamoto learned from the reception Other M recieved".
This was a good argument around the merits and problems of an outdated game. It brought up points that I wasn't aware of and helped me see the problems in a different light. I hope in some way I've helped others here in a similar fashion. If not, then whatever. I'm just glad there weren't any attacks on the character of an individual.
Now, I shall go back to lurking. Looking forward to seeing what else is added to this all.
Also, from the sound of some of the initial plans for the game and everything that had to be cut, his original plans for the story in Dread might have been closer to Other M.
And, yeah, it's weird how people credit Sakamoto for like WarioWare when he was justa producer. He was a designer on Game and Wario, and thats one of the worst games Nintendo has ever released.
Also, from the sound of some of the initial plans for the game and everything that had to be cut, his original plans for the story in Dread might have been closer to Other M.
I think that was the ambition of MercurySteam's producers more, but I guess we'll need to go more in depth on what actually happened with its troubled development.
edit: Seems like you can avoid those Adam conversations...via sequence breaks:
Ok holy crap, this one is one of those big timesaves - As soon as you grab early space jump, you now head to early Screw Attack. Not only does this mean you can skip ALL OF FROZEN ARTERIA, it also breaks the way the Adam rooms works for the rest of the game. YOU DON'T HAVE TO STOP FOR THE ADAM ROOOOOOOOOMMMMSSSS!!!
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