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Awesome and well-reasoned blog.
I think much of the problem comes from playrs having invented their own ideas about Samus, but did so without playing some of the games leading up to Other M, Zero Mission and Fusion in particular.
Samus was part of a military unit, Adam Malkovitch wasn't someone she simply respected but the closest thing she ever had to a human father figure (the Chozo were also this, but not human).
This respect was established way back in 2002's Metroid Fusion. Anyone who followed that story knew of the mutual respect, their falling out and a suggested end Malkovich met.
Samus entered the Bottle Ship with no sanction and no contract, but Adam had suspicious about the Bottle Ship and if he authorized her presence, he would have a very capable witness.
Also, Samus left the unit over Adam's decision to let his brother, Ian, die. She thought he was being cold and cruel and yet that decision saved countless lives. She was being a child and, in retrospect, she knows that now. While hasty decisions wouldn't change her status as a bounty hunter of some reknown, the very least she could do to show she had changed and grown up quite a bit was take orders from Adam.
And the being afraid of Ridley bit was also totally appropriate. Yeah, she had killed him a a few times before, or so she thought, but the asskicking she handed him in Super Metroid - even at the time of that game's release - seemed to bear a sense of finality.
Seriously, back in '94, Metroid felt like it was over as a series.
Plus how do you explain Ridley's frozen remains in Fusion if he didn't appear again? Other M suggests exactly how that happens. And Nightmare's clean-up is notable, too. And that of the Queen.
I think much of the problem comes from playrs having invented their own ideas about Samus, but did so without playing some of the games leading up to Other M, Zero Mission and Fusion in particular.
Samus was part of a military unit, Adam Malkovitch wasn't someone she simply respected but the closest thing she ever had to a human father figure (the Chozo were also this, but not human).
This respect was established way back in 2002's Metroid Fusion. Anyone who followed that story knew of the mutual respect, their falling out and a suggested end Malkovich met.
Samus entered the Bottle Ship with no sanction and no contract, but Adam had suspicious about the Bottle Ship and if he authorized her presence, he would have a very capable witness.
Also, Samus left the unit over Adam's decision to let his brother, Ian, die. She thought he was being cold and cruel and yet that decision saved countless lives. She was being a child and, in retrospect, she knows that now. While hasty decisions wouldn't change her status as a bounty hunter of some reknown, the very least she could do to show she had changed and grown up quite a bit was take orders from Adam.
And the being afraid of Ridley bit was also totally appropriate. Yeah, she had killed him a a few times before, or so she thought, but the asskicking she handed him in Super Metroid - even at the time of that game's release - seemed to bear a sense of finality.
Seriously, back in '94, Metroid felt like it was over as a series.
Plus how do you explain Ridley's frozen remains in Fusion if he didn't appear again? Other M suggests exactly how that happens. And Nightmare's clean-up is notable, too. And that of the Queen.
Anyone who hasn't given Other M a chance because of the lousy, and undeserved review scores should check out your blog here. You pretty much smacked that nail over the head with a sledgehammer. I thought those complaints were completely ridiculous, and when you read most of the reviews you'd swear that it was just one idiot who was somehow offended, and everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.
Changed Samus's personality?? Since when has Samus had a personality. For all we know she may have pee'd her suit the first time she bumped into Ridley. It just couldn't be expressed on screen back in the days of 8 bit 2D Metroid.
"Whaaa the man has to unlock your equipment....whaaaaa." Who cares? So instead of finding equipment for your suit stored in an air conditioning vent it gets unlocked. It fits into the game. The way people bitch you'd think they had completely removed any and all of the exploration elements from past Metroid games. There's plenty of crap to look around the map for.
Anyways I'm rambling. I loved this game, and I'm hoping they'll make another like this.
Changed Samus's personality?? Since when has Samus had a personality. For all we know she may have pee'd her suit the first time she bumped into Ridley. It just couldn't be expressed on screen back in the days of 8 bit 2D Metroid.
"Whaaa the man has to unlock your equipment....whaaaaa." Who cares? So instead of finding equipment for your suit stored in an air conditioning vent it gets unlocked. It fits into the game. The way people bitch you'd think they had completely removed any and all of the exploration elements from past Metroid games. There's plenty of crap to look around the map for.
Anyways I'm rambling. I loved this game, and I'm hoping they'll make another like this.
Three comments and no flames yet. I'm almost disappointed, internet :P
@Karutomaru
I know, I have that problem more often. My previous Musing (which was my very first) was also just barely related to the topic. Writing itself seems to go over well enough, but finding a subject is more difficult. I have the problem that 1) I want to write a Musing, and 2) I have a different specific topic that I personally find interesting and want to write about.
In the end, the two just get mixed together rather crudely. I'm still looking for a solution that works for me.
@Karutomaru
I know, I have that problem more often. My previous Musing (which was my very first) was also just barely related to the topic. Writing itself seems to go over well enough, but finding a subject is more difficult. I have the problem that 1) I want to write a Musing, and 2) I have a different specific topic that I personally find interesting and want to write about.
In the end, the two just get mixed together rather crudely. I'm still looking for a solution that works for me.
I never thought of Other M as sexist. I saw it more as the pussification of a bad-ass professional bounty hunter. Like if you took Kratos or Master Chief and turned them into Cloud... or, I suppose any male JRPG protagonist.
Even in Fusion she was a consummate professional who didn't turn into an whining scardey-cat when there was pressure put on her. I'm sure there was tension, fear and stress, but being such a successful bounty hunter means she sucks it up and gets the job done.
I don't see it as sexism, I just see it as ruining a good (if shallow) character. Sure it was probably time to explore her character in ways that don't involve seeing how often you can get her to show her Zero Suit, but I think the game did a terrible job of it... funnily enough mostly focusing on how often they can get her to show her Zero Suit.
Even in Fusion she was a consummate professional who didn't turn into an whining scardey-cat when there was pressure put on her. I'm sure there was tension, fear and stress, but being such a successful bounty hunter means she sucks it up and gets the job done.
I don't see it as sexism, I just see it as ruining a good (if shallow) character. Sure it was probably time to explore her character in ways that don't involve seeing how often you can get her to show her Zero Suit, but I think the game did a terrible job of it... funnily enough mostly focusing on how often they can get her to show her Zero Suit.
