What is this Wannabe Metroid Shit?

[Joe]

Well I dunno man

Sometimes I have hope that there are smart and informed people on the internet

This made me laugh.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

wow really

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/blog/gaming/metroid-other-m-the-elephant/article.html

what

 

[Super Mario]

So in summary. Adam sucks?

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

i vote we replace adam with SOLID SNAKE and remake other m entirely

 

[Dana Scully]

Sounds to me like it was just fail writing, plain and simple.

 

[Super Mario]

I just wish we can cross over MGS and metroid. Solid Snake finding true romance in Samus, and thus growing aller strong and big together. No dying of old age.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Two things of note- The comparison of Samus to a Soldier is not quite true. Samus, skilled as she is, is a Civilian, and a heavily armed one, in a military jurisdiction. She is there under sufferance. Adam's restrictions and shooting her for going rogue would technically be within his rights.
As for the act of shooting her, stun settings. Common Energy weapon trope.

Now, I'm not saying the relationship isn't messed up nor that the story couldn't be improved, but I don't think Adam is Abusive. Distracted, quite possibly. The entire Hell Run sequence only takes about a minute (per hell run) and if Adam looks away to examine some files one Sector Zero and the MB project during that time, it might explain the delay.

The idea of a sadistic abuser does not square with a man who engaged the self destruct on himself so Samus wouldn't do it to herself.
But yes, lots of small changes would make the story superior. Like have Samus actually disobey orders to go and save the Younger Malkovich, and Adam reacting to save her life specifically while she still holds it against him for killing his (and emotionally her) Brother, and give us a few more examples of her disobeying direct orders.

All I know is, I want more Anthony.

 

[Tetsujin]

I don't even get why friggin' armor had to be authorized in the first place.

 

[looneymoon]

So Other M is the video game equivalent to Twilight?

 

[Ryushikaze]

If the story had gone with constant passive aggressive sniping from Samus til she realized that Adam was not being a Dick, the Armor authorization could have worked a lot better.
"I don't know what point you're trying to prove, Samus, but Activate your goddamn Varia suit!"

And for all its flaws, Liz, don't compare Other M to Twilight. That shit ain't cricket. Plus, it's more of a fucked up codependent fillal family.

 

[Strangelove]

http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/blog/gaming/metroid-other-m-the-elephant/article.html

what

Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like an interesting story?

Assuming they meant for it to be like that.

And it didn't just turn out that way because no one was paying attention to the implications.

Which I'm assuming they didn't.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Two things of note- The comparison of Samus to a Soldier is not quite true. Samus, skilled as she is, is a Civilian, and a heavily armed one, in a military jurisdiction. She is there under sufferance. Adam's restrictions and shooting her for going rogue would technically be within his rights.
As for the act of shooting her, stun settings. Common Energy weapon trope.

okay question

why not just yell 'I ORDER YOU TO STOP, SAMUS' instead of you know
having her flail around there in agony from adam shooting her.

just wondering

 

[Ryushikaze]

On that front, I'm betting it was to give himself enough time to get into the other room and lock the door without her being able to do it instead.
He knew she'd demand to do it instead, and fight his decision, that she should do it instead. It's not necessarily the wisest method, but Samus has a proven 'Kamikaze' attitude, so he went for the fastest, rather than kindest.
He snuck attack her at her weakest moment, after all. Chances are good he didn't think he had any chance in a direct fight, and if Samus was Rogue and/or in the mind to protest physically, he'd be up shit creek.

 

[looneymoon]

And for all its flaws, Liz, don't compare Other M to Twilight. That shit ain't cricket. Plus, it's more of a fucked up codependent fillal family.

So Flowers in the Attic meets Twilight?

...I'd actually kind of like to play something like that to be honest.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

The idea of a sadistic abuser does not square with a man who engaged the self destruct on himself so Samus wouldn't do it to herself.

Unless he's got a complex that would actually fit well with the kind of relationship being described.

Sad to say, but that essay (which is quite an impressive synthesis and analysis thereof, I must say) is the closest we'll ever get to making sense of that shitfest that is "Other M." From a metatextual perspective, it might just be shit writing. Reading the material from an in-universe perspective, though, with the assumption that everything we've seen was considered and had an intended meaning by its author?

Suddenly, "Twilight" looks like a celebration of female independence.

Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like an interesting story?

Assuming they meant for it to be like that.

And it didn't just turn out that way because no one was paying attention to the implications.

Which I'm assuming they didn't.

Either a very interesting story or a very fucked up one, depending on the intentions of the author. But, yeah, from one perspective, I can see it as quite brilliant in an almost "Vanilla Sky" kind of way.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

On that front, I'm betting it was to give himself enough time to get into the other room and lock the door without her being able to do it instead.
He knew she'd demand to do it instead, and fight his decision, that she should do it instead. It's not necessarily the wisest method, but Samus has a proven 'Kamikaze' attitude, so he went for the fastest, rather than kindest.
He snuck attack her at her weakest moment, after all. Chances are good he didn't think he had any chance in a direct fight, and if Samus was Rogue and/or in the mind to protest physically, he'd be up shit creek.

but he knows she listens to him, if nothing else. She may be upset by his decision, but she'll obey it, she's proven that over, and over, and over again. Why he would think she would suddenly not obey him makes no sense.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Because Samus will act contrary to his orders to save someone else and this time his command might not be enough to get her to stop. Last time it was their brother, this time it's the entire GalFed. And Samus does have a major idealistic streak. She's like Anakin that way.
That arc would have worked better if she actually ran out of the room in open defiance of his order, though.

Tres- How does the Abuser model fit the self sacrifice act, exactly?

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Tres- How does the Abuser model fit the self sacrifice act, exactly?

I take it you did not see the 'I will kill myself so I/you do not have to suffer' sequence in Eclipse then

also it brings up a good point. Why withhold her non-dangerous power-ups?

 

[null]

I liked the way the old Metroid games told a gripping story without the use of dialogue. Samus is well suited to being the strong silent type. (Pun intended)

I was going to comment that this new angle and the way Tifa is written both rub me the wrong way in the wrong place, but the Samus' new persona is far too exaggerated to make a comparison. (And Tifa has at least been written consistently, and isn't micromanaged by Barret in combat.)

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Because Samus will act contrary to his orders to save someone else and this time his command might not be enough to get her to stop. Last time it was their brother, this time it's the entire GalFed. And Samus does have a major idealistic streak. She's like Anakin that way.
That arc would have worked better if she actually ran out of the room in open defiance of his order, though.

Tres- How does the Abuser model fit the self sacrifice act, exactly?

Because there is more than one kind of male abuser of women. There's the kind who doesn't handle their anger well or who has some deep-rooted anger or even hatred toward women, sure, but there are also those who see themselves as a protector or stern-but-loving instructor.

What most others would recognize as abuse, these abusers may rationalize as protecting a child-like mind from that which it wouldn't comprehend, or as unfortunate-but-necessary discipline.

 

[Ryushikaze]

I take it you did not see the 'I will kill myself so I/you do not have to suffer' sequence in Eclipse then

No I have not. Additonally, the reasoning given isn't 'for your sake' so much as 'Because only you have a chance to stop the rest of it and make sure justice is upheld.'

also it brings up a good point. Why withhold her non-dangerous power-ups?

I'm not sure. It's technically a better mechanic than 'Oops! Lost it, AGAIN!' but it would have worked better with Samus being passive agressive about that.
I do think the game was made with boss battles and 'wouldn't it be cool' first, story second, which was a bit of a dumb move.

Because there is more than one kind of male abuser of women. There's the kind who doesn't handle their anger well or who has some deep-rooted anger or even hatred toward women, sure, but there are also those who see themselves as a protector or stern-but-loving instructor.

What most others would recognize as abuse, these abusers may rationalize as protecting a child-like mind from that which it wouldn't comprehend, or as unfortunate-but-necessary discipline.

Part of the problem is the mix of Family and Military roles, which makes this extremely emotionally and ethically confusing. Things which would be abuse in a filial setting are de riguer in a military one, and Samus has both in both of the Malkovich brothers, as they are her replacement human family, and part of her military unit.

The parallels in the dynamic between Samus and Adam and MB and Madeline make me think the fucked up emotional dynamic there is intentional, but also deliberately muddled. Samus, when you think about it, has had a very very strange emotional development, and it's sometimes a wonder she's as functional as she is.

Raised til the age of no greater than 5 before seeing her parents and her entire city die before her eyes, she is then raised as a warrior by a group of well meaning but completely emotionally clueless old men from another species, all of whom are apparently dead now. Once she grows up, she finds a new family, with an authority figure who is, if not abusive, definitely just as emotionally clueless as the Chozo, wanting what's best for Samus and having no Clue what that is.

Samus is like a better Adjusted Version of Anakin Skywalker.

Addendum: Of course, mentioning Ani makes me think of Vader's dying redemption and how that was handled. Different surrounding circumstances, I know, but I think it has some of the same elements as Adam's final act.
Which makes me wonder how Ian's death affected Adam, and if it screwed him up like Ani went gonzo after the deaths of his Mom and Padme, since he did technically order the command that led to his Brother's immediate death.

 

[null]

Yeah, going from zero to Anakin Skywalker is probably a traumatic experience for a previously decent character.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

Because Samus will act contrary to his orders to save someone else and this time his command might not be enough to get her to stop. Last time it was their brother, this time it's the entire GalFed. And Samus does have a major idealistic streak. She's like Anakin that way.
That arc would have worked better if she actually ran out of the room in open defiance of his order, though.

question

did she actually save ian or did she listen to adam and not save him and then run off into space. because i was under the impression she never actually disobeyed him, she just got mad and left.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

The more I think about it, even with the interesting potential of a story where we find out that a chick we thought was a badass without dependence or "woman issues" turns out to be one of the most codependent, weak and emotionally self-destructive characters ever -- with all of it very much being tied to the fact that she's a female -- I would still think it was the wrong choice to do it with Samus. I say this because it's being done with an established character who was long an icon for being a badass who just so happens to be female.

Not "female but strong" -- "female and strong."

Now, she's irrelevant. I'm not even saying that this sort of thing couldn't have been done within the "Metroid" series, or even with Samus herself if it were done as an Elseworlds type story. Some kind of foil to Samus could be interesting. Unnecessary, I think, giving the prevailing designs of characters like her, but it wouldn't have been entirely without merit.

This kind of is.