Other M would have been "on rails" if not for Team Ninja. Oh my god.

Edit history:

cliftor: 2010-03-11 03:23:27 pm

2010-03-11 03:22:20 pm

http://kotaku.com/5491158/metroid-other-m-might-have-been-on+rails-if-not-for-team-ninja

I just saw this and was stunned. After all the apprehension and nervousness, who would have thought it'd be Team Ninja who would protect the "metroidiness" of Metroid and not the other way around? Seriously, Sakamoto? On rails? Really?

I'm actually really shaken by this. We're talking about one of the few men who ostensibly "knows" this series in the deepest sense, and he though on rails would be a good idea?

I respect his starting point, however- use only the Wiimote. The original intent of the Wiimote- that gaming input had become unnecessarily complicated and that simpler could be better- I agree with and I welcome deep, rich games that keep the controls simple and elegant. But how he went from there to "on rails" I have no idea.

Was anyone else surprised by this news?

I'm still cautiously excited for Other M. I'm just amazed at who fired the bullet we dodged, here.

Thread title:

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2010-03-11 04:10:30 pm

2010-03-11 04:09:45 pm

red chamber dream

the rail shooter is one of my favorite genres, especially on wii. lots of fun.

RT-55J

2010-03-11 04:11:21 pm

Armor Guardian

If Fusion is any indication, this wouldn't have been a complete disaster tbqh.

Also, given how readily he adopted Team Ninja's idea, I doubt that even he thought having it on-rails was a very good idea. It's more likely that he couldn't think of a better way to control a 3D action game using solely the Wii Remote.

arkarian

2010-03-11 04:13:55 pm

red chamber dream

could have just used the nunchuk >_>

Damski

2010-03-11 04:25:00 pm

Cort's un-live blog from today's Sakamoto GDC session (Metroid: Other M talk, and more)

# 10:25 — Feeling tremors...is this my first earthquake??!?
# 10:25 — Nvm. Just Reggie walking by. I hear babies crying, even though this is supposed to be 18+.
# 10:30 — Sakamoto takes the stand.
# 10:32 — Gives self-introduction; says he is most known for Metroid, but he didn't create the series; at least not by himself. Admits to not having much of a role or exposure to the Prime series.
# 10:33 — He has done many games, but many seem to be "niche" titles in Japan that never saw North America. In Japan, Metroid is considered a niche title, so it would seem that niche games are his...niche.
# 10:35 — He isn't taking the lead on Other M (but is definitely involved on deep levels).
# 10:36 — Giving a history of the Metroid series.
# 10:38 — Metroid came so early in his career; he had so little experience as a designer.
# 10:39 — Again, refuses to take credit for giving birth to Metroid. He says the Queen Metroid has that honor.
# 10:39 — Other M immediately follows Super Metroid and precedes the Fusion games.
# 10:39 — Tells about how one of the final scenes of Super Metroid where they took control away from the player was the inspiration and the transition to one of the opening cinematics of Other M.
# 10:40 — Showing a video with the two games inter-cut for continuity. Wish I could get direct feed of this!

So good news!!

Cort's un-live blog from today's Sakamoto GDC session (Metroid: Other M talk, and more)

# 10:25 — Feeling tremors...is this my first earthquake??!?
# 10:25 — Nvm. Just Reggie walking by. I hear babies crying, even though this is supposed to be 18+.
# 10:30 — Sakamoto takes the stand.
# 10:32 — Gives self-introduction; says he is most known for Metroid, but he didn't create the series; at least not by himself. Admits to not having much of a role or exposure to the Prime series.
# 10:33 — He has done many games, but many seem to be "niche" titles in Japan that never saw North America. In Japan, Metroid is considered a niche title, so it would seem that niche games are his...niche.
# 10:35 — He isn't taking the lead on Other M (but is definitely involved on deep levels).
# 10:36 — Giving a history of the Metroid series.
# 10:38 — Metroid came so early in his career; he had so little experience as a designer.
# 10:39 — Again, refuses to take credit for giving birth to Metroid. He says the Queen Metroid has that honor.
# 10:39 — Other M immediately follows Super Metroid and precedes the Fusion games.
# 10:39 — Tells about how one of the final scenes of Super Metroid where they took control away from the player was the inspiration and the transition to one of the opening cinematics of Other M.
# 10:40 — Showing a video with the two games inter-cut for continuity. Wish I could get direct feed of this!

So good news!!

tomatobob

2010-03-11 04:42:33 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

What's the good news? Stuff we already knew?

Quote from arkarian:

the rail shooter is one of my favorite genres, especially on wii. lots of fun.

Pretty much all the Wii is good at too!

Damski

2010-03-11 04:54:30 pm

its not rail game, thank to the Team ninja...

sabata2

2010-03-11 06:27:58 pm

ANKOKU

Quote from Damski:

# 10:39 — Other M immediately follows Super Metroid and precedes the Fusion games.

I believe this should indicate we'll either see Samus receiving the mission to escort the Federation scientists on SR-388, or possibly the introduction of Fusion at the end of the game.

Chozoid

2010-03-11 07:18:17 pm

Maybe a 100% reward could be the ability to play Metroid Fusion (they wouldn't do SM because it's already on Virtual Console)

cliftor

2010-03-11 08:39:28 pm

Oh man, I found it my worries were just a false alarm. Kotaku misrepresented what was already a slightly misleading translation. Sakamoto didn't mean "on rails" in the sense we normally understand it. He just meant a 2D platformer... "on rails" in the sense that you can only move in a 2D plane.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=389919
http://wii.ign.com/articles/107/1076861p1.html

Silly me, jumping to conclusions. Sounds like the series is in good hands on both sides of this dev team after all. I can't wait to see the game.

Toozin

2010-03-11 10:02:40 pm

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

This is why you should never listen to anything a Japanese dev says, because 99% of the time it's mistranslated or taken out of context or both.

And I would be a thousand times less worried about this game if it were 'on rails.'

TJF588

Edit history:

TJF588: 2010-03-12 12:03:14 am

2010-03-12 12:01:53 am

once GameFAQs, now Twitch

OOOOH. Well, that's a load off. I was thinkin', hey, if Fusion's been lambasted for being "on-rails"...

Would be interested, though, to see how an on-rails Metroid would work, but definitely not as a final product.

sabata2

2010-03-12 12:32:34 am

ANKOKU

Quote from TJF588:

Would be interested, though, to see how an on-rails Metroid would work, but definitely not as a final product.

Probably the same way Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles work. The RE games (while still fairly linear) were also based around exploring.

nate

2010-03-12 01:59:48 am

ON REERUZU ... KA.

tomatobob

2010-03-12 04:10:53 am

One shall stand, one shall ball.

Quote from Damski:

its not rail game, thank to the Team ninja...

I would probably prefer that at this point. The Wii is really good at those.

Quote from sabata2:

I believe this should indicate we'll either see Samus receiving the mission to escort the Federation scientists on SR-388, or possibly the introduction of Fusion at the end of the game.

Fusion's intro lasts like twenty minutes, I don't think we need to see more of it even with pretty cutscenes.

sabata2

Edit history:

sabata2: 2010-03-12 05:03:28 am

2010-03-12 05:02:49 am

ANKOKU

Well I meant I expect to see the X at the end of the game atleast.
But I would also like to see the Team Ninja version of the Fusion Suit in the end as well. Meaning the point where Samus wakes up in the suit.

I'm still holding my belief that the woman with the "Metroid Cluster" hairpin helps develop the Metroid Vaccine.

It'd probably complete the game nicely if the people Samus meets in Other M lead right into the Fusion story.

Toozin

Edit history:

Toozin: 2010-03-12 05:07:27 am

2010-03-12 05:07:02 am

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

Quote from sabata2:

But I would like to see the Team Ninja version of the Fusion Suit in the end as well.

sabata2

2010-03-12 05:10:27 am

ANKOKU

Nah, That's their rendition of the Zero Suit.

But knowing Team Ninja's love for alternate costumes, we're probably going to get Fusion, Zero, and a rendition similar to what you just posted after milestones are cleared.

nate

2010-03-12 10:49:53 am

ninja gaiden ftfw.

TheGreenManalishi

2010-03-12 11:08:47 am

Am I the only one who would have hated an on-rails Metroid?

noah-x

2010-03-12 11:43:33 am

No, I would have hated it too...
What's up with you guys?... An on-rails metroid?
To make an on-rails about one of the greatest franchise in videogame history, would have been completely stupid.

Toozin

2010-03-12 12:50:06 pm

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

To establish: 'on rails' here means a 2D sidescroller constructed out of polygons ala Shadow Complex, not an on-rails shooter ala House of the Dead.

J_SNAKE

2010-03-12 01:37:56 pm

I think Sakamotos primary vision was that you have no control over going into the third dimension. It is managed by a setted path. You only have control over the 4 directions like in a sidescroller. Whether something like mid-air-morphs are integrated as an puzzle element or not is another question.But with team-ninjas solution to go into third dimension manually they seem now more unlikely.

Chozoid

2010-03-12 08:01:40 pm

that'd be sweet to play as ZSS in 3d

tomatobob

2010-03-12 08:08:27 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

No it wouldn't.