Metroid Co-Creator Yoshio Sakamoto: 'Other M being developed with the aim of the ideal form of the old Metroid'

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TheGreenManalishi: 2010-02-12 04:54:04 pm

2010-02-12 12:47:49 pm

I'm guessing that means Metroidvania-esque? Rinka.

So it's going to be like the old games, but also have a story and VA?
This could be the best game ever. Or it could suck. /obvious

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TheGreenManalishi

2010-02-12 04:55:07 pm

This is good news for people sceptical at the prospect of a linear Metroid game, as you don't get less linear than 'Old Metroid'.

tomatobob

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tomatobob: 2010-02-12 05:13:12 pm

2010-02-12 05:12:50 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

Our definition of "Old Metroid" maybe. Let's see what Nintendo's "ideal form" of it is.

That said linearity is not inherently bad nor does it eliminate exploration as an option, it does make our jobs here interesting, however. I still maintain that it'll be Fusion 2, though.

TheGreenManalishi

2010-02-12 05:15:20 pm

You mean Return of Samus III?

tomatobob

2010-02-12 05:37:14 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

Nah, ROS was pretty much about stumbling around and getting hopelessly lost. Fusion was about being railroaded from one point to the next. That's what Other M will be.

Idkbutlike2

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Idkbutlike2: 2010-02-12 06:23:43 pm

2010-02-12 06:22:46 pm

"...this time we're strongly depicting the human side of Samus through such things as movies. She's a strong woman, but she also has a fragile side. We want to make a game whose charms can be felt from the story areas and these human touches as well. It's an action game, but it's capable of having a clear emotional side."

That right there is making me worry. "Movies" and "emotional sides" often lead to drama-driven cut scenes, which I wouldn't be able to stand in a Metroid title. Sure, Fusion had its moment of drama near the end, but it quickly ended it with a final objective and allowed you explore the station scavenging for items, which I liked. I hope they still value gameplay over story in Other M...

Toozin

2010-02-12 07:22:55 pm

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

Already the implications of more story have ruined my definition of "Old Metroid". To me, M1 was above and beyond anything else a spleunking game: you alone in an alien cave with no map and no idea where the shit to go. The more characters and plot you add, the further away you are from that. I thought Prime, with it's optional scanning and lack of dialogue, was the perfect balance between "hay theres a story here" and "yah were prty much still spleunking."

nate

2010-02-12 07:51:46 pm

i can't even imagine any big game company making a game like m1 or even super today. if they did, i'm not sure how well it would sell for the same reason that prime had a hint system.

arkarian

2010-02-12 11:23:59 pm

red chamber dream

who cares? it's clear that other m is something totally different, so i'm actually embracing the fact that there will be more story. should be fun.

UchihaSasuke

2010-02-13 04:48:06 am

my umbrella goes directly to Bankai

i don't think anyone should have problems with the cutscenes as long as they are skippable. the biggest beef with Fusion is that the dialogue couldn't be skipped at all.
even Zelda games have skippable cutscenes now so i would bet we're safe on that front.
also, linearity could be actually good if they pull it off correctly.

Toozin

2010-02-13 05:46:31 am

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

If they reskin Shadow Complex to look like a Metroid game I will be satisfied.

arkarian

2010-02-13 08:26:01 am

red chamber dream

Quote from UchihaSasuke:

i don't think anyone should have problems with the cutscenes as long as they are skippable.

lol. it's nintendo. safe to say the majority of them won't be.

Aruki

2010-02-13 08:32:36 am

All three Prime games (+ Hunters) and the more recent Zeldas (Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks) all had skippable cutscenes. I would be surprised if they weren't in this game.

Prime Hunter

2010-02-13 08:47:51 am

I'm foreseeing something like, what was it, all three Primes? You're forced to see them the first time around, but afterward you can skip them whenever you want. Isn't that what they did for them, or is my mind not working yet since I've only been up 20 minutes?

Opium

2010-02-13 11:46:58 am

You're right, cutscenes in prime series are skippable once you have beaten the game.

Gamma_Metroid

2010-02-13 11:49:31 am

Some of them, anyway. For example, the Thardus death cutscene isn't skippable.

tomatobob

2010-02-13 04:27:53 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

Quote from Prime Hunter:

I'm foreseeing something like, what was it, all three Primes? You're forced to see them the first time around, but afterward you can skip them whenever you want. Isn't that what they did for them, or is my mind not working yet since I've only been up 20 minutes?

Yeah, that's a decent way of doing it. It backired big time on me once though, started an Echoes file on a memory card with no prior save since I didn't feel like finding the 'good' one. It was brutal. Obviously that won't be a problem on the Wii, but I'd definitely prefer them to be skippable from the start anyway.

TheGreenManalishi

2010-02-13 04:30:37 pm

I loved MGS4's pausable cutscenes - genius, but pretty much required due to the length of some (most) of them.

arkarian

2010-02-13 04:33:50 pm

red chamber dream

most newer games these days have pausable cutscenes.

TheGreenManalishi

2010-02-13 04:45:50 pm

I wouldn't know, I don't play many story-heavy games, let alone new ones. Now I think about it, the Uncharted games have it, but those cutscenes were never longer than a few minutes.

tomatobob

2010-02-13 04:57:47 pm

One shall stand, one shall ball.

Pro Tip: If you need a pause button for your cutscenes they are too long.

TheGreenManalishi

2010-02-13 05:03:47 pm

Not if you fill them with wonderful things. MGS4 did not get this right.

Toozin

2010-02-13 05:57:43 pm

Not impossible

just highly unlikely

The Wii has a built in pause button for cutscenes. It's called a home button.

Aruki

2010-02-13 06:28:04 pm

The way it was done in Twilight Princess was good, have to press start twice to confirm you want to skip it so you won't skip by accident but you aren't forced to sit through the cutscene if you don't want to.

UchihaSasuke

2010-02-18 05:43:27 am

my umbrella goes directly to Bankai

considering all of the above, i bet there would be a massive backlash if the cutscenes were unskippable like in Fusion. the last thing Nintendo wants when experimenting with a new direction in a series is easy backlash.