It’s just under a year since the last “Why I Love” article on this blog, and for some reason this past week I was really inspired to re-visit this article type. In case you don’t remember, the point of these articles is to gush enthusiastically and sing the praises of things that I happen to love that ALSO tend not to be overall enjoyed by others. Again, here on The Contrarian Corner, we are nothing if not contrarian, so I’ve often found myself loving things that a lot of people hate.
In this installment, we’ll be taking a look at the ludicrously contentious Metroid Other M.
Released in 2010 for the Wii, Metroid Other M was, for a long time, the last entry in the Metroid series, which gave this game even more time to ruminate in the minds of gamers. I think that might actually have contributed to the negative perception people have of this game. Because, to be clear, this game actually reviewed quite well, receiving almost unanimously 8s across the board from professional reviewing outlets. It sold pretty admirably too for as niche a series as Metroid. And it had a decent impact on other games, like bringing a brand new stage to Super Smash Bros 4, and also some music tracks, trophies, and spirits to Smash Ultimate.
Really, it’s just the fans who didn’t like this game. So why didn’t they? Well, I feel that a lot of it has to do with the simple fact that Metroid Other M is rather different to most Metroid games in a lot of ways.
The game was developed by Team Ninja, a company most known for creating the Ninja Gaiden series (but also Nioh, which is neat). As such, Other M is a very combat-heavy and flashy game. Flips, jumps, and timed dodges are part of Samus’ repertoire. To be sure, you still fire blasts from your beam cannon, shoot missiles, and use your morph ball form, and can even utilize a Prime-esque first-person mode to scan the area. You just do it all with an extra layer of style that isn’t common in most Metroid games.
But for all the flashy combat, it doesn’t actually change the core Metroid experience at the end of the day. You still comb through a derelict space session, battle against extraterrestrial baddies, and explore every nook and cranny of the map for secrets and unlockables. You slowly gather new equipment that allows you to re-visit past areas of the map to find new goodies. And you spend the entire time deeply absorbed in chillingly isolating ambience and a slowly-encroaching feeling of dread.
Actually, just to side-tangent here for a second, Other M is probably the scariest Metroid game in the series. Ironically, despite the presence of allies on the ship you’re stranded on (more on that later), it somehow feels even more isolating. Rather than an almost magical level of exploration like you get in Metroid Prime, or a courageous feeling of determination like in Super Metroid, Other M is pretty desolate and haunting. Big empty corridors, scary noises in the far distance, monster jump scares, and more death than you can shake a stick at. It set me on edge as a kid, and still unsettles me a little today.
To be fair, though, it isn’t really the combat that a lot of people had problems with. Even people who vehemently detest this game still enjoyed the combat (or at least the bosses, which are a real highlight). No, what a lot of people hated about this game was the story…so, naturally, that’s actually my favorite aspect of the game.
I’ve always loved a good story in a video game, or in anything really. And more than a good story, I’ve always loved a focused story, a story directly front-and-center to the experience. Some people out there love finding their own stories in relatively plot-free games, and a lot of Metroid games follow this tact. More power to those people, and I respect that, but there’s a reason I love RPGs and JRPGs so much. I live for those huge, in your face, impactful, memorable stories that are clearly presented to the player, not left up to interpretation, or tucked away into optional lore pickups.
Other M goes for this in-your-face style of storytelling, with more cutscenes and voice acting than had ever been seen in the Metroid series, and (most likely) will ever be seen again. And a lot of people really did not like that.
It’s impossible to cover the story without addressing the elephant in the room, the primary receptacle for people’s hate of this game: Samus herself. So let’s discuss!
Essentially, people’s issue with the portrayal of Samus in Other M came down to them not feeling as if Samus was represented correctly. They felt as if it was a shoddy portrayal of her, a failure to truly evoke the character and legitimately present her the way that the other games in the Metroid series did. But what do I mean by that? Well, let’s take a look at everything we knew about Samus going into Other M.
1) Samus is a cool and competent bounty hunter.
2) Samus was raised by the Chozo aliens after her parents died.
3) ?????????????????
See, that’s the issue. Other M had almost nothing to go off of when bringing Samus to life in ways never before explored in the series. By that same token, gamers had almost nothing to go off of either, except for twenty years worth of ingrained biases and headcanons that realistically should be put aside in the face of new canon material. But by golly did gamers have a hard time doing that with Other M, and its polarizing perception amongst fans speaks volumes as to how difficult they found connecting to Samus.
A lot of bellyaching was made about Samus somehow being both too emotional and also too monotone, particularly in her delivery. And while I won’t try to say that her voice actress gave the greatest performance in the universe (that’s more a fault with the voice direction)…what else did people expect? Samus is a seasoned professional bounty hunter with years of experience slaughtering aliens and tackling life-or-death missions. Not only that, but Samus has endured nearly all of that alone, in both the isolation of space and the solitary lifestyle of being a lone wolf. Did people want her to be peppy and make quips?
And for the “too emotional” complaint, a lot of that revolves around how she interacts with the other humans in the game, the Federation. Chiefly, her old friend Anthony and her old superior (it’s long been established in canon that Samus spent time enrolled in the Federation) Adam. Not only does she act around them exactly how anyone would around an old war buddy and one’s former senior officer (especially a senior officer Samus practically viewed as a mentor/father figure), but Samus is also an outsider to the main mission in Other M, and has no desire to spur the Federation’s enmity by acting out (this also explains the ‘I don’t authorize that‘ critique that a lot of people have blown way out of proportion).
(If this next part seems like a strange pivot, please know that it’s just because this is an area I’m extremely passionate about.)
I honestly think a lot of the problems people had with Samus in Other M come down to the inherent sexism/misogyny rampant in gaming culture, most especially in the 2010s (but still frustratingly/depressingly present to this day). Gaming started as a male-dominated sphere, and that allowed a lot of hate and intolerance to fester and grow to unsightly degrees. It might honestly surprise you if you do a bit of digging and uncover just how many unsightly and nasty people there are amongst the gaming world.
To these sorts of people, Samus represented a ‘Safe‘ female character. Sure, she was a woman (and these people don’t like that), but she was also a cool bounty hunter who kicked butt! She killed aliens and saved the day. Heck, she never talked either (obviously a plus to these people). And, you have to remember, that in the early days of the Metroid series, Samus would take off her power suit and reveal her beautiful bikini body if you beat the games fast enough. Talk about a win-win! That’s these kinds of peoples favorite female gaming character! Pretty, cool, and as one-dimensional as a cardboard cutout (for a similar comparison, just look at old-school Lara Croft).
But then Other M came around and introduced a Samus who wasn’t a wise-cracking or cruel bounty hunter, but an analytically methodical professional, who spends a lot of time in her inner thoughts working out her feelings in the only way she can in her solitary existence. It showed a Samus who actually cares about the people around her (she does save the galaxy countless times, so this is only natural), panics at the sight of the monster who killed her parents (after literally watching him dissolve before her eyes in the previous game), and sheds tears at the death of her mentor.
Emotions? Tears? Feelings? Actual human empathy? No, no, no, gamers didn’t want this! What happened to their cardboard cutout version of Samus!
Now, to be fair, I don’t want to put words into people’s mouths and assume that everyone in the world who hated Samus’ portrayal in Other M thought like this. But I know some did, and I’d bet money that the majority did. People who scream the loudest into the void that is the internet often have the opinions that need to be taken the least seriously, and boy did people scream and whine when Other M came out.
A lot of it feels related to the massive decline in story comprehension that our society seems to be experiencing. As a reminder, a character acting in a way that you wouldn’t is NOT wrong, or badly written, or a mistake. Or, perhaps it is a mistake, as-in a human mistake on the part of the character. Human beings are not perfect machines, they are deeply flawed living organisms. I’ve seen so much vitriol thrown around these days (disproportionately directed at female characters) for acting ‘stupid‘, or ‘too emotional‘ or whatever. They are human beings! That’s how all humans act!
Whew…let’s take a deep breath.
To get way around to my original intent with this article…yeah, a lot of people don’t like Other M, I find the majority of their complaints to be unfounded or made in poor faith, and I really love Other M.
I love the plot, which revolves around Samus teaming up with the Federation to investigate the derelict Bottle Ship spacestation. What starts as a simple (if unsettling) investigation quickly spirals out of control thanks to illicit alien experimentations, violent government cover-ups, traitors, an a violent AI seizing control of the spacestation. There’s a lot of twists and turns, and it all comes together in a pretty satisfying conclusion (and a cathartic post-game finale for completionists).
I love the fast-paced combat. Combat in a lot of other Metroid games (barring the Prime trilogy) can feel pretty slow and clunky, doubly-so when you find yourself re-visiting rooms so often. I don’t find that to be the case with Other M, with the fast-paced reflex-based combat significantly speeding up encounters with enemies, while doing so with impeccable style and flair.
I love the visuals, acting, and soundtrack too. Yes, some of the voice direction can be off, but the actual actors put in quite good performances across the board. The soundtrack is really nice too, meshing some of the best ambient tracks I’ve heard in gaming with pulse-pounding action beats. And the graphics are truly stellar, from the top-tier CGI cutscenes to just the general look of the game. It’s one of the best looking Wii games, and any game that manages to truly look great on the Wii of all systems earns some bonus points in my book!
So yeah, I think Other M is awesome. There was a period of time I would’ve called Other M my favorite Metroid game, and while I may cede that honor to Metroid Prime nowadays, Other M still holds a special place in my heart! Heck, I still vividly remember the day my dad took me to GameStop to pick Other M up as my birthday present, right after a day-long and quite grueling theater practice! Good times!
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 