This is NOT a thread about Other M's gameplay, so please don't bring it up. This is 100% about the portrayal of Samus's character. I grew up on the Metroid games and own every numbered entry in the series (except for the Wii games, since I don't own a Wii). I have seeped myself within Metroid's lore, and my obsession with Metroid even led me to write a movie script based on the series. Needless to say, I feel like over the years, I developed a pretty solid perception of what Samus's character is. She is a battle hardened bad ass. After being stared down by an alien dragon who killed her parents as a child, there's not much that can scare her. She is the toughest warrior in the universe, and is an independent loner. She's basically a female Boba Fett, and is one of gaming's ultimate bad asses. Maybe she does have a bit of an achille's heel somewhere deep down, but she's still a hard ass and there's no-one who's ass she wouldn't kick in a moment.
But what is she in Metroid: Other M? She is basically Bella Swan from Twilight, but wearing power armor. All she does is pine for Adam Malkovich and whine about how scared she is and how miserable her life is. Samus does have a miserable past, but SHE DOES NOT WHINE ABOUT IT. She is TOUGH AS NAILS, so she keeps to herself. What they've done to Samus is akin to those crappy Wonder Woman comics where she was always getting tied up and was hopelessly smitten with Steve Trevor. Samus does not have to be totally without emotions or romantic interest, but she is NOT CO-DEPENDENT. She is INDEPENDENT, and while it wouldn't be out of character for her to take a liking to a male character, it's wholly out of character for her to be an emotionally needy wreck.
Even though Samus could have a love interest, the important factor is that she can get by just as well without one. By implying that Samus feels like she's worthless without the attention of one in particular, they completely butchered her character. The REAL Samus would think of an unrequited love interest as "he's cute, but if he won't wise up then it's his loss." She does NOT go all Bella Swan on us and write in her journal for hours about how much better her life would be if only her beloved would recognize her.
Samus was once a great example of a post-feminist female game character. She was an independent bad ass, but she was still 100% woman, who was visually sexy and also showed strong maternal qualities with the Super Metroid hatchling. Apparently though, the designers of Other M just don't get that. Sadly, I think that some of Team Ninja's past objectification of women may have creeped its way over from Dead or Alive into the Metroid series, because this version of Samus is a needy, infantalized male fantasy. She is not at all empowered despite the power she posesses, and that is a totally backwards depiction of EVERYTHING we have ever known about Samus, the tough, independent kicker of asses. Imagine if a character like Han Solo or Boba Fett had been a totally neutered and weepy fool who was a hopeless wreck unless Princess Leia had talked to him in the last 48 hours. That's essentially what Team Ninja has done to Samus.
Frankly, I hope that Other M either bombs or is hotly protested by the fanbase, because this is NOT the direction the series should be taking. IMO they should just give the series back to Retro Studios, because Team Ninja clearly does not have any respect for Samus's character and do not have the solid grasp of the series' core concepts like Retro did.
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