Metroid: Other M

Whereas Metroid Prime sought to bring the Super Metroid experience to 3D, Other M is an attempt to bring the Metroid Fusion experience to 3D. Instead of more open-ended exploration, it is more linear, as the result of more explicit and heavy-handed narrative. To me, Fusion and Other M represent what has gone wrong with gaming in the new millennium. Games becoming more cinematic, and the gamer forced to watch more and play less. The games holding the players hand instead of letting player discover for themselves. Games have become more like cinema and less like games.

While I can fault Fusion and Other M for being too cinematic, linear, and hand-holdy, I cannot fault them simply for being different than the previous Metroid games and trying to move the series forward or in a different direction. Worst thing Nintendo can do is just follow an established formula and make a lazy by-the-numbers sequel as a quick cash grab. We can see that with New Super Mario Bros. games, right?

Super Metroid and Metroid Prime are among the very best games of all time, but do we really need a New Super Metroid? Yuck. Did we need a Metroid Prime 4 just three years after the previous entry? Maybe not. And let's not forget, although Metroid Prime is a Metroid game at heart, true to the spirit of Super Metroid in particular, it is still the first-born child of Ocarina of Time and System Shock. These are the two landmarks and foundations of 3D action-adventure, and Other M just tries to be Metroid game instead of a Zelda or a System Shock game. For better or worse, this is a game that has its own identity both within and outside of the Metroid series.