Review
Played on: Wii
Released: 2010
In a seemingly strange collaboration of developers; Nintendo and Team Ninja from Tecmo teamed up to make a new Metroid experience back in 2010. Apparently, the project was intended to aid the classic, 2D Metroid team to make a 3D one.
Remember that while Metroid Prime preceded its release, moving the series into 3D in a brilliant way, it was made by Retro Studios outside of Nintendo. Unlike Prime, Metroid Other M isn't entirely outsourced, yet it somehow breaks with Metroid tradition more than Prime.
Although I've played the SNES classic Super Metroid back in my teens, it's only been in recent years on the Switch I've become reacquainted with the series. With Metroid Dread, review here, and Metroid Prime Remastered, review here, reigniting my interest in the franchise.
Having recently got a Wii from a close friend, I was reminded that, in addition to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, it received Metroid Other M in its library. I vaguely recalled seeing it being played back in the day, but remember nothing of it. So, I quickly got hold of a copy, still sealed and reasonably priced, and dug in!
Let's take a closer look!
Canonically, Other M takes place between Super Metroid and the recently released Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Samus receives a distress signal from a spaceship called the "Bottle Ship". After boarding she meets a platoon from the Galactic Federation which happens to have two old familiar acquaintances to Samus; one is her old military buddy Higgs, which is a bulky and humorous guy, and her old officer from her time as a cadet, called Malkovich. The latter is a dark and mysterious character, which Samus seems to have a grudge to from her younger days.
Deciding to team up, Samus and the platoon split up and search the massive spaceship for clues as to what has happened onboard. AS we are overly familiar with in sci-fi; nothing good ever happens with distress calls from spaceships!
CGI cutscenes cleverly are blended in a seamless way with the in-game ones, often with unnoticeable transitions between them as no apparent loading screens occur. The CGI work is surprisingly solid quality too, with a typical Team Ninja flair to them; using their characteristic character models from that era. Think larger heads and slightly anime styled faces.
Samus has a feminine look, with a dash of DoA vibe over her. It's cool seeing her as a young cadet in the military through flashbacks, with short hair and a youthful attitude towards her officer.
These flashbacks build a lot of the foundation for the story, saving it from the standard affair of a spaceship overrun by aliens. Thanks to these scenes we understand a bigger picture as to why Samus has a history with Malkovich. It's also a part of the Metroid lore we have seldom touched prior to Other M; what Samus did prior to becoming a bounty hunter.
Sadly, some of Samus' personality of being a strong, independent and silent protagonist is exchanged for a more stereotypical, emotional and unsure female character we often see in many Japanese titles. It's not too overdone or whiny, but it's present and noticeable. A point which has disappointed many Samus fans.
Explaining how the gameplay in Other M works is a little tricky to put into words. It's not alike anything else I've played and it ambitiously combines a lot of 3D genres. It's controlled only by the Wii remote alone, with the Nunchuk completely disconnected!
Most of the game is played by holding your Wii remote horizontally. Using the d-pad for 3D movement, either with Samus standing or in ball form, viewed from a distant camera angle. The 1 & 2 buttons are used for shooting and jumping. It works fine, but I would've preferred the Nunchuk to be used since it has an analogue stick. Moving in 3D with the tiny Wii d-pad feels awkward.
The second viewing angle is a first-person mode. Movement is locked while you access it, so you can't move about in first person. This viewing angle is entered by turning the Wii remote from a horizontal position to aiming it at the screen. From here, you get a cursor to fire at enemies or objects. There's a lock-on button so you can fire rockets as well as the traditional power-up shots. You can look about in this first-person mode by holding another button, handy for turning around and looking up to spot enemies.
In addition, the first-person mode is used to spot clues during investigation scenes during the story. However, these become annoying pixel hunting frustrations as they, strangely enough, require extremely precise pointing on tiny objects for a cutscene to trigger. Annoyingly you're stuck in these investigations until you find the object that triggers a scene.
Lastly, we have an alternative third person view, used only in certain areas and often in conjunction with eerie scenes where you're exploring through a couple of rooms with a creepy atmosphere. This view is the more modern "over the shoulder" view, simply controlled with the horizontal Wii remote position again.
Disregarding the latter, over the shoulder angle; it's mainly and alternation of the distant third person view and jumping into a static first-person view to pull of precise shots at vulnerable targets. Surprisingly, it works well and the speed and detection of how fast the game alternates between them in conjunction with you physically moving the Wii remote is pulled off in a satisfying manner. It gives the game a unique control method and puts the Wii controls ones again in a clever spotlight.
That said, bosses that require rapid changes between the two views can often push the gyro detection to its limits, resulting in nothing happening and some frustrating moving the controller back and forth. It’s sadly a negative trait of gyro controls in general, luckily it doesn’t happen too often here.
Otherwise, Other M is a standard Metroid affair; explore to find rocket and extra life tanks upgrades and backtrack to earlier areas once you've obtained a new ability to open previously inaccessible areas. With one catch; in Other M you don't find the abilities but rather, in an unpopular twist amongst fans, you gain access to weaponry and gadgets as Malkovich grants permission to do so. While in theory it's just the same as finding them, it feels restrictive to wait for a call to finally get access to rockets, double jump or speed boost.
I don't feel the typical Metroidvania backtracking is utilised much here either. Sure, there's a bit of back and forth, but it feels far more linear here. Only towards the end I felt it all connected as a whole world I could go back to revisit.
Aware that this is a Wii title, I must admit it's a visually impressive one. Perhaps one of the best-looking titles on the system next to Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy. Using a lot of visual effects like excellent lighting, shiny materials and surfaces, and cool reflection effects. It pulls the limited Wii hardware through its paces!
As with the Prime titles, I appreciate the variation on visual styles. Even though Samus is contained on a spaceship we have indoor jungles, snow covered areas and even lava rooms! Giving us that needed variety from the planets which Samus more typically visits. Weather effects like snow and rain add to the visual package, giving a richer look to the overall appearance.
That said, there are a lot of similar looking spaceship corridors. Repeatedly walking through them becomes repetitive and it's nothing we haven't seen repeatedly in similar sci-fi titles. Being on the Wii hardware, there's a clear limit to the size of each room too. While some are larger, they’re limited in size and scope.
Music score has a couple of memorable tunes, but overall, it resides in a more subdued, orchestral affair. Like many modern titles it quickly becomes forgettable.
I feel some of the negativity around this title has unfairly gone over the top through the years. Sure, it's not a typical Metroid title, then what again is? Considering the releases in the franchise since then, Other M doesn’t deserve the hate it gets.
That said, I see some of the shortcomings. Like Samus having her abilities authorized versus exploring and discovering them by yourself. Plus, the shift from Samus being a confident to unsure and timid is a personality change which is understandably disliked.
Granted, some of the sensation of being alone is lost here, considering you're with a whole platoon and the emphasis is heavier story driven and linear progression, but my main gripe lies with the ending not being the true ending. It's design choice I'm not keen on; after the end credits you need to find the actual end boss.
A task which features a massive, long and linear, backtracking through the entire spaceship. In addition, you must battle a new and tough enemy type which, in a questionable decision, never was used otherwise during the playthrough. Eventually, when you reach the end of the spaceship you’re thrown into an even harder end boss.
It's feels unfair and tedious, especially after having the sensation of completing the game prior to the credits. Like a forceful hard mode level thrown in to keep more casual players away from a proper ending. It should've been baked into the normal playthrough in a better way.
While it doesn't hit the heights of Metroid Prime or Super Metroid, the collaboration between Nintendo and Tecmo has at resulted in delivering something different and original for the franchise. It's varied and offers a fair progression of difficulty for newcomers of the franchise, bar the “true” ending, and utilises the Wii motion controls in a satisfying manner.
At the same time, it misses on the strong sides of the franchise, with some odd choices in Samus personality and the way she acquires abilities. There’s also a linear, action packed, story which is driven through many cutscenes which sets it apart from the slower and less flashy style the franchise is better known for.
Then again, isn’t change good? A new take on the premise of the franchise is in my opinion a cool addition to make it a varied and strong series overall.
If you allow it the freedom of exploring outside tradition, this is a solid Metroid playthrough that more people should find the time to enjoy. It's unfortunate that it’s never been ported to the Switch, as it holds up well with increased resolution in emulators.
I must remind the fans that this is a new Metroid sub-genre, not obliged to be how we perceive a typical 2D or Prime title should or shouldn't be played or designed. I like change, and Other M gave me just that.
