Topic: FEATURES: Whither Now, Samus Aran?

[Yoshidious]

Feature: Whither Now, Samus Aran

This is where you can discuss our ideas for the future of the Metroid franchise or tell the world about your ideal future for Samus and the Metroid franchise.

[Crimm]

I want to personally thank Zach, Jonny, and especially Greg for their work on what I maintain is one of the best features this site has ever produced. 

[Kairon]

Awesome feature. Great reads. And surprisingly serious and dedicated... I need to get out of the forums more and onto the site proper!

Oh, but I must chime in with a tidbit to frame any possible discussions about Metroid Prime 3 sales. Corruption sold 1.31 million units worldwide as of March 2008 according to a Nintendo release. That's not as much as Metroid Prime 1, but like Johnny said MP1 numbers were somewhat inflated via pack-ins. MP3 still sold significantly over a million units and there's tons of companies who'd love to have that problem on their hands.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I'll have to read it tonight. Someone ruined my idea of submitting it to GoNintendo though because it was already there! Too bad no one will be able to read it there.

[Crimm]

I'll have to read it tonight. Someone ruined my idea of submitting it to GoNintendo though because it was already there!

...no way.

...unreal.  They could at least have said the name of the site in their blurb   

[vudu]

I just finished RFN 96--recorded way back on April 21--where this feature was first mentioned.  As Crimm and Greg were talking about it I kept thinking to myself "Did I miss this?  How could that be?".  Glad to see you guys are as timely as ever. 

[Crimm]

Being Features Editor is hard 

[GoldenPhoenix]

Two whole people responded at GoNintendo, and even they more than likely couldn't read it. Sad.

[ShyGuy]

Hey Crimm, have you ever contacted Rawmeat?

[Smoke39]

I'm skeptical of Greg's power/zero suit switching idea.  Not the concept itself, I suppose, so much as the justification.  You make it sound like Samus is clumsy or inagile while wearing her power suit, which isn't the case at all.  Asside from sinking in water, Samus has always been perfectly agile in her suit.  If she can't defeat a certain enemy yet, why not just run (as she does when encountering the SA-X in Fusion)?  Or if she has to be sneaky, why would she purposefully shed her suit and make herself more vulnerable to attack in the event that she gets caught?

Also, I think Zach's Halo-esque, squad-based FPS idea is the worst idea for a Metroid game ever.  His 3D stealth idea sounded interesting to me, though.  It would be a departure to be sure, but would still retain the solitude and exploration elements of the series.

[Yoshidious]

I'm skeptical of Greg's power/zero suit switching idea.  Not the concept itself, I suppose, so much as the justification.  You make it sound like Samus is clumsy or inagile while wearing her power suit, which isn't the case at all.  Asside from sinking in water, Samus has always been perfectly agile in her suit.  If she can't defeat a certain enemy yet, why not just run (as she does when encountering the SA-X in Fusion)?  Or if she has to be sneaky, why would she purposefully shed her suit and make herself more vulnerable to attack in the event that she gets caught?

Naturally, the relative talents of Samus in both her forms would have to be carefully balanced. In terms of foot-speed, I see Zero Suit Samus as being quicker off the mark than in the Power Suit, which has always required a good head of steam to get up to full speed (culminating in the Speed Boost ability). So without the armour she'd be better able to evade enemies in tight spaces, and her weapon could once again be capable of stunning enemies that Samus cannot yet destroy with her Arm Cannon. With regard to jumping, she would not be able to jump as high or as far as in the Power Suit, but would be able to make sudden leaps/somersaults over enemies, stun them, and then run out of their range. So it's not so much that the Samus we know is clunky, rather that Zero Suit would be extremely quick while limited in other ways.

Inevitably, the reasons for Samus to shed her armour would not be seamlessly natural, anymore than having her crash land without her suit at the end of Zero Mission was. But they could be skilfully rationalised with game design and plot devices so as to make these transitions as unobtrusive as possible. For instance, the indestructible enemies could be guarding an important upgrade for the Power Suit, so she cannot simply flee, but must bypass them in order to claim the item and thus progress further. A story device could be something like she's infiltrating an area with sensors that can detect the energy signature of the suit, and therefore must go in without it, evading detection until she can deactivate the sensors. These are obviously just a few simple examples, many many more could be conceived of; the key is to weave them into the game design adroitly so they do not seem overly contrived.

But ultimately the point of my piece is that Samus would be less powerful outside of the suit, hence the sensation of empowerment that comes when she is able to activate it once more and enjoy the ability to move around and destroy enemies relatively unfettered. Over time the Zero Suit form could gain more and more abilities to become useful outside of the specifically crafted areas, but she would remain significantly more constrained outside of the armour than inside it.   

[Morari]

His 3D stealth idea sounded interesting to me, though.  It would be a departure to be sure, but would still retain the solitude and exploration elements of the series.

Blizzard thought that as well, until StarCraft: Ghost was canceled...

[SixthAngel]

So because a new Metroid game isn't announced for the first e3 after Corruption an article about Metroid possibly dying or going through a drastic overhall is made?  I appreciate a feature about such a big franchise but why the random doom and gloom?

I wouldn't even call it oft neglected.  It was neglected once, during the N64 era.  There has been Metroid games released for every other console and handheld as well as two for the Gamecube followed by one in the very first year of the Wii.  After the game being released not even a year ago Samus is now in her usual cameo in Smash Bros.  Metroid isn't going away and they aren't going to release a new one every year either because that is not how Nintendo does big franchises.

[Enner]

Ditto that, SixthAngel. After an absence on N64, we have almost a half a dozen games spread out between GCN, WII, GBA, and NDS. I think the Metroid franchise is at a well-deserved rest.

However, I do share the bit of worry on where the franchise should go next in gameplay and story.
I think having a prequel into Samus' time with or after living with the Chozo on Zebes would be a worthy installment in terms of story. Though, seeing as how there would be disgust at turning the series into more of a shooter than it already is, it makes me wonder if there is any tolerance for the next Metroid to be lacking or absent of its trademark gameplay themes of exploration and adventure.

As for Leahy's idea of switching between the Power Suit and the Zero Suit for gameplay, I rather like it very much. However, I wonder how that can be worked in to the fiction of the series. Disregarding the disturbingly quick change from Power to Zero on Samus' gunship in the Zero Mission cutscene, I'd like to think it takes great effort to change between the two suits (if Brawl is to be taken as an accurate representation). Samus just can't slip out of the Power Suit in a hostile area and risk the suit being taken or getting very, very dirty. You certainly can't make Samus go back to her ship to slip in and out of the Power Suit as that would greatly slow down the game (a game known to encourage speed runs). Having the ship come to you is a viable alternative.
Of course, there is the obvious option of switching between the two different suits at the press of a button or menu press. Storywise, it doesn't quite sit well with me that a suit that has such a god-like capacity for offensive and defensive power can be turned on and off like a reversible jacket. Then again, should the story matter, especially for a suit that can turn into a relatively small ball and carry hundreds of missles and gadgets and especially if it gets in the way of gameplay? We are playing games, of course, and not stories! (Insert cheap "Or are we?" here.)

This is what I find interesting about sequels: how and how much they are a sequel in terms of gameplay and story. Each time it gives me a chance to think about which is more important in the game series and in general.

[Halbred]

I should add that, according to the Metroid e-Manga (and Corruption), Samus' suit can materialize and dematerialize seemingly at will. This aspect could be more thoroughly explored in the 2D "early life of Samus" games I submitted.

[Dasmos]

To be honest, I hated this feature. I'm steadily losing faith that this site can produce anything in the form of an editiorial or feature that isn't complete trash.

[GregLover5000]

Three simple words, people:



UBISOFT™ imagine™ Metroidz®

[Nick DiMola]

This feature is fantastic guys. A great retrospective on the series with some great insight of where we have missing bits of story in the Metroid timeline, and how we can fill those pieces in with meaningful and fresh gameplay. Both Greg and Zach's ideas would push the series into something new. I especially liked the idea of stealth Zero-Suit and the concept of switching between the Power Suit and Zero Suit. I think the Zero-Suit parts would have to be in 3rd person with the Power Suite retaining its first person perspective.

[Yoshidious]

So because a new Metroid game isn't announced for the first e3 after Corruption an article about Metroid possibly dying or going through a drastic overhall is made?  I appreciate a feature about such a big franchise but why the random doom and gloom?

I wouldn't even call it oft neglected.  It was neglected once, during the N64 era.  There has been Metroid games released for every other console and handheld as well as two for the Gamecube followed by one in the very first year of the Wii.  After the game being released not even a year ago Samus is now in her usual cameo in Smash Bros.  Metroid isn't going away and they aren't going to release a new one every year either because that is not how Nintendo does big franchises.

The intro is simply meant to raise the issue that the Metroid franchise's timely continuation is not certain in the same way as it is for Mario, Zelda, or even Animal Crossing and sub-sets of the Mario brand like Mario Kart and Mario Party. It is not meant to predict anything (that is left to the articles within), but instead provides some historical context to frame the topic.

The sense in which it can be said that Metroid has been neglected multiple times during its life: It took five years to get its first sequel, whereas other 8-bit classics (Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, Mega Man) had sequels within a couple of years on the NES. Not to mention that when it did arrive on handhelds in 1991, it didn't get another handheld game until 11 years later. Then of course there's the eight year period where no games at all were released between Super Metroid and Prime/Fusion. Perhaps more importantly though, I'd consider the four years of the DS without a true Metroid game (I own and enjoy both Metroid Prime Pinball and Hunters, but I no more conisder them true Metroid games than I do Mario Golf or Mario vs DK vis a vis Mario) to be a pretty significant case of neglect.

As for whether the franchise needs a major overhaul, personally I would be happy (if not totally ecstatic) with more of the same. However, stating my satisfaction with the series so far and asking for no change would not have been very thought-provoking as a basis for a feature, and I certainly do believe that the series would benefit from being significantly refreshed (in the right way) at this point.   

[AV]

i didn't see this posted until very late last night after i finished "nightly relaxation teqnuqie". I read the entire first one bit and I was exicted and very much enjoyed reading that. The 2nd part was ok but I fell asleep soon after. Not because it was boring but it was so much to read.

you guys should of released parts of this over a week. It's allot of reading and to much absorb at once.

[planetidiot]

I'd like to see them get back to the titular metroids, honestly.  The final stage in the first Metroid was terrifying the first time you played it.  Metroids were nothing short of deadly.  In the Prime games, you shoot them a couple times and they explode.  It's become more "The Adventures of Samus and the Evil Space Pirates" more than "Metroid" anything.

[NWR_insanolord]

To me the suggestion that the series' name should be changed due to the removal of metroids is as ludicrous as insisting that The Legend of Zelda series name should change because it stars Link and not Zelda. Sure, it may make some logical sense, but from a marketing standpoint it's stupid and it doesn't enhance the games in any way, so why do it?

[KDR_11k]

Toss Metroid. The story is finished, there's nothing worth carrying over anyway (Samus is another no-personality player mirror character). Start something new, stop worrying about the old conventions and avoid fan expectations of this-or-that weapon being int he game.

As for adding stealth to Metroid, please, shoot yourself. Adding invisible lasers to enemies that pretty much mean instant death when touched is a horrible idea. Samus in a regular suit being more agile than in freaking power armor is just plain ludicrous, humans just aren't that agile and can't jump 4m high or run that fast.

[Jonnyboy117]

I'm wondering if anyone actually got to my part of the feature before they quit reading.  I addressed the issue of the Metroids themselves as well as the stagnation of the series.

[Enner]

Mm. Tossing is always a nice option. Not like there aren't enought sequels these days.

Does Zero Mission's Zero Suit stint count as stealth? Should Nintendo be shooting themselves for that? 

I wouldn't mind a new take on sci-fi adventure from Nintendo. Samus' occupation as a bounty hunter and mercenary had Nintendo feel the need to slip in more and more combat into the game. Maybe they could start something new with some outer space explorer or frontiersman.

Don't worry Jonny, I'm sure some people read your part. The idea of a seamless, elevator-less world for a Metroid game sounds like a nice idea, if a bit daunting. That would definitely play to the strength of the environment being a main character in Metroid games.