Topic: REVIEWS: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Svevan
Nintendo's bad at continuity because they love formula and design. This isn't a negative aspect of their game development at all; the continuity between the three Prime games is unprecedented for a Nintendo franchise, probably because we Westerns (and Retro too) are obsessed with narrative. (Wind Waker was spectacularly weird for tying into OoT.)

Nintendo's choices with regards to narrative continuity are made after the game design has been put into place; the way you play Metroid is more important than why you play Metroid (though both are important). Same goes for Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, even the plot heavy Star Fox.

Personally, I like the idea of recycled plot and design. I personally wish every Zelda game was an experiment that created a new Hyrule from scratch (a la Wind Waker and Majora's Mask). Twilight Princess did an awesome job of that, but since exploring Hyrule is the crux of the Zelda games, Nintendo can't repeat that Hyrule and will either have Link go somewhere else or start over again. To me, that's the way it should be: none of these games should connect. Metroid is different, but we're still going through the same old motions every time we start a Metroid game - why not reboot the plot every time too? Star Fox (and Donkey Kong, and Metroid 1, and every frigging Nintendo game) has taught us that it doesn't matter if the plot in a video game is good, it just matters that there's a plot at all. Once again quoting Peter Greenaway: continuity is boring.

You know, I hate to say it, but I agree with everything that Evan has said there. I especially think that the Prime series should be a reboot of sorts, it is basically a whole new take on the Metroid franchise so in turn, why not reboot some of the plot points in order to make a more exciting (And unpredictable) excursion into the Metroid universe.

[Mashiro]

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Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Quote
Originally posted by: Svevan
Nintendo's bad at continuity because they love formula and design. This isn't a negative aspect of their game development at all; the continuity between the three Prime games is unprecedented for a Nintendo franchise, probably because we Westerns (and Retro too) are obsessed with narrative. (Wind Waker was spectacularly weird for tying into OoT.)

Nintendo's choices with regards to narrative continuity are made after the game design has been put into place; the way you play Metroid is more important than why you play Metroid (though both are important). Same goes for Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, even the plot heavy Star Fox.

Personally, I like the idea of recycled plot and design. I personally wish every Zelda game was an experiment that created a new Hyrule from scratch (a la Wind Waker and Majora's Mask). Twilight Princess did an awesome job of that, but since exploring Hyrule is the crux of the Zelda games, Nintendo can't repeat that Hyrule and will either have Link go somewhere else or start over again. To me, that's the way it should be: none of these games should connect. Metroid is different, but we're still going through the same old motions every time we start a Metroid game - why not reboot the plot every time too? Star Fox (and Donkey Kong, and Metroid 1, and every frigging Nintendo game) has taught us that it doesn't matter if the plot in a video game is good, it just matters that there's a plot at all. Once again quoting Peter Greenaway: continuity is boring.

You know, I hate to say it, but I agree with everything that Evan has said there. I especially think that the Prime series should be a reboot of sorts, it is basically a whole new take on the Metroid franchise so in turn, why not reboot some of the plot points in order to make a more exciting (And unpredictable) excursion into the Metroid universe.

I will point to Super Metroid as the rebuttal to that whole ideal.

Continuity helps to establish lore and important story elements that to some people (such as myself) helps to make (in the case of games) sequels all the more awesome.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Mashiro

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Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix

Quote
Originally posted by: Svevan
Nintendo's bad at continuity because they love formula and design. This isn't a negative aspect of their game development at all; the continuity between the three Prime games is unprecedented for a Nintendo franchise, probably because we Westerns (and Retro too) are obsessed with narrative. (Wind Waker was spectacularly weird for tying into OoT.)

Nintendo's choices with regards to narrative continuity are made after the game design has been put into place; the way you play Metroid is more important than why you play Metroid (though both are important). Same goes for Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, even the plot heavy Star Fox.

Personally, I like the idea of recycled plot and design. I personally wish every Zelda game was an experiment that created a new Hyrule from scratch (a la Wind Waker and Majora's Mask). Twilight Princess did an awesome job of that, but since exploring Hyrule is the crux of the Zelda games, Nintendo can't repeat that Hyrule and will either have Link go somewhere else or start over again. To me, that's the way it should be: none of these games should connect. Metroid is different, but we're still going through the same old motions every time we start a Metroid game - why not reboot the plot every time too? Star Fox (and Donkey Kong, and Metroid 1, and every frigging Nintendo game) has taught us that it doesn't matter if the plot in a video game is good, it just matters that there's a plot at all. Once again quoting Peter Greenaway: continuity is boring.

You know, I hate to say it, but I agree with everything that Evan has said there. I especially think that the Prime series should be a reboot of sorts, it is basically a whole new take on the Metroid franchise so in turn, why not reboot some of the plot points in order to make a more exciting (And unpredictable) excursion into the Metroid universe.

I will point to Super Metroid as the rebuttal to that whole ideal.

Continuity helps to establish lore and important story elements that to some people (such as myself) helps to make (in the case of games) sequels all the more awesome.

The thing is that Metroid never really had established lore to begin with, especially the first game where a bunch of dorks wrote up a quick story for the American releases booklet. If anything Prime is really the only game that tried to establish any kind of lore, except for Super Metroids limited use of it.

[Smoke39]

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Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
And it's not like Samus went to the planets in this game for any random reason either...Not only that, the game ties everything from the other two games together so you can see how the next game picked up, while also tieing into the eventual next game in the series...I really don't see what you are complaining about...

I'm complaining about Retro lodging this random new storyline in an arbitrary place between two of the original games that used to follow one directly after the other.  That, and I'm not a big fan of Retro's take on Metroid in general.  I've definitely enjoyed the Prime games on their own merrits, but part of me can't help but kind of wish that they hadn't been set in the Metroid universe and would have just left the Metroid franchise alone.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Smoke39

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
And it's not like Samus went to the planets in this game for any random reason either...Not only that, the game ties everything from the other two games together so you can see how the next game picked up, while also tieing into the eventual next game in the series...I really don't see what you are complaining about...

I'm complaining about Retro lodging this random new storyline in an arbitrary place between two of the original games that used to follow one directly after the other.  That, and I'm not a big fan of Retro's take on Metroid in general.  I've definitely enjoyed the Prime games on their own merrits, but part of me can't help but kind of wish that they hadn't been set in the Metroid universe and would have just left the Metroid franchise alone.

Thankfully you are only one of the few that believe that. The way I see it, the backstory in the original games had about as much substance as Pac-Man, and complaining about Metroid Prime 3 ruining that story is like complaining that Pac-Man World ruined the plot to the original. If anything, the Metroid Prime series gave a soul to the background story.

[Halbred]

I could not agree more. Here's the general plot (spoilers ahead...yeah right) to the Metroid canon without the Prime series:

1) Samus is ordered by the Galactic Federation to go to Zebes and destroy the Metroid threat, and Mother Brain, leader of the Space Pirates, who don't even show up in the original game.
2) Samus is ordered by the Galactic Federation to go to SR388 and destroy all the Metroids on the planet, hopefully causing the extinction of the species. Samus kills the queen only to find a hatchling, who sees Samus as its mother (groan). She takes it back to the Federation.
3) The Pirates finally reveal themselves, steal the baby, and Samus...goes...and...gets it back? The Hatchling destroys Mother Brain but sacrifices itself in the process. So sad.
4) Samus is infected with the X Parasite (worst...name...EVER), which is thriving on SR388 now that the Metroids are gone. Samus is injected with a Metroid serum, made from that hatchling's DNA, and becomes half human, half Metroid. Or something. Diffusion Missiles are the ultimate result (sigh). Samus discovers that the Federation is cloning and breeding Metroids for military purposes. Samus blows up the station and with it, SR388.

WOW. I mean, that's a NOVEL right there. DANG. So many PLOT TWISTS. So much...so much character development. Tolstoy WISHES he could write that kind of nail-biter.

Get real. Without Metroid Prime, the series would be DEVOID of any sort of mythos. Thanks to the Prime series, we know detailed information about the Pirates and their motivations. We know a LOT more about the Chozo and Samus' origins. We know about Samus' involvment with the Galactic Federation and with other hunters. We know a lot more about Metroids and, thanks to Corruption, Mother Brain.

I can only hope that Nintendo capitalizes on all this backstory in their next (presumably) 2D Metroid game. The Metroid series doesn't have to be Metal Gear Solid, but it doesn't have to be Pac-Man, either.