This is a little story of a hero – a hero whose name is known far and wide as the legendary Bounty Hunter. She single handedly took down the Space Pirate base on Zebes and went on to accomplish many missions once thought impossible. A story once imagined in subtle detail – largely left to the minds of those who would become aware of her accomplishments or be privileged enough to walk in her footsteps. Join us as we attempt to recreate the tale of events forthcoming.

Epic battles between pirates and ninjas have come full circle. We now stand at the mercy of the polar opposite to etch into history the twisted vision of pirates and their defeat at the hands of the legendary Bounty Hunter. It would seem that this team of ninjas not only hate the very pirates themselves, but extend their disdain toward the hunter of their would-be prey. "Do not encroach on OUR bounty, Samus, lest we portray you with a sort of emotional weight the likes you would never wish to reveal."

This is Metroid. THIS is Other M.

Okay, okay. The creative narrative is long and I still feel like I have a lot to rant about. Stay with me as I connect the dots in the most expedient way possible. Metroid: Other M comes out at the end of the month and I must say – I’m disgusted. What have they done to one of my most beloved game heroines? I’ll tell you. They made her an emotional mess quite unbecoming of the rock solid character that has been sculpted over these several years.

In the latest game – and actually the fruit started to wilt since Prime 3: Corruption – Samus is given flesh in the sense of a back story and more insight into WHO our hero really is. The marketing trash for the game is the very name of our comic today as well as Pie’s Thoughts title. Honestly, if this is how they were going to portray a strong, confident hero capable of things normal humans could only dream of, I would rather NOT know the whole story.

To me, Metroid has always been about a very physically and emotionally strong hero up against nearly impossible odds in mystical and runic alien environments. In many ways she had all the best aspects of humanity within her, complete with a strong sense of justice and a suiting sense of maternal instinct. Nintendo was right to not flesh out her character for so many years – why they let go of the reins for Retro to start mucking it up in Prime 3 with the inclusion of unnecessary supporting characters and for Team Ninja to totally destroy her characterization is beyond comprehension.

Granted, the game isn’t even out yet, but from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t even want to touch it. I had a bad feeling about it when I first saw previews of the game when it was announced as it had terrible texture mapping and a graphical style that somehow looks less polished than the Prime series. I didn’t like the direction they were heading because Prime 1 was the absolute pinnacle of Metroid games to me and a superb demonstration of how to transition the game into 3D. Sadly, the development was handled by an American studio for Prime and they may not have taken into consideration or even known of a surfacing phenomenon of Asian peoples having motion sickness issues in 3D games. This may account for the huge North America to Japan Prime 1 sales ratio (19 : 1) and Nintendo's decision to give rights back to a Japanese studio along with the gameplay shift to a more 2.5D-ish style game.

Regardless of art and play style direction, it is sad to see Samus regress to this. Talking about her past and reminiscing – to monologue on and on so much you wish your head would explode. Great day for comedy but sad day for Metroid fans such as me – those who yearn for an amazing experience of Samus versus a hauntingly beautiful environment pitted against the force of the Space Pirates.

Nintendo – please heed my words for the future: Less is more.

Once again I'm writing an entry at the last minute instead of doing it when I'm wide awake like I told you guys I was going to. >.< So- that is the reason if this ends up being painful to read.

Metroid other M... I really hate being closed minded, but seeing the trailer kinda puts a bad taste in my mouth. Having the narrative sequences just seems painful. I remember the first thing I thought when watching gameplay footage of Samus having monologues was how it was like the old TV show The Wonder Years. I'm not against the idea of having story, I just think having story telling in that nature would really break up the pace of what looked like a possibly rather fast paced game. I guess it doesn't help either that I'm REALLY not liking having other humans in the game AND the tie-ins to the military, soldiers, etc. I find it as a huge turn-off; having those in a Metroid game is just as bad as having bad English dubbing and/or localization.

I also dislike how the Samus character that exists today is not the one I always envisioned when playing Metroid games. It seems like the director of the franchise Yoshio Sakamoto is really wanting to push Samus's more feminine traits onto the fans by not only trying to emphasize her fragility but her womanhood(?) over the past few games; I believe being Samus's Zero suit form is a strong piece of evidence. I honestly never liked her new out-of-suit blue tights-wearing character design. I think it's funny thought that since the unveiling of her Zero suit, she's become a much more popular subject for hentai and near-porn pictures. Honest, I don't look for them... >.> I just happen to often catch glimpses of Samus in "suggestive" poses on my internet travels. =x

-Anyway, I know I'm just ranting and clinging on to the good ole past. I probably sound just as bad as Zelda Wind Waker skeptics when its unique art style was first revealed. Metroid other M might be a really good game for all I know. I'll probably just see it as maybe a Metroid spin-off, but I doubt I'll ever see it as anything more than that. The Metroid series ended at Metroid Prime for me.