You need to blame someone from Nintendo instead. Something Team Ninja is only too happy to do.
In an interview with G4TV, Team Ninja’s Yosuke Hayashi makes it very clear the game’s story was Nintendo’s job, not his own studio’s.
“The story for Other M was definitely the product of Mr Sakamoto at Nintendo”, he said. “We definitely worked with them on the project, but that was all him.”
Way to keep it subtle, Hayashi! For reference, and as die-hard fans of the series will already know, that’s Yoshio Sakamoto, the co-creator of Metroid itself and director of games like Super Metroid. So as far out as the story seemed, it’s coming from the guy who has had a hand in every Metroid game ever made, so… make of that what you will.
OniLink99999
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 9:30 AMMakes sense to me. When it comes to clever, subtle stories with minimal dialogue (i.e. Super Metroid) he can do it just fine. However his actual writing skills in the context of a more traditional story just aren’t that good.
Spikey8D
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 10:34 AMI don’t blame team ninja for the story.. I blame them for ruining the franchise! Same with the new DMC.
auskeek
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 10:58 AMTeam Ninja aren’t working on the new DmC, that’s Ninja Theory (the guys behind Heavenly Sword and Enslaved).
HumanTheHuman
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 12:53 PMA lot of people really, really enjoyed Other M’s gameplay, in fact, they’re in majority. But those who dislike it are incredibly audacious. Food for thought.
Cerzel
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 3:30 PMI might have enjoyed Other M’s gameplay if it wasn’t inside a Metroid game.
Marek
Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 4:21 PMWhat about those horrible pixel hunts, where half the time you had no idea what you were looking for?
They can’t blame Nintendo for that.
Ad
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 1:57 PM“Same with the new DMC”
*sigh*
Steve
Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 8:54 PMI don’t hate them for the overall story. I hate the fact that they ruined the character with such enthusiasm that even George Lucas would be proud of.
Merus
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 12:51 AMI think this is pretty likely – Nintendo of America’s internal translation house, Treehouse, are one of the best in the industry. The script for Other M was incredibly clumsy, so much so that it’s hard to believe they were involved at all. Team Ninja wouldn’t have been able to demand Treehouse keep their script literal; only someone at Nintendo who was quite senior could do so. Sakamoto is one of the few who fit.
Martini
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 1:42 PMI’ve enjoyed every Metroid game, even this one. Go figure.