Team Ninja, widely known for their Ninja Gaiden titles, are in charge of the latest entry in the Metroid series, known as Metroid: Other M. The series director Yoshio Sakamoto and two Team Ninja cohorts reveal their intentions and aspirations for the revamp of Nintendo fans' favorite space vixen and her quest for intergalactic peace.
In the first video(all fan-subbed by Metroid Database), Sakamoto admits his interest in Samus' human side and strives to create a psychological connection with the audience. In previous games, we are witness to oddly-touching moments between Samus and the embattled Metroid larvae, but he wants to present her as a human that goes beyond her cold, alloy exterior. Story Writer Ryuzi Kitaura explains how he does his best to mix, writing, CG, and audio to bring the idea of Samus, the woman, to life.
Yosuke Hayashi goes on to explain that the new Metroid will be controlled by the WiiMote only, a throw-back to their love for the original title on the Nintendo Entertainment System. In order to reach a wider audience, they designed controls to be easy for beginners, something rarely accomplished by the modern blockbuster. It was a quality that made NES games accessible to the youth of the 80's and 90's. The action on screen is still dynamic and visually rewarding for the player, regardless of the “simple” control scheme. They intend to keep the gameplay fresh with a constantly evolving system of attacks, catered to each enemy variant that you encounter in the game. Timing and twitch-gameplay are the words of the day at Team Ninja. They've implemented Sense Move which is a convoluted way of saying evasion. This rewarding and strategically pleasing maneuver is triggered by a simple press of the directional pad. They are betting that players novice and hardcore alike posses the instinctual urge to hit the d-pad when faced with danger, and will be drawn in by the seemingly complex battle system.
The Director also experimented with drastic shifts in camera angles and fine tuned the emotional effect it had on gamers. The shift to a first person perspective in the Metroid Prime series produced by Retro Studios was an interesting change from the traditional 2D formula, but there are high hopes for the mash-up of third and first person perspectives available in Other M. Hitting the Z button triggers a first person mode used for investigation of your surroundings within your augmented-reality helmet and for greater accuracy during shootouts, but the majority of gameplay is presented from an ever-shifting third person perspective.
Team Ninja orchestrated a game that should satiate fans of the classic titles, as well as grab hold of modern gamers' hearts. Their revamp appears to have a well thought out premise and should be a pleasant surprise for all when it ships August 31. In the meantime, check out the videos below and let us know what you think of the new direction for the beloved Samus Aran.
[youtube]8IxtUUF-iNo[/youtube][youtube]lHZFwdApitM[/youtube]
[Subtitled Videos: Metroid Database ]
[Source: Kotaku ]
