Samus being a bounty hunter

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:16:40

Alex said it best >_>

Damn you alex!

I wanted to make that point too!

At the very least, don't make it about her crying too much, I mean, she actively seeks out better weapons to completely annihilate her enemies... I don't think that's the mind-set of someone weepy.

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 01:18:53

it bears mentioning that being an homicidal soldier does not entail not being emotional.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:21:26

It does entail not freezing up to Ridley and being ineffectual.

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 01:23:30

you know I ain't watching that clip, right?

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:24:34

You want to know what brings me pain right?

:3c

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 01:25:38

Apart from me? Can't think of anything.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:26:20

Watch the clip Juan.

Know my pain like it were your own.

Malkavian · 2011-09-27 01:26:31

^^^Engaging characters made ineffectual?

Juan's existence?

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 01:27:36

The thing about Samus is that the implicit characterisation we've got in the past tells us about her emotions without her overtly expressing them. I think that makes a lot of sense for someone like Samus.

For instance, we know she has maternal feelings via her mercy for the infant Metroid. That might imply that what she really desires is to be a caregiver of some kind, but is too distant to find love and actually have a child. So we've got a conflict in her desires. On one hand, she wants to destroy Ridley; on the other, she wants to raise a child.

The latter is possibly driven by the want of a family life and reliving a functional childhood through watching one of her own develop.

So that begs the question: how does she react to children? Do they bring her a little joy, or do they deepen her bitterness? A little bit of both?

The strength of Samus' characterisation is where one reads between the lines. Other M pretty much entirely failed to do this.

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 01:28:50

Watch the clip Juan.
Know my pain like it were your own.

make me.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:31:47

@Alex. It's also kind of implied when she hands over the hatchling exactly what choice she made.

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 01:34:58

True, although I doubt those feelings would've been purged.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 01:36:34

I know, I find it almost saddening in a way when she decides that... If not a bit a rejuvenating when she has to go and save him from the Space pirates.

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 01:37:38

And then the Mother Brain boss fight. ;~;

MoeDantes · 2011-09-27 08:29:54

Whoa okay I apparently completely missed this discussion. So anyway, let me set the record straight:

Original Metroid - Samus was hired to killify the space pirates led by Mother Brain, and either retrieve or destroy the stolen Metroids. I'd call that Bounty Hunting.

Metroid II - Actually I've never been clear on if Samus was hired to exterminate the Metroids or if it was entirely a personal mission after she had a "fuck I never want to go through Torian again" reaction.

Super Metroid - She did this one pretty much out of her own volition.

So, Samus was a Bounty Hunter, but then her job kinda spiralled out of control.

None of the games after Super Metroid count. This is the Truth.

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 08:31:00

Metroid Prime was absolutely fantastic, y'know.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 08:44:04

^ This.

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 08:57:35

>Dantes

>Opinions on video games

fuck it, guys, where did you hide my coat and why am i still here.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 08:59:31

Well, a one Malcolm Reynolds came around and he was looking for a coat, so I just handed him one that I thought suite him.

You really want to try and get your coat back from him?

What is Samus to you Juan?

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 09:01:58

What is Samus to you Juan?

I refuse to answer this and I'll steal Alex's coat to get away from here, kthnxbai

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 09:11:25

Malcolm said he might need a back-up coat, so I gave him Alexs as well.

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 09:25:10

Look at us two.

Men without coats.

Tragic.

Icalasari · 2011-09-27 10:20:01

*Lends Juan my coat*

Anyways, like I said. I've never played a Metroid game before. Yet that one clip makes me want to declare Other M discontinuity

Trigger_Loaded · 2011-09-27 11:24:34

I recall hearing that when they translated Metroid to the US, that the Japanese developers didn't quite understand what a 'bounty hunter' was, or that was something tacked on afterwards by the American translators.

The reason being when Retro Studios was developing one of the Prime games, they had the idea that along with the quest, you could gain bonus points/money by collecting bounties on the side. I'm not sure specifically how this would work (Find somebody hiding in a secret room, or perhaps a typical Twenty Bear Asses quest.) But when the original developer (Whose name eludes me) heard about this, he quickly shot it down, saying Samus doesn't hunt for money!

Which led to Team Retro realizing that Japan has a completely different idea what being a "bounty hunter" entails, and thought Samus is just a Hero for Hire... Or not even for Hire.

Ahh, here's the line, stated right in the above linked Tropes page (Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.)

The reason for this is that in Japan, she never has been a bounty hunter. Although she has been officially called a bounty hunter since her first appearance in the English version, no one at Nintendo of Japan had any idea! When Retro Studios tried to work actual bounty hunting into the Prime series, the Japanese execs were immensely confused, because, in their view, bounty hunting is outside her code of ethics. Between Japan and English speaking countries, Samus is an almost completely different character!

So yeah. Now, more so than ever, I call Death Of The Author.

Really, seeing the characterization in Other M is depressing. For ages, Samus stood as THE example of an action girl protagonist in a video game. A popular series, a tough woman who stood alone against an army, and wore practical armour. As mentioned above, as the games advanced, the subtle characterization provided gave hints, but nothing explicit. We still assumed a battle-hardened independent warrior, and it fit with what we saw. I remember her being held up as an ideal for female protagonists ages ago.

And then Other M turned her into a mewling co-dependent insecure little girl. And twenty five years of characterization down the drain. Especially as it's implied she was always like this.

To continue ranting and raving and being a whiny little bitch myself, one other thing I hate is the mention that Samus' armour requires concentration or confidence or some mental fortitude to stay on.... Who the HELL designed armour that would dissapate when you're stressed? That's the most useless design feature of an armour I ever heard. You want it to protect you no matter what mental state you're in. Maybe they were going for some sort of Heroic Willpower bounce-back, but it just makes me think the Chozo had no idea what made a good suit of armour.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 11:40:43

^

This Very Much.

MoeDantes · 2011-09-27 11:41:10

Metroid Prime was absolutely fantastic, y'know.

Lies!

Okay, actually I found the game mildly enjoyable, but annoying, derivative, and in a lot of ways a step backwards from the original trilogy (now that term applies to something besides Star Wars, heh). So it was okay, but not "absolutely fantastic"

And I have trouble accepting anything as canon when I'm primarily familiar with the original installments and the additions came like twenty years later.

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 11:48:13

IJBM: The conecpt of canon being important towards the enjoyment of fiction

who the fuck cares if it is canon or not. If it's good, then it's fucking good.

To continue ranting and raving and being a whiny little bitch myself, one other thing I hate is the mention that Samus' armour requires concentration or confidence or some mental fortitude to stay on.... Who the HELL designed armour that would dissapate when you're stressed? That's the most useless design feature of an armour I ever heard. You want it to protect you no matter what mental state you're in. Maybe they were going for some sort of Heroic Willpower bounce-back, but it just makes me think the Chozo had no idea what made a good suit of armour.

I could dig that if it was done right.

Counterclock · 2011-09-27 11:52:09

Says the TTGL fan....

~slaps Juan~

MillerCross · 2011-09-27 12:16:16

And Green Lantern too!

But really, it may be because I like stuff like that, it's just that it's hard to do it right in a sci fi setting without betraying at least some suspension of disbelief. Which is why I put that conditional in there, yannow

MadassAlex · 2011-09-27 12:16:26

Metroid Prime was great because it tapped into the atmosphere, isolation and mystery that made the originals so powerful. With the addition of the scan feature, it also meant that it could tell a story via fragments and implication, which was very in-character for the series. Its biggest flaw is probably that it's near enough a Super Metroid remake in 3D, between all the gear and the types of adversaries you face.

As for the mechanics of the armour, they are very stupid. Combat is by definition a stressful experience; the human body has specific reactions to violent threats that cannot be overcome. They're inherent to human biology, meaning that the armour should never technically work. I always preferred the armour as being sort of graceful, but ultimately a physically consistent suit with nanotech additions.

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Samus being a bounty hunter

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