METROID FUSION - The Corruption of a Masterpiece | GEEK CRITIQUE

More than eight years passed since Super Metroid, but in 2002, Samus returned. Given how much time passed, it would've been safer to do a soft relaunch featuring the franchise's most iconic elements, but R&D1 didn't play it safe...

[GeekCritique]

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING, especially if you're about to take a shot at Covarr.

Covarr's section, as I originally envisioned it, was meant to be a 30-45 second gag where he, as someone who GENUINELY doesn't like Fusion, would quickly play up ALL of his grievances with it in an over-the-top manner. It was partly meant to be played for laughs, while still allowing us to address some of the criticisms that make Fusion a somewhat controversial game.

His section as-written ended up being a lot longer than I'd thought, but I still thought it was really enjoyable. The problem I didn't forsee is that my audience...

1) Doesn't know Covarr, and thus wouldn't inherently appreciate his being there, and
2) Didn't have my knowledge that it was MEANT to be tongue-in-cheek.

As a result, his over-the-top rant lasted WAY too long to be a joke, and aside from the relatively-small subsection of my viewers who know Covarr from my streams, almost nobody enjoyed it. Covarr also didn't want to awkwardly repeat criticisms I had already raised, so he was forced even more to exaggerate his nitpicks. Given these circumstances, we should have either cut it back down to the original 30 seconds, edited it to be more fairly critical, or just cut it entirely. I take full responsibility, and I really hate when people slag off on Covarr himself over it, because as the semi-experienced YouTube person, I _really_ should have been better about anticipating how it would come across to you guys.

[Tweekitus]

I never thought about this, but... The SA-X freezes you and then hits you with a super missile. That's how you kill a metroid. Samus has metroid DNA, so the SA-X sees her as a metroid. Mind blown.

[jonesthemoblin]

"were they delebirately trying to keep Samus weak?"

yes, they were. it was part of the plot.

[urbiznesnunuv]

Yes. The federation was trying to keep samus weak so you couldn’t kill the SA-X. It’s a plot point.

[brandonforgen]

i played this as a child and the forced "stop and go here" helped me play. And as an adult i just love the horror aspect. i feel that this game doesnt get enough love and wish i could play a sequel with the new corrupted suit still intact

[jober]

Metroid fusion doesn't have the X-ray scope, but power bombs uncover every hidden block.

[deanprowell]

"Does the Federation want to keep Samus weak?"

Covarr, there are approximately three trillion trees in the world. These trees work tirelessly to produce the oxygen we breathe. I want you to track down the specific tree that produced the oxygen you used to say that line, and *apologize* to it.

[SnipeMD]

23:39 "So-called secrets are stored away in the most obvious places."

*_I know somebody who didn't find the second energy tank...in the same room._*

[DanielTheRobot]

"Is the federation trying to keep samus too weak to succeed?" Uh actually yeah they were. They said in the game they had certain power ups ready and with-held them so samus wouldn't confront the sa-x. Remember how they wanted to preserve the sa-x for their own uses?

[supernovagamer]

I think the linear design is brilliant. Samus in every other game is a hired bounty hunter told to complete a mission in whatever way she needs to, while in this game she's been sent to a federation ship by the federation to complete an objective. It would make sense for the game to be linear, because the federation has made the mission quick, cheap, and streamlined, like how any government would do it.

[GryphB]

"Yeah, a download that changes the physical properties of my ammunition. Cause that makes sense." Galactic bounty hunter that can jump infinitely, run through walls and summons her power armor by mere thought alone fights space dragons and giant brains in glass jars, but downloading information to change the fabrication unit in her arm mounted heavy artillery? That's just too far.
wut?

[PhobiaSoft]

Covarr: "Is the federation TRYING to keep Samus weak?!?" Yes, that is one of the plot's twists toward the end of the game, when the computer reveals that the Ice Missile upgrade had been ready for some time, and they never revealed this fact to Samus.

Really great video until the rant at the end. I realize it was supposed to be a joke, but it just feels like a shame to ruin such a well written, well thought out retrospective, with a sarcastic, emotionally charged conclusion at the end... But, your video made a lot of great points that I should have made in my video on Fusion. Like the fact that since this was a handheld game, it was somewhat forced into a formula that supported short bursts of gameplay. That was something I never considered!

[luky]

Personally I think it's important to have different kinds of entries in a series. The more focused gameplay of fusion suits the portable system it was made for. Plus it's more about story and atmosphere, and for me at least, it's one of the best in the series for that. And I can't forget about the bosses, very good stuff.

[Axarch]

Ironically enough "Corrupting a Masterpiece" is precisely how I would describe Covarr's rant.

[qty]

"In Super Metroid I had the X-Ray scope."

Metroid Fusion made the power bomb serve the same purpose as the X-ray scope, only more efficient. That was the point.

[twistedsaints]

"Is the federation TRYING to keep Samus weak?" Yeah? 9 year old me thought that was pretty damn obvious.

[davsmitt]

"Did the federation want to keep samus too weak?" Um yes! It's stated multiple times in the game

[OninRuns]

You need a better proofreader.
"Why does she have to go to different rooms for different upgrades?" Because the SA-X destroys them. Explicitly stated in the story. The fact that she can restore powers from bosses is a surprise to both of them. Making save rooms not restore health/ammo increases its difficulty and stops you from running back to the save room constantly. Forcing some trial and error in pathfinding helps make the game feel less linear than it is, and it's not like super metroid didn't have an abundance of shitty "secret paths".

I've never empathized with the "it's so linear" complaint. Super Metroid isn't an open world. It absolutely has direction. It absolutely expects you to go certain places in certain orders. Maybe not one single linear line, but Reverse Boss Order was NEVER intended and is NOT representative of its GAME DESIGN.

Hate the story interrupting your gameplay? Hate the story in and of itself? Fine, that's your taste. Personally, I think Fusion is a masterpiece BECAUSE it has such a compelling and thematically fitting story.

Metroid was inspired by the Alien movie. Metroid Fusion is the most Alien game in the franchise by a country mile. Every core mechanic echoes the themes of that movie.

[Sherizati]

The first time that I played fusion and it told me that there were at least TEN SA-X wandering the B.S.L. station. I shut my game off instantly and didnt play it for a week.

The SA-X is one of the only enemies in a video game that instilled true fear into me.

[hirumaredx]

Metroid Fusion was always my favorite Metroid game, but thats because it was the first one I played. I went back and played all the other ones, but Fusion was still my favorite. I dont think I've ever played through a game more times than I have Fusion. That being said, I understand its flaws as a metroidvania game and it is the most Linear of all the metroids.

Also some of the complaint put up towards the end of the video are answered in game, and seem to be made by someone who didnt really pay attention to the story, or were just exaggerated for comedy.