Topic: What if Nintendo pulled a "Star Fox Zero" with Metroid?

Metroid (I)
>Metroid Prime series (Prime 1, Prime Hunters, Prime 2, Prime 3)
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Super Metroid (III)
>Metroid: Other M
Metroid: Fusion (IV)

The timeline is fine. The 2D entries (and most significant points in the plot development) are in order, you just have to splice in a series of games between two games (which is barely related to the story of the main series Metroid games) and then add a game between Super Metroid and Fusion. There's no reason to understand anything from the Prime series to understand what happens in the main series, it's just there because it's the only place they could put it to include an abundance of Metroids sensibly. Throwing out the potential of a post-Fusion plot because of a tangentially related group of games is nonsensical. Metroid will reboot eventually, but a few post-Fusion and pre-Metroid (NES) games would have interesting potential.

What happened in the Prime series made sense. It's everything to do with the X virus which got wiped out by the Metroids which are dangerous so they were exterminated except on planet ZR1249323whatevertheheck.

None of that stuff serves a series called 'Metroid.'

Metroid Prime hasn't contributed much to the plot of the main series, but it does thematically relate to the main series. The recurring theme of the Metroid series has been large-scale threats. Metroids rarely appear at any point other than the end of a main series game (with the significant exception of Metroid II). What the series as a whole has done is question whether such threats should be allowed to exist. Metroids have been shown to have the potential to benefit society, but are frequently used (or are intended to be used) as weapons. They've played around with the idea, and post-Fusion has the great potential in delivering a conclusion to the conflict at the heart of the series. If the Fusion's ending is to be believed, Samus is the only person who has metroid DNA. She is the only person who can bring Metroids back, but it's up to her to decide if that's the right thing to do. The Metroid Prime series, while featuring metroids and the titular monster, focuses on a different threat, Phazon. Metroid Prime doesn't contribute strongly to progressing Metroid's theme, as Phazon is a consistent source of destruction (although it could be debated that Phazon is metaphorically and very literally power). Metroid Prime does (or did, that may change with Federation Force) reach a conclusion though, that Phazon was to great of a threat (and corruptive), to be allowed to continue to exist. It doesn't contribute to the main series plot in any significant way though. It's entirely a side-series, but completely deserving of being called "Metroid".

All Nintendo needs to do to clear up confusion is add numbers (which appear in the openings of each game) to the respective games. All that has to be explained about the Prime series is that it takes place between Metroid I and II.

I'd interpret it differently. As I see it the general theme of Metroid is the conflict between the explorer and a hostile environment. Samus herself is a metaphor for this; she's very vulnerable as a live human to hostile alien life, but her Varia Suit serves as a barrier between her and the outside world. (I could go into how her female gender relates to this theme of vulnerability, but let's drop that for now.) Just look at how they're portrayed; Samus always has very smooth, almost tender skin while the alien creatures tend to be similarly fleshy (remember how a lot of creatures explode and coat your visor with goo in Metroid Prime Trilogy?). In contrast the Varia Suit is very shield-like, bulky, and has a lot of artificial lines (no squiggly lines that would connote that it is biological in nature). It both protects Samus and distinguishes her from the native organic life.

And I'm getting totally off topic here, (I find themes much more interesting to talk about than branding anyway), but that's why I think MP 3: Corruption is such a smart game. Not only does it show a chink in Samus' literal armor, her phazon infection, but it provides an ever-present reminder of what happens when she 'goes native' in the other hunters and through her parallelism with Dark Samus (see the game over screen). While phazon is portrayed somewhat differently from life (it looks like ghost lava just like the weird lifestream stuff that spawned ethereal creatures in The Spirits Within), it is also shown to be organic —or at least life-creating—in nature. Phazon either corrupts preexisting life or creates inherently corrupted life, therefore I would argue that it symbolizes life or 'the wild.'

DNA or not Metroid is supposed to mean Ultimate warrior in the Chozo language. I think Samus qualifies for that title.

@Ryu_Niiyama: Oh yeah, Zero Mission is a HUGE improvement. It's actually my second favorite game in the series behind Super. I'm just really craving a good Metroid game right now.

I'd be down for an Other M reboot. Get rid of the story and write a better one.

But I don't see why they should reboot the whole series in general.

tbh, Other M is an hour of a past story in a longer game because even ignoring problems with the story, it's way too much of an in-between story and relies way too heavy on both Super Metroid and Fusion.

I wouldn't mind them retconning the game that way.

Just waiting for Other M, definitive edition, where they fix all the story issues.

It will just be an entirely different story for the most part. :V

@shaneoh: They don't even have to go down that route. As @SomeBitTripFan mentioned, going just by what the games tell, Samus still has Metroid DNA in her. I know Sakamoto retconned this, but there's nothing in Fusion that specifies that. They can always use that to reintroduce metroids in some way.

I'm not saying they should rehash the plot point of both Fusion and Other M with the GF cloning metroids yet again, but they can always mix the formula a bit. Make the space pirates experiment with metroid DNA and, taking a cue from the Alien franchise, create metroid hybrid creatures that run rampant in the setting chosen. Those are the bosses that need to be taken down, a la Super Metroid.

They've hardly written themselves into a corner when they can easily say "to hell with it" and just make the game light on plot, like the first three games + Zero Mission. I think the formula works much better like that anyway.

@Marce2240: Yeah you're right. The games don't need to have an incredibly complex central plot, but I'd also like to be able to dig a little deeper through the lore. Like Prime and the Souls games. In fact, how would people feel if metroid went into a 3rd person Souls-like style? But just a little bit easier. Throw in some 3rd person shooting mechanics and give Samus some melee attacks. I think it could be great.

@DarthNocturnal: In an interview. He mentions that, when Samus absorbed the SA-X at the end of Fusion, her genetic condition was restored. Which, people assume, means there's no Metroid DNA in her, or left in the universe for that matter.
...unless we investigate where did the Chozo go in the next game and voilá! Metroid again! As I said, they can easily escape from that corner if they want to.

Here's the source, 3/4 down:
http://www.metroid-database.com/features/faq4.php

@NinjaWaddleDee: Being light on plot but heavy on lore would be perfect, in my opinion. About the 3rd person thing, aren't you basically asking "Other M but good this time"? I'm not against the idea, but I think it would be very hard to execute correctly.

@Marce2240: Other M played very similar to the 2D games. I guess it's like Mario 3D World actually. They're 3D, but the gameplay is more reminiscent of the 2D games. I'd like to see an over-the-shoulder third person Metroid. Free camera during exploration, but a locked camera for combat. That concept works very well in a lot of games and I think it would work for Metroid as well.

@Octane: Just an over-the-shoulder Prime, then? A third-person camera would do wonders to bring the fast-paced movement of the 2D games into the third dimension. Still, the game would need a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of polish to reproduce the manoeuvres you can make in Super or Zero Mission (I never liked Fusion's fixed wall jump that much) in a 3D environment. Any kind of half-assed attempt (and I would qualify how Other M uses Samus' abilities as such) would be disappointing, in my opinion.

@Marce2240: More like an over-the-shoulder Metroid game than a Prime game. Just something completely different. Platforming was awkward in Prime, a third person camera should solve that.

I honestly think the timeline is ok. If people wanna know the Metroid universe and lore, they gotta put effort into it.

The time line is fine right now, except for M:OM, as its scripts state that the prime series never happened.

We don't need reboots, or remakes, or whatever anymore. We need to develop the Metroid universe. Seriously want to see where Metroid goes after Fusion.

@Octane: Any particular examples? TPS are kind of a dying breed nowadays, and I can't think of one that has both a third-person camera and a lock on. Only Vanquish comes to mind, and it only had lock-on on bosses, if I recall correctly.

In fact, if the goal is to make a new kind of platform heavy, fast paced 3D Metroid game, maybe Platinum wouldn't be that bad of a choice.

@Marce2240: Uncharted comes to mind. There's a free camera when you're not actively engaged in combat. That helps quite a lot with the platforming bits. The camera locks to an over-the-shoulder perspective once you draw your gun. It's the only game I can think of that the moment, but I might be a good example as it also focuses on both platforming and shooting.

Platinum makes amazing action games, but I'm not sure how they would handle a platform heavy game. I still want to see a sequel to Murasame Castle developed by Platinum games though, they're made for that game.

@Marce2240: Somewhat. More like third person shooter where you actually get to aim at enemies instead of being locked onto them, and with a 360 degree camera instead of a fixed one. Throw in some actual melee attacks instead of just finishing moves, and I think it could be great. Maybe slow Samus down a bit too, to add to the sense of dread.