We've been waiting far too long for the release of Metroid: Other M, but if your emotions happen to be in sync with Metroid co-creator Yoshio Sakamoto, perhaps the wait will be more than worth it.  Apparently, Other M is so impressive, so significant, and so...well, good that a recent viewing of the game's cinematics moved Sakamoto to tears.

In a recent interview on Nintendo's official website, Other M cutscene specialist Ryuzi Kituara had this to say about Sakamoto's reaction to the one of the game's live CGI shots:

"[Sakamoto-san] stood close to me, checking the monitors. When we'd shoot a particularly moving scene, I'd ask him 'How was that, Sakamoto-san?', but he'd be completely silent [...] I was really worried, thinking 'Oh no, he doesn't like it...', but then when I peeked at his face, his eyes were full of tears."

Obviously, Sakamoto has a lot to be happy about.  The Metroid series is one of Nintendo's cornerstone franchises and still carries a ton of momentum. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption sold over a million copies in 2007.  Now, with Team Ninja at the helm for Other M (rather than Prime developer Retro Studios, who are working on Donkey Kong Country Returns), gamers can certainly expect a different direction for the series.  The latest story line and gameplay trailer reveals a more combat-heavy, 2D-type of Samus adventure as compared to the Metroid Prime games.

Personally, I am a little bit ambivalent about Other M.  On one hand, the game's visuals look great, and I am very interested to see how Team Ninja executes its promise to feature a more thorough plot (Something that the latter two Metroid Prime games seriously lacked).  On the other hand, the Metroid series has a storied tradition of placing Samus in huge, isolated environments and letting gamers explore every nook and cranny that the game has to offer.  While Retro Studios tailored the Metroid Prime games to this winning formula, it appears that Team Ninja may be straying from it.  Seemingly endless combat sequences?  A Galactic Federation military unit where the characters are named, indicating that they may have prominent roles?  Color me skeptical.

I don't need to be moved to tears by Other M.  I just need it to harmonize with my other Metroid memories:  The showdown with Ridley in the bowels of Norfair in Super Metroid, navigating the Phazon Mines for hours in the run-up to the Omega Pirate in Metroid Prime, cursing loudly at the video game Gods while my roommate (Fellow Ranter Ben Kendrick) and I got repeatedly owned by the Emperor Ing in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Hopefully, Sakamoto's emotionality regarding Other M signals the coming of another memorable Metroid installment.

What say you, Ranters?  Do you share Sakamoto's excitement about Other M?  Or do you also have that nagging suspicion about Other M that I do?

Metroid: Other M releases exclusively for the Wii on August 31, 2010.

Source:  Official Nintendo Magazine UK