Well folks, welcome! It’s part two of the “Nintendo Wii-Try,” where I take a heavy dose of pills designed to temporarily numb my aversion to motion controls, and play through some Wii titles.

I had a most excellent adventure in the first installment with Super Mario Galaxy, and despite some motion-control-related issues (as well as some gravity insanity that still gives me nightmares), it sits firmly atop my “favorite Mario games ever” pile. It was really out of this world, I will say that.

For part two I opted to completely change the direction – primarily due to some rumors regarding re-releases of the Mario franchise on the Switch, including Super Mario Galaxy 2, which have dissuaded me from continuing straight into the sequel. Being tethered to a television to play a console game feels so weird now; not to mention I’ve been playing exclusively portable consoles for around 6 years, and we are all truly spoiled with the Switch. For those reasons, I will be waiting until the rumored re-release of Galaxy 2 on the Switch before I commit to playing it. Of course, there’s also the rumor that the Metroid Prime Trilogy will be coming to the Switch at some point very soon. So including Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, that’s two games I’d like to play, but if I can hold out and play them on the Switch, that’d be a much better experience.

We also have our first little one on the way very, very soon… Like any day now, really. At least at the time of this writing!

The other reason I decided to change it up is that Metroid: Other M was absolutely panned critically, and alongside it’s other special-needs cousin Federation Force, it has gone down as one of the most disappointing franchise titles Nintendo has ever voluntarily released into the world. Like releasing Burmese pythons into the Everglades, Nintendo unleashed quite a bit of damage to the Metroid franchise with the Other M installment, and much like the wildlife of the Florida marshland, Metroid hasn’t felt the same since, and fans have been itching to a true followup to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Of course, we now know that Metroid Prime 4 has been in development on the Switch for years (and was completely scrapped and restarted in early 2019), but it’s easy to see why a pivot from the typical Prime franchise was anything but well met by fans.

So what exactly is so bad about the game? Well, I seek to find out. How bad can it really be? Do I even want to know? The box art looked intriguing to me when I first picked up a used copy from a Gamestop a few years ago, and the combination of first-person and third-person side scroller sounded interesting to say the least. From what I understood, Other M had a focal point on Samus Aran and a bigger focus on cinematic story-telling. While Metroid games always had story, actual conversation has been historically absent, instead relying on bits and pieces of story hidden within artifacts you find in the world, revealed only when you hit them with your scan visor. On some of the portable entries, some nice cutscenes set the tone.

If Metroid Prime 1 & 2 was all gameplay with optional story, from what I understand, Other M is all story with gameplay shimmed in. At least, that’s what the many reviews I’ve come across in my adventures have led me to believe. At the core, my hopes are simple: I want to play a new Metroid game that I’ve never played before. I miss the hell out of this franchise, and it’s absolutely in my top 3 Nintendo franchises out there. Perhaps top two, depending on my mood.

I’m looking forward to finally trying out Metroid: Other M. Years have passed since it’s release, and as can often be the case, a game that was panned critically can somehow become a sought-after, darling title that becomes a misunderstood cult classic overnight. Who knows? Keep your eyes primed for some thoughts on Metroid: Other M – coming to a NostalgiaTrigger near you!