I don't really consider myself a Metroid fan but I do respect the character that Samus Aran has projected in all the previous Metroid games. She's a bounty hunter that's incredibly proficient in combat and always gets the job done. Also, the most interesting thing about her, in my opinion, is that the fact that she doesn't talk all that much was probably the very thing that saved her from simply becoming another generic female rambo. In a way, the main character was probably the biggest reason I tried my hand at the Prime games even though I couldn't really care less about the entire franchise. 
 
Now I've seen the Quick Look and have read the review and I actually find the weird gameplay structure to be quite intriguing. However, I've also heard and read from other reviews that Samus' character was changed quite drastically and not exactly for the better too. If I were to summarize everything I've read about this game, it would be that the developers basically took the bounty hunter that saved the galaxy countless times before, overdosed her with the 'human flaw' serum, and transformed her into a codependent 'delicate flower' of a Bella Swan that constantly hesitates in the middle of combat. That....really came out of left field if I may say so myself.
 
Granted, I haven't really played the game because, being a person that relied almost solely on the character to keep interest in playing through the games, this information has really shied me away from buying Other M. So I would like to ask, is this information about Samus' character change accurate? and if so, what are your opinions about it?

Think of it this way- at the end of this game, she has a total of 

Um. So you're not a Metroid fan, and you read Other M changed the character in the IP you don't really play from one thing to another thing, and you don't like? You tried the Prime games for the character? 
I uh. My nose is bleeding.

" Think of it this way- at the end of this game, she has a total of 

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

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 of all the people she knows still alive.  It was a particularly bad day.  And she still finds the time to save the galaxy. "

I haven't finished the game yet, but if you want opinions, here's mine: yes, In Other M, Samus displays somewhat more dependency, both emotional and physical, than you might expect, given her (implied) self-sufficiency throughout the rest of the Metroid games. Personally, I'm less occupied with any sort of character inconsistency than with the quality of the execution. If you want to get up in arms about something, start with that.

" @kmdrkul:
That's true for a number of reasons, but still doesn't do much to answer the original question in the thread.
I wasn't a huge fan of a lot of the things they did in this game, but to say that Samus has been made some kind of wilting coward is ridiculous.  Samus follows orders, always has up to this point in the history of the series.  This game sets her up to be the cynical, jaded character she showed off in Fusion. "

If you played through Fusion, and even checked out the Japanese Manga detailing Samus' origin, then you know what to expect of her character. She's a strong women who doesn't fight the Space Pirates and Metroids just to prove herself superior, but that they are a dangerous threat to everyone and must destroy them to preserve the Galaxy. It's only somewhere halfway through the game that she almost breaks emotionally at the sight of a certain something, which to seems to have people complaining quite a bit.

Yes, people who read some retarded videogame based manga saw this coming.

"Yes, people who read some retarded videogame based manga saw this coming. "

" @ryanwho said:

"Yes, people who read some retarded videogame based manga saw this coming. "

Do you pride yourself in being a total dick? "

I haven't completed the game yet, but I'm towards the end, and I personally like Samus's character.  No, she's not a merciless badass, but it's not like Nintendo turned her into Princess Peach.  She has emotions and vulnerabilities, just like any other normal person, and there's a depth to that.  She's human.

I felt that Other M expands the character that was implied in Fusion. We do see evidence of her attachment to Adam in her narration and dialog in  Fusion. The characterization of Samus didn't offend me.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Metroid, only game I played and finished was Fusion.  I picked up Other M and from a person who hasn't played alot of Metroid I can say I think the way Samus is presented is just fine.  Who says she has to be all bad ass sounding and have the I'm gonna kill anyone attitude?  Maybe she was presented that way in previous games, I don't know.  

" I can't say I'm a huge fan of Metroid, only game I played and finished was Fusion.  I picked up Other M and from a person who hasn't played alot of Metroid I can say I think the way Samus is presented is just fine.  Who says she has to be all bad ass sounding and have the I'm gonna kill anyone attitude?  Maybe she was presented that way in previous games, I don't know.   "

Just to be clear, I don't mind inserting flaws to a character. After all, pulling the right string can actually make a better more likable person than little miss perfect. I just want to know if Other M truly went overboard with it as to what I've been reading about it lately or did they do it at a tolerable level. Also, I don't regard her as just some soulless badass who likes to blow stuff up so please don't mistake me of giving that impression. I simply have an affinity for soldier type characters that can stay professional and combat efficient regardless of internal conflict and also do not spout out shitty one-liners every 5 seconds.

I think.. people wanted to see Samus as a strong female character. Something like Chloe or Elena in the Uncharted Games, women who are still women, but they dont beat you over the head with. 
 
Samus comes off as kind of weak... but Like i've been saying and like I said in my review, fun game, great game, HORRIBLE story.

I totally erased her from  my 'Favorite Strong Female Blond Ponytailed Protagonists' list. Now it's all Alexandra Roivas baby!

Basically it comes down to manga loving wallflowers wanting to convince you that the devs that made this 
   
and this 
 
and this 
   
and this 
  

Metroid Other M is a great game, there were 2 moments in the game where I was like: "Ehm, Samus, be bad ass or something?".
 
But overall the game was a great new take on the Metroid series.
Do yourselves all a fucking favor and get it, it's awesome.

hot

 They had some interesting ideas on what her character should be, and I'm glad they didn't go the stone cold bitch route with her. We really don't need more characters like Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII. Despite what some may believe, that isn't how you make a strong female protagonist. Heather from Silent Hill 3, or Alex from Eternal Darkness are examples of this done right. They also didn't try to use the HEY LOOK AT MY BOOBS strategy to get people interested. Or the Laura Croft approach, as some like to call it. However, what they did do was make her overly emotional and "vulnerable." Because that makes her seem like a real woman, right? No. Not the type of woman that Samus Aran would be. By this point in the time line you shouldn't have her freezing up at the sight of crazy alien monsters. I'm not saying she should take it with stride, what I mean is that this shouldn't be new to her and her reactions should be more subtle. 
 
Subtle is the keyword in all of this. 
 
Earlier games gave you the idea that Samus was self reliant and capable. She was fast on her feet and quickly reacted to things. She was more than able to improvise and come up with a plan on the fly. Now, maybe it is just me, but I thought the way you would go about characterizing her would be to make her more haunted than grief striken. When she gets upset she doesn't break down in tears, but blinks a few times and bites her lip. There is a cold professionalism that she hides behind. That, and spending a lot of time alone have hampered her social skills, so she can be somewhat detached and awkward without actually meaning to be a bitch to someone. And when you have trouble properly communicating feelings to others it can complicate the whole forming a relationship thing.
 
That is always how I imagined Samus to be. Might be different for others, but it is what works for me. 

" @ryanwho:   You're really digging deep into the troll pool if you need to resort to posting images of female characters from series completely unrelated to Metroid. "

" Samus didnt really have a character before this game. So id love to know how she acted or felt in any of the games before. The comic is canon. get over it. "

I dont really care much about Samus, it was, and always has been, the gameplay that I loved about the Metroid series. That is until they went 3D.

IMO this game somewhat set the character of Samus back.  I always enjoyed the fiction because it was "her armor is so bad ass she must be such a bad ass."  Here, it's like she has the armor because she's not equal to the big bad soldier stereotypes.  After this game I really feel that Samus in her universe is a novelty act.  You get a lot of characterization from how everyone interacts, and I'm sorry, but the entire game was all people talking down to Samus, treating her like a little girl, and marginalizing her actions. 
 
Team Ninja likes the armor.  They don't give a shit about Samus.

I think it was an interesting take on Samus, but more importantly, I feel it was probably the right one.  I mean after so many years of silence I would have been disappointed if she wasn't phased by anything and responded to everything in a cold or impassive manner.  In Other M Samus has issues, flaws and at points they really show and I think the way she acts throughout the game is mostly justified which leaves the problem, if there is one, in the writing rather than the characterisation. 

" @Hailinel said:

" @ryanwho:   You're really digging deep into the troll pool if you need to resort to posting images of female characters from series completely unrelated to Metroid. "

I don't think he's trolling, but just making a logical guess as to why Samus was portrayed the way she was in this game. The developers made those games that he posted the screenshots for. So he's not trolling or resorting to anything, because his comparison makes a lot of sense. Who's to say what's the real or wrong reason, but you really can't fault him for using logic to attempt to answer the question. "

After beating the game, i have to say that I found Samus's character to be similar to Sarah Connor's character in T2.   I think people's main problem with her is that they had preconceived notions of the character that fitfully their personally need for a 'hero' and this game ruin that for them.
 

Untill now we have not heard her voice. Knew her back story. Or how she acted. So how are we to judge what she acts like in other M? And this is mostly referring to G4s review 

So I managed to borrow a copy from a friend who somehow finished it alarmingly quickly and was, oddly enough, more than eager to lend it to me. Anyway, I'm at the point right after finding out about the doctor inside the bottle ship and I want to share my first impressions so far. Fortunately, I was right that I might actually enjoy the actual gameplay and that has been the only thing keeping my interest in the game so far. For all it's weirdness, the concept is still pretty fun. 
 
The story, however, is not something I'm quite fond of. Not because it is bad, per se, but because it's poorly delivered. The presentation of everything I've seen thus far is reminiscent of a poorly made book-to-film adaptation where narrations are over extended rather than letting the visuals present most of the conflict and characterization. It also doesn't help that Samus' voice is completely dull most of the time. I'm sorry but when it comes to stories that rely on a good amount of internal narration, even Ace Combat 5 did a better job presenting its story than this game.
 
These are all just my first impressions though. Maybe later cutscenes may actually have better direction for all I know. It would probably be best if I could simply skip the entire story and just focus on the gameplay though... >_>

The second Ridley shows up and Samus reverts back to a 5 year old crying girl, that's the issue I hold with what they did with Samus in a nutshell.  
 
She has kicked his ass again and again and again.  If this was her first combat encounter with him, sure I'd totally buy this total mental break.  I could empathize with that, and yeah, it would be a scary situation.  But after how many times she's raped his ass, at this point she should practically be going "What, YOU again?!  I've kicked your sorry purple retard ass before, and I'll do it again." 
 
And that's just it.  The character lost a lot of her strength and just ended up whining alot, in-between when she wasn't just pointing out the total fucking obvious with pointless narration