The Nerd Next Door

Recently, I re-played The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword  on Switch, a game I hadn't played since it came out on Wii a decade ago (god I feel old). Overall, I enjoyed the frame rate boost and quality of life changes that the port makes over the Wii original. I also think playing through Breath of the Wild has given me an appreciation for the dungeon crawling of Skyward Sword . Motion controls were still a pain , but I did love that camera control the motion controls have now. But as I was playing, I remembered a criticism about Skyward Sword that I had as a kid, a lot happens emotionally but Link doesn't speak, at all. It's normal for Zelda games but feels weird in Skyward Sword because it puts a lot more effort into making the player care about what's happening. So, it seems weird that Link doesn't say anything when it feels like he should or when someone directly addresses him and it's only implied that he speaks back. I came to the realization however that,...

    Calling Metroid: Other M's story "bad" would be like calling being set on fire by fascists "slightly uncomfortable". Most people agree that the actual gameplay of Other M , while restrictive, is fine for an action game. But the actual story is seen as utterly rancid and bordering on character assassination for series protagonist Samus Aran. Metroid Other M is almost impressive in that it drew the hatred of both people who saw Samus as a feminist icon and those who despise anything "SJW." And having recently replayed Other M in the build up to Metroid Dread, I can firmly say that both groups are correct to hate this game's story and yet I can see how to fix it with one small change. For Those Just Joining Us Before I do tell you how I'd fix Other M , let's go over the plot and it's problems. Not long after failing to save the last Metroid and blowing up Planet Zebes during Super Metroid ; Samus Aran finds herself drawn to the Bot...