If the Switch 2 happens I hope it has a touch screen compatible with a stylus, because that’d make ports for 3/DS games soooo much easier. And what if the Switch 2 also functioned as a Wii U, in that its handheld screen could work in tandem with the TV’s for certain games? So that way you have the lower and upper screens for the 3/DS ports. Some games may require you to have both screens out, while others only need one and can be used in either handheld or TV mode.
IIRC Kensuke Tanabe once said that Federation Force also served the purpose of worldbuilding for the Galactic Federation? I can’t remember where I heard this so I could’ve just made it up. But apparently he said this would’ve actually been important for Prime 4’s story, given Sylux’s relationship with the Federation. And if so then…
Man did this game fail at that because I don’t think I learned anything new about the Federation; Not its history, its controversies, or how the civilian sector is like. All the members seem to be human with human names, which is pretty frustrating. The only thing to really note in terms of Federation lore is Project Golem I guess, but that happens after Corruption, when we know Sylux was being the Federation’s biggest hater two games before that.
Since the Federation has already shown up at the start of Beyond, I hope we’ll get to see alien Federation members. Maybe even get a glimpse into its society and what the Space Pirates’ beef with them is. Will there be a Watsonian reason for why there seems to only be humans? At least the intro to Samus Returns gave us a glimpse at what seems to be a Federation political chamber, which of course resembles the one from the Star Wars prequels. And the only guy we can make out is a human.
You know what would be really funny? If we saw one of the Federation Force mechs in Beyond. Apparently they’re around the size of an Omega Pirate, although I can’t find a source on this, plus the way they scale with Federation troopers in the game makes me skeptical. But it’d be fun to see them in a proper non-chibi art style. The fact that you’re piloting a mech is hard to really notice or appreciate because the Space Pirates you fight are also conveniently sized up due to ancient Bion technology, so there isn’t a proper reference to feel that size; The mechs themselves look too similar to Federation troopers too, so one would assume they’re just regular soldiers.
Maybe a Federation Force mech could be a boss fight, or an ally, or something you can find and scan. Getting to appreciate them from the perspective of a regular-sized Samus would be neat. It’d be a bit meta if you find the wreckage of one, given the fandom’s feelings about that game… And the scan could reference the Bermuda incident for Samus, too.
Sylux to Samus in Metroid 6 or 7, after her post-Fusion gradual falling-out with the Federation hits rock bottom, and she has to reluctantly call them up for help dealing with this.
(Alternatively, Sylux's ghost coming to gloat at her if they don't survive MP4)
Not being immune to the propaganda is not the moral failing some of y'all make it out to be. The moral failure begins when someone is informed of the lack of veracity of what they've been told and refuses to let go.
I don't mean 'boring' in an inherently bad way. A desk job is boring. Data analysis is boring. Due process is boring. All of these things are imperative for a functioning society but almost nobody will ever be praised for them.
When my car got stolen a year ago, the guy who took it stole a bunch of other stuff too. I was sitting with a cop in a backroom of the campus police station for almost an hour while he was doing paperwork (to make sure everyone would get their stuff back), and at one point he looked up at me and he said, "sorry about this. It's not all shootouts and car chases like on TV."
And I almost said, "well, due process is sexy" (I didn't, for obvious reasons). But he looked surprised when I told him I thought due process was pretty cool. Like nobody is supposed to think due process is cool. Things are only cool if they're glamorous or flashy.
The guy who stole my car was horribly addicted to meth. The sheriff told me, "you should press charges so we can put him away for as long as possible."
The sheriff was lost in a world of heroes and villains. He was the "hero." The addict was the "villain." But the person who helped people was the guy at a desk, who went back over the mile long paper trail and returned every stolen item to its owner. The important stuff is when some guy in an office writes an algorithm to save endangered whales, or when the third double blind test finally shows sufficient evidence for the efficacy of a new cancer treatment. The goose that actually lays the golden egg almost never cackles.
This is why the 'Glasses' comic is so important, to me. We live in a world which glorifies exciting acts of heroism but not "boring" ones. We live in a world that thinks people like Clark Kent aren't important, when they're often doing the most important work, solving the systemic issues, saving people who aren't lost yet. Sometimes we need firefighters, but in a perfect world, we'd only need safety inspectors.
And sure, Superman is necessary within the story. There are disasters and villainy he can prevent. There are lives he can save. But being Superman is ultimately a terrible sacrifice, and if the heroism wasn't necessary he'd be Clark Kent all day. That's what makes him not a cop: he's not enjoying the car chases and shootouts. He avoids letting things get 'interesting' at all costs. He avoids glory.
The comic Strong Female Protagonist (by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag, BRING IT BACK) has several fascinating pieces of philosophy on superheroes and society, but my favourite is this:
Kal-el, living solar battery, isn't just someone who contributes to society from the outside or the top. He plugs away at boring, everyday kindnesses just like other humans. (This can make for great contrasts with Lex Luthor, who is the epitome of a light bulb person and could never understand why Superman would want to be a battery.)
Clark Kent is boring. Clark Kent plays things by the book. Clark Kent is sexy in the same way that due process is sexy, and any character who thinks the Clark Kent side is 'less than' the Superman side, is textually a goddamn idiot. "No glory save honour" and he will always have both.
One of my favorite understated jokes in Undertale is how Mettaton is frequently hyped up as extremely attractive, even though he’s a grid on a box and Burgerpants is also baffled by this. But then he transforms into his sEXyman form and the player thinks Ohhhh I get it! Except his ratings immediately start plummeting and you have to work to keep them up, and then put in a little extra to get the desired goal.
Because yknow, monsters have different beauty standards than ours; All of Mettaton’s merch is his box form, not EX. There’s of course the Doylist purpose of not giving away the twist but also there’s something hilarious to me about the player being wowed by EX, only for monsters to be so disappointed that they just tune out and need a constant source of other entertainment to keep them watching; Their favorite celebrity got yassified. And as much as Mettaton tries to revel in his true form it just ain’t appealing.
I’ve always hated it whenever there’s a pretty good comment, but because one person or bot says something dumb, everyone derails from discussing that point to instead talk about that reply instead. So with more and more bots being a thing, I’m quite proud to see more and more people realize they should just ignore the thing entirely and focus on talking about the original comment. Freaking finally.
Kanden & Samus: Genetic soup supersoldiers made as such by reclusive alien groups. Power seekers trying to become stronger still to achieve their respective goals.
Spire & Samus: Lonely as fuck. Friend-shaped and generally decent, but still dangerous and ruthless when forced to be.
Trace & Samus: Significant ties to an important precursor race. (If my Kriken/Alimbics theory has any merit, anyway.)
Weavel & Samus: Independent hunters that regardless maintain a connection to their faction of origin. Have a deep grudge against a major figure from the opposite faction.
Noxus & Samus: Driven by a moral code, and a desire to do good by preventing others from doing harm.
Sylux & Samus: Mysterious cryptids to most, (tragic backstories maybe?), using tech far more advanced than typical of the setting. Grudge against a major faction, and deadly and terrifying to the members of that faction. Metroid hatchling companion.
With the possible exception of Trace, I wonder if making the other Hunters externalizations of different facets of Samus's character taken to their logical extremes, was done on purpose. Even if it's not quite as direct and thematically poignant a parallel as the SA-X and arguably Dark Samus are to different eras of Samus's life, (though hopefully Sylux will wind up at that level when all is said and done) it's still an interesting decision that more could have been done with, and I hope more is done with at some point.
Going to the clinic really is a humiliating experience. Put yourself on display inside and out for us to judge and gawk at, circus attraction. There are things wrong with you. Every little detail, every little part. We need to fix you, you poor broken little thing. We'll fit you into a mold and cut off whatever parts don't fit. You're not taking care of yourself, everything you do with your disgusting body will never be enough or is even hurting it. But you're going to keep trying like Sisyphus, one misstep is a thousand steps back, one step forward is half a step. You'll be escalating your efforts until you drop dead or give up. You're only flaws and we're only here to talk about flaws. You could always be better, you're always short of some goal that keeps moving up as soon as you get to it. You are Tantalus, you'll never be truly satisfied. That'll be $500.
Ok wait so Matoran Universe beings don't experience love, but what about Helryx?
There's something so appealing about the dichotomy between light and sound and Av-Matoran vs. De-Matoran colour schemes. Where Av-Matoran can literally be any colour of the rainbow and beyond, while De-Matoran are monochrome. Especially when also considering that Shadow Matoran are just as colourful as Av-Matoran.
Something something in Bionicle Elemental Shadow is more of a perversion of Elemental Light than an inversion, and Elemental Sonics is its true equal and opposite counterpart.
I love how Luz thought she was running away from her problems in the human world by staying in the Boiling Isles, but in the end she found the exact same problems in the Demon Realm, just with a demon coat of paint that made the whole thing seem more palatable and fantastical to Luz; Like one of Azura's adventures, which made Luz realize she just needed to approach it like an adventure. Though obviously she had to let go of that part eventually, but that also means recognizing that like any good placebo, the capability was always with her. It's like hiding the medicine in tasty food.
This (as well as Vee doing just fine in Reality Check camp) did have the unfortunate side effect of making Luz decide that if she could've always figured out the human world, then she never needed the Demon Realm, and so the consequence of hurting her mother was all for nothing; Meaning Luz didn't need the Demon Realm anymore and should just stay on Earth for Camila's sake.
But again, I've already discussed how neither place is more meaningful than the other, and the friends Luz made have already been made and helped, and how they wouldn't have been without her. It wasn't just about maturing, it was also about allowing that sense of wonder back into her life that Manny encouraged, and it did the same for Camila, doing good for Luz's mom; Since she was so worried about that part!
And that bit of fantasy could've easily been the spark Luz needed to get started on her coming-of-age; It reminds me of something I read a while back about teaching autistic kids; How banal problems like math can be made more interesting for them if they're associated with things they like, such as their hyperfixations.
And speaking from experience I can vouch for this; I've done math for this show once despite knowing how useless it'd be, simply because it was under the context of something I enjoyed. And with Azura being Luz's hyperfixation and her seeing the similarities between that and the isles, plus the whole theme of different kids learning differently and having to accommodate diverse learning styles (a la glyphs), and it all feels right.
yall realize you can criticize religion without like. making fun of people for having things that are sacred and holy to them right.
not to be that guy but theres a huge difference between "this religion and it's practitioners has aspects that warrant criticism" and "lmao look at them believing in things" . its one thing to call out the toxicity and spread of dangerous information in, as an example, pagan communities. it is an entirely separate thing to make fun of pagans for what they find sacred and important to their lives, even if it doesnt make sense to you.
Something special to me about parents who are separated from their kids, who can’t look after them and are driven mad with worry about what they’re unable to do, unable to provide. But little do they know there’s a total stranger out there who doesn’t know this kid’s story, but finds out and decides to look after them. Protect them. Be the parent for you as you find a way back. And how could you express your gratitude upon meeting such a person? Who felt unconditional love for your child without even needing to experience what you’ve already gone through? What a miracle must it feel like, as if they’re a guardian angel sent from heaven to protect your child when both of you needed one. You expected the worst, but they made it all right. And they’ll continue to stay because they love this kid, and your kid loves them too; They weren’t just protected, they were cared for.
And now you can be family afterwards when the danger is over and the reunion has been had. You two can meet as you say thank you, and they continue to help by filling in a void you’d also worried about before the big separation; Another problem gone thanks to them, because they could give your child something you couldn’t, and for that you both feel complete. Your kid gets to excitedly show off their favorite person to their other favorite person, and watch both become friends, too; If the audience is lucky they’ll get to witness this treasured moment, long in the works. The bond between these two figures is something special.
With Kraid participating in the Metroid renaissance via Dread, I'm crossing fingers he'll show up in Beyond. It would be a change of pace from yet another Ridley fight, which is why Dread went that route; Plus it could be a way for Retro Studios to reimplement the Meta Kraid concept they had back with the first Prime game that started it all!!! And with in-game scans providing more room for lore, exposition, and characterization, we could use Space Pirate logs to flesh out Kraid's personality so he can have some much-needed characterization; Maybe not enough to catch up with his comrade Ridley, but it's something to start off with at least.
People are bringing up how Metroid 2's remake ruined the environmental storytelling it had with the Metroids' lair; But I also think the same could be said for Kraid in Zero Mission. Because in the first game, he's a very elusive guy to find; Players struggle to find him, and unlike Ridley, he even has a doppelganger meant to psyche you out! So when you destroy it, you assume you've done everything, and/or move on to Ridley as well... And then you waste time going all the way to the gate to Tourian, only to realize you got tricked. And then you have to go all the way back to Kraid's lair to find the real one.
I think this provides more characterization than Ridley himself got in the first Metroid, and potentially in Super as well; Kraid as someone who hides, who's clever in his own right and knows how important he is. So instead of facing Samus head-on, he avoids her, possibly because he knows he'll lose.
