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Metroid Prime: Federation Force Review


Eliwood8

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Metroid Prime: Federation Force never really had a chance. From the moment it was revealed at E3 2015 fans were ready to criticize it for being a spin-off with only remote elements related to the Metroid series and a bizarre soccer-style side game attached to it. Plus Federation Force has the misfortune of releasing five years after the last Metroid game, which was also highly divisive among fans, so many gamers were starved for new Metroid content. Well I'm here to tell the Metroid fanbase not to criticize Federation Force for being a co-op, mission-based FPS. Criticize it for being a mediocre co-op, mission-based FPS.

Federation Force takes place after the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Space Pirates still pose a threat to the galaxy but with the loss of Phazon as a power supply the Galactic Federation creates an elite unit of soldiers to pilot giant mechs. The game begins with their first mission in the Bermuda system, which inevitably leads them into conflict with Space Pirates. Don't expect much from the storytelling in Federation Force beyond that vague outline of a conflict. The characters are all interchangeable soldiers and the conflict isn't all that interesting beyond "fight the bad guys." Although there are a few text logs you can find in missions they rarely offer any interesting details about the three planets in the game or their history. In fact the one intriguing moment of the story is in a post-credits scene, so be sure to stick through the credits to see it.

This game is focused on action, though the quality of the gameplay isn't always consistent. Federation Force is mission-based, so whether you're playing solo, online, or locally with others, you select a mission, select mods to augment your abilities, choose your weapons/items from a specific pool of options, then hop into the level. The first few missions can be a bit boring; even while playing solo there's not too much challenge and the objectives seem bland. But after a handful of missions the game ramps up. Your objectives become a little more nuanced and will actually require teamwork to complete efficiently. Most of the time this just means more aggressive waves of enemies but there are a few unique missions peppered throughout the game. Federation Force can be played solo but multiplayer is clearly the focus; going alone can be extremely difficult depending on the mission, and at the very least time-consuming. Having another player or three help out makes a big difference, and gives each victory a satisfying sense of collaboration.

 

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The touch screen can display a map–useful for keeping your bearings–a list of your allies' energy, or a list of the mission's objectives.

 

And although there isn't a ton of variety in mission structure there's enough to keep the game interesting. The best missions in the game are the ones that break the mold and require a bit more teamwork to complete. The only downside is that there isn't more variety within the missions themselves. A few of them have objectives that might be in different places each time you play but for the most part missions are static, which can be tiresome to play repeatedly with others. Too much repetition makes Federation Force feel monotonous, despite 22 different missions and a relatively average game length.

There is a bit of variety to be found in the mods system, at least. You only start out with one but you can eventually equip up to three mod chips which give you various boosts, like increased missile power, increased space to carry secondary ammo, reduced damage, etc. Mods are found within each level so this is your one incentive to explore a bit. However, mods are pretty underwhelming. There aren't too many different types, with several mods specific to certain ammo, items, or drone use. You might want to change your mod set-up to cater to each mission, but their effect isn't all that significant over just using the more generic boosters like increased missile damage. Also, mods can break if your mech is destroyed in a mission. This is actually kind of clever way of adding risk to mod use: should you use your best mods, or use one that's more disposable in case it's destroyed? In fact, perhaps the developers were too lenient here. It might have been a better idea to make all mods one-use, to actually make the player think about what chips are best to use, and which can be safely spent. The way it works now is a little too easy to gloss over planning and strategy when it comes to mods.

There is some incentive to play intelligently, at least. You can earn up to three medals on each mission. The first medal is simply for completing the level, but the other two require a high score, which generally means finishing the mission quickly and completing the bonus objective. It's not always easy to earn all three on your first try so this gives Federation Force some replay incentive. And although there's no leaderboard your high score is saved so you can compete against yourself to earn a better score. The only problem here is that bonus objectives are only displayed while you are in a mission, and even then they are sometimes hidden until you reach a certain point in the level. It's understandable the first time you play a mission to keep some things as a surprise but it's just kind of inconvenient upon replay.
 

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Lock-on to enemies for better aim, but be aware of your surroundings, there may be more enemies behind you.

 

Speaking of inconvenient, let's talk about Nintendo's online infrastructure. First of all, the online population isn't as bare as you might expect. It can take a while to find other players but they're out there. However, the way that you find players is just clunky. When you connect online you'll see a short list of open rooms. That's it, no way to refine your search to find players in a specific mission or even range of missions. Playing online can feel like a roll of the dice. This is also true because of the limited communication online. You can use pre-set phrases but they don't cover all the necessary topics in Federation Force. There's no way to coordinate with players about what ammo each person should take–oftentimes you'll see one person hoard missiles or, even more annoyingly, the recover capsules. There's no way to explain to other players that you want to focus on earning all three medals or you want to explore and collect mods. And finally, only the host of the room can select missions, and you can't even request other levels. For a game that seems to emphasize teamwork you're frustratingly limited in how you coordinate with players online. Federation Force tries to be a modern multiplayer game, but its online structure is still behind the times.

In the controls department Federation Force also stumbles a bit. The default control scheme uses gyro controls for precise aiming, which can be helpful against small enemies or when you're aiming for a weakpoint. The problem is most battles are too hectic to deal with gyro aiming–you're often being assaulted from all sides, and motion-controlled aiming on the 3DS can make it difficult to keep an eye on everything that's happening. Thankfully Federation Force takes advantage of the C-stick nub on the New 3DS (or Circle Pad Pro add-on). This two-stick set-up will feel much more comfortable to anyone that has played a modern FPS. And yet this control scheme isn't quite ideal either. In this case, precise aiming with the nub can be frustrating–hitting moving targets often feels like a guessing game. Unfortunately Federation Force offers no other control customization, just these two schemes, so you can't even adjust aim sensitivity. Too often there are features in this game that feel truncated for no valuable reason.

This graphics in Federation Force have been under scrutiny since its initial trailer, and the final game doesn't really justify their blocky, almost chibi appearance. The one good feature is that the game runs quite smoothly. There are no noticeable animation hiccups, which is great for an action game like this. The downside is this seems to be at the expense of interesting art design. The lack of detail makes these three worlds, which should be unique and mysterious, disappointingly bland. And the simple, almost childish design in Federation Force doesn't suit the gameplay either. It's hard to take Space Pirates seriously when they just look like a stack of polygons. The soundtrack of the game is at least done well. There are a lot of great tunes that elicit the sci-fi adventure vibe of battling dangerous aliens on foreign worlds. In fact there is a lot in the soundtrack that would feel appropriate in a sci-fi movie.
 

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Teamwork makes the dream work: recovery capsules can be used on other players, or even on objects you need to protect.

 

Finally there's Blast Ball, the mini-mode which places two teams of three in a soccer-style match. Blast Ball is a novelty, one that wears thin quickly, especially thanks once again to the poor online system in Federation Force. Lack of voice chat hurts here as well, but perhaps even more bizarre is the fact that there's no option to play with friends, you can only play with random opponents. And good luck finding a match without at least one person AFK, which the game does nothing to combat. Strangely enough communication errors are much more common in Blast Ball compared to the campaign mode, so that's yet another fun hurdle to work with here. When you can actually get a game going Blast Ball is an okay diversion but it just doesn't have the appeal to last long.

Metroid Prime: Federation Force has a handful of great moments mixed in with a lot of mundane gameplay and an online system that still doesn't work as well as it should. Metroid fans may have been too quick to judge the game before its release but now that it's out it's safe to say that the game has some significant issues. If you can manage to get a few friends together for a local co-op meet-up there are some thrills to be found in Federation Force, but sadly they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

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6 hours ago, Laclipsey said:

Well, Reggie, the game's out. We've played it. Can we have a conversation now?

 

In all seriousness, Eliwood, great review, as always. Kudos to you for tackling this with an objectivity that I couldn't possibly muster.

Quote

Here’s what I would state: we know what our fans want. We will also push the envelope in developing something that we know is high-quality and that we know will deliver in the marketplace. The best example I can give you of this, and I think you will appreciate it, is Legend of Zelda Wind Waker. Remember when that art style was first shown. The uproar from the Zelda community was intensely negative. If there had been social media then, there probably would have been a petition to make that game go away.

 

"So, the game is developed, becomes one of the most beloved games of all time, one of the most highly-rated games of all time, so I use that example to say: ‘We know what we’re doing, trust us, play the game and then we can have a conversation.’"

 

I love that the Wind Waker argument goes as high as Reggie.

 

Thing about Wind Waker is that it wasn't a game that stared Hyrule knights in an ugly-chibi multiplayer focused game SIX YEARS after the last game in the series, which was recieved poorly. I vaguely remember the pushback on Wind Waker, the thing is, is it was still very much a Legend of Zelda game starring Link.

 

I know the guy's job is to be positive and whatever, but it's ignorant statements like this where he's totally dismissive over fans that make me dislike everything that comes out of his mouth. In comparison, Phil Spencer is much better at representing the Xbox brand than Reggie is with Nintendo. There isn't some arrogant flare about Spencer. Maybe it's because Reggie is basically just a suit now...maybe it's because Xbox can't afford to be so arrogant after the One's poor PR (neither can Nintendo with Wii U).

 

For once. ONCE. I'd like Nintendo to be more transparent. They've released more average titles in the last 2 years than I can recently remember. I'm beginning to question the "high-quality that we know will deliver in the market place." Their crystal tower has a crack in it, one more big fuck up and that sucker's going to shatter like Ms. Drumplesteen's window pelted with led baseballs.

 

I'm tired of Reggie. Axe him.

 

Oh--but good review, Eliwood. Fair as always. 

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15 minutes ago, LUIGITORNADO said:

 

I love that the Wind Waker argument goes as high as Reggie.

 

Thing about Wind Waker is that it wasn't a game that stared Hyrule knights in an ugly-chibi multiplayer focused game SIX YEARS after the last game in the series, which was recieved poorly. I vaguely remember the pushback on Wind Waker, the thing is, is it was still very much a Legend of Zelda game starring Link.

 

I know the guy's job is to be positive and whatever, but it's ignorant statements like this where he's totally dismissive over fans that make me dislike everything that comes out of his mouth. In comparison, Phil Spencer is much better at representing the Xbox brand than Reggie is with Nintendo. There isn't some arrogant flare about Spencer. Maybe it's because Reggie is basically just a suit now...maybe it's because Xbox can't afford to be so arrogant after the One's poor PR (neither can Nintendo with Wii U).

 

For once. ONCE. I'd like Nintendo to be more transparent. They've released more average titles in the last 2 years than I can recently remember. I'm beginning to question the "high-quality that we know will deliver in the market place." Their crystal tower has a crack in it, one more big fuck up and that sucker's going to shatter like Ms. Drumplesteen's window pelted with led baseballs.

 

I'm tired of Reggie. Axe him.

 

Oh--but good review, Eliwood. Fair as always. 

 

The Wind Waker comparison is spot on. People don't hate the game because of the way it plays, the lack of Samus as a playable character, or the co-op play. People hate the aesthetic, and I think this really goes a long way to demonstrating just how seriously Metroid 'fans' take the series in general. To them, Metroid has value because it's a 'mature' series. It's like they don't actually like playing the games. 

 

And I think this extends to your attempts at pretending as if Nintendo only makes 'average' games these days, when the past few years has proved that they are the ONLY company putting out any good new games at all. To this day, there is still nothing really worth playing on other platforms. 2015 in particular was a great year to be a Nintendo fan. Lots of great new IPs and great new entries in beloved franchises. 

 

Feds is probably my third favorite Metroid ever. I really enjoyed it overall, and I'm really optimistic to see what they can to do with a sequel. 

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Thanks guys!

 

And I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a sequel either, if they're able to refine the rougher edges in Federation Force. The core gameplay isn't bad, it's just that Nintendo and Next Level Games seem to have been in over their heads in making a co-op based FPS. Maybe the art style complaints could be alleviated by a move to more powerful hardware, like the NX. Considering this game's public reception though, I'd say the chances of a sequel are slim to none.

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14 minutes ago, Eliwood8 said:

Thanks guys!

 

And I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a sequel either, if they're able to refine the rougher edges in Federation Force. The core gameplay isn't bad, it's just that Nintendo and Next Level Games seem to have been in over their heads in making a co-op based FPS. Maybe the art style complaints could be alleviated by a move to more powerful hardware, like the NX. Considering this game's public reception though, I'd say the chances of a sequel are slim to none.

 

What are you talking about? Generally, people like the game. The only people who are still upset about it never touched it. 

 

6/10 is far too harsh, by the way.

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5 hours ago, SuperNintendoPower said:

 

The Wind Waker comparison is spot on. People don't hate the game because of the way it plays, the lack of Samus as a playable character, or the co-op play. People hate the aesthetic, and I think this really goes a long way to demonstrating just how seriously Metroid 'fans' take the series in general. To them, Metroid has value because it's a 'mature' series. It's like they don't actually like playing the games. 

 

And I think this extends to your attempts at pretending as if Nintendo only makes 'average' games these days, when the past few years has proved that they are the ONLY company putting out any good new games at all. To this day, there is still nothing really worth playing on other platforms. 2015 in particular was a great year to be a Nintendo fan. Lots of great new IPs and great new entries in beloved franchises. 

 

Feds is probably my third favorite Metroid ever. I really enjoyed it overall, and I'm really optimistic to see what they can to do with a sequel. 

 

It isn't spot on. Wind Waker is beloved. Federation Force isn't.

 

And you are wrong in stating that people don't hate FF because its lack of Samus and co-op play. There's plenty of people who are complaining about those sort of things, arestyle is only the maggot frosting on top the mud crusted cake. They're complaining of those things because it's been six years without a Metroid title, and instead of the Metroid that most of us want (Samus, isolation), we get this. The climate would be different if FF launched along a traditional Metroid game, and then maybe I'd agree with you if people were still giving the game such a hard time.

 

As for the recent quality of Nintendo's games.

 

Star Fox Zero: Average 

Star Fox Guard: Average

Federation Force: Average

Tokyo Mirage Sessions: Good

Xenoblade X: Good

Twilight Princess: Good (but it's a remake)

Devil's Third: Bad 

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash: Average

Amiibo Festival: Bad

Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival: Bad

Fatal Frame Maiden of the Black Water: Average

Yoshi's Woolly World: Good

Super Mario Maker: Good

Splatoon: Good

Mario Party 10: Average

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars: Average

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse: Average

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker: Good

NES Remix (both): Average

Super Smash Bros: Good

 

And I'm ending it there, because as I stated...the last few years.

 

That's mostly on Wii U games except for Federation for your benefit. 

 

Most average or below. Nothing really great IMO except Splatoon and only because it's a new IP.

Edited by LUIGITORNADO
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10 hours ago, LUIGITORNADO said:

 

It isn't spot on. Wind Waker is beloved. Federation Force isn't.

 

And you are wrong in stating that people don't hate FF because its lack of Samus and co-op play. There's plenty of people who are complaining about those sort of things, arestyle is only the maggot frosting on top the mud crusted cake. They're complaining of those things because it's been six years without a Metroid title, and instead of the Metroid that most of us want (Samus, isolation), we get this. The climate would be different if FF launched along a traditional Metroid game, and then maybe I'd agree with you if people were still giving the game such a hard time.

 

As for the recent quality of Nintendo's games.

 

Star Fox Zero: Average 

Star Fox Guard: Average

Federation Force: Average

Tokyo Mirage Sessions: Good

Xenoblade X: Good

Twilight Princess: Good (but it's a remake)

Devil's Third: Bad 

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash: Average

Amiibo Festival: Bad

Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival: Bad

Fatal Frame Maiden of the Black Water: Average

Yoshi's Woolly World: Good

Super Mario Maker: Good

Splatoon: Good

Mario Party 10: Average

Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars: Average

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse: Average

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker: Good

NES Remix (both): Average

Super Smash Bros: Good

 

And I'm ending it there, because as I stated...the last few years.

 

That's mostly on Wii U games except for Federation for your benefit. 

 

Most average or below. Nothing really great IMO except Splatoon and only because it's a new IP.

 

Wow, one bad game. Nintendo is doomed for sure. 

 

But yes, I find the 'We waited SIX YEARS" excuse to just be another pitiful attempt at pretending as if the fans are being mistreated. Donkey Kong fans had to wait fifteen for Returns. Kid Icarus fans had to wait twenty five years for something that plays nothing like the original game, and stuff like Star Tropics has nothing in sight. 

 

I'd much rather have a good game than a rushed one. 

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I disagree on some points, but do agree on others. I can already tell that Federation Force's story is going to go through the same over simplification as Metroid Prime Hunters'. Would it be fair for me to reduce the story of Metroid Prime down to just fighting Space Pirates or Metroid Prime 2 to just fighting the Ing?

 

The game can be overwhelming when playing alone, but I found those instances to be more of a rarity and those moments certainly stopped feeling overwhelming whenever I had the Lone Wolf MOD equipped. There has been no mission that I've played that I've felt the need to have teamwork except for triple medal runs for certain missions in Hard Mode, like Black Hole and Uplink. Federation Force is a game that demands an awareness of mechanics for most of its missions, and in that sense I would argue its equipment and weaponry are more useful than the arsenals found in any previous Metroid title...I would also say that helps me take the game more seriously in spite of its "cartoon" aesthetic. Federation Force is the one Metroid game, besides the original, where I've actually felt like I was fighting for survival in a number of situations.

 

I agree with you the most about how the online has been handled. The lack of communication is an issue, and because of that, I would actually discourage online play for at least one of the game's missions. The changes that occur for Dustoff going from solo play to multiplayer play requires a much better communication system than Federation Force has...I've had an instance of griefing and of a glitch after a disconnection as well, so I personally think the game should have had a kick option and the option to exit a mission without punishment if the player happens to be left alone or is playing solo. With completing much of the game solo, I've never felt the need to want to request a particular mission and wait for the game to do a random select out of a 4-option pool. I think it would've gotten more in the way of the flow of the online experience, and it's already slow enough in waiting for everyone to get ready and then going to the load-out selection. If the host happens to select a mission I'm not in the mood to replay, I just exit and usually will find a mission I'm more interested in in the game's available mission rooms.

 

 

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8 hours ago, IUniverse said:

I disagree on some points, but do agree on others. I can already tell that Federation Force's story is going to go through the same over simplification as Metroid Prime Hunters'. Would it be fair for me to reduce the story of Metroid Prime down to just fighting Space Pirates or Metroid Prime 2 to just fighting the Ing?

 

Perhaps it's not fair to simplify Federation Force's story like that, but there really isn't much else to it. Space Pirates pursue a new super weapon, the FF fights against them, and in between the game gives you very little to care about. The characters are flat which, fine, it's meant to be a co-op game, they're not going to all have strong personalities, but even the lore of the Bermuda System feels like an afterthought. The game could have at least explored the Galactic Federation a bit more. By comparison Hunters' story is in a whole other class.

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33 minutes ago, Eliwood8 said:

Perhaps it's not fair to simplify Federation Force's story like that, but there really isn't much else to it. Space Pirates pursue a new super weapon, the FF fights against them, and in between the game gives you very little to care about. The characters are flat which, fine, it's meant to be a co-op game, they're not going to all have strong personalities, but even the lore of the Bermuda System feels like an afterthought. The game could have at least explored the Galactic Federation a bit more. By comparison Hunters' story is in a whole other class.

 

Spoiler

I'm not saying that there is much more to the game's main story than what you said in your review, but the Prime Series has a habit of putting in more story than just the main plot thread and that is continued in Federation Force. Just as an example, the outpost in Mission 1 is a sign of what's to come later in the series in Metroid Other M and Metroid Fusion...and that continues to build as the game goes on: Mission 4 and Mission 17 showing more questionable research agendas. The game introduces two new races to the series as well, the remnants of which greatly aid the Space Pirates in becoming a major threat once more even with the loss of Phazon. The race that inhabited Bion plays a similar role to many races present in the Prime series, they provide history that is not necessary for understanding the main plotline but does enhance the overall personality of the world and the game as a whole. They also leave behind mechanisms that ultimately will aid the Federation Force on several occasions, my favorite of which being a core part of the experience in Mission 9. Sure, Federation Force is not giving me multiple paragraphs per piece of lore regarding these new races, the Federation and the Space Pirates, but I think it is enough to certainly say the game is more involving than just "fight the bad guys."

 

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I can understand where IUniverse is coming from sorta.  There is a bit more to the game's story beneath the story that in many cases is more implicit than anything else in that it's not blatantly spelled out to the player. I think Bion is probably the best in this area but both Excelcion and Talvania have their own elements to offer up as well, it's just that with so much with Bion leaning on ancient tech, civilizations and whatnot and actually seeing some form of these things in action it lends a bit more to it.  I like to compare it to Bryyo from Corruption in that way, I suppose.

 

With that said, I do like that the game makes the Space Pirates feel more formidable than they ever have before.  Not sure how much it matters at this point but I'll spoiler it just in case:

 

Spoiler

I think this may be the first Metroid game that has shown the Space Pirates working independently of an authoritative figure, like Mother Brain, Ridley, Kraid, Dark Samus, etc., and actually coming fairly close to being a potentially deadly threat to the Federation.  The only other game I can think of that might come close to this is Echoes as you have Space Pirates on Aether but they aren't being commanded by anyone at that point, not even Dark Samus I believe although you get signs of their praise for it.  Anyway, another sorta implicit element has to do with the fact that just about every Space Pirate is of the Omega Pirate class or something similar which is noted in the game because of their immense size compared to even the Federation Troops inside the suits.  It's a nice bit of continuity showing that the Omega Pirate program has grown quite a bit since the Tallon IV days if they're capable of having entire platoons and squads of these massive Space Pirates who have invaded the Bermuda system.  Just my two cents, anyway.

 

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Spoiler

It is not completely clear if the Space Pirates are being commanded in the Bermuda System, but there is Master Brain stationed within the DOOMSEYE. Between the naming and the use of a multitude of turrets in the chamber, Master Brain certainly seems like a call back to Mother Brain and may have filled a similar role. I do think that Master Brain gave the order to use the amplification beam upon Samus, and Master Brain likely chose to use Samus Aran as a weapon as opposed to killing her off after she was captured by the Space Pirates. Questionable part of the story there, as since Samus Aran is such a headache for the Space Pirates, one would think they would have wanted to kill her right upon capture, but there is peace in death as well and perhaps Master Brain wanted to mentally and spiritually scar Samus Aran by having her murder the members and marines of the Galactic Federation. Put her through something worse than death. Again though, the extent of Master Brain's command isn't clear but it certainly appears to be in command over all units at the DOOMSEYE.

 

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Wait, do people actually believe this game's lore is cannon???

 

On 9/24/2016 at 11:37 AM, Erdrick said:

Hopefully, it'll be one of those Nintendo games that ends up getting a lower price. I don't really feel like buying it at full price and it's not like I'm lacking games right now.

 

Free is still too expensive for this game. :D

Edited by Punchy
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18 hours ago, IUniverse said:
  Hide contents

It is not completely clear if the Space Pirates are being commanded in the Bermuda System, but there is Master Brain stationed within the DOOMSEYE. Between the naming and the use of a multitude of turrets in the chamber, Master Brain certainly seems like a call back to Mother Brain and may have filled a similar role. I do think that Master Brain gave the order to use the amplification beam upon Samus, and Master Brain likely chose to use Samus Aran as a weapon as opposed to killing her off after she was captured by the Space Pirates. Questionable part of the story there, as since Samus Aran is such a headache for the Space Pirates, one would think they would have wanted to kill her right upon capture, but there is peace in death as well and perhaps Master Brain wanted to mentally and spiritually scar Samus Aran by having her murder the members and marines of the Galactic Federation. Put her through something worse than death. Again though, the extent of Master Brain's command isn't clear but it certainly appears to be in command over all units at the DOOMSEYE.

 

 

Fair enough, I suppose.  I can roll with it.  I still think its purpose was rather rudimentary in the grand scheme of things being, as you mentioned, that it only seemed to exert any responsibility at that particular area of the game.  In that way I can agree with comparisons made in the wiki that it probably is more closely related to how the Aurora Units operated individually.

Edited by Kezay
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15 hours ago, Punchy said:

Wait, do people actually believe this game's lore is cannon???

Spoiler

It clearly addresses the Phazon conflict that reached its climax in Metroid Prime 3, and continues the trend of escalation between the Federation and the Space Pirates that the series has been building since Metroid Prime 2. It also has references to future Metroid games, some of which are explicit and others that are implicit, and the game seems to definitely be bringing the Prime Series back towards the main series entry Metroid II. It's well interwoven in the current series to the point that I would find it ridiculous to even consider the game detached from canon.

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Kezay said:

Fair enough, I suppose.  I can roll with it.  I still think its purpose was rather rudimentary in the grand scheme of things being, as you mentioned, that it only seemed to exert any responsibility at that particular area of the game.  In that way I can agree with comparisons made in the wiki that it probably is more closely related to how the Aurora Units operated individually.

 

Spoiler

There is not much to go on, but I do kind of like the idea that Wikitroid suggested that Master Brain could be a stolen and reconfigured Aurora Unit. The Space Pirates did attack and seemed to have ransacked the G.F.S Daedalus, but it's not indicated that it had an Aurora Unit and I don't want to say every G.F.S. class ship or major Federation base has one of those super computers just because they were used on the G.F.S Olympus, G.F.S Valhalla (stolen by the Pirates) and at Sky Town, Elysia in Prime 3. I don't mind the idea that the Master Brain had a limited command just at the DOOMSEYE except that there is quite a bit of prep work for the DOOMSEYE throughout the Bermuda System and that the Space Pirates seem to be a lot smarter in this entry than they've ever been with their operations and general environmental awareness. It also helps in following the trend of the Space Pirates having a leader with their major operations: Mother Brain (Zebes), Meta Ridley (Tallon IV), High Command (Aether) and Dark Samus. Both are plausible theories for Master Brain though since the game doesn't give much at all about it and both respect what we've seen in the canon.

 

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