Hey, at least it isn't a password system.

"Save anywhere" would be fine if it was more of a "suspend". Many games do this now. Save wherever you want, but you can only load it once.

Or typewriter ribbons.

Seriously, all I really want are save points next to bosses and other "likely to die" areas. As an example, I thought RE4 had excellent placement of save points.

A suspend/checkpoint system would be fine too.

Which basically eliminates any threat or danger from the game. I think you have a valid complaint, I know better than anyone having to go through the Phazon Core about a hundred times trying to beat Metroid Prime (the boss) on Hard Mode, but I just don't think that every game should cater to every person's individual needs. That's why fifty games are released every single week.

So, in other words, if there's one aspect of an otherwise great game that irritates you, STFU and buy something else.

i didn't get that from his post at all :/

Not necessarily, but I do particularly get annoyed at complaints about save points and difficultly given that so few games actually dare to challenge a player these days. Maybe I'm still pissed that the brilliant Maximo: Ghosts to Glory was turned into lifeless Maximo: Army of Zin based solely on the petty complaints of people that found the first game too hard.

Really, I find the save points in Metroid Prime more of an irritant than a difficulty.

Like I said, model the save points after RE4. That game got rave reviews and I don't recall anybody complaining about the save system there.

Under that same logic Metroid Prime 3 should have multi-player because Halo 2 got good reviews. Oh, and let's change this space opera nonsense into the beaches of Normandy. Plasma guns and ice beams? No, no, no.. Samus needs a colt and grenades, nobody complained about those weapons in Call of Duty.

[am I being annoying today or what? ]

The original MP was designed to only take up 2 blocks on the Gamecube memory card. (!!!) So I suspect that the save system had a lot to do with that.

But really MP3 seems to already have a few things in it to make the difficulty easier: stackable beams, free shooting when locked on, etc.

I suspect that the save system was designed to mimic Super Metroid (and I'm right).

A save anywhere feature would not use up any extra memory space, by the way.

from watching the videos on my Wii, it didn't appear as though you are free looking when you actually lock on :/

Here's how it works: you lock onto an enemy. That enemy stays in the center of your screen while you jump and strafe around (just like the previous games). The difference is now you can shoot other enemies in your field of view by aiming the Wiimote at them...rather than only firing on the locked-on enemy.

I hope I described that well.

seemed well enough. I gotcha

This is my thought. Playing through the same crap over and over has never added to my enjoyment. I was done with that in the NES era. I want to save before major points in the game. If I have to make a long run just to get back to where I died I will usually stop playing the game which is exactly what happened to me with Metroid Prime.

Ouch! I would'nt go as far to call Army of Zin lifeless, but I will admit it was worlds EASIER than Ghost to Glory. Apparently in MP 3 if you die it loads you back after the last significant cut scene, but once you power down the system you lose that place unless you've saved.

Sounds good to me.

It wasn't just easier, it was dumber. It was like a fucking focus-grouped, "Poochie" version of the first game.

But that's being really selfish, since the people that want an easier, less frustrating game can't really do anything about it. But if there were more save-points, you could keep up the challenge level by using, say, half of them.

Ooh - see, that's like a double-edged sword. Mostly because I really hate cut-scenes and hope that they keep them to a minimum - and I would hope that there are far less cut-scenes than save-points. And with all this back-and-forth that's in a Metroid game, I don't see this continue-after-a-cut-scene thing being too big a relief - unless there's a cut-scene right before each boss battle.

I guess that depends on how far apart the cut scenes are.

If it's like the other games, the "cut scenes" are very brief moments where you lose control of Samus and get a brief look at the room or boss from the third person. And there's one before every boss.

How so? I don't play (a modern) Final Fantasy and complain that there ain't shit to do and that the characters are annoying. There's nothing I can do with the lack of battles. They could add more dungeons and battles and the people that just want to watch the characters talk about their "dark pasts" could just run away from the battles.. but that option isn't there just as there isn't a "win button" in Metroid Prime. Again, I'll stress that it's a valid complaint, but I don't think they should change their game to pander to the masses. That's how games like Maximo: Army of Zin and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within happen.

The point is with save points you can make your own fun. If there are too many you can easily up your challenge by only using half. For those of us that need the save points there is no option. Adding save points to minimize having to replay large sections of the game over and over is hardly adding a Win button to the game.

I can see the point that taking out the random battles ruins the game for people that want to fight more and want to die more, but in the case of adding save points you can overcome this by simply not using them.

if the game is too hard, I'd recommend not sucking, or choosing an easier difficulty

how else do you expect to improve?