Shinmaru

I was musing a bit on my love for FoxTrot, when I noticed that I had never seen a FoxTrot thread during my stay at OB. I did a quick search and didn't pick up on a single thread...so, I decided to make one ^_^ For those who might not know, FoxTrot is a comic strip drawn and created by Bill Amend. FoxTrot began running in newspapers since April 10th of 1988 and has grown to be, in my opinion, one of the best comic strips of all time (I think it's certainly up there with standouts like Calvin and Hobbes (my second favorite behind FoxTrot), Peanuts, Garfield, etc.). What makes FoxTrot so different from other strips is that it doesn't try to do anything especially quirky or special...there's no central character in the strip (each member of the Fox family pretty much gets their time to shine, though the spotlight is on Jason more than everyone else, heh) and there's no person or animal just there to shoot off sardonic comments and make everyone else look silly. What FoxTrot does is present the misadventures of the Fox family, who could easily be mistaken for just about any average family, I think. What I love about FoxTrot is that the family members are so identifiable. I see a lot of my mom in Andy Fox (without the need to include vegetables or healthiness in every meal, thank God :p) and I see myself as a mixture of Peter and Jason (Jason being the extreme nerdiness and Peter being the [strike]silly green duck[/strike] wannabe jock with the ego the size of Cleveland). I think it would be pretty tough for someone to read FoxTrot and not really see one aspect of themselves in any one of the characters. Another thing I really love about FoxTrot is how the supporting characters are used, especially people like Marcus, Eileen (both friends of Jason's) and Nicole (a friend of Paige's - Paige being the sister of Jason and Peter). It just pleases me to see that after all these years, these characters have not just been relegated to the background...they really do have distinct personalities of their own. And that's what really impresses me about FoxTrot - it's by no means just about the Fox family. I know other people around here read FoxTrot - what are your opinions on it? Anything else that you love that I neglected to mention? How long have you been reading FoxTrot? And so on...I hope to see a bevy of replies from fans of FoxTrot :)

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by dark_serena [/i] [B][SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Didn't NP say it was a prequel to the series? :whoops: [/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Well, according to [url=http://www.egmmag.com/article2/0,4364,1430003,00.asp]Electronic Gaming Monthly[/url], the game is a remake of the original Metroid. [quote]Last summer, Nintendo quietly announced Metroid Zero Mission, a newfangled Game Boy Advance remake of the very first Metroid game (for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainent System).[/quote] So, yeah, that's where the article mentions it. Doesn't really matter, though...whether or not it's a remake of the original Metroid, I'm still getting my hands on this game >_>

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by KarmaOfChaos [/i] [B][COLOR=deeppink] =\ Someone deleted my beautiful, in depth, awesome analysis of your story! * coughs * Oh well. Really amusing story DW, although it makes me doubt your sanity and/or self-esteem. o.o Honestly, Syk3's personal servant? That is a sad, sad place to be. Unless of course you're Shinmaru, and you're his biatch. Then it's just funny. ^.^ Just kidding. ^.~ -Karma[/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE] Let me just say how surprised I was when I saw your name replying to this thread o.o Welcome back, Karmi! ^_^ Haha, anyway I've read the whole thing and this is one whacked out story lol. Funny stuff you have here, Gavynn. You know what would be really hilarious? If members read this in lieu of the rules. Then there would be mass chaos. Is that what you want, Gavynn? Is it?

See, I told you these would be worth posting on OB. As I know full well, poems definitely [i]do not[/i] have to rhyme in order to establish a sense of flow and rhythm; it's just that I find it more difficult to do so without rhyming. You, however, have done so quite nicely...and in fifteen minutes, even. You never cease to amaze me, Sen. As Asphy mentioned, the metaphors you used are very well done and really flesh out the poems a lot. As Mimmi mentioned, the poems are just very profound. Who's taking modesty a bit too far now, Sennen? Even you have to admit that you've written some good poetry here :p

OOC: This will be the first of, hopefully, few posts that I will have to do as Baron von French Guy. I would really rather a new person came in to take over the character...remember, if you're interested in playing this character, then sign up in the old recruitment thread. [size=1]A castle on top of a mountain...innocent looking...well, at least, as innocent as a castle on top of a mountain can be. The pasty whiteness of the full moon shines down upon the lair of the vilest of the vile...the slimiest of the slime...only a certain group of people live here...the French. And now, with the permission of the censors, we take you to...[/size] [size=5]Ze Luh-air of Ze Fwench! *dun dun dunnnnn dramatic reverb*[/size] [size=1]A lone figure sits on top of a highly decorated throne. Dressed completely in white, the man is bored as he stares down at the peons before him. How dare they even think of approach him? After all, he was Baron von French Guy...the Frenchiest of the French. Hell, he was so French, he had his next fifty surrenders for various wars booked in advance. Yep, this was one French son of a bitch. "Mastair?" one of the peons said. "We come with infairmatione!" "Well, zen," Baron von French Guy said condescendingly. "Tell me of zis!" "We received word zat King Shinny is looking for ze Holy OotakuBot!" the Frenchman said as a frog leaped out of his pants. "Hmm...zis is not good. Send out the French National Guard!" The Frenchman signaled and two snobbish artists and the guy from the Matrix Reloaded who likes to wipe his ass with silk walked into the room. "Presenting...the French National Guard!" "Excellent...we shall be unstoppable!" Everyone in the room paused and laughed an extremely and overwhelmingly French laugh. After this, everyone strolled pretentiously out of the room, leaving Baron von French Guy alone. He called forth one of his peons to speak with him. "The head peon...he is very French. Almost [i]too[/i] French...have him executed via ze guillotine." "Yes, sair." The peon left, as Baron von French Guy laughed an evil French laugh. What a jerk, eh? "I didn't ask for your opinion, you silly American!" I'm English. "Same difference."[/size]

Well, of the avatars, #2 is my favorite. #1 is a bit blurry because of the effect you used and #3 seems too crowded...plus, I just love the expression on your face in #2 lol. The banner was a tougher choice, though. Like you said to me, while #4 better conveys the LAN crowds, #3 shows off the gaming screens better and there is more gaming going on. And, after all, it's all about the gaming :D So, yeah, #2 and #3 would be the way I'd go.

Yeah, I think the whole "true to the comic" argument gets a tad stale, as well. Really, it's like a movie based off a book or a comic or something - you know it will be loosely based off of it, but you also know that it won't be exactly the same. I think that's how people should view television series (especially cartoons) based off of comics and such. Honestly, I thought the original TMNT series was quite fantastic. I could care less about whether it was "true to the comics;" it was an all-around good cartoon, to me, at least. Krang was a really original, and entertaining, villain and TMNT had one of the better sets of villains that I've seen in a cartoon. And, yeah, the 80s rocked, cartoon-wise. Super Mario Bros. Super Show, especially - methinks I need to buy some DVDs :D

Well, in the short time that I've known her, I'd have to say that Annie is one of the more enjoyable people to talk to that I know of. She's always fun to interact with (especially in the chats, hehe) and it's hard not to laugh or smile or something when you're talking to her, heh. I'll definitely be missing her while she's gone (though, I won't be missing the APB

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by xxxGothChickxxx [/i] [B]AH! Animal Crossing! Weo, weo, weo!! *loves the tiny little chracter* My town's name is Kitty Hawk. Hehe!!! [/B][/QUOTE] This post really made little sense and brings just about no discussion about Animal Crossing, heh. I'd have to ask you to include a bit more than this if you decide to post in this topic (or any topic, for that matter) later on. Just look at the posts in this very topic and you'll get an idea of what's expected, heh.

The only thing that I'm organized with are my school notes and stuff...if I'm not, I will lose them all and be screwed for the rest of the year. I'd say my video games are in fairly good order, but they're hardly organized. They're stacked one atop another, sort of like some DVD collections I've seen and they're readily available for me to play at any time...but it's not really organized even with all that lol. Everything else in my room is just...a mess. My room is a hellhole.

Heh, I'm a pretty huge fan of The Twilight Zone. Obviously, I wasn't alive during its original run on television but I catch the show every now and then on Sci-Fi and I jump for joy every time they decide to run a Twilight Zone marathon, hehe ^_^; The Twilight Zone is really a fantastic show; very witty and fantastic, suspenseful stories packed into half-hour (and occasionally hour-long) shows. I've not seen them all yet, but I have seen most of the shows. Some of my favorites include "Eye of the Beholder," "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up," "The Obsolete Man" and, of course, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." The Twilight Zone is very much worth watching even today, because the show still manages to entertain, even with multiple viewings of each episode. And though the show sometimes stretches reality way more than normal (come on, do you really believe that the family in "Little Girl Lost" just happened to know a physicist?), you really pay no mind to it, because they're just that good. Even if you don't like The Twilight Zone, the show is still fun to watch so that you can catch the myriad of references that The Simpsons make to the different shows, especially in the Treehouse of Horror episodes (several Treehouse of Horror episodes have been loosely based off of Twilight Zone episodes). It's really quite fun to see exactly how The Simpsons parodies these episodes. One last thing...the episode in which you were talking about, Japan, is entitled "Time Enough at Last." I remember that episode quite well, heh. Even better is the short parody of it that took place in Futurama: [spoiler]The man sits down to read and, of course, his glasses break. He notes that he does not need his glasses to read and then his eyes fall out. He tries to find something in braile and his arms fall off. Finally, he just comes apart alltogether. The funniest part comes soon afterward when Bender says "Saw it coming."[/spoiler] I swear, I laugh everytime I see that :D If you'd like to know more about The Twilight Zone, then I have a pretty good site for you: [url=http://www.thetzsite.com/]The Fifth Dimension [This is The Twilight Zone][/url]. This really is a fantastic Twilight Zone site and it's packed full of information about the series. Should be a great read for any Twilight Zone fan ^_^

[b][u]General Awards[/b][/u] [b]Overall Member of the Year:[/b] James [b]Male Otaku of the Year:[/b] Semjaza Azazel [b]Female Otaku of the Year:[/b] Sara [b]Staff Member of the Year:[/b] Charles [b]Funniest Member of the Year:[/b] Charles [b]Most Opinionated Otaku of the Year:[/b] PoisonTongue [b]Most Likely to Be Here in Two Years:[/b] Adam [b]Best Newbie:[/b] Arcadia [b]Best Oldie:[/b] Shy [b]Most Likely to Become a Staff Member:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b]Most Improved Member:[/b] vicky [b]Favorite Banned Member:[/b] Taylor Hewitt [b]Thread of the Year:[/b] The ?Deal With This Member? Thread [b]Silliest Thread of the Year:[/b] Charles can I be a mod for?? [b][u]Random Awards[/b][/u] [b]Avatar Award (Best Avatars Overall):[/b] Charles [b]Signature Award (Best Signatures Overall):[/b] Sara [b]Best Location (Best Specific Location):[/b] Charles [strike][b]Best Otaku Couple:[/b][/strike] [strike][b]Best Looking Otaku:[/b][/strike] [b]Otaku Clique of the Year:[/b] OtakuBoards Yaoi/Shounen-Ai Club [b]Best MyOtaku:[/b] Charles [b][u]Otaku Writers[/b][/u] [b]Poet Laureate:[/b] KarmaofChaos [b]Writer of the Year:[/b] Solo Tremaine [b]Orginal Story of the Year:[/b] OB: Enter the Net [b]Role-Player of the Year:[/b] Arcadia [b]Brawler of the Year:[/b] Chaos [b]RPG of the Year:[/b] Kill Adam [b][u]Social Otakus[/b][/u] [b]Otaku Social Member:[/b] James [b]Entertainment Otaku:[/b] Semjaza Azazel [b][u]Otaku Anime[/b][/u] [b]Otaku of the Year:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b].hack//SIGN Member of the Year:[/b] AzureWolf [strike][b]Dragonball Guru of the Year:[/b][/strike] [b]Digipeep of the Year:[/b] Ben [strike][b]Gundam Member of the Year:[/b][/strike] [strike][b]Yu-Gi-Oh Member of the Year:[/b][/strike] [b]Least Disappointing Yu Yu Hakusho Member:[/b] Dagger IX1 [b][u]Otaku Gamers[/b][/u] [b]Otaku Gamer of the Year:[/b] Semjaza Azazel [b]Nintendo ?Mario? Award:[/b] Desbreko [b]Sony Award:[/b] Dan [b]X-Box Award:[/b] PoisonTongue [strike][b]PC Gamer of the Year:[/b][/strike] [b][u]Otaku Artists[/b][/u] [b]Best Graphic Designer (Banners, wallpapers, etc.):[/b] Syk3 [b]Best "Traditional" Artist (Drawings, paintings, etc.):[/b] Sara [b]Best Spriter:[/b] Dragonballzman [b][u]Series Otaku[/b][/u] [b]Series Otaku Member of the Year:[/b] Desbreko [b]Square/Enix Member of the Year:[/b] Zidargh [b]PokéPlaque (Pokemon):[/b] Lady Katana [b]The Triforce Award:[/b] Desbreko Well, that took significantly less time than before lol. Look forward to me putting more explanations on my myOtaku like last time...only I'll steal James's idea and space them out more :p And one more thing...[size=5]Vote Ben for Digipeep of the Year or perish! *shakes fist*[/size]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B]And last, nobody suspects the butterfly. [/B][/QUOTE] If you listen to Bart, anyway :p Eh, I've never really wanted to be anyone else, because changing to somebody else would mean that I'd have a whole new set of problems and crap to deal with lol. But, just for fun, I'd change myself into the killer rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That rabbit kicks many an ***, believe me.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by cloricus [/i] [B]Really? I remember for about six months before the N64 came out they dropped heaps of hints, mainly on children?s tv after noon show?s like Amazing where the host would just keep saying (at least once a show) things like "The 64 is coming!" and "N64, will you be ready for it?" so it got kind of annoying but he would add in every so often a small touch of info about it. This was done on several shows like it and I noticed it worked very well as several friends bought it the day it came out. So are you saying is this unlike them and just some weird marketing thing they did as a test? Noting that I?ve never paid attention to any other advertising by them so I?m unsure. [/B][/QUOTE] They're called commercials lol. Nintendo was dropping information about the Nintendo 64 because they were closing in on the release date; you could hardly expect Nintendo to [i]not[/i] advertise the N64. The DS is not close to being released, which is why you won't see any commercials/advertisements/what have you for it. I'm not sure as to the [i]exact[/i] reason that Nintendo released information about the DS before E3, but they must have had some reasoning behind the move - Nintendo isn't a bunch of total fools, after all :p EDIT: Darn tricky James, choosing to post when I wanted to post lol.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#707875]I doubt that Nintendo will be leaking anything, as such. It's not Nintendo's style. They're like the CIA; it's very, very rare that anything is leaked from within the company. However, I do think that Nintendo will reveal more details before E3 rolls around. We might actually see some photographs of the hardware before the show and if we're lucky, we'll hear something about software. But it's relatively unlikely at the moment, I'd say. Nintendo generally provide very little information until the show itself, because they would prefer that journalists actually play the machine, rather than simply look at pictures and write about it from that point of view.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] I agree with James here, simply because that is the best way to go about it. I mean, the average person whom doesn't have access to E3 would probably prefer that Nintendo "leak" information...but would you really get an objective point of view on the DS? No, everything would be subjective to the individual journalists perceptions of what the DS would be like. And, as James pointed out, that's why Nintendo doesn't leak information; they're smart enough to know that they'll get the best reaction when they spring something like the DS at a big show like E3 and allow the media full and ready access to it. And really, wouldn't you better trust the judgement of someone who has actually played the darn thing over someone who is judging the DS based on information that was leaked? I know I would.

I think art is whatever you make it become...after all, you can pretty much turn anything into a piece of art. For example, look at Pablo Picasso's "Bull's Head." He made this piece out of a bicycle chair and bicycle handles; however, it's actually quite a creative piece of conceptual art. One would think that it would take quite a creative mind to look at the parts of a bicycle and envision a bull's head. And, really, that's what art is to me. Art encompasses the ability to think outside the box and come up with some truly radical and innovative ideas...whether it be visual art (paintings, sculpture, even movies) or aural art (music would obviously fall into this category). There is just so much that could fall into the category of 'art' because art is really a broad and ambiguous term.

Blergh, I've been putting off saying this for a while, heh. DeathBug recently informed me that, due to school, he will be unable to participate in the RPG. I will be taking the reins of his character, Baron von French Guy, for a while. However, I don't plan to play as that character throughout the whole RPG, so I'm reopening the signups for that character [i]and that character only.[/i] If you want to join the RPG, you must join as Baron von French Guy, since he will be the only character available. Also, try to come up with a competent sign-up and don't just steal from DeathBug :p That is all.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B]Now, on-topic. I don't have too much time here, but I'd be very intrigued to see just what kind of software N is planning with this new system. The gaming possibilities are very interesting. Two player co-op would certainly be cool. I keep coming back to Super Mario Bros Deluxe on GameBoy Color. The link mode featured a competitive mode in which both players raced against each other through levels designed for the race mode. With this dual system screen, I think it would be very neat to incorporate the SMB Deluxe idea into a more developed gameplay. I would love to see original levels used for the races. It would be precisely what I have been doing already, seeing just how fast I can get through SMB1 without dying. It would make for some very interesting races... [/B][/QUOTE] I think it's ideas like these that could very well make or break the DS...it's still fairly early in the creative process, I believe, and I'm sure that Nintendo is already brewing up ideas similar to this as we speak (or type lol). I really think that they've learned their lesson from the Virtual Boy era and Nintendo definitely won't be mishandling this system...they could really create some innovative stuff, handheld wise, with this, heh. Hopefully, tons more information about the DS will be passed out come E3.

[b]Name:[/b] Michael [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]DOB:[/b] November 19th, 1985 [b]Location:[/b] La Puente, CA (didn't put it here before, but it's not like anyone knows where it is). [b]One Word:[/b] Pish-posh [b]No, seriously. Describe yourself in one word:[/b] Geekitude [b]Occupation:[/b] Jackass [b]Color:[/b] Black [b]Food:[/b] Pizza, preferrably with no toppings (I'm not letting anything get in the way of my beloved cheese). [b]Beverage:[/b] Sprite, sans Kobe Bryant. [b]Alter Ego:[/b] Nintendork, master of all knowledge Nintendo, maker of all things geekery. [b]Dream Job:[/b] Gaming journalist...preferrably for Electronic Gaming Monthly unless I were able to make some decent money for a website. [b]Self-Proclaimed:[/b] World's Greatest Tag Team [b]Ethnicity:[/b] Mexican, English, German and Dutch. [b]Extracurricular:[/b] Tennis...even though I currently suck :p [b]Hobby:[/b] Gaming, writing and tomfoolery. [b]Dessert:[/b] Vanilla ice cream...delicious. [b]Musician:[/b] Trent Reznor [b]Group:[/b] Nine Inch Nails [b]Mac or PC?:[/b] PC [b]Nics:[/b] I have way too damn many to mention lol. [b]Blog:[/b] [url=www.myotaku.com/shinmaru]I heard this site is quite nice.[/url] [b]Home Page:[/b] myOtaku.com [b]Religion:[/b] I'm a noted scholar of the Nintendologist faith. [b]Book:[/b] I can't name just one =/ [b]Collections:[/b] I have a rather large collection of gaming magazines. [b]Won't Eat:[/b] Stuff that smells weird. [b]TV Show:[/b] Futurama [b]Words to live by:[/b] "Man uses his highest technology to amuse himself." [b]Addicted to:[/b] Stuff and the like. [b]Comic:[/b] Spider-Man (best villains ever), Foxtrot (one of the most brilliant, funny comics I've ever seen), Batman (best superhero ever) and Calvin and Hobbes (who doesn't love Calvin and Hobbes?). [b]Movie:[/b] Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - I think I'll go watch it right now, in fact.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sara [/i] [B][size=1]I don't know how many of you have played the game [b]Taboo[/b], but there are several others like it. (Most are far easier. /) You are given a limited amount of time to get your partner(s) to say certain words (given at the top of cards.) Below the objective word are several other [i]taboo[/i] words. Typically, they're the first words that come to mind. You're not allowed to use them while describing the objective word. For example, the word at the top is [b]Cookie[/b]. I am trying to get you to say that word, without using any of the words below it. [b]Cookie[/b] [i]Chocolate Chip[/i] [i]Monster[/i] [i]Dessert[/i] [i]Sheet[/i] [i]Bake[/i] [i]Jar[/i] Essentially, you're limiting the shared knowledge base. The phrases "Cookie Monster," "Cookie Jar," "Chocolate Chip Cookie," etc. are no longer available to you. You can't tell your teammate that they're looking for a kind of dessert, or that they would normally be baked on a "cookie sheet." You could say, "Children's game--[i]Who stole the _______[/i]" Whether or not your friend knows the missing phrase is "cookies from the cookie jar" depends on the shared knowledge base. [/size] [/B][/QUOTE] Taboo is a really fun game, even if you're forced to play it for Calculus class lol. Yes, true story, my Calculus class played "Math Taboo." Probably one of the more surreal experiences I've had in my lifetime, heh. Let me tell you, thinking up ways to describe math terms without getting too specific is really difficult >_

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Nate [/i] [B]Let me get this out now. WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER SOL. As a 12 year old 7th grader, i know. I'm sick of them things, and i got like....5 more years of SOLs alone..not counting college.(and i can't fail a single one either..that's what really sucks) [/B][/QUOTE] I just want to say that he makes a good point here. The last thing that schools need is more standardized testing lol. Kids don't really learn anything from them and they take away valuable time from teachers, who could be teaching children things that actually matter. I should know...my classes were bombarded with useless standardized testing all last year.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by cloricus [/i] [B]Excuse me James but how can Pac-Man be multiplayer or anything different to the original Atari version? (Apart from better graphics.) I just can't understand what you are talking about. [/B][/QUOTE] James is referring to the version of Pac-Man released for the GameCube with copies of different Namco games (I forget which ones at the moment, heh). It's called Pac-Man vs., I believe, and involves GBA-GC connectivity. The first player uses the GameCube and plays as Pac-Man and the other people use GBAs to play as the ghosts. So, yeah, that's what James is talking about, heh.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by cloricus [/i] [B]What is the point of multiplayer with only one control set?[/B][/QUOTE] That's where the "multi" part of this comes in...as in more than one. I'd hardly think that Nintendo would keep this limited to single-player only, especially with how hard they've been pushing multiplayer over the past few years. Making the DS usable only in single-player would really alienate a lot of the audience that Nintendo would be going for, I think.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Desbreko [/i] [B][color=indigo]Anyway...aren't we supposed to be on the subject of Metroid: Zero Mission? The last five posts, including this one, haven't had anything to do with Zero Mission, heh. :whoops:[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Hey, at least we're talking about Metroid; that's good enough for me :p You make a good point about linearity/non-linearity...after all, what game could be truly non-linear? There has to be some point to the game, or else it would just be full of aimless wandering. In gaming terms, I suppose, non-linearity would simply suggest that the game doesn't shuffle you off from one place to the next...it gives you slight hints and gives you the necessary tools to let you go where you need, but ultimately lets you have free reign over where you go (which is, of course, what you were talking about, heh). On the subject of which system I would prefer for Zero Mission...I still think Super Metroid did it best; once you found that one item you needed, pretty much everything was game (whether it be the Morphing Ball, Ice Beam, etc.) and really added a lot to the exploration factor of the game. Metroid Prime did this extremely well, too, I thought. But you never know...Nintendo may just surprise us all and come up with a system that's even better for Zero Mission.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by PoisonTongue [/i] [B](Blame Shinmaru for the "Booster" term. He blanked out. What kind of a Nintendo Forum Mod is he, anyway? lol :p)[/B][/QUOTE] Conveniently left that in there even after I told you what it was called, eh? I see how it is lol. [spoiler]It's the Speed Booster, by the way :p[/spoiler] Like you and I were discussing over AIM...Metroid isn't really "hit you over the head" linearity like a lot of games are...it's more veiled linearity in the sense that there are definitely items that you need to clear the game...but once you get certain items, new possibilities open up and you can tackle the different areas in a different order than usual. So, yeah, Super Metroid and the like are linear, but in a more clever, logical way. I haven't played too much Metroid II, but I believe Metroid is most definitely the only non-linear Metroid game...that game is truly insane lol. You can pretty much do anything and go anywhere in that game, heh (well, if you ever manage to master the difficulty, that is lol).