Metroid Musing: Should Scan Logs be Voice Acted?

For the Metroid Prime series, scanning is an integral, inseparable aspect of the experience. Samus’s Scan Visor allows her to activate every mechanism you can think of and give details about the environment that simple observation wouldn’t be able to decipher. Of course when Samus encounters a dangerous enemy, scanning gives useful information on their behavior, what their attacks are, how to defeat them, it may even reveal a weak point to deal increased damage! However, even before the release of Metroid Prime 4 where the time to scan something seems to take longer than in previous games, the requirement of scanning can be a turn off to some players. I adore the Scan Visor since it gives me so much lore to chew on and immerse myself as much as I can into an alien world, but for the average player, it’s understandable that the amount of scanning needed to gain crucial plot context comes at the detraction of the pacing and overall enjoyment. What could some solutions look like? 

One potential option is to have scans voice acted for the player to listen to once the scan is complete, kind of like audio logs in games like Bioshock, Dead Space, and the Fallout series. Some sort of audio or video log could be a neat addition to the series, but having scans be voice acted once obtained can allow players to learn more about the world they are exploring without so much stop and start. Having the time to complete the scan be lowered a tad could also help alleviate the issue. Perhaps the voice can be determined by what is scanned, for example journal entries can be voice by a character that lived in this particular world, whether they be a one off character or a recurring character in a specific area or facility. Scans on general objects and enemies can be by Samus’ suit AI, or have specific important enemies and suit abilities be voiced by Samus herself.

What do you think? Could voice acted scan logs help with the issue some player have with scanning in the Metroid Prime series? Let us know in the comments!

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Griffen Olney

Griffen Olney is a Website Reporter for Omega Metroid. You may know him as TheAccursedHunter01.