Samus Aran, the ultimate gaming heroine

by Ben Striegel { Nov 14th 2005 at 6:00PM }

Women may have starred in video games prior to 1986, but there hasn't been one since who can hold a candle to Samus Aran. It wasn't just the way Metroid's manual led you on into believing she was a man, it was the fact that, at the end of the day, it didn't make much difference either way. And now, thanks to her eight-year hiatus between appearances in Super Metroid and Metroid Prime, a whole new generation of gamers has grown up thinking that the orange-clad fighter from Super Smash Bros. was just another one of the guys.

It's been almost twenty years since Metroid debuted here in the states, and yet there's still a dearth of strong female leads whose gender is irrelevant to their circumstances, as opposed to being their sole motivation. Lara Crigger over at Gamers with Jobs laments:

"Indeed, in video games, my entire gender appears to be neatly organized into maidens, mothers, and crones—or worse, virgins and whores. Look, developers—stop this. All of those "characters" are unnecessary. You've already made a perfect female character. Now, please, just make more of her.

Who? Samus Aran, of course."

In an era where sexuality in games is becoming ever more pervasive, Lara commends the developers at Nintendo and Retro Studios who maintain Samus� cool professionalism under fire as well as for retaining her femininity without resorting to oft-abused cliches. Specifically, �never does she whine in her Space Journal, complain to Mission Control, or angst about Ridley over tea. She trusts herself to get the job done; she believes in herself. In this world, we could use a few more women�and men�who felt the same way.�

Here�s a question to ponder: how would the Metroid series differ nowadays if Samus was a man? Conversely, how would you perceive a game such as Halo differently if Master Chief was a woman? And just how significant should the influence of gender be on a game�s underlying story?

[Via Slashdot]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Oshi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

If the gameplay didn't change who cares if the character is male or female.

Mike @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I would feel kinda scared if master chief turned out to be a woman with that deep voice.

On a more serious note.. Why do I keep seeing these women in gaming stories? WHO CARES if a character is a man or a woman.

Dakara @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Amen Sister. Who cares if anyone is a man or woman. HAHA. I dont care. But the thought is funny. Samus is a great role model for boys and girls alike.

Elliot Fox @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

While the game got practically no publicity (though it greatly deserved some), "Beyond Good And Evil" had an equally strong, if not as militant female lead. Jade was tough, smart, cunning, and resourceful. Honestly, the game couldn't have been nearly as good with a male lead.

Adam @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Oshi pretty much summed it up. We'd love the series just as much if Samus were a guy. We just wouldn't have the angle of her being a "positive female role model". A good game is a good game, and as was mentioned in the article itself, Samus's gender in the context of the game is irrelevant.

Rico @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Well, this is a good question. One would think that as video games cross more and more every day into "cinematic experiences" that the concept of character development would very much come into play.

Used to be that all the back story for a game was in the manual; Yar's Revenge is a great example of that. You read the manual (comic book, really), learn that your in-game character is, basically, a large housefly, then shoot some yellow stuff at a big green thick thing, and some multi-colored stuff comes out. Everything you need to know about the Fly Planet, the Great Menace, and your Ultimate Weapon is not actually in-game.

These days, however, you don't get jack in the manual besides how to configure your multiplayer settings for LAN games. You need to learn in-game about the character you play. American McGee's Alice was great in that regard, because you slowly learned that Alice was pretty insane.

The awesome thing about Metroid was that you start the game assuming you're a dude, because that's pretty much how it's always been. Then you spend a couple of months playing through all the levels, all the while your pre-adolescent brain concocting a back story, character history, and Untold Adventures of Samus Aran, all the while thinking he's a dude.

Then you finish the game.

Learning that Samus Aran was a woman totally threw me for a loop; I had to re-examine my views on girls because of this game, seriously. When you learn the truth about Samus, you start thinking that maybe, just maybe, chicks can kick ass, too. Not because their unrealistically large racks help them shoot things (*coughlaracrofthack*), but because they're just like guys, at least on the video game playing field.

Good topic.

Link @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I think it doesn't really matter if it's a man or a woman, unless the circumstances the character was under didn't go with the appearance of the person. Imagine instead of master chief, a woman in a barely-there spacesuit... not cool.

I agree there should be more characters like Samus (especially the non-whiny part). I'm talking about men too. I hated PoP2 cuz all the prince does is complain, moan and scream, it's just annoying. Samus rarely lets out noises when taking damage and usually it's for a reason and not just for the sake of having voicework. The problem with female leads at the moment is most are exploited with a "sex sells" mentality instead of having a purpose.

BTW, has everyone forgotten about Perfect Dark's Joanna Dark? I mean the N64 Joanna, she definitely was another cool heroine, though I worry how she'll be portrayed in the 360 version.

RubbishFoo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Well said Elliot Fox. I have to agree that I was very taken in by Beyond Good and Evil... the characters in that game were exceptional... First time through I even was a little taken back by Peyj... until I heard a few more sentences out of the guy... Nice to see someone else who enjoyed that title.

LinkerX @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I remember when I first played metroid I did not even assign the character a sex and when I found out it was a girl I thought thats interesting why didn't they just keep the character unknown. It could have been a man/robot/cyborg/woman whatever it would not have mattered. I really pay little attention to the sex of a character because at the end of the day in my opinion the game should suck you in and make you feel like its a part of you. At least thats what a good game should do and as such if your a male you should relate if your a female you should relate period.

Jay @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I'm a huge fan of gameplay and all that but if the lead is a female then I'll probably like the game better. Maybe its just because I prefer girls to guys but meh, its like Halo. its all "YES SIR!" *grunt* *w00t* *typical US male cheer*. but in Metroid its more like "ahh!" when you get hit. heh.

Jason Cross @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I'll take Cate Archer over Samus Aran anyday. *shrug*

the_game_master @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I had no problem with playing games like Carmen Sandiego, Tomb Raider or Perfect Dark each games with a female lead, Carmen Sandiego being the most obvious.

Any one remember the Justin Bailey Code for Metroid, to play Samus out of her suit.

Slashbunny @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Samus Aran IST KRIEG!!!

SID SPACE @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Link, I totally agree. I loved games like Beyond Good and Evil, Metroid, and Perfect Dark. The only time I would ever really dislike a game w/ a heroine is if she was all cutsie about it and the story had something to do with picking up guys (like being gay in Fable, it would be very creepy). Basically the hero can be a heroine for me, as long as it doesn't make me FEEL like a chick.

minilogo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

i think metroid is one of the only games where gamers dont think that the main character is a woman because she doesnt: complain, bitch, whine, want to go shopping, wanted to play pachinco fused with dress up (sexy pachinco reaction.) i think female heroine's should be more like samus. badass but sexy. also keeps the game exciting while blowing crap up

Avinash Tyagi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Well the whole point of making the gender of Samus unknown in the first game and making her seem rather gender neutral actually showed just how stereotyped we gamers are, we expected Samus to be a guy in the first game, even now when people pick up metroid for the first time they refer to Samus as a guy, we expect female characters to act a certain way, even the strong ones are expected to act feminine in some way, but as a few have said Samus could be a guy and it wouldn't change the story much, and thats the point that a girl can be as capable as a guy and doesn't have to fill the stereotypes that most gamers assume female characters have.

striegs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Say, this reminds me of an old riddle that I'm sure a few of you have heard before...

A father and his son are driving through an intersection when a speeding truck comes out of nowhere and crashes headlong into the side of their vehicle. The father is instantly killed, and the son is critically injured. Upon arriving at the emergency room, the doctor takes one look at the young victim and immediately leaves the room. When asked what's the matter, the doctor replies, "I can't operate on that boy... he's my son." How is this possible?

Sure, it's obvious now given the context of the thread, but back in third grade this stuff blew my mind.

Conn @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Personally, I like Samus MORE because she's female. It's a nice change from badass guys who kick ass and whiny chicks who are sexy (well, as sexy as polygons and pixels can be) who nobody really likes.

Embassy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

i think if samus had been marketed and revealed as a woman from the start..the series wud have tanked...just becuase of stupid stereotypes alone...

jadenguy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

18: pixel women are sexy because if you take off your glasses, assuming that you wear glasses because you read joystiq...
gimme a sec, whiping mine off...
ok, well, anyhow, when you take off your glasses and see a woman, you know exactly what you are looking at, and how to react, just by the relation of the shapes and some preconcieved notion of what it is you are looking at. same with photography. even if a picture isn't perfect, that's what you get. now, say, that picture is pixelated. still hot. now say that picture is pixelated and airbrushed. still hot. now, an expert can take some 10yo boyish broad and make her look hot. hillary duff had a career. why is the step further so hard to take? it's only now that you hear comedians admit maniquins are hot...some day the digital body won't be considered unlikeable because of the medium and origin. childishness really.

anyhow, samus is just a strong willed person. one female. she only really can represent one female as such. sure you can archtype her, like with joan of arc and such. but the fact remains that it is but one mold. and there are several more molds women can fall into. those include the virgin and the whore, the mother, the maiden, and the crone. but it's not like videogames really offer that realistic a view on men either. you've got barbarian(the dudes, contra), skinny barbarian(the prince, prince of persia), lanky girly ultra warrior(vaan, ffxii),ninja (uh, a ninja), young simple good hearted boy on a quest(lloyd, tos), and joke character who is fat or dumb or obviously a joke character(cait sith, ffvii). also the playa(Edgar Roni Figaro, ffvi). in the games where there is the considerate slow to act guy who shows true dimensions of humanity, you'll find that same character depth in the females. wind waker comes to mind. as does ffvi.

GRRL GAMER WORLD IDEAL: are you guys familiar with the mangaka 'guild' CLAMP? exceptionally amazing works. they make all my favorite manga and anime, with exception to azumanga daioh and oh! my goddess. my god i'm a wuss...
anyhow, they make bloody brilliant manga with bloody brilliant female characters because they are females who know manga, and are talented. they put their talents and understanding of a complex gender and put it to good use. why not the same for games? there is one really good reason why this is the ideal solution.
CONCLUSION:

MEN SURE AS HELL DON'T UNDERSTAND WOMEN IN THE REAL WORLD, MUCH LESS GAME DEVELOPER MEN. MARRIED MEN DON'T UNDERSTAND WOMEN, AND THEY SUCCEEDED. MEN SURE AS HELL DON'T UNDERSTAND WOMEN.

i hope i left you all with something today. i sure felt it.

Mr. Pointy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

As far as female heroines are concerned, I always Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness was one of the best ones.

dys @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

We need more positive females in videogames. Characters like Jade (Beyond Good and Evil), Aya Brea (Parasite Eve), and Heather (Silent Hill 3) are the few examples of some really good, fleshed-out females that developers went the extra mile to create. Heck, even some of the Final Fantasies have cast some pretty kick-ass girls. But the vast majority of games just star the huge-chested ditzy girls, and that's a damned shame.

badbob @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

I think if Master Chief were a woman, then the relationship and interplay between 'her' and Cortana would be different and possibly weaker. It plays well to stereotypes for Cortana, the woman, playing the mother and strategic figure while Master Chief does the 'brute' work. Almost like Scully and Mulder. Certainly this scenario makes the story easier to spoonfeed into the player. Granted, it could be reworked so it'll work just as well if Cortana and MC were Male-Male, Male-Female, or Female-Female, but it really depends on the designer's purposes story-wise.

Game designers can design their games so that the player *is* the character or is just *controlling* the character. To enforce the player's belief that he or she is the character, the character usually never speaks or is rarely seen from a third perspective, and sometimes, is of unknown sex. Think half-life and zelda. In Halo, MC does have a voice and quite some personality, so I guess Bungie's focus is more on the story and characters than the user's immersion. If the player and the character are not of the same sex, then it seems likely that the player would start to feel for the character as opposed to feel as the character. I would think guys playing Tomb Raider wouldn't think of themselves are being Lara, but rather feel like a 'protector' trying to steer her from danger. If either method makes the player more attached to the game, then the important thing was that the right design choice was made rather than the sex of the character.

Vigilant? @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Great Topic first off, If anyone who has played Super Metriod will know what I am talking about, at the end of the game durring the last boss fight with Mother Brain, the entire sequnece of you the Super Metroid and Mother Brain plays out without one line of dialoge. This is very unique and brilliant! At that point and time the last thing on your mind is Im I a guy or girl? So gender is not even a definiative issue at the apex of the story ...

OneTopJob6 @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

Jason wins. Cate Archer infused NOLF with old-school sex-appeal: Nothing too titillating, and always with that trademark (cold) British wit.

I've noticed that a lot of you rely on negative stereotypes of females. Is the main reason you guys like Samus is because she isn't "whiny, ditzy, emotional, shopping-obsessed," and rather doing mostly male-associated activities? Sheesh. Misogyny FTL.

jadenguy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:05PM

boy, as the night draws long one become more verbose than wise...
you can't agree with one woman without disagreeing with another. it just ain't possible. so why bother? whiney and emotional is pretty much paragraph two. why did you bother? saying they like samus because she isn't a stereotype doesn't mean they don't like real women. they just don't like stereotypical women, which are frequently woven into fiction. stereotypes don't get invented by the board or stereotopological studies. i know what topology is, nobody flame. there are plenty of women who love to shop. i love to shop too, just for geeky electronics. end the internet proves that guys too feel emotions(rage/hornyness) and whine. read bash.org for ditz. and most guys on the internet know this. they do. you are assuming a whole lot here, and i just don't like that at all. we feel disdain for those qualities wherever they lie. seriously. wherever they may lie. it's unfair that men fall into this strict mold all the time. as youths, they just aren't cultured enough to know the true diversity of women, and when they grow up they either become week pansy guys that look handsom and understand women or strong abusive men that manipulate women. the dad roll on tv was getting really trite for about a few decades there. after father knows best, few fathers did. john ritter was probably one of the first fathers that knew best again. one for me and one for the homies
/pours
but really, men aren't all that different from one another in their undeniable honesty of character. we don't know what kind of woman a woman is, or what kind of woman a woman wants to be, or what kind of woman a woman sees herself as. and none of them can agree. that's why women need to make videogames and only then can women critique the female portrayal. it's just not fair on men.