Nintendo advertising playable female characters in games. - Polidicks

[QUOTE=codemaster85;41600292]The point of link is to be an avatar of you, that was the main vision of the zelda games in the first place. But having the ability to switch the gender would be neat since link can be unisex as a name.[/QUOTE] It would IMO feel a bit forced now though. Since the game series has already built up a lore where Link always a boy with the triforce of courage, Zelda is always a girl with the triforce of Wisdom, and Ganondorf is always an evil man with the triforce of Power. She'll just end up feeling like shohorned in model swap to cater to a larger audience. It would be better if they actually make something out of Zelda while keeping true to the existing lore, and her alternative personality as Sheik is a fantastic opportunity for this. You could even make a game where Link has failed, and it's up to Zelda to carry on. The official LOZ timeline is after all split in 3 where one of them is the one where the Hero is defeated, and similarly there have been some variations of the series with a very dark atmosphere.

[QUOTE=Wii60;41597573]nintendo always had good female characters. in a time where the gaming industry is in this feminist-esque phase why not state the fact that they continue to pump out good female characters?[/QUOTE] metroid other m

[QUOTE=Fangz;41597763]For those who are wondering who Brittany is: [img]http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b196/Starmenclock/captainB_zps4ad82488.png[/img] She is one of the main characters in Pikmin 3.[/QUOTE] Ajsdhajkfhasdfkh she's so cute <3 We need more characters like this, please. [QUOTE=Simski;41599456]A game centered around Sheik would be fucking fantastic.[/QUOTE] This. There's even a spinoff game with Tingle (fucking Tingle, out of all the Zelda characters you could pick), why not one with Sheik? There's also a ton of gameplay possibilities for it too (Smash Bros' transformation mechanic could be used too in this game) [editline]26th July 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=supersnail11;41600758]metroid other m[/QUOTE] That was Team Ninja's fault, not Nintendo's

I wish Joanna Dark would make a comeback. Hell even just a port of the XBLA game to PC. [editline]a[/editline] 64-style Joanna Dark, none of that Zero bullshit

-snip wrong thread lmao-

Does this mean we can get a Metroid game where Samus can do anything without being authorized by a man. Or be Baby Crazy. ... Or have a decent voice actress that can pronounce words right.

I'm really happy about this, I loved Pikmin when I was little, and this only makes it more fun for me to be able to identify with the character more.

[QUOTE=katbug;41599823]Well she does love making large quantities of people suffer for no apparent reason see; the entire mirrors edge fanbase[/QUOTE] What did she say about ME

[QUOTE=Bazsil;41601298]I wish Joanna Dark would make a comeback. Hell even just a port of the XBLA game to PC. [editline]a[/editline] 64-style Joanna Dark, none of that Zero bullshit[/QUOTE] Yeah, the 64 Joanna Dark was friggen boss. Like a lady Bond. Then, in Zero, they made her a bubbly teen in a cutoff shirt for some reason. [img]http://www.notenoughshaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/joanna-dies.jpg[/img] [t]http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/102/9/8/joanna_dark_perfect_dark_zero_by_kamsonx-d61fiaq.png[/t] Talk about an awkward design flop.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;41601790]Yeah, the 64 Joanna Dark was friggen boss. Like a lady Bond. Then, in Zero, they made her a bubbly teen in a cutoff shirt for some reason. [img]http://www.notenoughshaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/joanna-dies.jpg[/img] [t]http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/102/9/8/joanna_dark_perfect_dark_zero_by_kamsonx-d61fiaq.png[/t] Talk about an awkward design flop.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I don't really get, even as a prequel, how it'd work. Even though she was a bit of a smartass in 64 she was still rather professional about her business and knew what she was doing. Not at all like she was in Zero, and thats a lot of change for the short time span between the games. Zero could have been an alright game, but as a Perfect Dark game, it was balls. There's a ton of shit in it that just rends the canon, like the whole Eustace Caroll business. That said, I prefer her CI uniform in Zero to the one in 64.

[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;41597845]Does no one remember this gem? [img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/Super_Princess_Peach.jpg/250px-Super_Princess_Peach.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] It's funny, while it may seem very sexist, Peach is the [I]only[/I] one able to control her emotions throughout the whole game [sp]other than Bowser[/sp], meaning that the main concept of the game is subverting said stereotypes. I remember 100% that game, having as much fun in it as any other platforming game.

[QUOTE=RenegadeCop;41597634]Sounds like Pikmin 3 will be like Pikmin 2 with 1 more person.[/QUOTE] If you're talking about character wise, Pikmin 2 had 3 playable characters.

Nintendo has always been pretty decent with female characters in games, we had the metroid reveal, girl main characters in Pokemon since crystal version, and Zelda actually doing stuff in games. Glad to see a female pikmin lead, and hoping for more girl characters in super smash

[QUOTE=Doomish;41598429]I don't think guys are really accurately represented in video games [editline]e[/editline] I mean, I shout fuck a lot but nine times out of ten it's in my voice and not steve blum's, and I also dont vault over every waist-high thing I find I have however carried two pistols, four two-handed weapons, and a rocket launcher in my back pocket, I think everyone has had to do that at some point really [editline]e[/editline] Really nobody is accurately represented in games, and gaming has definitely shifted towards shooters and playing as guys while doing said shooting, but acting like women are the only people misrepresented in games is pretty disagreeable Does anything need to be done about it? Probably. Do you really need to advertise that you're being progressive? Probably not.[/QUOTE] progressive male implementation in a video game [img]http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llskirslrl1qb8m44o1_500.jpg[/img]

Strange as it may sound, as a fully heterosexual male I think I actually like games with capable female protagonists more than ones with male leads, and not for the obvious sexual reasoning most would assume. Not sure why, might be because I was raised by mostly female relatives, none of which were the damsel-in-distress type of person. What I do know is that one of the first series I got into as a kid was Metroid (and I never have played nor ever will play the Team Ninja abomination), so that might explain where it started. I'm rambling off-topic, point is, I like capable female protagonists more than the generic male counterpart for some (non-sexual) reason. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if others felt the same way. I'm glad Nintendo's working to incorporate more female protagonists, even if only for the sake of variety in characters.

[QUOTE=TurboSax;41604247]Strange as it may sound, as a fully heterosexual male I think I actually like games with capable female protagonists more than ones with male leads, and not for the obvious sexual reasoning most would assume. Not sure why, might be because I was raised by mostly female relatives, none of which were the damsel-in-distress type of person. What I do know is that one of the first series I got into as a kid was Metroid (and I never have played nor ever will play the Team Ninja abomination), so that might explain where it started. I'm rambling off-topic, point is, I like capable female protagonists more than the generic male counterpart for some (non-sexual) reason. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if others felt the same way. I'm glad Nintendo's working to incorporate more female protagonists, even if only for the sake of variety in characters.[/QUOTE] I just like lookin at their buttes.

I don't understand why Pikmin 3 and the female character is such a big thing now, since Nintendo has females in pretty much [I]any[/I] game, including the image of being able to take care of themselves and saving themselves out of nasty situations.

[QUOTE=Magikoopa24;41602285]It's funny, while it may seem very sexist, Peach is the [I]only[/I] one able to control her emotions throughout the whole game [sp]other than Bowser[/sp], meaning that the main concept of the game is subverting said stereotypes. I remember 100% that game, having as much fun in it as any other platforming game.[/QUOTE] Same, got 100% on it too. It's a good platformer in its own right, slightly-misleading advertising and appearance be damned. [sp]Also, Bowser had the Vibe Scepter while Peach did not, meaning she had innate control, whereas he had to use the artifact as a sort of crutch (in the opening, he's just as susceptible to its effects as his minions).[/sp]

My main issue is in the "upcoming Wii U games" part. Its stupid, it really makes it sound like a tacked on novelty. That said, nintendo alone doesn't have a great track record with female characters, it'll be interesting to see what the girl in Pikmin is like.

[QUOTE=Magikoopa24;41602285]It's funny, while it may seem very sexist, Peach is the [I]only[/I] one able to control her emotions throughout the whole game [sp]other than Bowser[/sp], meaning that the main concept of the game is subverting said stereotypes. I remember 100% that game, having as much fun in it as any other platforming game.[/QUOTE] I'll confess that I only know of it mostly in name only and haven't actually played it, so I don't know what the game is really about. It just comes off as being very sexist from what I've seen of it.

Sheik was pretty much just an OOT thing. I don't think it would fit for him to be Zelda's alter ego in a different game. I would love to play as Zelda or at least someone other than Link in a Zelda game. The Valley of the Flood rumored plotline, although revealed to be fake, sounded really interesting. I don't think Nintendo understands how much people are craving subversion in a series that's getting as stale as Zelda is.

[QUOTE=TurboSax;41604247]Strange as it may sound, as a fully heterosexual male I think I actually like games with capable female protagonists more than ones with male leads, and not for the obvious sexual reasoning most would assume. Not sure why, might be because I was raised by mostly female relatives, none of which were the damsel-in-distress type of person. What I do know is that one of the first series I got into as a kid was Metroid (and I never have played nor ever will play the Team Ninja abomination), so that might explain where it started. I'm rambling off-topic, point is, I like capable female protagonists more than the generic male counterpart for some (non-sexual) reason. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if others felt the same way. I'm glad Nintendo's working to incorporate more female protagonists, even if only for the sake of variety in characters.[/QUOTE]I personally find hopeless female characters I have to save from some evil rather tedious, like I was being marketed to as if I were a 12 year old with my hand down my pants at all times.

[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;41604508]I'll confess that I only know of it mostly in name only and haven't actually played it, so I don't know what the game is really about. It just comes off as being very sexist from what I've seen of it.[/QUOTE] Long, rambling post incoming: The game's mechanics are pretty standard platforming with a floating-jump and some other tricks added in thanks to an umbrella you have the whole game. The main gimmick is the various emotions, with happy making you fly in a whirlwind, angry making you stomp around on fire, sad making you run around bawling like a moron, and "mildly pleased" (or whatever the hell it is) basically being the local version of the standard MP-to-HP conversion spell. Basically, you're an overly-emotional mage who can also smack people upside the head with an umbrella. Story's pretty simple; Magic artifact thing on a special island makes people of either gender emotional wrecks, whoever has it has emotion-based magic powers, Bowser steals it in typical asshat form and manages to capture the standard heroes, Peach has to go deal with this shit herself because Toads are useless bastards. Really, it's not that sexist since the MacGuffin of the day makes literally everyone affected into an emotional idiot unless they can control it, and the princess is the only one who wants to go save Mario and Co. instead of waiting on someone else to do it like the toads, making her roughly 10 times more competent than anyone else. It's more along the lines of overly-cutesy, with the standard Mario everything-must-have-a-cute-face rule now in maximum overdrive, with added pink-osity for flavor. Peach herself doesn't really end up being a sexist representation or anything like that. Rather, I'd say "(E-rated) bat-shit insane in a way that gives magical powers" is a more accurate description of her in-game actions/demeanor. It's actually kind of funny if you look at it as a sheltered girl with a hidden tri-polar ("mildly amused" and "happy" are close enough to merge IMO) personality finally losing it after 20 or so years of royal composure and kidnappings, over the course of an entire 8-zoned island on a quest to beat the tar out of a temporarily-insane moron who's finally managed to really piss her off, instead of providing the mild annoyance he usually does. Also, she gets 4 types of magical powers instead of a straight-jacket and/or prison sentence, because Nintendo. Naturally, it's not the intended interpretation of the work, but I like it regardless. In short, try it. Gameplay's good, and has a few neat tricks up its sleeve at times. Sexism is not present in any way that I can see, but it goes a bit nuts with the pink and flowers. Also, it's even more fun if you interpret Peach as an absolute loon who happened to get magical powers from said insanity because Nintendo. Also, I'm defending a Nintendo DS game by calling its female main character insane, all while posting it on an internet forum as a response to allegations of sexism, what is my life.

Considering the first "tropes vs. women" video was pretty much just straight up bashing nintendo, they might have a reason to do this.

I honestly don't see why they're making such a big deal, i mean Nintendo has made playable females in the past but wasn't as major as Peach, except apparently Super Princess Peach was such a commercial flop that plot threads[sp]such as Perry still being in umbrella form[/sp] not being resolved with no sequel in sight, not to mention emotions being a central mechanic of sorts... Brittney, Alph and Charlie doesn't even appear to be relatives of Olimar, they're new characters, but they don't have the impact of Olimar himself since he was solo originally then became a duo in Pikmin 2, sorta hard to even take Brittney as a character seriously since she seems more bossy and food-orientated compared to the other 2 characters, Charlie seems to be the dumb/strong/big guy and Alph is basically New Olimar/The Every Guy, in a game where you throw creatures with individual abilities, it doesn't matter which character you use. As for characterization, you have to admire Rosalina though, she didn't end up kidnapped, but she was a surprisingly deep character in Galaxy, even if it's a series where continuity is seldom mentioned and speech is kept to a minimum, she just feels like an endearing character. Now if Nintendo is looking in their back catalogue for characters to use, use Captain Syrup..even if your audience has questionable debates about being evil, the plot could reasonably be fit into a "Villain joins good guy" sorta deal in a Old-Styled Wario Land title of some sort.

[QUOTE=Plucky;41605023] As for characterization, you have to admire Rosalina though, she didn't end up kidnapped, but she was a surprisingly deep character in Galaxy, even if it's a series where continuity is seldom mentioned and speech is kept to a minimum, she just feels like an endearing character. Now if Nintendo is looking in their back catalogue for characters to use, use Captain Syrup..even if your audience has questionable debates about being evil, the plot could reasonably be fit into a "Villain joins good guy" sorta deal in a Old-Styled Wario Land title of some sort.[/QUOTE] Gotta agree with you on both points. Rosalina was not only competent and avoided the old damsel pitfall, but she's also a good example of giving a character femininity without having it cripple her. She wore a dress, had long hair, and acted as a motherly figure for both the Lumas and the universe itself in a way, all without being reduced to a mewling idiot like so many other female motherly characters (see: Other M, thank you Team Ninja). She even had a well-made and interesting backstory that had nothing to do with the typical pratfalls of making a female character, such as sex, violence or other dark things defining them entirely. Granted, that might have something to do with the fact that this is Nintendo we're talking about, with a strict tendency to remove/prevent most (but not always all) traces of death or sexuality in their games. Still, it seems like there was genuine, well-intentioned effort put into her design. As for Captain Syrup, she seems like she's Wario's sort-of mirror image; tall vs. short, thin vs. fat, (seemingly) clean and normal vs. weird and disgusting, female vs. male, etc. However, she seems to be just as greedy as Wario if not moreso, charging him for upgrade items throughout Wario Land: Shake It/Shake Dimension, and even taking all of his treasure for herself when he isn't looking and running off at the end. As for morality, Nintendo's proven that they're fine with having an utterly awful person be the lead, as long as they fight something equally awful somewhere along the line (Wario always ends up fighting beings meaner/greedier than him as normal bosses and the final boss). The only potential issue is with having a "bad" female protagonist, which is so rare that I've never even heard of any game with one before. Not really Nintendo's fault, so much as it is general media's fault for typically refusing to physically/morally "tarnish" women in leading roles due to equal parts outdated (and possibly sexist) customs and fear of backlash. Same reason why showing women who are larger than a size 0 and/or less than perfect by common standards of beauty as being equally important as beautiful, thin women isn't very widely accepted in media yet. But if any big-name companies in the space of gaming were to break the mold and make a Wario-esque female protagonist popular without resorting to typical female cliches, I'd say Nintendo could pull it off. Once again, I think their mostly family-friendly policies greatly help to remove them from the sex and violence that many designers forcibly cram into characters with no thought for anything else. It also helps prevent the common corporate meddling that forces the unnecessary addition of such elements to characters for the sake of mass appeal.

[QUOTE=TurboSax;41605615]Words[/QUOTE] Basically by "evil", i just mean that Japan seems to feel obligated to not have any outwardly evil protagonists, the most evil they could get away with is anti-heroes like Wario...which even extended to Phantom Thief territory at one point, Wario just seems to be evil at first then to subtly adjust to being a hero when there's bigger villains afoot, even if his intentions isn't pure but for Money, now he's just represented as a money-seeking conglomerate that somehow ends out for the better despite his cronies doing most of the work; most of them having demanding jobs of their own, but Wario makes all the cash. My personal theory with Wario Land was that Wario originally came from Kitchen Island and was generally a menace to its inhabitants, eventually the princess of the region rebelled once Wario left the island to take care of Mario's Castle shortly before the start of Six Golden Coins. the space in time allows for Tatanga to report back to Wario to let him know that the diversion was a success, how the [sp]Peach Statue in the center of Syrup's castle?[/sp] Wario probably placed it there as some sort of war trophy or shipped it before Syrup raided the castle during a coup d'tat on Kitchen Island and Mario defeating him in the Mushroom Kingdom. Ultimately all Syrup did was became corrupt with greed once she found the Lamp that Wario presumably dumped in his treasure cache, and turned to a life of piracy, her first name is probably Maple, she ransacked Wario's castle in 2 and eventually left for whatever reason until Shake Dimension, one thing i liked about the 1st Wario Land game was the exploration elements and different background, it felt like it really expanded the Mario universe and the gameplay quirks was pretty cool too, which wouldn't really be seen until spinoff titles like Super Star Saga, 3 and 4 just felt really gimped in exploration and the whole "Wario gains a power whilst he's hurt" just shifted the series into ridiculousness. Guess an "Explorable Platform game featuring 1 female pirate and one other character" sounds a little too similar to Shantae & the Pirates' Curse in premise, wouldn't really mind a change in games, even if they're spinoffs...just none of that Master of Disguise junk though. (that's only based on comparison to the original 4 WL games, it might still be moderately good on its own, it just has hard acts to follow)

[QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;41604307]That said, nintendo alone doesn't have a great track record with female characters, it'll be interesting to see what the girl in Pikmin is like.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://pikmin.wikia.com/wiki/Brittany"]http://pikmin.wikia.com/wiki/Brittany[/URL] here you go

[QUOTE=Jorori;41600762]That was Team Ninja's fault, not Nintendo's[/QUOTE]ONE MORE MOTHERFUCKER SPOUTS THIS SHIT, AND I'M GONNA EXPLODE. It was NOT Team Ninja's fault. It was Nintendo's, specifically Yoshio Sakamoto, THE FUCKING CREATOR.

[QUOTE=Hunterdnrc;41597535]"One of the many playable female characters in upcoming Wii U games" Literally one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Female protagonists shouldn't be a [I]feature[/I], that's ridiculous. In my eyes it seems like Nintendo is just like "[B]GUYS LOOK WE HAVE GIRLS IN OUR GAMES!!!"[/B][/QUOTE] Yeah. That they have to list something so stupid as a "feature" means that the game doesn't have enough features to even list on the box.