By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Nintendo recently launched their newest entry in the fan-favorite Zelda series – the Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – and it’s the first in the series to feature the eponymous Princess Zelda as a playable character. This, of course, drew the attention of female journalists and feminist commentators to discuss the paucity of female protagonists in video games and the tendency for games with female leads, like the Tomb Raider series, to pander more to the male gamer than the female.
And none of them were wrong. Female characters in games are still more likely to be the damsel in distress than the main, playable character. Most games are also still marketed heavily towards young men, particularly in genres like the first person shooter
However, it seemed as though some of them were under the illusion that this was something truly groundbreaking when – while there is definitely room for improvement – there have been female leads in games since the earliest days of the home console. In fact, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which introduced the world to Zelda also introduced us to another game which would go on to lend its name to an entire genre. Metroid, the side-scrolling action-adventure game which along with Konami’s Castlevania gave rise to the Metroidvania sub-genre, has featured female protagonist Samus Aran since its launch in 1986. While Super Mario Bros. 2, which was released in 1988, allowed gamers to play through the story as Princess Toadstool (aka Princess Peach), it came two years after Metroid proved that if the gameplay and story were compelling, the gender of the main character was irrelevant. Samus, in her bulky, pixelated armor, also showed us that a female protagonist didn’t have to wear impractical short-shorts and a tight tank top for male gamers to enjoy their games.
It isn’t even the first game to include Zelda as a playable character if you include the non-canon Philips CD-i games or Nintendo’s own Hyrule series.
Role-playing games (RPGs), which share elements with the Legend of Zelda series (the Zelda games more properly fit in the action-adventure genre), are an even better example of developers allowing gamers to play as characters they can identify with by letting them literally design their own player-character. Race, gender, name, and profession are all customizable in many RPGs. Even in games with named main characters, like Mass Effect’s Commander Shepard, there is also often the choice to choose these elements.
In games like Dragon Age: Origins, from Mass Effect developer BioWare, these choices have a direct impact on the course of the game, encouraging gamers to play through multiple times, from different perspectives, if they want to experience everything the game has to offer. The differences in options available to male and female human nobles are just the tip of the iceberg. The complexity and stratification of dwarf and elf society, as well as prejudice towards those born with magical abilities, all play a role in how non-player characters (NPCs) and companions in the game react to you and how the story plays out.
Of course, not every genre allows the kind of flexibility RPGs do, and while the gaming industry is eager to cast a broad net to catch as many customers as possible, portions of the fandom are still rife with toxicity. (Just Google reactions to Sony’s Ghost of Yotei, the follow up to their critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima, for some recent examples.) This is an important issue that game developers and gamers need to deal with.
But Echoes of Wisdom is no more the first step on this journey than it is the end destination. It’s important to keep that all in mind when you hear folks talking about the new game. Especially if they aren’t gamers.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
