30th August 2010, 12:33 PM
A Black Falcon Wrote:Why is it "feeling right" to have a storyline where a previously strong female character only gets validated through the approval of her male superior? I mean, considering what you've said about women before I expected you to defend this too, but it's absurd. Remember, though the backstory is set well earlier, the main game in Other M happens after the Metroid Prime trilogy, after Metroids 1 and 2... it's the second-to-last game in the chronology, only Fusion follows it. Considering that, Samus suddenly acting like that is ridiculous.
What male character would be treated that way? Even though the character has been though many games and always been competent and tough, suddenly they're taken apart, made weak and insecure, and more. It's either "cooincidence" or sexism, and I think it's pretty clear which of those it is.
***mild spoilers***
Resident Evil had several instances while playing as a male character you had to be knocked out of the way of something because you were frozen in fear. It makes a lot of sense to me that she has fought something in so many iterations and then meets it again to be confronted by her fear of having another clone of the space pirate general that killed her family right in front of her. In every Metroid when confronted with him it is always portrayed as shocking and jarring. I am going to assume in the context of the game she is remembering her past, focusing on old events, such as the invasion on k12 where her parents were killed. In that frame of mind she is more sensitive to the images that jolt her right back in the mind frame of that 7 year old girl.
Why does it feel right? Because after family was killed she was orphaned and picked up by a mysterious old man who is rumored to be the spirit of the Chozo who helps her and tells her to train. She joins the military at an early age full of piss and vinegar and ready to kill but makes stupid noob mistakes and is banished for, among other things, having no discipline. In Fusion Adam is dead, his cordal data (identity) was used in her ship's computer which sparks memories of him from her military days - she's constantly reminiscent of how different she was back then and how she had no discipline and wonders how Malkovich would see her now, if he would be proud. Why does she want that recognition? Because it was her COMMANDING OFFICER. Doesn't that make a whole hell of a lot of sense? She felt like she had no respect for the federation and that it was her character flaw, wishing she could have done it better yet at the same time indifferent to it all looking back.
On board the bottle ship in Fusion she had to re-learn that discipline, she couldn't be wily about it because this was property and she was also helping the federation. This proved nonsensical by the time she was faced with the final threats from the BSL incident, though. In the events of Other M she is confronted with 'old friends' from her military days on a military vessel, she has to obey orders. This is not the officially uninhabited Zebes or Tallon IV, nor is it Aether's ancient techno-ruins where she's told to do whatever it takes to bring down the dimensional vertices. It's the equivalent of her landing in Iraq and helping out US soldiers - she has to obey the commanding officers otherwise she will be doing more damage than good for the greater goal of assisting the soldiers. Why am I the only person that gets this?
It's a galactic federation just like in Star Trek, a conglomerate of governments from the entire galaxy all working together so of course the rules are strict when working directly with them. Samus has never been a rule breaker, she believes in rules and military precision. What she is, is a loner. She doesn't like having responsibility of other people. No tag-alongs, she doesn't even like the other bounty hunters a side from respecting their position.
Doesn't it make perfect sense?