12th June 2013, 5:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 12th June 2013, 5:29 AM by Dark Jaguar.)
"There is no other real reason."
Don't dismiss my point entirely. The Zelda series has never let you play as anyone other than one SPECIFIC character, Link. That IS the main reason we haven't played as Zelda or any other female character. That IS the main block. It's not ENTIRELY a matter of them just not wanting you to play as a female character, the barrier, in its entirety, is the lack of any desire to break new ground and let us play as something other than the mascot of the series. In other words, with the Zelda series specifically, Nintendo has not yet given themselves the CHANCE to be sexist regarding the main character, because they haven't yet freed up the main character role for anyone OTHER than Link. (Note that technically, they did open it up to "regular kids" in the Japan-Only BS Zelda game based on Link to the Past. In that case, they did provide both a male and female kid to play as.)
(And while you have SOME points about Zelda's role, you overstate it. Zelda has traditionally done a LOT more in the series than most "damsels in distress". The main issue is how they've written the story of the royal family. They'd either have to make her the main character (yes I'd love to see this), or they'd have to let you play as her. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a playable character getting abducted (let's not use the term kidnap here, it's demeaning to use that term for adults) because that's not a thing that's been done before. Being stuck in a prison, there are things that can be done with that. I actually really liked the Princess Peach portions of Paper Mario, even if her being a party member in Super Mario RPG was better. Could that be done with a male character? Yes, and should at some point.
If you haven't even played Wii Fit, how can you possibly comment on it being a game or not? It really doesn't have anything all that gamish about it. It's an exercise tool. Don't be so quick to celebrate equality that you cheer every random character tossed in. Also, let's be clear here. They didn't add the Wii Fit trainer for the sake of equality (there's a bunch of Nintendo characters with a richer lineage that could have fit that bill). The equality thing was just a happy accident. Before we get all gung ho, there's one critical thing I've been worried about. Does the Villager have both male and female costumes in the game? Also, what's the "default"? That sort of thing matters.
Don't dismiss my point entirely. The Zelda series has never let you play as anyone other than one SPECIFIC character, Link. That IS the main reason we haven't played as Zelda or any other female character. That IS the main block. It's not ENTIRELY a matter of them just not wanting you to play as a female character, the barrier, in its entirety, is the lack of any desire to break new ground and let us play as something other than the mascot of the series. In other words, with the Zelda series specifically, Nintendo has not yet given themselves the CHANCE to be sexist regarding the main character, because they haven't yet freed up the main character role for anyone OTHER than Link. (Note that technically, they did open it up to "regular kids" in the Japan-Only BS Zelda game based on Link to the Past. In that case, they did provide both a male and female kid to play as.)
(And while you have SOME points about Zelda's role, you overstate it. Zelda has traditionally done a LOT more in the series than most "damsels in distress". The main issue is how they've written the story of the royal family. They'd either have to make her the main character (yes I'd love to see this), or they'd have to let you play as her. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a playable character getting abducted (let's not use the term kidnap here, it's demeaning to use that term for adults) because that's not a thing that's been done before. Being stuck in a prison, there are things that can be done with that. I actually really liked the Princess Peach portions of Paper Mario, even if her being a party member in Super Mario RPG was better. Could that be done with a male character? Yes, and should at some point.
If you haven't even played Wii Fit, how can you possibly comment on it being a game or not? It really doesn't have anything all that gamish about it. It's an exercise tool. Don't be so quick to celebrate equality that you cheer every random character tossed in. Also, let's be clear here. They didn't add the Wii Fit trainer for the sake of equality (there's a bunch of Nintendo characters with a richer lineage that could have fit that bill). The equality thing was just a happy accident. Before we get all gung ho, there's one critical thing I've been worried about. Does the Villager have both male and female costumes in the game? Also, what's the "default"? That sort of thing matters.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)