Samus Aran's Female Empowerment
Female Empowerment in Gaming
- Samus Aran is the original femme fatale of Nintendo. Often referred as the first playable female character in gaming, the intergalactic bounty hunter has been a character of great interest to me. I was first introduced to Samus as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. I did not play the original Metroid game until many years later. So I always knew that Samus was female.
What threw people off is the suit. It's easy to assume that Samus is male. The name itself sounds very masculine and at the time it was released, the gaming genre was very steered towards guys. Samus was assumed to be a man.
Metroid is beloved for its unique experience. The feeling of isolation, the vibrant colours of the graphics and the fantastic gameplay compliments its great sci-fi atmosphere. It's fast-paced and challenging but is very satisfying. The game both defined its genre and went on to be one of the many franchises that keeps Nintendo in many people's hearts today.
What is the game most famous for? It's not for the epic final battle, but the unmasking of Samus Aran. The reveal that Samus Aran was not a man, but in fact, a woman made headlines. I heard that in the original leaflets to the game that Samus was referred to as a "he" and not a "she" making it all the more confusing.
Over thirty years later and Metroid is still a beloved franchise. Samus Aran's gender reveal is still talked about. There are people who will go on YouTube for the play-throughs and skip straight to the end to see Samus in her red underwear.
Catfishing at its finest! I know that some people think that Samus hasn't contributed much to feminism and female empowerment as opposed to other characters. But I think she has still done things that could be a benefit to female empowerment.
To fight like a girl is often seen as a bad thing. We all know people with the assumption that girls are weak and can't fight. Imagine the look on their faces when they see Samus is a woman. There's nothing wrong with fighting like a girl, especially if your name is Samus Aran.
Long before the Spice Girls, Samus was showing off a retro flavour of girl power. And I'll be honest here, I've only played the first Metroid game, but as a long-time fan of the Super Smash Bros. Series, I still see a lot of Samus. Retro Spice can be my new nickname for her.
Samus is also one of the original eight characters from the first Super Smash Bros. game and one of the only female characters on the game. Jigglypuff may count, but Jigglypuff can be either male or female. In many fighting games from the 80s and 90s I've come across, a lot of them only have one female playable character if they have any at all.
With the first Metroid game, being the only Metroid game I've played, seeing Zero-Suit-Samus for the first time in Brawl was striking. It took me a while to get used to, but now future generations know for sure that she is indeed a woman. It still feels surreal that people questioned her gender in the past.
Looking back, perhaps revealing her gender with a vanishing suit wasn't the best. A lot of people still have problems with female representation in video games. Maybe they should have said right from the beginning that Samus was female, or maybe the gender reveal was all part of their plan. If it's the latter, then it's worked. Here's a great game for you to play, by the way you've learned that women can fight well too. I hope you had fun.
Being masculine doesn't make us male and being feminine doesn't make us female. Samus is a reminder that it's okay to have both. Women can fight. Women can be soldiers. Women can be heroes. Women can fight to save the world and the universe just like Samus did bravely.
About the Creator
Chloe Gilholy
Former healthcare worker and lab worker from Oxfordshire. Author of ten books including Drinking Poetry and Game of Mass Destruction. Travelled to over 20 countries.
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