Leading Ladies of Nintendo

I am going to raise an issue with something that I’m sure most people will not agree with, one that throws into light a fact that has mostly been ignored for years. The leading ladies in Nintendo’s video game franchise need to cross-dress in order to get anything done. I am talking about Samus Aran and Princess Zelda. Two girls who are supposed to be strong and independent, but it seems the only times they get to show that strength are when you can’t tell if they are male or female.

I know I am not alone when I say that the first time I ever played Metroid, I assumed that I was playing a male character. There were no hints, no pronouns to give away Samus’ gender. But then, afterthat final battle, a point in the game which some players never even reached, the identity of this person in the robot suit is revealed… And it’s not the macho manly man that everyone I know was expecting. It was someone who, if you squinted enough, kind of looked like a girl.

Ever since the unveiling of her gender, Samus has represented a strange phenomenon in gaming. When she is wearing her suit and the game focuses on shooting aliens, she’s an incredibly powerful character; however, once the suit comes off, I’m looking at you Metroid: Other M, she’s suddenly supposed to act like… well, a girl. But not a normal girl. She is turned into a girl that you’d almost expect to find on a soap opera, gazing dependently upon some strong male lead.

Another representation of this phenomenon in a Nintendo franchise is in the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You would think, as the title character, Zelda would be portrayed as a hearty defender of her realm. She’s the princess of Hyrule. She wields the triforce of wisdom. She was brought up by a clan of people who are basically ninjas. But, when it comes to final confrontations, apparently all she’s good for is getting imprisoned in a giant rupee.

The only parts of Ocarina of Time where Zelda is being useful, you don’t know that it’s her. Instead, she takes on the guise of a man called Sheik, who appears out of nowhere sporadically to help you on your quest. When Zelda is Sheik, she is taken seriously. When she’s herself, people completely change their attitudes. For instance, when Zelda is young and sends a message to a guard, saying that it’s imperative that he listen to her, the guard laughs it off. It can’t just be her age that is the problem, because that same guard comes to respect Link, the main protagonist who is the same age as Zelda.