Sex and the Zero Suit: Why Samus was Great Only in Metroid Prime

[Mr Khan]

Khuutra said:

You are participating in a discussion that is taking place parallel to this topic, not within the topic itself, and certainly not in the conversations I've been having up to this point.

I have not put forth that there is anything intrinsically wrong with using sex as an incentive.

I have not put forth that sex was used to sell Metroid. In the majority of territories that assertion would be preposterous, and it's preposterous from your own mouth. Even if sex were used to sell Metroid, that would not be problematic on its own, because it would mean a very different sort of game was waiting for us.

I have not put forth any issues that directly relate to gender privileges as such.

This discussion is very specifically about Samus Aran, and about how she is at her best when her sex and gender are incidental and ancillary to her character; she functions best not as a woman, but as a warrior. Some people find this character typing problematic; I do not. However, that same androgyny, and the importance of it, which is tied up into the fact that anyone can project themselves onto Samus because it could be anyone under that suit, is undermined when Samus's sexuality is framed as an incentive and reward for high-level play. It undermines the non-sexuality of the character while removing her from the ego of the player, which is counterproductive to immersion on two separate fronts.

This discussion is about how Metroid Prime did Samus perfectly by making her into the Terminator, and how what human parts of her they showed were directly and elegantly tied into the player's own investment in the game. It was relatable instead of alienating and poignant instead of silly. That preserves the link between Samus and any player, including when she takes her helmet off and it turns out she was a girl the whole time. In that moment, I am still Samus. And so are you.

Do you have a more clear understanding of what this discussion is about?

Actually, I had not been aware that this was quite what the discussion was about. You feel that the sexualization is problematic strictly from an immersion perspective?

I seem to find that a non-issue, largely because a sense of immersion was not the purpose of Metroid gameplay *until* Metroid Prime.