Comment on sexist/racist/homophobic stuff in games you really really like. READ OP BEFORE COMMENTING

[WindKnight]

The design of Kurenai from Red Ninja.

Spoiler

I like it, though it ultimately turned me off the game because, well, as much as I liked it on the pure sexual appeal of it, it made absolutely no sense in context as anything other than a hormone tickler, and so blatantly so that I have no problem understanding why people who's hormones aren't tickled by it would find it uncomfortable to put it mildly.

Heck, as much as I like it, it does make me roll my eyes that I'm expected to accept that an assassin hoping to either sneak up on her targets without being noticed (I don't think she could make her outfit more attention grabbing outside of outright popping out of her top) or fight her way through an army of bodyguards is going around dressed like that.

EDIT: aaaand just realised I misread the topic title. I think its quasi on topic though.

 

[Someone Depressing]

There are some cut audio files in the game that hint that Yosuke was going to be a romantic Social Link.

That's just hilarious to me.

 

[CloudAtlas]

Or allowing the fans to pick which FemShep they liked best? They were just trying to include the fanbase.

They were objectifing FemShep by making her appearance the object of fan choice: pick whatever you think is prettiest. Not a big thing, but unfortunate nonetheless.

1. I really liked Bioshock Infinite in general, but I think the portrayal of Daisy Fitzroy and the Vox Populi was very iffy. To prevent spoilers, I don't want to into detail here, but a quick Google search for "Bioshock Infinite + Racism" will tell you why. None of the reasons why I find it iffy are my own anyway; to my own shame, I didn't noticed it myself while playing B:I, I only learned about it afterwards.

Well, that might be because that criticism is quite poorly thought out and ignores one of the most common readings of the themes/messages of the game, not to mention completely ignores the idea that stories can reflect the themes and struggles of its characters in the world itself...

No, they do have a point. What was one of the arguments of racist white folks back in the day for suppression of blacks, for slavery? You can't let them loose, you can't give them their freedom, because they're savages and they'll turn on us and they'll take revenge. What happened in the real world? Nothing like that - the civil rights movement was extraordinarily peaceful. What happened in Bioshock? Guess the racists were right all along, and the suppression justified. Also, the Daisy Fitzroy (and perhaps the Vox Populi altogether) is just as racist as the white folks, just in reverse, again nothing like real civil rights leaders. And the violence of the oppressed against the oppressors is sort of painted in the same light as the violence of the oppressors against the oppressed in Bioshock, and that's a horrible false equivalency. All that makes the message a bit iffy.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Army men series, the racial hated between the Green army and the Tan army

This is the only legitimate post in this thread.

I mean seriously, you want to talk pointless racism...

The Tan are the bad guys... Just because! What if a tan person wants to be a good guy? NOPE! Truly horrid, railroading racism.

And the blues. The blues are the sneaky spies. You know what else is blue? [i/]The Jewish flag[/i]. And they're the sneaky, shifty bastards.

Need I say more?

 

[BreakfastMan]

1. I really liked Bioshock Infinite in general, but I think the portrayal of Daisy Fitzroy and the Vox Populi was very iffy. To prevent spoilers, I don't want to into detail here, but a quick Google search for "Bioshock Infinite + Racism" will tell you why. None of the reasons why I find it iffy are my own anyway; to my own shame, I didn't noticed it myself while playing B:I, I only learned about it afterwards.

Well, that might be because that criticism is quite poorly thought out and ignores one of the most common readings of the themes/messages of the game, not to mention completely ignores the idea that stories can reflect the themes and struggles of its characters in the world itself...

No, they do have a point. What was one of the arguments of racist white folks back in the day for suppression of blacks, for slavery? You can't let them loose, you can't give them their freedom, because they're savages and they'll turn on us and they'll take revenge. What happened in the real world? Nothing like that - the civil rights movement was extraordinarily peaceful. What happened in Bioshock? Guess the racists were right all along, and the suppression justified. Also, the Daisy Fitzroy (and perhaps the Vox Populi altogether) is just as racist as the white folks, just in reverse, again nothing like real civil rights leaders. And the violence of the oppressed against the oppressors is sort of painted in the same light as the violence of the oppressors against the oppressed in Bioshock, and that's a horrible false equivalency. All that makes the message a bit iffy.

No, they really don't. The main theme of the game is that hate and violence are bad, and that hate and violence beget more hate and violence. The Vox are a reflection of that as much as Elizabeth is, a noble cause twisted by hate, a hate that only came about because of the hate against them (you can easily see this in the audio diaries from Fitzroy). The fact that both violent organizations are portrayed as bad doesn't strike me as racist; it strikes me as consistent with the themes of violence itself being fundamentally wrong.

The Vox Populi are not portrayed as "savages" any more than Comstock's group is; they are portrayed as a desperate, downtrodden group of people who turn to hate and violence (following the example of those in power) in an attempt to gain power, like a child who has been abused bullying other children on the playground (not the perfect analogy, but I think you get the point).

 

[Brian Tams]

I LOVE Majora's Mask. Favorite game ever made.

But there are exactly three women of note in it, and two of them stand around and mope until Link solves their problems (Anju and the Ruto lookalike).
The Deku Princess is neat as a character (my favorite scene ever involves her being awesome) but it would've been nice if she wasn't the only one.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I play the Dead or Alive series because of the girls. I enjoy unlocking the different outfits. Playing as Ayane in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was by far my favorite part in the entire game.

And Chun Li has great legs.

 

[NihilSinLulz]

I love Street Fighter...even if the characterization is kinda over-the-top in its racism.

 

[Vegosiux]

They were objectifing FemShep by making her appearance the object of fan choice: pick whatever you think is prettiest. Not a big thing, but unfortunate nonetheless.

I didn't care much for it myself. There's only one FemShep I consider relevant, and that's my FemShep. I just picked whichever looked closest to that one. After all, my FemShep wasn't as much a separate character as she was basically "me", my self-insertion.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I feel like there's a bit of a wedge driven between the people of the Escapist and I feel like some of us need to remember something. It's ok to say that something is sexist/racist/homophobic, AND still like it.

Yes! Thank you!

So many people seem to think that you aren't allowed to like something if it has flaws! However, you can still love something and recognize that it isn't perfect. (Hence why I maintain that Anita is not attacking video games - she's just pointing out a series of unfortunate trends).

Anyway, On topic:

Xenogears

My very favorite game ever. I love the game - I love the characters, the setting, the mechanics. Everything.

... until Big Joe shows up.

Big Joe. A pink-clad, foppish, gay-coded Elvis Impersonator.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Big Joe appears to be the only gay character on the planet (as far as I currently remember). Bad because obviously there should be more gay people, but good because, if this is how they created Joe, what would they have done for any other gay characters?

So yeah, as much as I love Xenogears, it has some unfortunate issues with homophobia.

 

[wulf3n]

I feel like there's a bit of a wedge driven between the people of the Escapist and I feel like some of us need to remember something. It's ok to say that something is sexist/racist/homophobic, AND still like it.

Yes! Thank you!

So many people seem to think that you aren't allowed to like something if it has flaws! However, you can still love something and recognize that it isn't perfect.

I think many also need to take more care with their choice of words, and also recognize that just because they interpreted something a specific way doesn't make the game such.

There's a lot of growth needed by both sides. Unfortunately I don't see it happening any time soon.

 

[Ryan Minns]

Xenogears

My very favorite game ever. I love the game - I love the characters, the setting, the mechanics. Everything.

... until Big Joe shows up.

Big Joe. A pink-clad, foppish, gay-coded Elvis Impersonator.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Big Joe appears to be the only gay character on the planet (as far as I currently remember). Bad because obviously there should be more gay people, but good because, if this is how they created Joe, what would they have done for any other gay characters?

So yeah, as much as I love Xenogears, it has some unfortunate issues with homophobia.

Just a curiosity but does it state said character is actually gay? Or is he just over the top and uses sterotypes people often associate with homosexual men?

 

[kilenem]

Racism in Pokemon. Kind of hard to over look the whole Jynx thing. I watched Game theory and I still think Jynx is racist. Also why does the2nd Gym leader in Black and white look like Aunt Jemima. Ask a Black person who likes pokemon, does she look like Aunt Jemima.

 

[Tactical Pause]

I'm an on-again, off-again player of League of Legends, and I usually enjoy the game a great deal. No, it's not as deep as DoTA, but it's got a unique style of play when it comes to emphasizing skill-shots, and it's loads of fun as long as you aren't told to kill yourself by a teammate.

With that said, the portrayal of the majority of the female characters is... not exactly something I'm comfortable with. Most of them are sporting ridiculously revealing outfits, and their splash art commonly breaks basic human anatomy to twist the character into bizarre positions so as to display both their chest and rear at once. Yes, there are female champions who wear more believable clothes, and there are male champions who run around shirtless, but if you look at the entire pool of characters, it's not hard to see the disparity.

I get that this is a common trope in fantasy games, but I just wish it wasn't so damn prevalent.

 

[SoranMBane]

Despite its lackluster third installment, I consider the Dead Space series to be one of my favourite game series of all time. Satisfyingly visceral gameplay, interesting lore and story, awesome horror/sci-fi aesthetic; it's just got everything that I could want from a AAA action game. Unfortunately, most of its major female characters look like this:

Spoiler

And the ones that aren't made of pure tits still tend to only exist to either die and make the protagonist sad, or get put in dangerous situations so the protagonist can save them.

 

[Coakle]

Xenogears
My very favorite game ever. I love the game - I love the characters, the setting, the mechanics. Everything.

... until Big Joe shows up.

Big Joe. A pink-clad, foppish, gay-coded Elvis Impersonator.

I'm not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Big Joe appears to be the only gay character on the planet (as far as I currently remember). Bad because obviously there should be more gay people, but good because, if this is how they created Joe, what would they have done for any other gay characters?

So yeah, as much as I love Xenogears, it has some unfortunate issues with homophobia.

I don't think I'll ever understand how foppish, gay-coded Elvis Impersonators became a character archetype in Japan. Maybe his way of dancing was seen as foppish or Elvis impersonates in Japan were predominately foppish. Kinda like how the fat Elvis impersonators became a target for comedy in America.

Or maybe it has to do with how Elvis's Pompadour hairstyle was adopted by street gangs, but has become a trait of the comic relief character in a story that uses delinquents.

Hmm... Someone needs to write a paper on this.

Spoiler: Foppish, Gay-coded Elvis Impersonators

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Just a curiosity but does it state said character is actually gay? Or is he just over the top and uses sterotypes people often associate with homosexual men?

Technically no. However, this:

I don't think I'll ever understand how foppish, gay-coded Elvis Impersonators became a character archetype in Japan. Maybe his way of dancing was seen as foppish or Elvis impersonates in Japan were predominately foppish. Kinda like how the fat Elvis impersonators became a target for comedy in America.

Or maybe it has to do with how Elvis's Pompadour hairstyle was adopted by street gangs, but has become a trait of the comic relief character in a story that uses delinquents.

Hmm... Someone needs to write a paper on this.

Spoiler: Foppish, Gay-coded Elvis Impersonators

@Ryan Minns: As noted by Coakle, it is a character archetype in Japan - thus, Big Joe is assumed to be gay without needing to state that fact.

Also, consider that Xenogears (like FF7) came out in the 90s - and, in the 90s, in Japan, a game would be unlikely to directly state a character's sexuality and would be more likely to instead imply it heavily. Like, say, the gay gym in FF7.