Really, nobody has yet mentioned the two costumes from Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion where she is wearing less clothing. No wait, they are busy playing the game and have no issue with the rocket heels in game. Seriously, once it is in your hands the rocket heals feel awesome to use and are no less silly than anything else in that game.
I'm gonna put all my cards on the table: To me, Samus Aran is a strong example of a Heroine who kicks butt and looks good doing it. However, I don't focus much on the latter. I don't know why people hate what they did to her in SSB4. They decided to give her heels. ROCKET Heels at that. That being said, those heels were used to balance power, and speed. What people FOCUS on is her appearance. Why? Does that mean anything at all? Honesty, I don't mind, and I don't see it as Over-sexualization... and it was probably used to appeal to gamers who make that fan art. You know who you are... But I need your opinions too. I just want to know what you think.
There's two decisions here, and some people accidentally conflate them. The first is the mechanical decision to increase her speed and power by giving her rocket shoes. The second is the aesthetic decision to make the rocket shoes look like high heels. These are separate decisions, and should be treated as such.
The aesthetic decision doesn't make sense for the character, based on her history. Putting Chun-Li in trousers would be just as silly a decision.
Johnny Novgorod said:
I don't get why people get so upset about this. It's a Japanese game. If it's Japanese and there's a combative lady in it, chances are she's wearing high heels:
Ada Wong in Resident Evil 2, 4 & 6
Anna Williams in Tekken
Bad Girl and Holly Summers in No More Heroes
Bayonetta and Jeanne in Bayonetta
Cammy in Street Fighter
Excella and Jill in Resident Evil 5
Fran in Final Fantasy XII
Gwendolyn in Odin's Sphere
Ivy Valentine in Soul Calibur
Jenny in Bloody Roar
Mistral in Metal Gear Revengeance (and Raiden for that matter)
Trish in Devil May Cry
And just a few non-Japanese games as well:
Catwoman in Batman: Arkham City
Shaundi in Saint's Row
Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat
Xian Mei in Dead Island
I happen to have a list of Japanese games in which a female character kicks butt in flats. It's a slightly smaller list, but I think it's significantly more relevant to this conversation. They are:
Samus Aran in Metroid
Samus Aran in Metroid II: Return of Samus
Samus Aran in Super Metroid
Samus Aran in Metroid Fusion
Samus Aran in Metroid Prime
Samus Aran in Metroid: Zero Mission
Samus Aran in Metriod Prime 2: Fusion
Samus Aran in Metroid Prime Hunters
Samus Aran in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Samus Aran apparently prefers flats for combat. Saying "women wear heels", as another poster did, is ignoring what we know about her as an individual character in favor of making her fit into a category better.
Samus has always been a sex icon. Even in NES Metroid, she was in a blocky bikini, and since then she's been seen wearing sports tops, spandex shorts, and skin tight jumpsuits. Granted except for that section in Zero Mission and every chance Other: M had to show off her zero suit clad curves in cut scenes, those were quick glimpses at what she either wears under the armor to relax after a mission (and only guys like me would put pics of them up as their desktop background). It's just getting more apparent with her zero suit appearances in Brawl and now this.
For the sake of the franchise's reputation, I wish they wouldn't push the limits of her sex appeal to the point of getting a lot of negative attention. But, for me, it doesn't matter what she looks like as long as there's a reasonable story explanation (Rocket heels, fine. That's better that many plot points in Other: M.) I don't care if she's in a string bikini with "energy shielding" or decked out in enough terminator armor to make a space marine say, "chill out on the gear, lady," as long as the game she's in is fluid. And, I hear SSB 4 is pretty fluid.
It does bug me a little that she's in shoes known to be unpractical and incredibly unstable, while in heavy melee combat. Also, that lime green design just makes me picture an all male executive board at a company like Nike or Reebok exchanging the following lines: "We need to expand our market share." "How about high heels?" "Brilliant!"
When discussing sexualized imagery, it is important to consider that the imagery itself is not the problem, rather ask yourself several questions about the images you see. Namely: Why is this image being produced? Who is producing the image? and To whom is the image intended to be viewed by?
Thus, we see in the case of Samus, the answers are: To arouse. Male game developers. Male gamers. Now, from this the philosophical implications of the image can be drawn. None the least of which is the implication that when sexualized this way, Samus herself often turns from a subject into an object. Subjects act, while objects are acted upon. Throughout the game, Samus acts, but the bikini shots at the end -keeping in mind the earlier questions- she is acted upon by the game developers; she ceases to act and becomes static. This is the literal definition of objectification.
Also, the fact that this image exists is evidence of a lack of respect for the gamer from the game developer. The image is itself designed not to develop Samus or to enhance character or gameplay, but rather to generate money for the game company by objectifying her. Think very carefully about whether you find this insulting or disrespectful to your own self, not to Samus as a character.
Sean Renaud said:
I mean I get it, but it really comes down to the fact that the gameplay needed an excuse for why Samus wasn't running in at full power and the guys at Team Ninja thought it would be silly if she wandered in, got hit really hard , lost all her gear and what do you know this space station for no good fucking reason had most of the same equipment lying around.
No. No one ever cared. Not in Metroid II, not in Super Metroid. No one ever gave more than a passing thought to Samus' lack of gear at the beginning of the game, because the games were so damn good. No one cares in the slightest, it is just the egos of the developers that interfere and demand that the game "explain" everything.
I care because it's /not/ sexy. The Zero Suit makes sense as an item of clothing you'd wear under a suit of power armour (the same way knights wore padding under their plate armour) and it looks good, so I'm willing to overlook the silliness of wearing it outside her ship. The heels aren't sexy, they're gaudy and ridiculous.
Maybe if they streamlined the design to make the heels not stick out like a sore (and very yellow) thumb, we could begin discussing the idiocy behind actually adding high heels to a battle suit. But untill then, all I can see is ugly where her feet should be.
Not that I care one iota about this character, but character design is still something I take to heart. And when it's bad it hurts.
I think the main thing is, Samus has never (as far as I know) previously had heels. So why now?
But then again I don't really care, I can see a hundred ways Samus could use heels as a weapon, hell just being stepped on the toe by heels is fucking painfull and these things have some sort of attomic-powered-jumpexplosions-spacescience in them, could certainly see someone's head being blown of by those
Sexualised characters are fine. Sexualisation does not necessarily hamper a character. But there's nothing gained by sexualising a loved character for no reason other than pandering.
It makes no sense in-universe.
Why would your underpants be the "alt mode" to your heavy battle armor that also raises your mobility far beyond anything you can achieve in your underpants?
This is supposed to illustrate an udesirable state of defenselessnes for crying out loud.
Like walking around naked in a quarantined area. You don't want that, you want that hazmat suit back and fast because there's shit out there that can hurt you even through that big beefy armor.
The rocketheels are just the icing on the shitcake.
No the only reason for this is because it's a womam and I find that annoying and a bit insulting since, supposedly, I am in the target audience for this.
I see some marketing guy shoving this into my face, telling me I like that but I don't.
I'm tired of it.
The inherent difference between your list and Samus is that your list is full of characters with a sexual purpose from the start. Ada Wong is a very typical forbidden love type deal. I've only played Resident Evil 4, so I don't know much about her, but I know she kind of, sort of, maybe acts as a love interest to Leon, but maybe, kind of, sort of, possibly is on the opposite side of his cause (Both he and her seem to be unsure on where they stand as lovers and, in the case of Ada, whether she's a force for good, evil, or herself). She plays up her sexuality frequently. No More Heroes loved throwing out female characters for the purpose of eye candy, fetish pandering, or male fantasy in the case of that one school girl fangirl optional boss who sent you a love letter and then tries to kill you to cement her love for you or something (She's crazy. Were you expecting rational reasoning?). Bayonetta is all about the sexuality; the whole point of that game is that Bayonetta owns it, that she doesn't emphasize it for male viewers, but for herself. I think I'm going to stop here. For the most part, all the characters you list exist for reasons along these lines hence why nobody complains. The characters were created for that intent.
Samus on the other hand was not created for such purposes. People like to point out that in the very first Metroid you can see her in a bikini if you beat the game quickly. The thing is that doesn't happen till the end when it doesn't matter anymore as there is no story left for it to hurt. Besides, even back then people thought it was pointless pandering, so it's not like it was well received. It didn't make sense for the game to suddenly do that because that game is nothing like, say, Bayonetta. Either way though, to go back to my original point I'll just quote another person posting on this thread who sums up the issue quite well
erttheking said:
Yes we've see Samus wearing skimpy and revealing outfits before Other M, but you know what they had in common? They all happened AFTER the main mission was done! There were no more space pirates, no more Metroids, no more Ing, no more X, no more Dark Samus, no more hostile wildlife, Samus was done, she was on her down time and at that point she can do whatever the Hell she wants as far as I'm concerned. She did not go running off into battle wearing high heels in any of the games before this
Look at that. She's over six feet tall outside of armor. This picture represents everything you really need to know about Samus. No need for high heels.
0_0 She's the same height as me, but 50 pounds heavier! What the heck? I knew she was badass enough to kick my ass without her suit helping her, not that I'm all that physically fit for a male anyway, but that's even crazier than I thought. Forget simply kicking my ass, she could put me in the hospital! And, honestly, kind of turned on by that.
No, not really. Just joking.
The_Kodu said:
No but seriously if we're kicking off about raised heels then Portal boots must mean Chell is sexist right
You say so yourself right after this part that Chell's boots are supposed to cushion her from long falls (though the real point is to help explain why long falls can't kill you in that game, so they can get away with some of the physics puzzles you have to go through). Not only that, but those boots don't even look like proper, sexy high heels. So, no, that is not really sexualization especially since the game is played entirely from a first person perspective, when you can't even see any sexualized pandering to a male audience to begin with. To be truly pandering the game would have to be designed from a third person perspective and it's not meant to be played that way regardless of those who use the command console to enter third person.
Every time I hear someone decry Nintendo for 'oversexualizing' Samus by adding heels to her Zero Suit, it's all I can do to keep from laughing in their face.
Did everyone suddenly forget that the reward for 100%ing a Metroid game is usually just an image of Samus in either a bikini or a small tanktop and boyshorts? Because I didn't. You know how people found out that Samus was a girl? 'cause when you finished the game, she took her clothes off for you, the player. Jeez.
Every time I hear someone decry Nintendo for 'oversexualizing' Samus by adding heels to her Zero Suit, it's all I can do to keep from laughing in their face.
Did everyone suddenly forget that the reward for 100%ing a Metroid game is usually just an image of Samus in either a bikini or a small tanktop and boyshorts? Because I didn't. You know how people found out that Samus was a girl? 'cause when you finished the game, she took her clothes off for you, the player. Jeez.
And I don't mind that so much. Why? Because it's after the mission. She doesn't run off into combat wearing that bikini. It implies that Samus is the kind of person that doesn't mind flaunting what she has and I find that kind of interesting. Wearing heels to the battlefield though...that doesn't feel like Samus.
I don't really care the new design (I prefer the more realistic cloth on her chest than an actual spandex like cup to fit her boot perfectly) that much but it shouldn't be a high heel. Seriously how can you run when your feets are on tip toes???
I'm gonna put all my cards on the table: To me, Samus Aran is a strong example of a Heroine who kicks butt and looks good doing it. However, I don't focus much on the latter. I don't know why people hate what they did to her in SSB4. They decided to give her heels. ROCKET Heels at that. That being said, those heels were used to balance power, and speed. What people FOCUS on is her appearance. Why? Does that mean anything at all? Honesty, I don't mind, and I don't see it as Over-sexualization... and it was probably used to appeal to gamers who make that fan art. You know who you are... But I need your opinions too. I just want to know what you think.
As far as the heels go, I think the main issue was that they were high-heels, which have a long history of being sexualizng items. The main reason they even exist is to accentuate the woman's butt as she walks in them. There's a reason people call them 'hooker heels'. They've got certain connotations to them and they're completely impractical in any sort of context that requires movement or agility. If they would have been rocket boots, literally no one would have had an issue, but they are very clearly meant to be high-heels. Personally, on pure aesthetics, I'm not fond of them. Once again, if they'd just been sci-fi rocket-boots, there would literally be no issue at all.
I wouldn't say the issue with the heels is 'over-sexualiation', but rather needless sexualization. Like, at least with the zero suit, it makes sense. Some sort of skin-tight utility suit makes sense to wear beneath powered armor, and the fact that she looks good in it is just a side-effect. Besides the pink logo on the back, I could see a man wearing the exact same sort of outfit. The heels though... as I mentioned above, that's a very specifically feminine and sexualized choice. It'd be kind of like giving her a pink gun with a bow on it. It could have just been a gun, but they painted it pink and slapped a bow on it to show it was for a girl. Personally, I think it clashes with the traditionally non-sexualized impression we've gotten of Samus. Samus would never use high-heel rocket boots. They're impractical, and she'd think they're silly, and she doesn't have time for impractical and silly because she's a badass, professional space-bounty hunter. That's my opinion anyway. Silent protagonist and all.
It's not cool because it just doesn't sit right; like a cheese curdled for that bit too long. Doing this stuff with Bayonetta, or Trish from Devil May Cry would be fine; they exist in that deliberate over the top environment: hell Bayonetta already has heels like that, and her's look a lot better than whatever abomination they've saddled Samus with.
My only problem with the rocket heels is the yellow color. I mean seriously, if it was regular heels, it would be shit, but rocket heels? Damn nice Samurai!
Could the character work without them? Sure. Probably even better than with them, but I don't mind it. Super Smash Bros. is literally Fanservice: The game. I just wish Sakurai sexualized Link more. Oh well, I will have to work with Little Mac and male Wii Fit Trainer. Ike is eyecandy as well.
Samus Power suit has been shown to be able to detach into smaller parts. I don't see why she couldn't take most of it off and leave the boots on. And yes the heels are being shown as a separate entity, part of the problem with them is how terribly they clash with the rest of the suit's design and color scheme.
Yeah, and I'm not exactly a fan of the Zero Suit either, so I'm kinda grateful for that.
You're gonna have to pull up a picture for me on that one. I have looked all over the place and I can't find anything on that. And even if it's true (Which is perfectly possible) she never decided to wear those boots into a combat situation.
Again. The are not boots. They are high heels. Boots are designed to the practical. They are what soldiers in the army wear. High Heels are not boots.
I've looked them up, and I have to say I can't see it.
You're gonna have to explain to me how in the seven hells high heels can help maintain speed. The only way I can see them helping at all is stopping Samus mid run because they made her fall.
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