Comments on: Samus Aran: Heroine or Space Harlot?

By: LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn" — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:50:50 +0000

Eh, Zero Suit doesn’t bother me. It’s really something closer to what I’d expect to be worn in the depths of space, under a suit of armor like that. Looks thermal to me, like insulation.

Granted, I think after Zero Mission, it seems to… ah, accentuate her figure more, most notably in Brawl, but from a design standpoint, it makes sense to me.

By: Nemo

Nemo — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:32:37 +0000

I’m not necessarily against sexual objectification of either men or women but it’s something that has a time and a place and it definitely wasn’t done well with Metroid. Trying to force a ’sexy’ angle on to a character who did fine without it for fifteen years was uncalled for. The new design didn’t made the series any more popular (I’ve yet to see -anyone- who claims they bought the games for the sex appeal) so all it’s done is upset long-term Metroid fans (male AND female!).

Well, it seems to have made Metroid hentai about ten times more common but I’m not counting that as a good thing.

I preferred Samus when she had a bit of ambiguity to her. Before the standardised Zero Slut Samus design she looked a little different every time she took the helmet off, and sometimes she was quite plain and unremarkable. I think this was a way of saying she was just an ordinary woman underneath, or she could be any woman, but the fact she was a woman wasn’t as important as the fact she was Samus Aran.

By: AlexB

AlexB — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:04:35 +0000

I’d go with the argument that Samus’ suitless design is likely to change over time just as her suited version has. Look at the ending of Prime 1. I don’t think she has a look of weathered maturity. I think they went for a style of realism, and frankly, kind of failed. They tried to make a realistic face with Gamecube era graphics and it ended up looking stiff and weird to me. Prime 2’s design was clearly influenced by the Metroid remake (she’s wearing the blue suit) and she looks a little more stylized. By Prime 3 they dropped any semblance of realism and just went for Zero Mission’s stylized, kind of cartoonish look. It doesn’t look sexed up. And as far as showing skin, so far there has been ONE game that shows it predominantly, and that’s Brawl. Unless you count the hour and a half, tiny sprite version in Zero Mission. Actually, if you want to make the game thematically more like Ripley and Alien, I would suggest making an entire Metroid game without the suit at all. She can be designed however you please, but I’d like to see one game where she’s a little less powerful. I found the additional content in Zero Mission to be some of the most exciting in Metroid’s history.

By: Amber Ahlborn

Amber Ahlborn — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:29:18 +0000

Samus is my favorite game character in general and my preferred character in Brawl. However, i do handicap myself when I play her because i absolutely refuse to get the Smash Ball since I find her Zero Suit design utterly insulting. Nintendo, let’s get past this nonsense. Showing skin isn’t going to make Metroid more mainstream. As far as I’m concerned, the best Samus has ever looked outside of her suit was at the end of Prime 1. Her face had the perfect mix of weathered maturity. Let’s dump the cat suited pole dancer and get beck to the professional alien killer please. After all, her character was inspired by Ripley from the Alien movies. Stay true to the source.

By: Roto13

Roto13 — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:17:21 +0000

I never played Zero Mission, but when I saw Samus in her Zero Suit in Brawl, it definitely felt weird. I actually wouldn’t have even known she was Samus if I hadn’t watched her Varia Suit fall off and the words “Zero Suit Samus” appear right there in the trailer.

Side note: Metroid Prime Trilogy makes me wish I liked Metroid games. That is a really awesome collection. I’d pick it up in an instant if it was a series I was interested in.