Samus Aran: Heroine or Space Harlot?
Today, the world received lovely news: all three installments of the Metroid Prime series will be collected on one Wii disc. Opinions are mixed about Metroid Prime 2 and 3, but the Gamecube’s most vocal critics shrank back from Metroid Prime like a vampire withering away from a crucifix.
As can be expected, the news of a Metroid-rich future has sparked a lot of conversation about the series’ heroine: Samus Aran. Samus is easily gaming’s most admired female character, well-liked for her steady footing, perseverance, and sense of duty. But her self-discipline doesn’t wash away her humanity, a point illustrated throughly by the climactic fight with Mother Brain at the end of Super Metroid.
Moreover, Samus retains respect for being selectively modest. If you put forth your very best performance in a Metroid game, you might catch a glimpse of the bounty hunter out-of-suit. If you slack, well, enjoy fantasizing about a big tin suit.
It’s easy to mark Metroid’s famous endings as mere fanservice, but when Samus unveils, you’re not just being rewarded with a big ol’ slice of cheesecake: you’re earning a (figuratively) naked glimpse at one of gaming’s most reserved heroes. This revelation was especially important in the 8-bit era. It wasn’t just a shock to find out that Samus was a girl: discovering that there was a happily-waving human at the core of that bulky robot suit was pretty thrilling, too. It was one of console gaming’s earliest and most important twists of character.
Now that Samus’ popularity has finally gained momentum, some gamers wonder if her appeal as character is being drained in favour of bigger slices of the aforementioned cheesecake. Samus has long avoided being made up like the same brand of gaming tart that’s available for ten cents a dozen these days, but there’s worry that might be changing.
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Tags: female characters, metroid, nadia oxford, samus aran, solid snake, super smash bros brawl
10 Years Ago This Week: Super Smash Bros
A vital addition to the Nintendo 64 catalog, Super Smash Bros (released April 27, 1999) was a phenomenal critical and commercial success. It helped cement the console’s legacy of innovative four-player game design, while at the same time creating a new flagship franchise for Nintendo and starting the game’s creators, Masahiro Sakurai and particularly Satoru Iwata, on a trajectory that would eventually see them leading the industry. As such, it’s one of 1999’s most historically important titles. Continue reading »
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Tags: 10 years ago, joe keiser, masahiro sakurai, nintendo 64, satoru iwata, super smash bros, super smash bros brawl, super smash bros melee
John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself. 
Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.
Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.
Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines.
Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.
Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.
Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.
