What? 4 pages and so- oh there we go. BKPaladin mentioned Samus Aran. Okay BK, you're cool, th- woah woah woah. Ihsahn mentionin' actual character depth? Distinguishing mindless violence from strong characters? Calling gaming culture patriarchal? I'm sorry BKPaladin, but there's a new sheriff in town. Yeah! We love Ihsahn, isn't that right, Internet? Posts like his are what make this thread worthwhile, with actual analysis and intelligent answers. You're the man, Ihsahn!
Alright, three characters to add, even though there are just so many that I love a whole lot.
As you guessed, I'm mentioning Samus Aran. This isn't just because I've had a giant crush on her ever since I first played Metroid Fusion. There are other reasons I think she's a good character. One of them is simply that she is a woman. Video games, even more than other media, show a gross lack of strong female leads, and that's something that simply needs to change. So it's good to see a strong character like Samus stepping on the neck of patriarchy. Oh, and Other M is noncanon. Don't even mention that antifeminist garbage. Haters get wrecked. But one of the things I really like about Metroid, particularly the Prime series, is the theme of isolation. Samus may be a ****** posthuman bountyhunter, but she's a lonely one. If not lonely, certainly alone. And that theme of isolation is captured perfectly in Metroid: Prime, with how she's not only alone from anyone similar to her, but she also has a second layer of isolation, her suit. That's the big thing. I'd write an essay about it but I'm trying to keep this brief.
Another character: Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil. I'm too lazy and pressed for time now. I'll analyze Jade and Jim Raynor (from StarCraft) later. YOU'RE THE MAN, Ihsahn!
