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[Mango The Magician]

Sorry for that. I feel ya, honestly.

I just took umbrage to that quote because in this case I saw it as someone taking Zelda's lore more seriously than Nintendo would in their place.

Zelda must be white because Hylia's white? Nevermind that Hylia is usually depicted through unpainted statues or illustrations that mostly shadow her out. Reincarnation is reincarnation, not cloning. It ain't like Ganondorf's got scales for skin like Demise.

I find this hilarious, since they're practically the same thing in the Zeldaverse.

But a change of race doesn't really have to do anything of the sort. She could have the same origin story and same personality, black or white.

And? I'm not talking about her personality or emotions, I'm talking about the single most marketable and lucrative part of a video game character, it's design.

 

[CJY]

I'd hate it. Not because of the skin colour... i just wouldn't see the point or purpose of such a change

 

[Mihos]

Probably about the same as if they made Luke Cage white for no reason.

 

[The Horror the horror]

Whenever I read counter-proposals of a new IP for this hypothetical Black character instead, I interpret it as "This one is ours; let them have their own." These are our schools; give them their own (knowing the Black schools would probably be shittier). This is our land; let them have something to call their own (cropless, cesspool of an area). Similarly, new video game IPs, specifically single-player ones, are seldom successful and a fresh single-player series starring a Black character would likely receive lukewarm fanfare at best. But most of the people in this thread who're suggesting it already know that.

Nintendo would be geniuses if they did decide to go forward with it. Other publishers like Rockstar and EA claim to be the torchbearers of diversity through their games when in fact most of those characters are just the living embodiment of virtually every stereotype commonly associated with the groups from which they're derived.

A Black woman as a science-fiction heroines starring in an established IP? Sign me the fuck up.

 

[Savitar]

I rather they introduce a new bounty hunter that is good friends with Samus. Someone who she might call for help when she doesn't have anyone else to turn too, an actual friend even friendly rivals in their own right. Set the person up right and who knows, might be able to spin it off as well.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Shit it'd be cool.

A lot of GAF users know black to mean African American specifically rather than merely any person with darker skin color.

Look up the "black Inkling character in Mario Kart" thread for examples.

But all minorities can have darker skin than white folks.

 

[BajiBoxer]

Metroid is a franchise with continuity, thats why the OP clearly states black samus on a Metroid reboot.

No it's not. There are two separate continuities. Though maybe they patched it all up into some bullshit connecting the old games and the Prime games. They even changed her look multiple times.

Edit: and if it is really a thought out continuity, it's pretty bad when so many people out there have to ask what the order is. With that mess and lack of strong in game storytelling throughout the series, a number of reasons can be made for black Samus that make as much sense as anything else in that universe. Samus is cloned, but DNA sequence is damaged. Splice in DNA from someone else to rebuild the sequence. Done.

 

[Huge Succeeded]

I find this hilarious, since they're practically the same thing in the Zeldaverse.

I could dispute that, but I'd be delving into my personal interpretation of the series lore, I'd be arguing from the same position I just argued against. so I'll concede that to you two, lol.
fwiw, I'm still of the opinion that Samus being black wouldn't be a problem for me personally, but I have been thinking on your last response to me.
I don't like what Samus is today, personally. That's the prime motivator behind my acceptance of a total 'reboot' of Samus. I guess if I liked what Samus is today, I might be on another side of this argument.
At any rate, I wouldn't argue in favor of continuing the current storyline with a Samus who's black all of a sudden, but that wouldn't keep me from playing the game or thinking highly of it if it's great. A reboot, with a new 'Samus', who's black? Honestly wouldn't bother me one bit.

 

[Kawika]

But on NES purple is also not her colour, it's her suit's colour.

When you beat the game under certain conditions you unlock her ending that reveals her in a space bikini and when you start the new game after that she is in a leotard. Her suit is Magenta and her skin is purple. You might have used a different palette and it could appear slightly different. This is how it was in the 80s when I beat it as a kid. Anyway, I don't care to argue the point any more than I have.

 

[BuckyBabbs]

What kind of BS click-bait thread is this.
F off

 

[uncredited male]

It would like a multiverse thing where we have Samus' of all different appearances meet together at the end of the game. Where they would then all make fun of Other M Samus.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Further, being a separate continuity means it doesn't matter what they do with Samus, the original Samus won't be "tarnished" by this.

I find this hilarious, since they're practically the same thing in the Zeldaverse.

And? I'm not talking about her personality or emotions, I'm talking about the single most marketable and lucrative part of a video game character, it's design.

Samus is almost exclusively armored

 

[Mango The Magician]

I could dispute that, but I'd be delving into my personal interpretation of the series lore, I'd be arguing from the same position I just argued against. so I'll concede that to you two, lol.
fwiw, I'm still of the opinion that Samus being black wouldn't be a problem for me personally, but I have been thinking on your last response to me.
I don't like what Samus is today, personally. That's the prime motivator behind my acceptance of a total 'reboot' of Samus.
I wouldn't argue in favor of continuing the current storyline with a Samus who's black all of a sudden. A reboot, with a new 'Samus'? Honestly wouldn't bother me.

Honestly this thread is moving so quick for me that I don't even remember what post you're referring to. Sorry. :/ Either way, I still fail to see why she would need to be changed in a reboot. If you're not gonna keep the universe as is, why even bother keeping half of what Samus was?

Samus is almost exclusively armored

Yeah, but the just as marketed "Zero Suit Samus" isn't.

 

[SillyEskimo]

What kind of BS click-bait thread is this.
F off

The kind that gets you banned for saying stuff like this.

 

[Moz]

It'd be a bit weird for them to say "now Samus is black" in the same way that it'd be a bit weird for them to say "now Mario is black". If however there were a new metroid with a new character, it'd be equally weird for them to try and replicate the "it's a woman!" moment with an "it's a black person!" moment, as if we're supposed to be shocked by it. That's some dated-ass thinking.

If they just put out a new Metroid with a new character, I really wouldn't care what race or sex they were. Would be happy with anything.

 

[Steroyd]

While I personally wouldn't care the question would be "Why?" I'm all for bigger representation of black people but re-designing her skin colour after 30 years "just because" would be a gimmick that would tick me off now that I think about more, I mean why not have a game where Samus passes the torch to someone else donning the iconic suit who happens to be black?

 

[Arklite]

I guess I'd react the same way if Samus was suddenly a man. "Who is this and why didn't they just name them something else". Aside from that I'd hope it's a good Metroid game.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Honestly this thread is moving so quick for me that I don't even remember what post you're referring to. Sorry. :/ Either way, I still fail to see why she would need to be changed in a reboot. If you're not gonna keep the universe as is, why even bother keeping half of what Samus was?

Yeah, but the just as marketed "Zero Suit Samus" isn't.

Would it matter though since we would ideally be in a series that didn't absurdly oversexualize Samus and turn her into a laughing stock, most often while in Zero Suit form?

I would contend that black skin is not much more strange to see a character have versus being given a new hair color.

 

[Zutrax]

Impartial.

People who wouldn't want it, I can understand from a standpoint of keeping the character the way they are familiar with.

People who want it, I can understand want variety and good representation. Similar to a black Spiderman or lady Thor situation which turned out pretty cool.

Either way I'm fine, I don't really mind if they do because I understand why a decision like that would exist and representation is nice, but I am happy with the same old Samus we have always had too.

Though I will admit this thread title is kind of click baity and could have been worded better.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Probably about the same as if they made Luke Cage white for no reason.

Weird comparison given that Luke Cage is clearly *about* the black experience to some extent while Metroid is about alien worlds and space pirates.

 

[Kangi]

I thought about this a couple weeks ago.

It'd make for a cool reveal, playing Samus and being surprised all over again by who's underneath the armor. It turning out it's set way into the future, starring a different woman who took up the mantle.

If it's just a plain reboot that, among other things, makes her black, I'm sure reception would be... all over the place. But I personally would like it; I've never really been fond of the direction Zero Suit Samus' design went. So long as she's still a stoic, intergalactic warrior with a neat suit, redesign what's underneath all you want.

 

[jaxpunk]

The kind that gets you banned for saying stuff like this.

Does back seat modding get banned too?

 

[Captainbojanglesiii]

Really don't understand the need for a definition.

Wouldn't mind Samus changing race or anything of the sort. It's a reboot. This is your chance to do just that

 

[Mango The Magician]

Would it matter though since we would ideally be in a series that didn't absurdly oversexualize Samus and turn her into a laughing stock, most often while in Zero Suit form?

I would contend that black skin is not much more strange to see a character have versus being given a new hair color.

I personally don't see the issue with Samus being sexualized, in fact I've always felt that she was suppose to be somewhat sexualized, and I really fail to see why you brought that up. Also, changing a characters skin color randomly is a bit different then changing hair color. I mean I guess in a future world like Metroid the tech could exist to have people randomly change their skin tone, but I fail to see what story advantages that would have.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Does back seat modding get banned too?

Isn't calling out backseat modding itself backseat modding?

I personally don't see the issue with Samus being sexualized, in fact I've always felt that she was suppose to be somewhat sexualized, and I really fail to see why you brought that up. Also, changing a characters skin color randomly is a bit different then changing hair color. I mean I guess in a future world like Metroid the tech could exist to have people randomly change their skin tone, but I fail to see what story advantages that would have.

But we're not talking about sequels, we're talking about a reboot where she always was black. The Annie reboot didn't denigrate Annie as a brand, why would it with Metroid? I'd argue that Annie's red curls are more significant than any of Samus' physical traits.

Further, the advantage would be the surprise, doing the same thing they did on the NES by revealing Samus to be a woman.

 

[PtM]

"Get the bleach, Beyonce."

 

[RoaringMdog]

This is such a weird thread.

Like, i guess i wouldn't care? But why? Why do people want existing characters to be black all of a sudden? This has come up quite a bit online, about other characters aswell. Wouldnt you rather see a new black character instead of just swapping the race of a character thats been the same way for ages? At the end of the day it wouldn't matter, but to me it would be incredible lazy to do that.

 

[royox]

Say a future Metroid game is marketed as a reboot, and at the end, Seamus Samus removes her helmet revealing she's a black woman. How would that make you feel?

"OH GOD SHE WASN'T SAMUS THE WHOLE TIME?"


Can we go even further beyond? What if "Samus" removes the helmet and BAM it's a GUY.

 

[Yoshi]

When you beat the game under certain conditions you unlock her ending that reveals her in a space bikini and when you start the new game after that she is in a leotard. Her suit is Magenta and her skin is purple. You might have used a different palette and it could appear slightly different. This is how it was in the 80s when I beat it as a kid. Anyway, I don't care to argue the point any more than I have.

Sorry, but I don't get this, to my eyes, she clearly has "white" skin (approximately the tone people have when you call them white) in your image, certainly not purple.

 

[The Hermit]

How is this not the first post?

 

[What did he mean by this?]

In space, no one can see your race.

 

[Timurse]

I want a genderqueer indian Mario with two prosthetic legs. Just kidding.

Why would you ever want to change an established character and raise a shit storm when you can develop a new character?

 

[Mango The Magician]

But we're not talking about sequels, we're talking about a reboot where she always was black. The Annie reboot didn't denigrate Annie as a brand, why would it with Metroid? I'd argue that Annie's red curls are more significant than any of Samus' physical traits.

Further, the advantage would be the surprise, doing the same thing they did on the NES by revealing Samus to be a woman.

The Annie reboot was done with real people. With a video game, a reboot has no real need to change the look of anything other then doing so for the sake of doing so. Likewise, why bother keeping "Samus" in this hypothetical reboot if you're not gonna keep the way she looks? Why not just completely change who the MC is? If it's a reboot after all then the only thing that needs to stay is the genre and gameplay.



Also...for the people that have waited a very long time to see a new Metroid game, to suddenly get one, and then get to the end to find out that Samus has been significantly changed, would do nothing but infuriate a lot of people. Nobody would be star struck, they'd be angry and would rush to the internet to complain.

...And would sadly, likely be called racist for not liking the change. :/

 

[Om3ga]

Marvel beat Nintendo to it with Iron Man. I actually like Riri so if they did it right I could deal with a Samus of a different ethnicity. Though after Other M... I dunno...

 

[Ristifer]

Metroid Dread |OT| The Space Race

But seriously, I wouldn't care.

 

[A Link to the Past]

The Annie reboot was done with real people. With a video game, a reboot has no real need to change the look of anything other then doing so for the sake of doing so. Likewise, why bother keeping "Samus" in this hypothetical reboot if you're not gonna keep the way she looks? Why not just completely change who the MC is? If it's a reboot after all then the only thing that needs to stay is the genre and gameplay.



Also...for the people that have waited a very long time to see a new Metroid game, to suddenly get one, and then get to the end to find out that Samus has been significantly changed, would do nothing but infuriate a lot of people. Nobody would be star struck, they'd be angry and would rush to the internet to complain.

...And would sadly, likely be called racist for not liking the change. :/

But the very premise of the new Annie was to make a modern day Annie.

Also, I'm pretty sure "infuriated" would describe a small minority of people. Just as many, if not more, would be pleasantly surprised, and most wouldn't care either way.

 

[Red Devil]

Don't really care about Samus being black or not, a reboot for the sake of a reboot though.

Whenever I read counter-proposals of a new IP for this hypothetical Black character instead, I interpret it as "This one is ours; let them have their own." These are our schools; give them their own (knowing the Black schools would probably be shittier). This is our land; let them have something to call their own (cropless, cesspool of an area). Similarly, new video game IPs, specifically single-player ones, are seldom successful and a fresh single-player series starring a Black character would likely receive lukewarm fanfare at best. But most of the people in this thread who're suggesting it already know that.

Nintendo would be geniuses if they did decide to go forward with it. Other publishers like Rockstar and EA claim to be the torchbearers of diversity through their games when in fact most of those characters are just the living embodiment of virtually every stereotype commonly associated with the groups from which they're derived.

A Black woman as a science-fiction heroines starring in an established IP? Sign me the fuck up.

Sure, but EA and Rockstar didn't pick the torch by changing characters, they created new ones...

 

[The Horror the horror]

The Annie reboot was done with real people. With a video game, a reboot has no real need to change the look of anything other then doing so for the sake of doing so.

Why is it less justifiable when it occurs in video games as opposed to film?

 

[Various Artists]

Stopped right here. You do know this is horseshit right? That the movie was targeted from the get and even the media didn't know how to handle it?

There's a group that doesn't like change and they already represent the status quo.

I don't know how it is so difficult to grasp that the Ghostbusters movie people wanted was one that had the original cast?

Reboots fail all the time for the exact same reason, not honoring source material.

That's it from me though. I do not wish to continue this conversation. I hope to join you all in another thread!

 

[Zubz]

I'd be surprised by the change, but it wouldn't change how much I love the character.

 

[Dessa]

I wouldn't be half as surprised as if she removed her Zero Suit and revealed herself to be black with a white head.

 

[mavo]

No it's not. There are two separate continuities. Though maybe they patched it all up into some bullshit connecting the old games and the Prime games. They even changed her look multiple times.

Edit: and if it is really a thought out continuity, it's pretty bad when so many people out there have to ask what the order is. With that mess and lack of strong in game storytelling throughout the series, a number of reasons can be made for black Samus that make as much sense as anything else in that universe. Samus is cloned, but DNA sequence is damaged. Splice in DNA from someone else to rebuild the sequence. Done.

Man it sounds like you have a Berenstein bears universe for yourself, i don't think i have ever heard anyone talking about two metroid timelines.

 

[Mango The Magician]

But the very premise of the new Annie was to make a modern day Annie.

Also, I'm pretty sure "infuriated" would describe a small minority of people. Just as many, if not more, would be pleasantly surprised, and most wouldn't care either way.

I can't claim to know much about Annie or the reboot having never watched either, but I will say that in the case of movies with real people, that barring people from bidding (I know this word doesn't fit here, but I couldn't think of the correct one ) for a role based on their skin color not matching the characters skin color would be pretty messed up no matter how you cut it. Either way, I'm pretty sure that the annie reboot was made for a particular audience, while a Metroid anything would likely be made specifically for the "Metroid" audience, and considering how fans reacted to Federation Force, I don't think how miniscule the group is would really matter, as they're gonna make some noise and be upset. Thus why have that, which would lead to fighting and a lot of controversy and likely even some real racial tension among Metroid fans, when you could just as easily introduce a new character who is black, that no one would bat an eye at?

Why is it less justifiable when it occurs in video games as opposed to film?

Because barring people from a role in a movie based on their skin color would be racist. A video game on the other hand is made with models and rigging, not with actors.

 

[BrainZEROX]

I'd be annoyed. Very annoyed. Not because Samus would be black but because somebody would have decided to change her skin tone for "reasons".

It's perfectly fine to create a black or whatever skin colored character you want but stick to your original choices god dammit! Just create a new character and make it black and awesome, I'll be an happy gamer. Turn it to white years later for "reasons" and I'll be pissed off the same.

 

[The Horror the horror]

Sure, but EA and Rockstar didn't pick the torch by changing characters, they created new ones...

What they, particularly R*, created was garbage that was consumable to suburbia.

 

[Mihos]

Marvel beat Nintendo to it with Iron Man. I actually like Riri so if they did it right I could deal with a Samus of a different ethnicity. Though after Other M... I dunno...

Tony Stark and Riri Williams are two different people and exist in the same universe at the same time.

Unless you telling me Samus Aran is a code name... like James Bond

 

[A Link to the Past]

I can't claim to know much about Annie or the reboot having never watched either, but I will say that in the case of movies with real people, that barring people from bidding (I know this word doesn't fit here, but I couldn't think of the correct one ) for a role based on their skin color not matching the characters skin color would be pretty messed up no matter how you cut it. Either way, I'm pretty sure that the annie reboot was made for a particular audience, while a Metroid anything would likely be made specifically for the "Metroid" audience, and considering how fans reacted to Federation Force, I don't think how miniscule the group is would really matter, as they're gonna make some noise and be upset. Thus why have that, which would lead to fighting and a lot of controversy and likely even some real racial tension among Metroid fans, when you could just as easily introduce a new character who is black, that no one would bat an eye at?

Because barring people from a role in a movie based on their skin color would be racist. A video game on the other hand is made with models and rigging, not with actors.

The very group you're referring to are people who would shit on Metroid for being PC SJW bullshit because it had a black protagonist, Samus or not.

So since they'll be angry either way, why not just make it Samus?

 

[eliochip]

I honestly don't care. I just want a metroid game.

Don't change ridley's race tho

 

[BajiBoxer]

Man it sounds like you have a Berenstein bears universe for yourself, i don't think i have ever heard anyone talking about two metroid timelines.

Maybe I misunderstood some posts about the timeline. I've seen lots of reference to the "Metroid Prime timeline" out there. Must have been talking about a subset of the overall timeline then? I admit, I'm probably totally mistaken, as I haven't played every game across all platforms in chronological order.

 

[Phu]

I'd rather they just make a black mc than change Samus to black. I'd also they rather try to tell an entirely new story within the game's universe than do some kind of reboot.