• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

How would you react to a Metroid reboot w/ a black Samus

Everyone knows what Samus Aran looks like, all of those designs have multiple key identifying features in common. Her skin color is one of them. It's silly to me that some people think a pandering recolor on an already established icon would count as good representation.

Like....why? Why be upsetting just for the shit of it, when you can create a completely new character, with a completely new identity, and nobody will have any room to complain? Give her a different suit, a different background? Bounty Hunter, Galactic Federation Soldier/Captain? Some chick who got hold of some good Space Pirate technology? You can even have her interact with Samus herself. Why would you forgo all those possibilities for actual GOOD representation, just for some cheap controversy?

This is the cheapest, least creative, laziest, whackest way to go about approaching this, and this is from a person of color.

Another "keep it separate but equal" proposal.
 

LordKasual

Banned
Samus is already an established character. She already appeared in numerous games without the armor suit.

I would like to see another main character in the Metroid Universe who is a POC.

In the latest Metroid game during the ending, the MC takes off her helmet and revealing it was a black woman. The story would
explain that Samus is dead and this woman the new bounty hunter or something like that.
It would be a cool twist like the original Metroid.

The Metroid Universe has so much space for new character possibilities that trying to string the character to Samus Aran herself is just a massive waste IMO.

Chances are, a character that isn't Samus won't even be able to do the same things that Samus can, without the Chozo blood or Varia Suit. But that's fine, because Hunters / Prime 3 was full of extremely capable hunters on nearly equal footing with Samus.

The Prime series was so great because it was able to introduce completely new things and still feel like you were playing Metroid. Metroid has not even come close to reaching the point where it needs to start rebooting itself. It can just branch out in a different way.

Another "keep it separate but equal" proposal.

You don't have any clue what that phrase means, do you. You cant just use phrases like that completely out of context and expect it to keep its meaning.

Even entertaining this nonsense, how on earth would a "Metroid" game featuring a black protagonist be considered separate?
 

Mailbox

Member
Another "keep it separate but equal" proposal.
I have zero idea how you can come to that conclusion from that post.

As for the op, preferably a new character leading would be interesting to see.
Maybe you can have it be set in the far future where samus is seen as more of an undying legend whose name gets passed down or used by people around the cosmos or something.

Just altering a character in a reboot feels lazy to me. A sort of soft reboot idea works better in my mind.
 
Indifferent. It would certainly be great to have more black characters, and in particular black women. But at the same time, it doesn't mean too much if she'll just be stuck in the Power Suit regardless. But I definitely wouldn't mind at all.
 
Ultimately, this thread makes me want to drop every other game I'm playing currently and run through every glorious Metroid game I own for the tenth time.

1366049178_metroid_shooting_cat.gif
 

Macka

Member
I don't have a problem with the idea of a new character in the suit, and that character being black.

But retconning Samus into a black woman? Why? Why change an existing character when you could make a new one?
 
Make her purple with six legs I don't care🖕🏿. Just retain the gameplay....

If people want to change the gameplay... just ask for a new IP, ok? Making boxes based on skin color is the most racist thing I ever heard. It's all about gameplay; color won't change anything.
 

NewGame

Banned
You're missing the point. It's about adding diversity, not taking away from already limited representations.

Do you think a skin tone swap of a character who spends 99% of the game alone and inside a metal suit really tackles the issues of representation in games?
 

packy34

Member
There's nothing inherently wrong with doing that, but why would you?

I'd rather Nintendo make brand new minority characters in leading roles. Let them shine on their own merits, not on the heels of an already-established franchise/character.
 

Camjo-Z

Member
Unnecessary reboots and redesigns already annoy me enough as it is, and the idea of race-swapping Metroid's most iconic character for the sake of shoehorning in diversity sounds even less appealing. Representation in games doesn't need to come at the expense of changing characters that people already like the way they are. I'm not the kind of guy who's particularly interested in seeing my skin color represented in games anyway, but if given the choice I'd much rather see Nintendo introduce more black/biracial characters into their games than just slap some brown skin on Mario and call it a day.
 

Some Nobody

Junior Member
I feel like, you see so little of Samus' face that I honestly couldn't identify with her any more than you told me she was black.

At the same time, for that same reason I feel like if you care if they changed her race you've got some issues with non-white folks.

So yeah, make her black if you want.
 

RowdyReverb

Member
If they did make her black, they should wait until you beat the game to reveal it. Like when you find out she's a woman after you complete the first game
That shit would get spoiled so hard though
 
I see no point.
If she was black at the start, then cool with me.
I don't have any problem with cultural variety in games as it's only a good thing but this sounds forced.
I don't think that's the point at all of art if you consider games to be artistic vision.
 

gioGAF

Member
I don't get this question. Samus is an established character, if you want a character with a different background / ethnicity in a future game, why don't you just call them by their own name and be done with it?

This is a trend in comic books which I think is lame and is done solely for retaining the "name brand" to keep peddling their junk. The latest guy is not Spider-Man, he is a new version, why doesn't he have his own identity?

I don't have a problem with different backgrounds for characters, just call them by their own name.
 

Hydrus

Member
It would definitely be a step forward. Nintendo is seriously in dire need of diversity. Expecting resistance from the usual suspects but evolving times always get resistance.

Also anything that pisses off alt-right is good in my books.

I hate to be that guy but:


Vs everyone else:

Nintendo should definitely start creating more characters of different races/ color, and it seems like there starting to do that with ARMS and Splatoon, but it's not like they aren't diverse. Nintendo characters and IP's are like the definition of video games.
 

see5harp

Member
I have no idea how race matters to any of the characters in a game like Metroid. It might as well be a purple protagonist.
 
The colour of her skin has nothing to do with what makes the games fun so I don't really care. At the same time I'd probably just rather they create new characters for diversity than alter old ones.
 
I hate to be that guy but:



Vs everyone else:


Nintendo should definitely start creating more characters of different races/ color, and it seems like there starting to do that with ARMS and Splatoon, but it's not like they aren't diverse. Nintendo characters and IP's are like the definition of video games.
They have a bunch of white people and then animals and monsters and shit. that's not the kind of diversity people are talking about

A black samus would be cool, idk. It'd be fun just to see people try to bend over backwards to try and argue why she *needs* to be white even though she absolutely doesn't at all
 
I don't get this question. Samus is an established character, if you want a character with a different background / ethnicity in a future game, why don't you just call them by their own name and be done with it?

At the same time, if the Metroid brand decided to reintroduce itself, what would be wrong with the Samus character (defined by the suit + being a female heroine + her core personality and backstory) remaining intact, just with a new look under the suit?

I'd like Samus and the skillset/armor suit that comes with her to remain as-is in future Metroid games, but I don't see why Nintendo couldn't reboot the character to not be Bounty Hunter Barbie.
 
I'd be thrilled, Nintendo needs more character diversity (say that as a huge Nintendo fan) and they've kind of dropped the ball with characterizing Samus outside of the Prime games so assuming they were going for a slightly more "character focused" Metroid I think it'd be best to detach players from that original series

Doubt they'll do it and it'd be met with tons of backlash tho because gaming culture fucking sucks.
 

Wild Card

Member
An unnecessary change that I feel messes with the characters identity. Samus has had changes to her design in the past, like so with Other M, and was received poorly, so another, far more drastic change is not something that would sit well with me.

Samus IS a white, blonde-haired woman, whether you think that design is necessarily appealing, or original or whatever.

Like has been suggested quite repeatedly, if you want a black lead, or any other race, make a new character. It leaves the original character and design alone, while also satisfying those that are looking for some diversity.

Also the thought that someone would be introduced a new black Samus, maybe go look into the history of this really cool character and find that she was originally derived from an Iconic white character, that doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth.
 

jdstorm

Banned
Im torn on this. I have always imagined MasterCheif looking like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and no amount of cannon Microsoft art that looks like a poor man's Mark Vanderloo is going to change that.

I'm also open to race changing for properties when i think it would add something interesting to the story. Ie make Peter Parker Asian American or Superman/Supergirl Black.

Yet with Samus, i would like to keep her the same. I think this is because i have always felt Nintendo's big 3 IP (Mario, Link and Samus are basically Nintendo's version of Superman, Batman and Wonderwoman) have a reasonable amount of diversity inbuilt. Mario is Medeteranian Italian and they typical have Olive Skin. Link is Fantasy Japanese and Samus is caucasian. If Nintendo is going to focus on becoming more diverse they have better options.

For instance why not make an Impa (typically presented as dark skinned) action game, or further promote Elma an awesome scifi action hero who just happens to be a dark skinned woman. Additionally Nintendo could make a new IP built from the ground up with a great dark skinned protagonist of either gender. (although topping Elma will be tough)

Nintendo games have more dark skinned female representation then male representation as of right now. So if making a new IP either gender would be on the table.
 

tsundoku

Member
i love how shitty the op sounds until you read the thread and see all the "well reasoned arguments" about how "it would change the character's core identity"
and then you remember why the op has to be written shitty and patronizingly
 
Samus IS a white, blonde-haired woman, whether you think that design is necessarily appealing, or original or whatever.

I mean... Samus is a player-character in a videogame, most recognized by a suit that masks not only her race but her gender as well.

If Nintendo decided to reboot the series, it wouldn't be out of character for Samus to not look the way people expected her to because this is how the character's identity as female was established in the first place.
 

gioGAF

Member
At the same time, if the Metroid brand decided to reintroduce itself, what would be wrong with the Samus character (defined by the suit + being a female heroine + her core personality and backstory) remaining intact, just with a new look under the suit?

I'd like Samus and the skillset/armor suit that comes with her to remain as-is in future Metroid games, but I don't see why Nintendo couldn't reboot the character to not be Bounty Hunter Barbie.
Nothing really, I am just partial to having a character I enjoy remain the character I am familiar with. I don't have a problem with a new character taking over the game, I would just prefer that character to be its own thing, rather than a palette swap of the already established character for the sake of "diversity".
 
I hate to be that guy but:



Vs everyone else:


Nintendo should definitely start creating more characters of different races/ color, and it seems like there starting to do that with ARMS and Splatoon, but it's not like they aren't diverse. Nintendo characters and IP's are like the definition of video games.
How old is that second image now?

I don't think it really reflects the current state of diversity
 

LotusHD

Banned
I hate to be that guy but:



Vs everyone else:


Nintendo should definitely start creating more characters of different races/ color, and it seems like there starting to do that with ARMS and Splatoon, but it's not like they aren't diverse. Nintendo characters and IP's are like the definition of video games.

Lmao, this is not the diversity people are asking for...

i love how shitty the op sounds until you read the thread and see all the "well reasoned arguments" about how "it would change the character's core identity"
and then you remember why the op has to be written shitty and patronizingly

Heh
 
Why make Samus black? Why not create a totally new black character and then have her get into the suit? Hell, they can change the story so that Samus retires from bounty hunting and names the black character her successor and gives her the original suit. That'd make the Metroid mythos much more interesting.

If people really want to promote diversity, make an original character and build them into iconic ones. Look at Miles Morales (Spider-Man) and Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle). They've become popular characters in their own right and they managed to get out of the shadow of the costumes their predecessors made.

Making Samus black is just like saying, "We don't have the confidence to really create a compelling minority character. So here's Samus, except we made her black. Yay diversity!"
 

wowzors

Member
Oh my god!

would any one care? You see samus for about 3 minutes total in any of the games

Personal feelings:
Would probably be good we need more female and diverse characters.
 

Hydrus

Member
They have a bunch of white people and then animals and monsters and shit. that's not the kind of diversity people are talking about

A black samus would be cool, idk. It'd be fun just to see people try to bend over backwards to try and argue why she *needs* to be white even though she absolutely doesn't at all

I know. It's not like all there IP's are the generic badass white guy that everyone else seems to do. Nintendo seems to be getting better. We just got these this year:

nhkqroc4uefy6hnrsow4.png



images


35d9e1e6.jpg


latest


It's a step in the right direction.
 
An unnecessary change that I feel messes with the characters identity. Samus has had changes to her design in the past, like so with Other M, and was received poorly, so another, far more drastic change is not something that would sit well with me.

Samus IS a white, blonde-haired woman, whether you think that design is necessarily appealing, or original or whatever.

Like has been suggested quite repeatedly, if you want a black lead, or any other race, make a new character. It leaves the original character and design alone, while also satisfying those that are looking for some diversity.

Also the thought that someone would be introduced a new black Samus, maybe go look into the history of this really cool character and find that she was originally derived from an Iconic white character, that doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth.
WHAT identity

the whiteness of Samus isn't what's iconic about her character
 
Top Bottom