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[Leunam]

Here's a better way to phrase OPs question: "How would you react if at the end of the next Metroid, the main character took off her helmet and it was a black woman."

This would be interesting, and a nice twist on the original game's "Samus is a woman," reveal. It also expands the universe and transfers the awesome gear to another person for more interesting story possibilities.

This would be pretty cool.

Samus being white has never played into her character. People keep saying over and over that it's been her established character for thirty years or whatever but I can't think of a single time when that came into play or was crucial to the story. So why people insist on hanging on to that is beyond me. Hell, take the chance to give her a personality beyond mute space badass.

 

[shawnbuddy]

It'd be fine.

 

[KillLaCam]

Isn't it the change of an already established character since 30 years that most people in here have a problem with? Not the fact that she goes from white to black (well, obviously some people are going to kick up a storm about it).

Yep. Making a new character would be waaay easier in this case. IDGAF what race someone is.

Like even changing Sam Fisher in the last Splinter Celll game was unnecessary and hes still the same race and everything.

 

[Madame M]

Isn't it the change of an already established character since 30 years that most people in here have a problem with? Not the fact that she goes from white to black (well, obviously some people are going to kick up a storm about it).

I wouldn't say Samus' character has been consistent for 30 years, in the NES one she was a brunette (redhead?), in the Game Boy one she was black and white due to hardware limitations, and in the Super Nintendo one she was blonde with smaller hips than the NES one. Her character design didn't really solidify until Zero Suit Samus was introduced and that was only 15 years ago. And now here we are where we haven't even had a new Metroid game in several years.

 

[Toxi]

This would be pretty cool.

Samus being white has never played into her character. People keep saying over and over that it's been her established character for thirty years or whatever but I can't think of a single time when that came into play or was crucial to the story. So why people insist on hanging on to that is beyond me. Hell, take the chance to give her a personality beyond mute space badass.

While I agree with the rest of the post, after Other M I'd prefer if Nintendo stopped trying to give Samus a fleshed-out character.

 

[KLoWn]

Hell, take the chance to give her a personality beyond mute space badass.

But then she's basically a new character already. So why not just make a new character that takes over the lead of the series?

I mean, if Nintendo reboots Metroid and she's black, fine, but I don't see any reason why anyone would take a color swap over a brand new character that can hopefully grow into a new iconic heroine.

 

[Mango The Magician]

I wouldn't say Samus' character has been consistent for 30 years, in the NES one she was a brunette (redhead?), in the Game Boy one she was black and white due to hardware limitations, and in the Super Nintendo one she was blonde with smaller hips than the NES one. Her character design didn't really solidify until Zero Suit Samus was introduced and that was only 15 years ago. And now here we are where we haven't even had a new Metroid game in several years.

Most characters start out one way and eventually evolve into a "final" design over the years. Mario use to have red overalls and blue sleeves for example. Samus is no exception. This is not an excuse to suddenly drastically change her design.

You want a black bounty hunter in the Metroid Universe, then let's make one to star alongside Samus.

 

[Leunam]

Yep. Making a new character would be waaay easier in this case. IDGAF what race someone is.

Like even changing Sam Fisher in the last Splinter Celll game was unnecessary and hes still the same race and everything.

Easier, but I imagine people will still pitch a fit when they play the game, realize they aren't playing Samus, and then spend the rest of their time asking "Where is Samus?" I don't think people would be very accepting of a completely new character. I think passing the torch in a more subtle way like was posted before would be best. That way people get to the end of the game and rage over the character change and maybe take a moment and reflect and realize that it's not the end of the world because they still got the Metroid experience.

While I agree with the rest of the post, after Other M I'd prefer if Nintendo stopped trying to give Samus a fleshed-out character.

Fair enough.

 

[Renmyra]

This would be pretty cool.

Samus being white has never played into her character. People keep saying over and over that it's been her established character for thirty years or whatever but I can't think of a single time when that came into play or was crucial to the story. So why people insist on hanging on to that is beyond me. Hell, take the chance to give her a personality beyond mute space badass.

"White people don't have personalities".

 

[F31 Leopard]

People will still argue these characters aren't black though. Whether it's because of the hairstyle or something else, there's almost always another excuse as to why these are just "tanned" characters or something other black. Nintendo is getting better, but they along with everyone else is still a way's off.

Hau, Kiawe, and Olivia aren't black though. They're based off Polynesians. Hawaiians actually. Alola is based off Hawaii. Hau and Kiawe are Hawaiian names. Also Polynesians have very dark skin complexions. I'm from Hawaii btw.

 

[Raonak]

I would think it's stupid, anytime a beloved iconic main character gets redesigned is like the devs saw a landmine, and then proceeding to step on it on purpose.

Remember the dante backlash? It would be like but way worse.
Hell, I hated when they changed snakes voice actor. and that's something minor.

It's not really about race either. I'm a minority, and would love more diverse characters.
But, Diversity when it comes from reinterpreting an established character always feels like a shallow way to go for diversity.
Why not just create a new character in the universe? Metroid doesn't necessarily have to star samus.

 

[Toxi]

Most characters start out one way and eventually evolve into a "final" design over the years. Mario use to have red overalls and blue sleeves for example. Samus is no exception. This is not an excuse to suddenly drastically change her design.

That's why Breath of the Wild Link's default look is a green tunic and a pointed green cap.

 

[Madame M]

Most characters start out one way and eventually evolve into a "final" design over the years. Mario use to have red overalls and blue sleeves for example. Samus is no exception. This is not an excuse to suddenly drastically change her design.

You want a black bounty hunter in the Metroid Universe, then let's make one to star alongside Samus.

Who is to say Samus has reached her "final" design? Maybe she gets exposed to some space radiation or something and it changes her skin color.

 

[Nimmermehr]

She's an Irish black woman now apparently.

Hehe Shamus Erin?
I'd be ok with it, but they probably shouldn't change existing characters..

 

[The Horror the horror]

As evidenced, Samus has undergone significant physical changes from hair color to body shape, yet I don't recall similar outrage in response to those adjustments on the same scale we've witnessed in this thread. Samus Aran is an automaton. There's no culture, ethnicity, or behavior profile typified to one class or another. But oh no, we can't make her Black because that's not what she is. More like that's not what she's about. Then you have closet racists suggesting an all new Black character instead, as if they don't know fans will be clamoring for Samus to return like Jason Bourne after suffering Aaron Cross. They'd miss the old Samus with whom they gelled on such a personal level over the course of these 30 years.

 

[Arkeband]

Who is to say Samus has reached her "final" design? Maybe she gets exposed to some space radiation or something and it changes her skin color.

Yeah, that'd go over well.

 

[Mango The Magician]

That's why Breath of the Wild Link's default look is a green tunic and a pointed green cap.

Huh...a iconic character not having their iconic clothing but still looking the same as they always do underneath said clothing, where have I seen that before, oh yeah, Metroid Fusion.

Also...you can actually get a official green tunic for botw, it even has a story presence making it more canon then the rest of the clothing.

Who is to say Samus has reached her "final" design? Maybe she gets exposed to some space radiation or something and it changes her skin color.

Typically, I'd consider a character reaching it's "final design" when said design is being used to make toys or amiibos or represented in various Smash bros games. Let's say hypothetically the did do this, should they burn every non-reboot Samus figurine and amiibo, and completely eradicate the existence of a pre-reboot Metroidverse from Smash Bros and from their virtual console? Or should they just have two very different looking characters with the same name and life both bidding for the same marketing and relevancy?

As evidenced, Samus has undergone significant physical changes from hair color to body shape, yet I don't recall similar outrage in response to those adjustments on the same scale we've witnessed in this thread. Samus Aran is an automaton. There's no culture, ethnicity, or behavior profile typified to one class or another. But oh no, we can't make her Black because that's not what she is. More like that's not what she's about. Then you have closet racists suggesting an all new Black character instead, as if they don't know fans will be clamoring for Samus to return like Jason Bourne after suffering Aaron Cross. They'd miss the old Samus with whom they gelled on such a personal level over the course of these 30 years.

Samus has evolved from a brunnete white woman to a blonde white woman. That's what happens with characters over time, they're design becomes homogenized. There has never been a change as significant as a change in race, and if you genuinely believe there has then you're fooling yourself.

 

[Sibersk Esto]

Who is to say Samus has reached her "final" design? Maybe she gets exposed to some space radiation or something and it changes her skin color.

lol

 

[Madame M]

Yeah, that'd go over well.

I mean people are acting like Metroid has a story or something so I created a plausible story based explanation for the change, but Nintendo didn't need to come up with a story for why she changed from brunette/redhead to blonde so I don't know why they'd even need a story for a skin change.

 

[staticneuron]

Further proving my point. Samus' character design underneath the Varia Suit wasn't really consistent until Zero Mission.

Not really, you are just showing different stylistc choices to represent the same blond hair blue eyed woman. You have stylized, Semi realistic and anime.

That is like implying that these weren't supposed to represent same character

except for this guy

obviously this is supposed to represent the Italian mario

 

[KLoWn]

Then you have closet racists suggesting an all new Black character instead, as if they don't know fans will be clamoring for Samus to return like Jason Bourne after suffering Aaron Cross. They'd miss the old Samus with whom they gelled on such a personal level over the course of these 30 years.

So you're seriously calling people racist just because they would like to see a new black heroine instead of a color swap? Fuckin disgusting.

 

[SavoyPrime]

Nintendo would never do it. But it wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[Toxi]

Huh...a iconic character not having their iconic clothing but still looking the same as they always do underneath said clothing, where have I seen that before, oh yeah, Metroid Fusion.

Also...you can actually get a official green tunic for botw, it even has a story presence making it more canon then the rest of the clothing.

Your Fusion example actually highlights how ridiculous your desire for consistency is.

A radical change to Samus's appearance for 99% of the game is A-OK.

A change to her skin color, which generally only is visible during brief cutscenes at the end of the game, is not.

You care more about the face under the costume than the costume, even though the costume is effectively the character's face.

 

[Raonak]

I mean people are acting like Metroid has a story or something so I created a plausible story based explanation for the change, but Nintendo didn't need to come up with a story for why she changed from brunette/redhead to blonde so I don't know why they'd even need a story for a skin change.

People dye their hair all the time.
People don't really change their skintone.

Unless you're saying samus should try pull off some blackface.

 

[Madame M]

Not really, you are just showing different stylistc choices to represent the same blond hair blue eyed woman.

Samus was not always represented as blonde haired.

People dye their hair all the time.
People don't really change their skintone.

Unless you're saying samus should try pull off some blackface.

Like I said before, space radiation. No need to bring blackface into this.

 

[Mzo]

I'd be fine as long as the game is good. Don't really care one way or another.

 

[KtSlime]

Your Fusion example actually highlights how ridiculous your desire for consistency is.

A radical change to Samus's appearance for 99% of the game is A-OK.

A change to her skin color, which generally only is visible during brief cutscenes at the end of the game, is not.

You care more about the face under the costume than the costume, even though the costume is effectively the character's face.

If I am wearing a green shirt and jeans today, and a suit tomorrow, I am still the same person. This is not a radical concept.

 

[Mango The Magician]

Your Fusion example actually highlights how ridiculous your desire for consistency is.

A radical change to Samus's appearance for 99% of the game is A-OK.

A change to her skin color, which generally only is visible during brief cutscenes at the end of the game, is not.

You care more about the face under the costume than the costume, even though the costume is effectively the character's face.

I guess I must of hallucinated all the times where the color of the Varia suit changes in other games, while completely missing the times when Samus's skin color changes. I mean, it's ludicrous for to be ok with a character changing it's clothes, something every game character does, but perfectly reasonable for a character to randomly have a different physical makeup.

 

[Toxi]

If I am wearing a green shirt and jeans today, and a suit tomorrow, I am still the same person. This is not a radical concept.

Imagine if Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi were dressed in pink spandex.

The Power Suit is a far more important part of Samus's look than her face under the mask. Because you're looking at the Power Suit for the majority of every Metroid game. Samus's face under the mask matters about as much as Darth Vader's face under the mask.

If you seriously care about the look of a character, than you should care about the look of the Power Suit, because for the majority of the game time, the Power Suit is the look of the character.

 

[Madame M]

I guess I must of hallucinated all the times where the color of the Varia suit changes in other games, while completely missing the times when Samus's skin color changes. I mean, it's ludicrous for to be ok with a character changing it's clothes, something every game character does, but perfectly reasonable for a character to randomly have a different physical makeup.

When you play Metroid 1 with the Justin Bailey password, her skin and hair color changes depending on which "suit" you are wearing.

 

[staticneuron]

Samus was not always represented as blonde haired.



Like I said before, space radiation. No need to bring blackface into this.

Unless you are talking about the original metroid which had both brunette and blonde representations, it is obvious which one they chose as canon in the sequels.

 

[Rambler]

I really wish Samus was just a robot.

 

[CloudyTuba]

That's fine. I don't really care what she looks like under the suit all that much. In my youth I thought she was a robot. And I'm not a fan of her current Sara Jean Underwood supermodel look since I imagine her more like a badass amazonian. Change her skin tone to whatever you want, just make her badass. No long monologues from a dainty supermodel about how vulnerable she's feeling. Other M was a mistake. That's all I ask.

 

[Raonak]

Like I said before, space radiation. No need to bring blackface into this.

Lolwut, okay, "space-blackface" then.
You're getting some white chick to masquerade as a minority. Whats the fucking difference?

And the next game, she's gonna get hit with more magic space radiation, and now she looks indian!
(That'd be kinda cool, because I can't recall any games with indian main characters :/ - but i'd rather they make her a new character)

 

[Toxi]

I really wish Samus was just a robot.

I would say Samus as a robot would be an improvement because that means no Other M, but then I remember Other M had a robot character with mommy issues.

 

[Snakeyes]

I'd be disappointed. Changing the race of an established character is one of the laziest ways to add diversity into a franchise. As a black (well, mixed) dude, I'd much rather have Nintendo create a new IP with a black female lead.

 

[Mango The Magician]

Imagine if Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi were dressed in pink spandex.

If Darth Vader showed up consistently through several movies and happened to wear pink spandex in a future movie, I doubt most would care that much, given that there was a reason. A better comparison to changing Samus's race would be if they randomly decided that Anikan or however you spell that didn't grow up on the planet he did or if the race of said character was changed randomly and was shown via having Darth take off his helmet.

When you play Metroid 1 with the Justin Bailey password, her skin and hair color changes depending on which "suit" you are wearing.

I'm not sure what this has to do with what I said or was trying to imply. Essentially though, there are a bunch of different suits in Metroid, some that are purple, some that are black and red, and some that are green; they don't however change the Varia Suit, and neither does Samus not wearing it in Metroid Fusion. Likewise, "Samus" is still Samus without her suit, but I fail to see how she'd still be "Samus" if we start messing with the way she looks.

 

[Madame M]

Lolwut, okay, "space-blackface" then.
You're getting some white chick to masquerade as a minority. Whats the fucking difference?

And the next game, she's gonna get hit with more magic space radiation, and now she looks indian!

blackface is a choice, way different from exposure to space radiation

blondes are a minority too, is she masquerading as a blonde by dying her hair that from the original brunette in Metroid 1 as some of these other posters are suggesting?

 

[Madame M]

I'm not sure what this has to do with what I said or was trying to imply. Essentially though, there are a bunch of different suits in Metroid, some that are purple, some that are black and red, and some that are green; they don't however change the Varia Suit, and neither does Samus not wearing it in Metroid Fusion. Likewise, "Samus" is still Samus without her suit, but I fail to see how she'd still be "Samus" if we start messing with the way she looks.

The point was that in Metroid 1 Samus' skin color changes. You said you missed the times her skin color changed, so I pointed it out to you.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Imagine if Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi were dressed in pink spandex.

Imagine if Darth Vader was a creepy stalker child murderer with long hair and a scar.

That'd just be stupid.

Also eyes that turn yellow when his dark side points get high enough.

 

[Mango The Magician]

The point was that in Metroid 1 Samus' skin color changes. You said you missed the times her skin color changed, so I pointed it out to you.

Oh...well I wouldn't really consider a varying color palette on a NES game as evidence of a characters skin color changing. I mean most NES games were limited to begin with, as evidenced by a Mario having brown sleeves despite the art at the time depicting Mario as having blue sleeves.

 

[Leunam]

"White people don't have personalities".

I didn't say that, but nice try I guess.

I said that her race doesn't make her character. Her character comes from her strength, capabilities, and overcoming intense odds from difficult situations and environments. It's actually not very deep.

 

[The_Endgamer]

I've changed my mind. I want Nintendo to change Samus to being black just to see how this thread reacts lol.

This thread is getting heated.

 

[Madame M]

Oh...well I wouldn't really consider a varying color palette on a NES game as evidence of a characters skin color changing. I mean most NES games were limited to begin with, as evidenced by a Mario having brown sleeves despite the art at the time as having blue sleeves.

They made a choice to change the palette for the different justin bailey "suits" and therefore the skin colors, it didn't happen through magic or a failure to render concept art on the NES. Saying that the change in color was due to hardware limitations is an absurdity.

 

[Toxi]

If Darth Vader showed up consistently through several movies and happened to wear pink spandex in a future movie, I doubt most would care that much, given that there was a reason.

Then you are detached from reality.

I said that her race doesn't make her character. Her character comes from her strength, capabilities, and overcoming intense odds from difficult situations and environments. It's actually not very deep.

You play as a taciturn character wearing a mechanical Power Suit and arm cannon who jumps and shoots through a cramped maze-like alien environment, searching for suit upgrades that grant new abilities and allow her to access new areas. These power-ups include missiles, different beams, the Space Jump, the Screw Attack, the Speed Booster, and the Morph Ball.

After you beat the final boss, the hero removes her armor and you see she's got dark skin.

"Clearly this can't be Samus"

 

[Mango The Magician]

They made a choice to change the palette for the different justin bailey "suits" and therefore the skin colors, it didn't happen through magic or a failure to render concept art on the NES. Saying that the change in color was due to hardware limitations is an absurdity.

So...a cameo/reference activated through a code is the same as changing the actual canonical skin tone of a 30 year old character? There's codes in some of the GBA Crash Bandicoot games to give him green pants; Should Crash no longer be Orange?

Then you are detached from reality.

Congratulations, on completely glossing over my whole point.

 

[KingBroly]

While I agree with the rest of the post, after Other M I'd prefer if Nintendo stopped trying to give Samus a fleshed-out character.

It's REALLY up to debate on whether or not they actually tried with Other M.

 

[Raonak]

blackface is a choice, way different from exposure to space radiation

How exactly is it different, when the creator of the game is the one choosing?


If you want good story reasons: Just do what the comcis do and just pass the mantle to the next generation.
Samus is dead, but a black chick finds her armour and becomes the new greatest bounty hunter. Samus = codename.
(Metroid is dead anyway, so might would out well)


No need to give her the baggage of explaining that she was once white chick turned black due to space magic.
That's just needlessly confusing, and doesn't add anything to diversity argument.
It will take away from her success as a black VG character.

 

[Luminaire]

I wouldn't mind.

However, I'd prefer them to put effort into making a black female character rather than just change the skin of an existing one. Feels a little "ok, we checked the box" to me.

 

[Madame M]

So...a cameo/reference activated through a code is the same as changing the actual canonical skin tone of a 30 year old character? There's codes in some of the GBA Crash Bandicoot games to give him green pants; Should Crash no longer be Orange?

I'm not talking about the change in the color of Samus' leotard, I'm talking about the change to her skin color, so your green pants on Crash Bandicoot analogy doesn't follow.