“Fantastic!”
Theme Music
This episode comes with a content warning for game footage involving
hypersexualized female characters and is not recommended for children.
As always, remember that it is both possible and even necessary
to be critical of the media we enjoy.
That’s going to be especially important to keep in mind
given the video game franchise we are about to discuss…
In 1987 Nintendo released a 2D action adventure game for their
Nintendo Entertainment System which departed
from traditional video game conventions.
Metroid starred a bounty hunter named Samus Aran
who is covered head to toe in the now iconic cybernetic “power suit”.
The game’s manual referred to the protagonist with male pronouns
and described his identity as “shrouded in mystery”.
Metroid was notable as an early example of a game
that employed multiple alternative endings which could be unlocked
based on the player’s gaming skill and performance.
If the player is able to complete the game in under five hours
a short cutscene will play featuring the protagonist without their armored helmet,
revealing that Samus Aran is, in fact, a woman.
This was a significant moment in gaming history,
especially for many female gaming fans, because, at the time,
nearly all protagonists were just assumed to be male by default.
Remember this was back before the internet,
when you couldn’t just hop online to find out about all the secrets and spoilers,
so for many players, the ending of Metroid came as a genuine surprise.
Still, the subversion only worked provided players were skilled enough
to achieve the surprise ending.
In retrospect, Samus’ gender reveal perhaps should not have been as shocking as it was,
considering that Metroid is heavily influenced by the Alien films.
Sadly the alternate endings did not stop there
the two “best” endings make Metroid one of the first games
to exploit the Women as Reward trope,
as both reveal Samus in various states of undress.
The better a player does, the more clothing is removed.
If the player completes the game in under 3 hours Samus is shown without her armor
and in a leotard.
If the player finishes in under 1 hour they are treated to Samus in a bikini.
So yes, Samus wasn’t a damsel’ed woman waiting at the end of the game as a trophy
rather, her body itself became the prize awarded to players for a job well done.
Later games in the Metroid series continued the convention of
rewarding players with endings featuring Samus in various states of undress.
In one sense Samus Aran definitely did subvert traditional gender tropes
of the 1980s by taking on the role of intrepid hero.
However she and her body were still presented to players as prizes to be won.
The convention, of earning access to cutscenes or ending vignettes
with eroticized female bodies can be found in many titles over the past 30 years.
“Apollo”
“Whoa! Whoa!”
(Audience laughter)
“Oh!”
We can trace the roots of the Women as Reward trope all the way back
to the beginnings of the medium itself.
As we discussed in our damsel in distress mini-series,
upon successful completion of many arcade games
players were rewarded with the related Smooch of Victory trope, so named
for the kiss the hero received as a reward for rescuing a kidnapped princess.
Sometimes the prize is blatant as with the Standard Hero Reward
in which a king will give his daughter to the hero.
On other occasions, it’s taken a step further by employing the parallel
Sex of Victory or Rescue Sex trope. Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is:
instead of a kiss, sex with the rescued victim is the player’s reward.
“That was gonna get ugly. You saved us!”
“My pleasure, ladies.”
“Thank you, thank you. Thank you.”
“You saved my life. A bit of joy as recumpence is not too much to ask.”
“I’m intrigued. It’s been a tough day. I think some joy might do me good.”
(Moaning)