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“Fantastic!”


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Theme Music

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This episode comes with a content warning
for game footage involving

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hypersexualized female characters
and is not recommended for children.

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As always, remember that it is both
possible and even necessary

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to be critical of the media we enjoy.

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That’s going to be especially
important to keep in mind

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given the video game franchise
we are about to discuss…

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In 1987 Nintendo released a 2D
action adventure game for their

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Nintendo Entertainment System
which departed

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from traditional video game conventions.

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Metroid starred a bounty hunter
named Samus Aran

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who is covered head to toe in the
now iconic cybernetic “power suit”.

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The game’s manual referred to the
protagonist with male pronouns

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and described his identity as
“shrouded in mystery”.

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Metroid was notable as an
early example of a game

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that employed multiple alternative
endings which could be unlocked

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based on the player’s gaming
skill and performance.

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If the player is able to complete
the game in under five hours

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a short cutscene will play featuring the
protagonist without their armored helmet,

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revealing that Samus Aran is, in fact,
a woman.

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This was a significant moment
in gaming history,

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especially for many female gaming fans,
because, at the time,

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nearly all protagonists were just
assumed to be male by default.

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Remember this was back
before the internet,

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when you couldn’t just hop online to find
out about all the secrets and spoilers,

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so for many players, the ending of
Metroid came as a genuine surprise.

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Still, the subversion only worked
provided players were skilled enough

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to achieve the surprise ending.

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In retrospect, Samus’ gender reveal perhaps
should not have been as shocking as it was,

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considering that Metroid is
heavily influenced by the Alien films.

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Sadly the alternate endings
did not stop there

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the two “best” endings make Metroid
one of the first games

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to exploit the Women as Reward trope,


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as both reveal Samus
in various states of undress.

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The better a player does,
the more clothing is removed.

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If the player completes the game in under
3 hours Samus is shown without her armor

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and in a leotard.

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If the player finishes in under 1 hour
they are treated to Samus in a bikini.

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So yes, Samus wasn’t a damsel’ed woman
waiting at the end of the game as a trophy

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rather, her body itself became the prize
awarded to players for a job well done.

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Later games in the Metroid series
continued the convention of

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rewarding players with endings featuring
Samus in various states of undress.

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In one sense Samus Aran definitely did
subvert traditional gender tropes

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of the 1980s by taking on the role
of intrepid hero.

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However she and her body were still
presented to players as prizes to be won.

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The convention, of earning access to
cutscenes or ending vignettes

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with eroticized female bodies can be found
in many titles over the past 30 years.

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“Apollo”

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“Whoa! Whoa!”

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(Audience laughter)

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“Oh!”

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We can trace the roots of the
Women as Reward trope all the way back

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to the beginnings of the medium itself.

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As we discussed in our
damsel in distress mini-series,

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upon successful completion
of many arcade games

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players were rewarded with the
related Smooch of Victory trope, so named

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for the kiss the hero received as a reward
for rescuing a kidnapped princess.

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Sometimes the prize is blatant as with the
Standard Hero Reward

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in which a king will give his
daughter to the hero.

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On other occasions, it’s taken a step further
by employing the parallel

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Sex of Victory or Rescue Sex trope.
Yes, it’s exactly what you think it is:

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instead of a kiss, sex with the rescued
victim is the player’s reward.

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“That was gonna get ugly. You saved us!”

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“My pleasure, ladies.”

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“Thank you, thank you. Thank you.”

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“You saved my life. A bit of joy as
recumpence is not too much to ask.”

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“I’m intrigued. It’s been a tough day.
I think some joy might do me good.”

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(Moaning)

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We’ve coined the Women as Reward trope
to describe a long-running pattern

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found in interactive media.

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It occurs when women
or more often women’s bodies

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are employed as rewards for
player actions in video games.

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The trope frames female bodies as
collectible, as tractable or as consumable

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and positions women as status symbols

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designed to validate the masculinity
of presumed straight male players.

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There’s some overlap between the
Damsel in Distress and Women as Reward

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but they function differently.

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While the Damsel in Distress
trope uses women

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as a plot device to motivate male heroes,

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the Women as Reward trope presents women
as a formalized reward mechanism,

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meaning that the reward is coded
into the game system itself.

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The result of this incentive structure is
that access to women’s bodies,

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women’s affection or women’s sexuality is
reduced to a simple equation that guarantees

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delivery as long as the correct set of
inputs are entered into the system.