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Sorry Nate, There’s No Princess In This Castle


Ta-metru_defender

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Essays, Not Rants! 159: Sorry Nate, There’s No Princess In This Castle

 

Let’s talk about damsels, because the idea of the damsel in distress goes way back and ‘cuz damseling female characters (especially in video games) kinda has to stop.

 

So what is a damsel in distress? Anita Sarkeesian succinctly describes it as

“a plot device in which a female character is placed in a perilous situation from which she cannot escape on her own and must be rescued by a male character…”

This has been a staple of video games since very early on. In Super Mario Bros, Mario quests to save Princess Peach. This wasn’t necessarily bad, but it becomes a problem when the save-the-girl trope becomes systemic. It becomes old when I’m still saving Peach again nearly three decades later.

 

But let’s not focus on what games are doing wrong, since that’s plain depressing. Uncharted, in each of its three games, utilizes the damsel-in-distress trope, but in different ways each time. Given developer Naughty Dog’s near-legendary know-how of storytelling, it should come as no surprise that they know how to use and subvert this trope with great mastery.

 

The first game, Drake’s Fortune, seems to play the trope mostly straight. Reporter-of-sorts Elena, protagonist Nathan Drake’s sidekick/tagalong, gets captured early on in the story. The first chunk of the main story has Nate trekking to a castle to free Elena — only to get himself captured. It’s then Elena who busts him out, nicely turning the male-hero-rescues-imprisoned-female dynamic on its head. Elena does get captured again towards the end, and Nate sets out after her (and the treasure). It makes enough sense in context — and Elena is far from a helpless hostage, she fights her captors and effectively sets up the final confrontation of Nate and the villain. She’s damsel’d, yes, but she’s hardly helpless most of the time.

 

Elena shows up about halfway through Among Thieves, the second game; this time she meets Nate gun in hand, on her own (investigative) hunt for warlord Zoran Lazaravic. Not only does she not need saving: she’s now a fighter in her own right. This game doesn’t damsel her, and even getting caught in an explosion towards the end doesn’t make her the villain’s helpless captive.

 

But Among Thieves introduces a new character in Chloe, an old flame from Nate’s past who constantly flips sides between good and bad. Nate, feeling like he’s dragged her into this mess, is eager to rescue her from Zoran’s camp. To do so, he fights his way along a train traveling through Nepal (that he got on with Elena’s help, which is also worth noting). But when he finds Chloe it turns out she doesn’t want to be saved: this ‘damsel’ has her own agenda. Nate — and by extension the player — may see Chloe as a damsel, but she’s hardly in distress. Here Naughty Dog subverts the players’ expectations that the damsel awaits the heroes with open arms. Instead, Chloe saves Nate’s butt when they reunite and then calls him out on his stupid heroics. Nate’s princess isn’t in another castle: Nate’s princess plain doesn’t exist.

 

 

So come the third game, Drake’s Deception, it’s almost expected that no female character gets damsel’d. And they don’t, at no point is Nate trying to save a captured woman. Instead, his best friend and father-figure Sully is captured. A good chunk of the second act has Nate trying to rescue Sully. Having an older man as the damsel rather than the typical attractive young-woman is a fun twist in and of itself. But Naughty Dog doesn’t let it end there. Nate’s unrelenting quest to rescue Sully gives us a glimpse into his own psyche. Sully being captured doesn’t just serve as an arbitrary goal for Nate; instead his capture forces Nate to confront his own inner demons, demons that only a smack on the head from a father-figure can cure him of. Dameseling a male character not only avoids unfortunate implications, but also lets us a see a more vulnerable Nate.

 

We need more video games like the Uncharted games. Heck, we need more stories like this. It’s wonderful to see women in an action-adventure genre who aren’t reduced to set dressing. Characters who, like Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, can hold their own and are fantastic in their own right. What Uncharted does is show that stories with strong plotting and motivation can be written without resorting to creating damsels in distress. It’s time to stop being lazy and to work on storytelling.

 

Postscript: Gameplay-wise, Chloe and Elena are useful allies in firefights, never becoming a burden. Furthermore, these games fantastic to play and not just for the narrative, they’re solid all around. Also Drake’s Deception is an example of what I was talking about last week, where we have a mixed cast but also bits of intimacy between Nate and Sully. See? It’s doable.

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^ Didn't Nintendo do a whole game devoted to playing as Peach which was... not as wonderful as it was supposed to be?

 

Characters who, like Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, can hold their own and are fantastic in their own right.

 

I love Raiders, too, but I'm not sure if I'd put Marion very high on the pillar of female sidekicks who can hold their own. Her contributions to that movie (aside from supplying a plot device) include gunning down one henchman in the bar fight, and blowing up a truck load of Nazis... after which she proceeds to lock herself inside a cockpit requiring Indy's help to escape. She's probably more useful than the sidekicks from the serials that inspired the movie, but I can't imagine it's by that much more.

 

Speaking of which, can we please get that Uncharted movie now?

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In older games, it was possible to actually play as Zelda and Peach. I am not talking about Smash Bros. Can we please do more with that, Nintendo?

They have been moving in that direction lately! Peach is playable in Super Mario 3D World along with Mario, Luigi, Toad, and in the postgame, Rosalina. The five characters move slightly differently (for instance, Peach has the ability to float a bit sort of like in Super Mario Bros. 2), but can all use the same power-ups as Mario. There are still some "damsel in distress" elements in this game, though, in that in each world you rescue one of the Sprixie princesses (little fairy-like creatures who have been kidnapped by Bowser).

 

Zelda is also a playable character in the recent Wii U game Hyrule Warriors.

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—The thing about Peach getting her own game is that the game (which I haven't played, only heard Sarkeesian's take on it [i probably should play it seeing as, y'know, I work at a video games library]) is that it's not a proper Mario game. Issue isn't so much whether you can play as her, it's more that it's Mario's goal most of the time. If he was seeking the Mystic Mushroom, then great, that's new.

 

—I haven't seen Raiders in forever. But I do remember her drinking a bar under the table and later tending to string Indy along. I think she sticks out because she's not the load or a pain, rather she's interesting in her own right and all.

 

—I also haven't played the newer ones, so I am curious how it goes. But again, the issue isn't so much whether or not you can play as Peach, it's that the whole plot's driven by a captured woman. 

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Funny thing about Hyrule Warriors; it's also not really a proper Zelda game. Granted I only played the demo, and have a little testimony from other gamers, but it seems more like a brainwashed repetitive gameplay sort of game. And, like, I'm pretty sure it's not on par with Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, OoT or Majora's Mask.

 

And I for one want to see Peach solo upping mushrooms and spinning Bowser around by his tail (all the while looking fabulous in a pink, poofy dress). I don't think it's too much to ask for to have the leader of an entire Kingdom to be competent. The closest things I have for that are Mario kart and Mario Party.

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I've seen Hyrule Warriors being played (someone at work was playing it), and it looks like mindless dumb fun. Apparently it's the same as the Dynasty Warrior games, so take that however you want it.

 

And sure, Peace Mario-ing her way through the Mushroom Kingdom would be crazy fun. I'm also plain down for a Mario game where you're not saving a princess. Least that's what the point of this rant essay is.

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“a plot device in which a female character is placed in a perilous situation from which she cannot escape on her own and must be rescued by a male character…”

 

But I have to wonder where the line is drawn. Is Red (Transistor) a Damsel? I would think not, but lets be honest, she wouldn't have gotten very far without the Transistor. Which is technically a male character.  

 

What about Zia (Bastion)? She fits the Definition of a damsel, but that's really only if you ignore the fact that so does everybody else in the game(Unsurprising, considering a gosh darn reality bomb was detonated). Even the main character. In fact, I'd say that The Kid is little more then a plot device for the player to act through.

 

Alyx from Half Life 2? (A little odd considering she's invincible in every scene other then the one she gets jumped by a hunter in.) But I suppose you could point out that she probably would've been saved even without Gordon. And, again, we have the Apocalypse scenario where pretty much anybody could die at a moments notice for any number of reasons.

 

I've also seen Zelda mentioned in discussions like this (I believe she was mentioned in the videos as well but it's been a long time since I've seen them) But that only works if you ignore the fact that she evaded capture for seven years and only got captured because she had the triforce of wisdom. And that's more apart of her character then the time she was imprisoned while you made your way through the final dungeon.

 

But I suppose for every example I can pull up, you probably have several counterexamples that prove the point. I will acknowledge that it's a bit problematic at times. And maybe I just like to disagree with Anita out of spite (I don't care for the way she analyzes things, and she reduces a lot of complex ideas to simple rules like the one above) even if I do begrudgingly have to admit she's right on some things.

 

I guess I'm just curious where the line is drawn. Are none of those characters okay? And if they are, why? 

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Woo! Conversation!

 

really wanna play Transistor, just haven't gotten around to buying it (also, I have a backlog, which is frustrating). Haven't played Bastion either, or (gasp) Half Life 2. So, um, sorry. 

 

But Zelda is one I was thinking about a bunch, particularly in Ocarina of Time (only 3D Zelda game I've played). I really don't think Zelda, in OoT, really fits the damsel archetype. Her capture isn't the source of Link's quest and she doesn't get captured until the very very end — kinda like Elena in Drake's Fortune. Actually had this conversation with a coworker, haha.

 

And I get what you're saying about Sarkeesian. I agree with her on a lot, but also disagree with a bunch of things (and, yeah, she gets a bit reductionist at times). My bigger issue is that video games only have one major feminist critique and the general attitude is that you've either gotta be with or against her. There needs to be more voices out there.

 

But anyway, I honestly don't know where the line is drawn — and this may be me figuring things out for myself a lot of the time. Is Kairi in Kingdom Hearts? First game plays loose with the captured idea, and in the second I'm pretty sure she's rescued by Namine and Axel. But in neither she's the sole purpose of Sora's quest, but in both it's frustrating that Kairi gets damsel'd. 

 

What about Sam in Tomb Raider? She's captured by the villains, but it's Lara Croft —a woman— who rescues her. It's a thorny issue which I'm still working out — and it's also why I love looking at Uncharted: the games know what to avoid and steers clear.

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Okay, Bastion and Transistor are forgivable, but how have you not played Half Life 2? Anyway... 

 

Lets try from this angle, since you have played OoT. Lets look at Link. Outside of Zelda and the six sages, how many people do you think knew what happened and who saved the day? And, if he didn't save the day, presumably, someone else would have, eventually. Meaning, that he's not actually that important. The only reason he is important is because he succeeded. Zelda's pretty important regardless of what happens.

 

You can make the same argument with Mario and Peach, Pit and Palutena, and probably many others.

 

But, that's probably a product of the hero's myth. Which states that the hero generally starts from being unimportant and average to potentially saving the world.

 

And every journey has to have a goal, or what's the point of it all, and I'll admit the "Damsel in Distress" one may be easy to use and probably overused, but I think rather then saying it needs to go away, we just need to think of different goals. 

 

And we have. Metroid has you exterminating a deadly alien species and enacting revenge on a pterodactyl like creature for the murder of your family. Monster Hunter has you killing monsters because of reasons, Destiny Has you killing aliens because a floating geometric figure said so. And there are many more. Maybe not enough, but they're out there. 

 

And, you know, none of this would really be an issue if we just had more female protagonists in video games in general. Which I'm completely fine with happening.

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But anyway, I honestly don't know where the line is drawn — and this may be me figuring things out for myself a lot of the time. Is Kairi in Kingdom Hearts? First game plays loose with the captured idea, and in the second I'm pretty sure she's rescued by Namine and Axel. But in neither she's the sole purpose of Sora's quest, but in both it's frustrating that Kairi gets damsel'd. 

 

While in the first game it was almost definitely intended to be a Save the Princess thing, it is downplayed a bit by having Sora's main goal to be finding Riku AND Kairi, and even after saving Kairi he continues on his quest and ultimately is still out to find Riku.  Granted we still end up with a captured Kairi and people fighting to save her and whatnot, but I'd argue she's portrayed as at least more competent than the other Princesses (by putting her heart in Sora she was able to evade Ansem and probably would have kept being a spanner in the works indefinitely had Sora not released her heart right in front of the Final Keyhole).  Kairi's treatment in the first game is better than what they do with her later, at least.

 

In KHII, again, Sora's main goal at this point is Find Riku, and Kairi's kidnapping isn't until later on, and the game continues on after she gets kidnapped.  Still, she's less able to evade her captors/mess up their plans this time, and what she does manage to do is with help from others.  Not to mention the whole reason she was captured was to motivate Sora.  Sure, the game does sort of spin this into her gaining resolve, but KH3D shoots this in the face by having her just quietly comply (in the secret movie of the previous game, even!) to letting Sora and Riku go off on their own.  So much for that resolving to stay together.  That's a bit off-track from damseling, though, please forgive me.

 

KHIII is going to have a huge impact on this, even if it doesn't try to.  Xehanort could just as easily capture the Princesses again, and it seems the heroes are going to take the 7 Guardians of Light approach in order to prevent this, so maybe we won't see it play out again.  Regardless, Kairi's ability to wield a Keyblade has (FINALLY) been acknowledged, and the Guardians are so short-staffed that Nomura would have to pull something really obvious to keep her out now.  This could potentially return to her arc of resolve and have her fight her way out of being damseled, and I'm hoping they pull it off well.

 

In regards to the Wayfinder trio, Aqua's definitely doing better than the boys, so maybe we'll get to see her rescuing those male damsels or something, and this could be a good sign if nothing else.  I don't know, I just want to be optimistic.

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In KHII, again, Sora's main goal at this point is Find Riku, and Kairi's kidnapping isn't until later on, and the game continues on after she gets kidnapped.  Still, she's less able to evade her captors/mess up their plans this time, and what she does manage to do is with help from others.

The funny thing about this one is that she does so with assistance from Namine; in essence, she is rescuing herself, which might be reading too much into it, but is a fantastic take on it nonetheless.

 

And then there's the whole "this time, I'll save you line" which, while cheesy, is also fairly telling of her overall personality; KH as a series likes narrative parallels, and while her screentime was short, her journey in KH2 mirrors what Sora is going through (only his is for Riku). I actually like the irony of Sora assuming Kairi's safe and squared away on the island and therefore not worrying about her when she actually has all sorts of adventures.

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—Shockwave, I've played the first hourish of HalfLife 2... I'l get around to it. But you do hit the nail on the head. Different narratives and different protagonists will help loads. The issue, as I see it, is that "save the damsel!" has become too much of an excuse plot.

 

—I realize how out of the loop of KH I am when I read your post, Pahrak. My lore ends with BbS, haha. But yeah, you do make a good point about Kairi, in so far as she's not the sole reason for Sora's quest. What bugs me, though, is that she gets shafted in 2. Riku joins the party! Kairi, now with her keyblade... watches.  'cuz I love KH2, and I love the final act, but... Yeah. Like even if she just helps out in one fight (say, versus Saïx), it'd be less glaring. Anyway.

 

All this to say that this is why I like looking at things done well. So much less distressing and a lot less gripey.

 

The funny thing about this one is that she does so with assistance from Namine; in essence, she is rescuing herself, which might be reading too much into it, but is a fantastic take on it nonetheless.

Boom.

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—I realize how out of the loop of KH I am when I read your post, Pahrak. My lore ends with BbS, haha. But yeah, you do make a good point about Kairi, in so far as she's not the sole reason for Sora's quest. What bugs me, though, is that she gets shafted in 2. Riku joins the party! Kairi, now with her keyblade... watches.  'cuz I love KH2, and I love the final act, but... Yeah. Like even if she just helps out in one fight (say, versus Saïx), it'd be less glaring. Anyway.

 

 

 

Dang I spoiled it.

 

I'm so sorry, I should've thought to put tags on that.

 

You're right, they do make it pretty obvious in every boss fight.

--Luxord: Oh no, cards have taken everyone away!

--Saix: Oh no, Saix blew Riku and Kairi behind a force field!

--Xemnas: Oh no, Sora's alone!  And now Kairi and Mickey have been knocked outside the door and apparently can't open it!  Now they're back, but the portal's closing and it's just Riku and Sora!

 

At least in the manga we have Kairi using Strike Raid on Xigbar and then leaping off a balcony to blow away a horde of Heartless and rescue Sora, with Sora flat out stating that their roles have been reversed.  We really need Amano on the writing staff for KHIII...

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Eh, at this point I don't mind spoilers so long as KH3 does a good recap of all the games I didn't want to buy consoles for.

 

And I will check out the manga some time. I remember really enjoying the Chain of Memories one.

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I think I can agree with you on that. 

 

I mean, it's not even a terribly interesting plot, but it's simple to explain, which is probably why it's a popular one.

 

But that really shouldn't even be an issue now, as adding just a little bit of narrative isn't that difficult. And I know Nintendo can make better plots then the one in Super mario world 3D. As it's about as complex as the original. Which is sad as they've done much better with less narrative in many other games, and almost the entire Metroid series, if we pretend Other M doesn't exist. 

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