Why Earthbound is a Misogynistic Game
I am a woman and I play video games. Today, we will be looking at a cult classic named Earthbound.
The series started in 1989 with the Japan-only release of a game called "Mother" for the Famicon, and Earthbound, known in Japan as "Mother 2", would be released on the Super NES in 1995. The final game in the series, "Mother 3", was released only in Japan on the Gameboy Advance. Initially, "Mother 3" was going to be on the Nintendo 64, but the project was canceled due to the release date being near the end of the system's life span, among other technical difficulties.
So how does a game originally called Mother objectify women?
Earthbound is an RPG that is different in a lot of ways. Instead of taking place in a fantasy world, you play across a world similar to modern day America, and instead of fighting wizards and goblins, you fight living trash cans and angry neighbors. Instead of a sword and shield, you fight with a bat and yo-yo, and you use hamburgers instead of potions to recover your health. You play as Ness, who you may recognize from the Super Smash Bros. series. Ness is a young boy with psychic powers who sets off to save the world from an evil cosmic force known as Giygas. Naturally, his mother and little sister are forced to stay at home and act as nothing more but a support group. But Earthbound's main issue with sexism lies in one of its own central characters, Paula.
Paula Polestar is one of four playable characters in a party composed almost entirely of boys. Originally, her name was Paula Jones in "Mother 2", but for some reason, her last name was changed to Polestar. If you think about it, it sounds familiar to what you would call a porn star. In ways, Nintendo was already objectifying Paula before she even arrived on US shores.
Paula starts out in the game as, you guessed it, a damsel in distress. She is captured by an evil cult who engages in a practice known as "Happy-Happy-ism", and you must rescue her in order to progress the game. Paula is dressed in the usual way that we stereotypically depict little girls: blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress. As a matter of fact, Paula looks similar to the gaming world's most famous damsel in distress, Princess Peach from the Mario games. Would it hurt to give her some jeans, Nintendo? But one kidnapping isn't enough, and once again, Paula is turned into an object to be acted upon between the hero and the villain. In Fourside, Paula is abducted by an alien at a mall, forcing you to play the entire level without her. This is considered to be one of the game's low points, in which it proves that Paula is too weak and incapable to defend herself, and has to be surrounded by her male saviors at all times.
What's also troubling is that some of the enemies in the game are undoubtedly female. The Cute Li'l UFO has a pink bow on its head, indicative of its gender. If you wander around the city of Twoson, Paula's home town, you engage battle with an enemy called the Cranky Lady, a woman carrying heavy bags of luggage. That's right, you beat up women in this game. Ness is on his way to becoming a domestic abuser. Finally, there is a scene in which he is led on by a lady in blonde hair wearing nothing but scantily-clad black lingerie. This siren-like character leads our heroes to a trap set up by zombies, and it's up to one of the playable characters, Jeff, to leave his studies at school and save you. A moment where Paula is once again a damsel in distress, but in an interesting twist, so is Ness. But in the end, it is another male that comes to save them.
It's unfortunate that there is a lack of female role models in Earthbound. The series is over, but perhaps if Nintendo changes their mind and decides to create another installment for the Mother series, it will star a strong female lead who will defy feminine stereotypes and we can kiss the days of the damsel in distress goodbye. See you next week, in which I talk about misogyny in Pokemon games.
APRIL FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!
NOW YOU HAVE BEEN CURSED!
(In case you're still confused, this is a parody of Anita Sarkeesian and her so-called "feminist" videos exploring female characters in video games. Oh, it seems like she's doing this for a good cause, trying to raise awareness of sexism in video games. Only a few problems... Sarkeesian constantly lies by omission, leaving out important information and missing key elements from the games she's criticizing unless it supports her own argument. If you thought my description of Earthbound sounded sexist, I left out the fact that Ness's Mom and sister help you throughout the entire game. If you don't call your Mom, Ness will become homesick and unable to battle. All throughout the game, your sister stores your items and you can call her to pick up/drop off anything you want anywhere in the world through the Escargo Express. I left out that Paula has the strongest PSI in your party and that she handled Monotoli all by herself while Ness and Jeff struggled to reach her. Oh yeah, did I mention that Paula is the most important member of your party in the final battle against Giygas? And that's not touching the spoilers. I could mention Ana and Kumatora from the other games, but shhh, Anita conveniently doesn't know that they exist. :P)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/52881.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!
The series started in 1989 with the Japan-only release of a game called "Mother" for the Famicon, and Earthbound, known in Japan as "Mother 2", would be released on the Super NES in 1995. The final game in the series, "Mother 3", was released only in Japan on the Gameboy Advance. Initially, "Mother 3" was going to be on the Nintendo 64, but the project was canceled due to the release date being near the end of the system's life span, among other technical difficulties.
So how does a game originally called Mother objectify women?
Earthbound is an RPG that is different in a lot of ways. Instead of taking place in a fantasy world, you play across a world similar to modern day America, and instead of fighting wizards and goblins, you fight living trash cans and angry neighbors. Instead of a sword and shield, you fight with a bat and yo-yo, and you use hamburgers instead of potions to recover your health. You play as Ness, who you may recognize from the Super Smash Bros. series. Ness is a young boy with psychic powers who sets off to save the world from an evil cosmic force known as Giygas. Naturally, his mother and little sister are forced to stay at home and act as nothing more but a support group. But Earthbound's main issue with sexism lies in one of its own central characters, Paula.
Paula Polestar is one of four playable characters in a party composed almost entirely of boys. Originally, her name was Paula Jones in "Mother 2", but for some reason, her last name was changed to Polestar. If you think about it, it sounds familiar to what you would call a porn star. In ways, Nintendo was already objectifying Paula before she even arrived on US shores.
Paula starts out in the game as, you guessed it, a damsel in distress. She is captured by an evil cult who engages in a practice known as "Happy-Happy-ism", and you must rescue her in order to progress the game. Paula is dressed in the usual way that we stereotypically depict little girls: blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pink dress. As a matter of fact, Paula looks similar to the gaming world's most famous damsel in distress, Princess Peach from the Mario games. Would it hurt to give her some jeans, Nintendo? But one kidnapping isn't enough, and once again, Paula is turned into an object to be acted upon between the hero and the villain. In Fourside, Paula is abducted by an alien at a mall, forcing you to play the entire level without her. This is considered to be one of the game's low points, in which it proves that Paula is too weak and incapable to defend herself, and has to be surrounded by her male saviors at all times.
What's also troubling is that some of the enemies in the game are undoubtedly female. The Cute Li'l UFO has a pink bow on its head, indicative of its gender. If you wander around the city of Twoson, Paula's home town, you engage battle with an enemy called the Cranky Lady, a woman carrying heavy bags of luggage. That's right, you beat up women in this game. Ness is on his way to becoming a domestic abuser. Finally, there is a scene in which he is led on by a lady in blonde hair wearing nothing but scantily-clad black lingerie. This siren-like character leads our heroes to a trap set up by zombies, and it's up to one of the playable characters, Jeff, to leave his studies at school and save you. A moment where Paula is once again a damsel in distress, but in an interesting twist, so is Ness. But in the end, it is another male that comes to save them.
It's unfortunate that there is a lack of female role models in Earthbound. The series is over, but perhaps if Nintendo changes their mind and decides to create another installment for the Mother series, it will star a strong female lead who will defy feminine stereotypes and we can kiss the days of the damsel in distress goodbye. See you next week, in which I talk about misogyny in Pokemon games.
APRIL FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!
NOW YOU HAVE BEEN CURSED!
(In case you're still confused, this is a parody of Anita Sarkeesian and her so-called "feminist" videos exploring female characters in video games. Oh, it seems like she's doing this for a good cause, trying to raise awareness of sexism in video games. Only a few problems... Sarkeesian constantly lies by omission, leaving out important information and missing key elements from the games she's criticizing unless it supports her own argument. If you thought my description of Earthbound sounded sexist, I left out the fact that Ness's Mom and sister help you throughout the entire game. If you don't call your Mom, Ness will become homesick and unable to battle. All throughout the game, your sister stores your items and you can call her to pick up/drop off anything you want anywhere in the world through the Escargo Express. I left out that Paula has the strongest PSI in your party and that she handled Monotoli all by herself while Ness and Jeff struggled to reach her. Oh yeah, did I mention that Paula is the most important member of your party in the final battle against Giygas? And that's not touching the spoilers. I could mention Ana and Kumatora from the other games, but shhh, Anita conveniently doesn't know that they exist. :P)
This post has been crossposted with Dreamwidth at http://shamanicshaymin.dreamwidth.org/52881.html. Pick your poison. Mwoiiiiiiiing~!