Today, I cheat a little on this countdown once more. See, this hero earns this spot not by anything she has ever done in game. No, this spot was not earned by being a hero IN the game, but rather, outside of the game. This is a hero whose contribution to gaming, not just in its industry but also in its culture, can never be overstated. This hero revolutionized the role of the video game hero, breaking several barriers, glass ceilings, and destroying stereotypes of all calibers, all in her debut. The number 5 hero is Samus Aran, from Metroid.
When Samus Aran was revealed to be a girl, back in 1986, this was a shock. Why? Well, it may be hard to appreciate, what with how nowadays we have girls like Lara Croft, Elena Fisher, Chell, and so forth, but there was a time where women in video games had, well, limited roles. Most characters that could easily be identified as females were relegated either to the role of unimportant NPC, or a damsel to be rescued. Samus changed all that, and the way she did was brilliant. While playing the original Metroid, you are playing this bad ass space warrior, fighting off aliens, shooting things from your arm cannon like Mega Man. After hours upon hours of playing, you get the end credits. Until now, most people assumed Samus was a guy. Hell, her name sounds like a man's, doesn't it? But then Samus took off her suit, and BAM! A girl, baby!
Before Samus, video game protagonists were usually male, especially in action oriented games. Even when the protagonist's gender would be inconsequential, the male gender was often preferred. What kept Mega Man from being Mega Bot, for example? Samus showed the world that an action hero's gender, when inconsequential to the game itself, did not NEED to be male.
The brilliance of Samus' reveal is that it happens long after she has made an impression on the gamer. She's like "I can shoot lasers, missiles, ice beams, and bombs out of this cannon on my arm. I can roll myself into a ball and roll underneath the places you can't crawl. I shoot aliens, explore strange worlds, and I do it all wearing my top of the line, space age suit. Oh, and by the way, I'm a girl."
The Metroid franchise has since become one of Nintendo's most profitable properties, and rightly so, as the series combines exploration with fast paced action, challenging puzzles, and difficult boss fights. Samus herself has also been honored with a Japanese Manga, a few cameos in other Nintendo games, and she's a playable fighter in the Super Smash Brothers series. But that is only the tip of Samus' legacy.
Without Samus, there'd be no Lara Croft. There would be no Mirror's Edge, Heavenly Sword, Bayonetta, not one game starring a strong, female character. Samus is the one who broke that glass ceiling, the one who showed the world that a woman could headline a game and sell it, no problem.
There is also, of course, something else that is often overlooked in regards to Samus. Samus is never 'sexy'. You know how a lot of games just slap a bikini or less on their female characters in order to sell their game? Samus never did that. Nintendo has never, EVER, put a half naked Samus Aran on a box in order to sell a Metroid game.
Unlike Scarlet Blade. For three months, Aeria Games sent me THIS image in order to get me to play Scarlet Blade. I've yet to do so, and I won't.
I think that, when it comes to female protagonists, gamers don't care if she's sexy or not. We only care if she's awesome. That's why girls like Chell, Lara, and Elena are so beloved. Is there still a ways to go? Yes, because it is a fact that games starring girls don't get made as often as games starring guys, and that there are not that many franchises starring women. I can personally name a few: Metroid, Tomb Raider, Portal, Neptunia.
But just because there is still a way to go, doesn't mean we won't get there. Developers simply need to keep making the games, and gamers need to buy them.
Samus is proof that, guy or girl, the measure of the action hero is not in the gender, but in the skill. It's about courage, it's about confronting the bad guy. It's about kicking ass and taking names. Gender has nothing to do with it. That's what makes Samus Aran so awesome, and why she's the fifth best video game hero.
The Summary:
Name: Samus Aran
Mission: Save the Universe from evil aliens
Main Obstacle (Meta): Metroid Other M's poor sales, poor writing
Most Memorable Moment: Revealing herself as a woman at the end of Metroid (1986)
Current Status (Meta): Video game icon, one of the most memorable faces in gaming, waiting for a new Metroid game
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