4. Samus Is A Woman - Metroid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gQppamJoDqc Perhaps it's a sprinkle of classic, good 'ol casual sexism that made us assume that Samus was a man. I guess you have to contextualise it; in 1987, long before Lara Croft ever showed her face, it just never happened that a video game protagonist would be a woman, because it was perceived that this is not what gamers would want (and the cynical developers were wrong). In Metroid, the ultimate fast-one was pulled on us, though, as after blasting your way through the game as notorious badass Samus Aran, "he" removes "his" helmet to reveal that, in fact, Samus is...a woman!? It's a genuinely surprising twist that, as with several games on this list, toys with audience expectation to grand effect; Nintendo fashion gaming's first gaming heroine, and she's an icon who has persisted ever since. It was very much ahead of its time - at least compared to other titles of the period - and one twist that, in our surprise, makes us feel slightly ashamed, really.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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