It often feels to me that while the racism of today, that modern racism where people only use derogatory epithets in private, in whispered jokes, or start a statement with "I'm not racist, but....," is engulfed in attempts to hide it, the heterosexism and homophobia of today is still something which people feel entitled to. No, racism is certainly not dead, and perhaps attempts to brush it under the proverbial rug simply means that we have less ground from which to resist it, that people can more easily deny it, and that it isn't a concern for today. This being the case, I often wonder, though, if gay "is the new Black."
Of course, I don't mean by saying this that racism is always subtle, nor do I mean to imply that it is somehow "better" than heterosexism. What I do mean, is that heterosexism is more accepted and its manifestations happen to manifest more boldly, with more venom, and tend to have the 'backing of God' according to some, such as the "God Hates Fags" group.
And the way that I'm looking at this is in the la-la land of video games.
Under-representation in games is not news. At least, it shouldn't be. Neither is stereotypical representation. Web and Flash games have been the basis for much argument over free speech and video games and on Video Game laws springing up in Louisiana. Games like Ethnic Cleansing and Border Patrol are at the center of this debate (discourse has also focused on Rapelay).A search for "Ethnic Cleansing game" returns your standard fare of racist (insert expletive of choice) websites as does a search for Border Patrol, but both are mostly relegated to the racist websites. Border Patrol is slightly more prevalent in "non-racist" sites under the guise of anti-immigration commentary. Both searches at least return a number of sites, at the front of the search, which express outrage and concern.
There is another game, however, that has recently drawn my attention: Watch Out Behind You, Hunter!. In this game, you play a camouflage-wearin', gun-totin' hunter who is "under attack". Naked men crawl out from under bushes, tall grass, and trees and amble toward you in a zombie-esque fashion. These aren't zombies, though. They're gay men. If you let them catch up to you without shooting them, rather than trying to eat your brains, they rape you - thus the title informing you to "watch your back". Like all gay men, apparently, these men are attracted to unfashionably dressed straight men to such an extent that they simply can't control their sick, animalistic urges. You must then protect your man-hood in the only way you know how - to kill them. It's "smear the queer" with guns and a purpose.
There are some games which I don't feel the need to review and provide a feminist critique for. Ethnic Cleansing (2002) by Resistance Records is, of course, one of those games. This is the kind of game which I can't say much about because there is simply too much to say.
Luckily, some jackass went ahead and reviewed the video game - in another YouTube video. And, he's such a charming guy. Personally, I'm so very glad that he has pointed out that he's "not a racist" or anything but isn't "out to change anyone's mind either". What a gallant chap.
After playing Legend of Dragoon, I felt disinclined to play any other RPGs anytime soon. It's just so damn good and I can't help plugging it right now. However, I found myself bored riding the abomination that is public transportation. What could I do to pass the time and distract myself from the foul stench of urine and stale cologne and perfume and drown out the din of the person sitting right behind me screaming into their cell phone? Surely not a book as they are a pain in the ass to carry around with all of my unnecessarily heavy crap in my backpack. Not a magazine because I don't want to inspire any conversation or have person next to me who smells like macaroni for some reason reading it over my shoulder.
A solution presented itself in the form of my Gameboy Advance. Since I didn't feel like returning to the Final Fantasy series, I figured I would see what I had lying around. I found Lunar Legend(2001) and figured I'd finally give it a whirl.
I was unimpressed with what I saw at first. The beginning of the game was quite slow and painfully easy in terms of encounters. The characters are introduced in a wooden manner and there are few engaging qualities to their personalities or back stories. (On a side note, perhaps because of the way the game was translated I ended up thinking that two of the characters were related and thus their crushing on each other was blatantly incestuous. I guess that's not true, but the mix up has left me with a bad taste for the entire game.) However, a redeeming quality to its character introduction is the anime-style set-up. The characters are introduced in a cartoon still frame and when they speak, their animated face is shown on the bottom of the screen next to the text. Some may find that to be off putting, but I feel like it gives the text a little extra flavor- especially to those not used to traditional RPG video game dialogue.
Despite its sluggish beginnings, the story does pick up and I found myself no longer sighing with boredom. It starts with a lad (complete with windswept hair and an earth-tone tunic) kneeling in front of the gravestone of the last great Dragonmaster, speaking longingly about his desires to set out and become a Dragonmaster himself. His flying, cat-like companion serves as a window character to receive this information and banter with him until his very portly friend shows up. This leads to the introduction of a female character and a smarmy young wizard with a very serious pompadour going on. It all seems ridiculously cliche, I know. And originally, I felt like I was reading some Wheel of Time kid's spinoff text but by the time I arrived at my destination, I was hunched over the screen.
Not to jump on the bandwagon here, but I find myself unable to resist the urge - I need to say something about Fat Princess. Call it feminist compulsion.
If you haven't already heard about this game featured at E3, it's expected to be released this spring. So far, it seems to be drawing only rave reviews. Except that, for whatever reason, feminists seem to have their bloomers in a bunch over this one. With a title like Fat Princess, however could that be the case? Reviews at IGN and Joystiq state that the gameplay is engaging, that the graphics are colorful and cool, and that the game is all-around awesome. Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag type game. At the game's start, each team has already captured the other team's princess and is holding them captive. In order to make it more difficult for your opponents to rescue their princess, your team for your opponents to rescue their princess, your team must feed their princess as much food as you can find. Why? So that she gains weight and becomes more difficult to carry off - obviously. Charming. Why can't she walk off on her own once her team infiltrates the castle? I guess because she's a princess.
So what could possibly have those feminist bloomers bunched?
The first time I played this game (many many years ago), I thought it was amazing. It had been awhile so I wasn't sure if my memory about the aspects of the game were correct. So I decided grudgingly to replay it... curious and afraid of what I would find. To my surprise, I rediscovered an amazingly rich, well designed, and mesmeric game with a kick-ass battle system.
Now, I know that there is sort of a divide in the gaming community about this game. People tend to either fall madly in love with it or are moved to fits of verbal rage. I fall into the former category. To begin with, the game play is excellent. The battle system is very engaging and features a form of fighting that includes actual hand-eye coordination to excel at it. All playable characters (with the exception of the two archer characters) have 'additions'. These are various forms of attacks that require the player to hit the X button at the exact moment to complete an attack. These additions become progressively more complicated (and enraging at times) as the character masters the other additions and gains levels. I hated it at first, but since I am an RPG completionist, the large amount of time I spent leveling felt far more rewarding than in any other RPG I've played. The other neat thing about the battle system is that enemies can counterattack, requiring you to be vigilant and quick. Although many say that the battle system copied off of FF7- I say, aren't all RPG battle systems similar to a Dungeons & Dragons turn based battle system? Really, how much variety can you have if you're using a turn based battle system? The other unique aspect to the battle system is that, as the title implies, you can transform into Dragoons. Despite the transformations being interesting to watch, it can get a little repetitive as they go through it every time. However, you play an RPG for extended, in-depth play, right? The only true qualms I had about the game play were that there were a few glitches after boss battles, you can only carry 32 items (but over 200 pieces of heavy ass armor and weapons), and you cannot freely explore the world map. Despite the structured exploration, you do get to see beautifully composed locations that attest to the three years this game spent in development. For it's release date (2000), I thought the normal game graphics and the FMV's were gorgeous and I have to admit, some of them still get me a little teary-eyed. Even by today's standard, I still found them to be exceptional and personally feel that they surpass FF7 and 8 which were released only 1-3 years earlier. As far as side-quests go, there are only three real big ones but they enrich the plot and character development so much that they make up in quality what they lack in quantity.
The story begins with a FMV of a village getting burned and at first, the voices of the characters (yes! voices! no creepy miming over-dramatic FF FMVs!) seem really hokey. But the scene hooks you right away and more importantly, keeps you hooked. The story is very detailed and unlike many RPGs, has a world history that is rich, and, dare I say, very sharp on its criticism of real world history and modern ideas and practices. Themes of racial supremacy and subjugation, agnosticism, political corruption, and philosophy pervade the plot and although some of the dialogue is a little stilted at times, much of it is very moving. I was astonished at the level of depth the plot was able to achieve. The characters, including villains and secondary characters, also all had interesting and rich backgrounds and went through actual development! What more could you ask for?
As an added bonus for mythology fanatics like me, you will find several different world mythologies used as a basis for various religions in the game and a few of the town names in which these religions operate correspond to the areas from which these mythologies originate in the real world. Swish.
Overall game-pay- 4/5
Story- 5/5
Graphics- 4/5
Soundtrack- 3/5
Feminist Critique
Since the game is quite old, I wasn't sure it would be at all relevant to review it but I felt it really needed to be given a feminist critique.
The first and most important thing I have to say is that this game has black representation (!). In a position of power, no less, who is an adept, empathetic leader and has brought her nation security and prosperity. Oh, and she has three women who serve her and they all rule in a kind of collaboration. I know you're all thinking "surely you jest!", but I assure you, I do not.
Moreover, there are non-white secondary and location filler characters and three non-white playable characters. Frankly, I found this awesome and logical. It has always aggravated me that in other RPGs when you go adventuring, you never meet too many (if any) non-white characters. So, what the developers of those games are saying is that melanin does not exist in the gaming world. Because despite it being an entire world you are exploring, you will only encounter humans and they are all white? Melanin is forbidden! In this game, however, it makes sense. When you head to southern continents or explore merchant towns, you are exposed to other races. Gasp! You mean there is such a thing as racial diversity?
On that note, the game has a lot to say about racial diversity in general. The history of the world in the game centers around an ancient war called The Dragon Campaign which was a revolution of humans and other subjugated species against a race of creatures called Winglies (super white skinned magical creatures with white hair and wings) that enslaved every other species in the world. Sound slightly familiar? These Winglies also created 'birth' and 'death' cities, which are an obvious shot at the disgusting practice of eugenics. Along with these comments on political and social responsibility, the game also deals heavily in inclusive philosophies that stress the importance and equality of all species. Indeed, throughout the game you are presented with themes of tolerance and acceptance in what was surprisingly not preachy but... sweet and, yeah, a little heart warming.
In terms of gender inclusion and representation, there is an astounding amount of female representation. As I said, there is a nation in the game that is ruled by women, and it enjoys more peace, security, and prosperity than any other nation you visit in the course of the game. Aside from that, all the kingdoms but one employ female soldiers and have females in positions of power and respect. The playable female characters, with the exception of the first female character you start out with, all provide examples of empowered but not at all de-feminized women. Although some minor characters behave in stereotypically female ways, I feel that this provides a richer tapestry of female characters. As in real life, some women do behave in those ways and some do not. And if you really want to see an exciting representation of femininity and the bond of friendship that can exist between a group led primarily by a feminine woman, really pay attention to the FMV of the Dragon Campaign and complete the Dragoon tower side-quest.
The last issue in representation has to do with the males in the game. I have played several RPGs where male empathy is ridiculed and the protagonist is a one dimensional macho moron who should literally be running around saying "SMASH, SMASH! ANGRY, SMASH!". However, the protagonist in this game is incredibly empathetic and actually behaves, brace yourselves, in a human way. He expresses true love and loyalty towards all his friends (regardless of race or gender), real sorrow at the death of a friend, feels remorse for losing his temper which lead to the harming of an innocent bystander, and expresses his sadness towards the horrors of war. Despite all of these "sissy" traits, he is an amazingly powerful warrior and is never portrayed as laughably effeminate. The other male characters, even the super strong Giganto character, expresses the fact that he has feelings of love and attachment to his friends.
This portrayal of characters in a human and empathetic way is the main reason I love this game so much. These are characters you can actually relate to and if you aren't a white male, you can still find characters that provide a familiar face. To this day, I haven't played a game that provides such a sense of engagement in some seriously noble characters. Although it is a little dated, this game is definitely worth a playing through.
Square's Final Fantasy VII introduced a new generation of gamers to the Final Fantasy series and to RPGs in general. Being a long time gamer, I'm always somewhat surprised by new RPG fans having only played VII and above. What isn't surprising to me, though, is the epic-level popularity enjoyed by this game. Certainly, it lived up to the expectations of both old-school and new-school RPGers in many ways.
Some felt that the graphics left a little to be desired. The graphic capabilities of the PSone did exceed the graphics in VII and I've heard complaints from gamers stating that they felt the images implied a kind of rush in publishing the game. After hearing this, I do notice a slightly unfinished feel. Regardless, the graphics were amazing to me when I first picked up the game and the soundtrack is unsurprisingly awesome ("One-Winged Angel is set as my ringtone).
From it's beginning in Midgar, a place which calls to my mind an eerie Orwellian world, the plot is engrossing and keeps you hooked in. Also, I feel that it also reflects a Marxist sentiment and a critique on capitalism and economic ethics. The side quests and the ultimate weapons added for the US version add significantly to the games replay value.
For these reasons, FFVII is still one of my favorite games.
Overall game-play: 4/5
Story:5/5
Graphics: 3/5
Soundtrack:5/5
The Feminist Critique of FFVII:
Given the popularity of Final Fantasy VII, it hardly needs another review. Largely, I wanted to do a Feminist Critique of this game. I chose to do this for several reasons but mostly it was because of its seemingly inclusive nature.
FFVII served as a kind of landmark as far as race in RPGs is concerned. Through the entire other history of RPGs, at least to my knowledge, this was the first to have a black character. Though the inclusion of Barrett can be seen as a positive step in the gaming industry, a negative step is simultaneously taken with his character development. Throughout the game, Barrett cusses with a frequency that could shame a sailor. While swearing is swell, the fact that his lines constitute well over half of the expletives in the game makes it quite clear that his race probably has somethin’ to do with it. In addition to this, he is, far more than any other character in the game (including the “bad guys” and gals), quick to anger and has a penchant for aggression unmatched by any of his light-skinned comrades.
Barrett and his comrades are predominantly men. This is never really news. It could be argued that the women that are present in FFVII are all Amazons. Tifa, for example, is arguably one of the strongest party members to bring into battle and the fact that she beats her enemies to a proverbial pulp with her near-bare hands is undeniably awesome. Her near-bare pixels, however, are perniciously under-protected (particularly while traipsing through a below-zero mountain). Add to this her Lara Croft proportions and stereotypically subservience that shines through with her dialogue and behavior (Oh, Cloud!) and you have another male-gaze maelstrom.
In general, portrayals of both race and gender in FFVII fall within the expected stereotypes: Barrett is portrayed as somewhat unintelligent and abrasive which wouldn’t necessarily be terrible if he weren’t the only black person in this game or any RPG before it…As it stands, the representation leaves little room for misinterpretation. Microscopiq gives him dishonorable mention The women PCs fall within neat categories as well: a subservient Tifa, the ultimate sacrificial caregiver, Aerith, and the mischievously fun girl, Yuffie. None of the women act anything but heterosexual. The player does have opportunities to have Cloud behave in non-hetero ways. Whether this is for comedic value alone or an expression of sexual fluidity, it’s difficult to tell. So in this respect, I leave the interpretation to the player.
The FC Score: 2.5 / 5
Overall, the inclusion of a larger-than-average diversity of characters is a plus, but the portrayal of these characters leaves much to be desired.
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