I got a mod for Brawl that would let me play as her in her orange shorts, because I like how sporty it looks, and so I almost always played as her that way. The only problem I have with this outfit really is how it really brings out the oddness of her flexibility (that twist on the right looks painful as Hell), but at the same time I guess it is cool because really she's supposed to be able to do that thanks to her spliced-in alien DNA.
What really brings me to this post, though--because after all, this tidbit is more fitting for a Tweet--is the controversy surrounding this whole thing. I saw a photo of a site with a number of posts debating the sexism in this photo, and while I think it is nice that people are growing more conscious of this, at this point I'm still only thinking they're just waiting for Nintendo to do the slightest thing to Samus to start roaring about it. As I said in an earlier post with my "design choices" for my warlock, there is actually some logic to explain why Samus is designed to be attractive (alien DNA), but again, we can't just make things with explanations and ignore the backlash it will still get because this isn't a perfect world. At the same time, though, we can't just refuse to make things because this isn't a perfect world. The way I see it is, if it isn't so awful that it'll destroy a particular group of people's image, it isn't so bad. Let me use this photo and then compare it to Other M as an example. Now, I cannot really argue for the origin of this design any more than by saying, "Well at least they didn't go with a full-blown bikini again," because it is true that the design is originally a sort of fanservice reward for beating Fusion and Zero Mission within certain conditions. At the same time, I don't think it's so bad to just show what Samus looks like without the Power Suit on, and this crop-top-and-shorts outfit is more "cool" than "sexy" to me, but that's just me. Whatever the case, this isn't exactly detrimental to anything other than maybe Samus herself if that's how you really feel about it, because in my belief it's quite a stretch to say that this is a representation of any group of people.
Then we have Other M. Now unlike the design above, the sexism in Samus's portrayal in that game is unintentional, but in Other M it is actually very detrimental as it perpetuates abysmal stereotypes that women are weak, follow and cling to everything that a man thinks is right, and are willing to be okay with letting a man put their lives in jeopardy. Other M is a game that deserved its criticism. This, while it's good to be conscious of it, doesn't deserve more than a, "Oh, who cares." And if you are going to criticize this outfit anyway and continue to blame Sakurai for perpetuating sexism, stop. Think. Sakurai did not, nor did any of the designers of Smash Bros, come up with this outfit. This has been around for years. Nothing about Samus's appearance is anything new. So unless she has a costume where she's either naked or in a bikini, or in any other ridiculously revealing attire that is not linked with any of the games she has starred in, just please stop. I understand Sakurai was all like, "It's okay because this is a design that a female designer pressed for," and I get that just sounds very sketchy. Sakurai, as sure as I am that your intentions are harmless, that was a little unnecessary. Still, everybody needs to relax. What's ultimately more important is that Nintendo is really just showing appreciation/nostalgia for two games that will always be classics of the company's repertoire.
Now, what would be the greatest thing Sakurai can do in response to all this nonsense is give Captain Falcon a speedo outfit. That would be hilarious.
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