The PA frontpage had an article some months back about Bayonetta where the article author argued that she could be seen as an empowering, yet feminine influence. As long as the protagonists are not always one thing or always another (like if Bayonneta can throw a car at someone, maybe Ripley can cry), I feel that we've found a happy middle ground.
Actually, the most recent GiantBomb podcast brought up Bayonetta, and argued that the game shouldn't be considered sexist because it was so far removed from reality in general.
I'd say it's a valid point. This isn't to say that Bayonetta herself isn't a cool character, but because the game is so tongue-in-cheek with nearly every aspect of itself, her role shouldn't be looked at with any underlying messages or meanings. Put simply, it's a game that wanted to be fun and batshit-insane, and left its genders out the window.
I'm not wholly convinced of this argument on Bayonetta herself...though I would say it's a more convincing argument than the notion that Bayonetta is actually some sort of brilliant, well-hidden satirical condemnation of fanservice in games, like a Stephen Colbert of Oversexed Female Protagonists, on the part of the developers and the rest of us who thought it was just a a repeat of the say fanservice we'd seen thousands of times before hand (albeit on a perfectly good action game) were missing the point.
Bayonetta certainly distances itself from reality--though the same could be said about something like Cool World or those Heavy Metal movies (particularly those movies). The obvious cheap sex appeal should be considered in a different context, perhaps, but I don't think it's automatically "frees" a character like Bayonetta from the obvious anymore than the ridiculously stupid plot of Death by Degrees makes melee fighting in a string bikini an exemption.
Only my opinion, of course. GiantBomb has a point with some validity too it, but of course, there's a line somewhere here--no one in their right mind would try and argue that Ivy or Taki of Soulcalibur aren't designed with obvious T&A in mind, and god knows their setting is rather far removed from reality (though not Bayonetta far, perhaps....).
EDIT: Of course, Ivy is portrayed different from Bayonetta, but I don't think you can completely absolve the later by any means.
For a while, I considered letting this thread die out, since there was some initial backlash that I didn't originally plan for.
But I think the topic is still worth discussing, and at this point it should be smooth sailing.
To add to the topic, some new shots of the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot have surfaced.
For the first time ever, I genuinely feel like they've finally balanced Lara Croft, giving her a sexy but believable body while also making her look like she's physically capable of raiding tombs and taking down dinosaurs.
I have to admit I've never really played any of the Tomb Raider games minus Guardian of Light (it's fun), but I've never liked the character of Lara Croft. Whatever mythology and context they throw at you, she always felt like a fanservice character for me, first and foremost; the sultry British accent, the same neutral reaction to whatever situation is thrown at her, and the consistent whoring out through magazine ads and modeling pictures.
So personally speaking, these shots have piqued my interest.
Aside from the fact that I don't think anyone is physically capable of taking down a dinosaur (or, at least, any of the dinosaurs worth caring about), her arms in that first screenshot don't even make her look able to raid a fridge, let alone a tomb.
It's really more the look of the character, that kind of grizzled confidence that's shown in the face and demeanor, that sells the idea, not the muscle tone (or lack of).
Basically she looks less like a supermodel who stumbled into a cave and more like someone who did the research and has the balls to carry it out.
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I'm not wholly convinced of this argument on Bayonetta herself...though I would say it's a more convincing argument than the notion that Bayonetta is actually some sort of brilliant, well-hidden satirical condemnation of fanservice in games, like a Stephen Colbert of Oversexed Female Protagonists, on the part of the developers and the rest of us who thought it was just a a repeat of the say fanservice we'd seen thousands of times before hand (albeit on a perfectly good action game) were missing the point.
Bayonetta certainly distances itself from reality--though the same could be said about something like Cool World or those Heavy Metal movies (particularly those movies). The obvious cheap sex appeal should be considered in a different context, perhaps, but I don't think it's automatically "frees" a character like Bayonetta from the obvious anymore than the ridiculously stupid plot of Death by Degrees makes melee fighting in a string bikini an exemption.
Only my opinion, of course. GiantBomb has a point with some validity too it, but of course, there's a line somewhere here--no one in their right mind would try and argue that Ivy or Taki of Soulcalibur aren't designed with obvious T&A in mind, and god knows their setting is rather far removed from reality (though not Bayonetta far, perhaps....).
EDIT: Of course, Ivy is portrayed different from Bayonetta, but I don't think you can completely absolve the later by any means.
But I think the topic is still worth discussing, and at this point it should be smooth sailing.
To add to the topic, some new shots of the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot have surfaced.
For the first time ever, I genuinely feel like they've finally balanced Lara Croft, giving her a sexy but believable body while also making her look like she's physically capable of raiding tombs and taking down dinosaurs.
I have to admit I've never really played any of the Tomb Raider games minus Guardian of Light (it's fun), but I've never liked the character of Lara Croft. Whatever mythology and context they throw at you, she always felt like a fanservice character for me, first and foremost; the sultry British accent, the same neutral reaction to whatever situation is thrown at her, and the consistent whoring out through magazine ads and modeling pictures.
So personally speaking, these shots have piqued my interest.
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Basically she looks less like a supermodel who stumbled into a cave and more like someone who did the research and has the balls to carry it out.
Blog||Tumblr|Steam|Twitter|FFXIV|Twitch|YouTube|Podcast|PSN|XBL|DarkZero