You may read the title of this post and think, ‘Here we go, let’s see what misogynist drivel is about to spew from this man’s mouth.’ I would first tell you to go and listen to the podcast, where it would be very clear that you don’t know jack about me because this is not going to be the first time I criticize the hyper sexual content of video games. Second, maybe you should read the article instead of being a product of the Vox/HuffPo machine where we read a title to an article and immediately become TRIGGERED. It turns out that you are about to read a strong support of Capcom’s decision to change up Ada Wong’s small and tight red dress for the Resident Evil 2 Remake. I strongly feel that this is the correct course of action for several reasons.
The biggest reason why I think that this is a good choice is that her new wardrobe makes sense in the hyper realistic world that Capcom has been claiming they are making. For those who are unaware, Ada is an undercover agent who is sent to Racoon City during the T-Virus outbreak to obtain a sample of the G-Virus from William Birkin. She tricks Leon several times throughout the story and is quite simply put one of the most badass characters in the entire Resident Evil universe. In the original game, she does all of this while wearing high heels and a super tight and short red dress.
Now I am sure that you have either seen or played enough spy thrillers to know that this kind of outfit is very out of place. Have you ever seen James Bond wear a banana hammock before he goes to infiltrate Goldeneye’s hideout? I mean, even Michael Scarn new better and had appropriate disguises during the events of “Threat Level Midnight”! So, why should this top-secret agent walk around what she KNOWS to be a hostile environment in high heels and a mini skirt? Other than the fact that in the 90’s it was the standard to make tough women also hypersexualized (i.e. Lara Croft who I will discuss later) there is none. In 2019, in a game being touted as hyper realistic, she should look like this:
The second reason why I think her wardrobe change is net positive is that for me personally, I have always found it…. odd that video games have crazy sexualized characters. There are two examples that come to my mind most clearly. The first is the Dead or Alive series. If you have never played or never seen click on this link to see what I am talking about https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEc0AQ9naR0 Like, why?!?! The clothes, the sound effects, the animations, it is all so cringey that it is hard to watch it. Can you imagine trying to justify that to your parents if they walked in and saw you playing this? I would have rather have been caught with a Playboy than playing that in high school. The other example is one that I am more familiar with, Final Fantasy X-2.
One day I may get into my all-time favorite video games, but let me at least say that Final Fantasy X is very, very close to the top of that list. So when I found out that there would be a sequel to the it, I was incredibly excited. As a kid, the game didn’t register with me as hyper sexualized, probably because I was too young for that to mean anything to me. So today, the biggest thing that I think about when it comes to it, I mainly think about the super fun combat system. I recently replayed the game, and I was very surprised to see the sexualization of all the main characters. First, we have the dress spheres themselves, which when you change jobs in the game the girls literally change their clothes. Not to mention their clothes are skimpy to begin with. Next, the sound effects literally sound like moaning. My fiancé pointed this out to me as she was in another room and heard them and stormed in thinking I was watching adult videos on the living room tv. Lastly, there are scenes in the game (namely the massage scene) that are just flat out ridiculous and sexual. (Watch this and tell me otherwise I dare you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofWEWnWjOq0)
Have I made this point clear enough? I see no reason why it is necessary for female characters to be sexualized in the ways that they are in video games. Ada Wong is a tough character and does not need a short skirt to be sexy. Especially in a video game. If you want this, there are websites out there that can give you exactly what you need.
Finally, we have seen companies dropping the hyper sexualized female for the hyper realistic female be successful in the recent years. Don’t believe me? Let me introduce you to Lara Croft
Probably the most well-known hyper sexualized video game character, the series had stalled out around 2010. It turned out that focusing on sexualizing your character instead of focusing on good gameplay and a strong story leads to poor sales. So when it was announced that Square Enix had bought the rights to Tomb Raider and that they were redesigning her to be more realistic and far less overtly sexual, fan boys freaked. It wouldn’t be the same they said. It didn’t look like her. No one is going to buy the game. Well spoiler alert, it was an incredibly successful decision. The game was great, with an awesome story and fun gameplay. It spawned two sequels, one of which comes out this Friday (9/14). With this being the standard, doesn’t it make sense that Capcom would follow suit and desexualize one of their more sexualized character? I certainly think so.
So that’s all I really have to say on the matter. I strongly support Capcom’s decision and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. If they happen to have an unlockable red dress for Ada, I won’t be all that upset. There are some crazy alternate costumes in some of these games, looking at you steam punk Chris Redfield. Let me know in the comments or on twitter if you agree or disagree with me. I would love to open a dialogue with someone who disagrees as long as they are able to be respectful within the forum. Until next week, game on!
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