Topic: A new female lead?

[Corpsecrank]

Provided she's not yet another Belnades type spellcaster, I can get behind this.

I do agree with that to a degree. I would love to see some of the former female leads return though at some point either in the near or far future.

Don't forget about portrait it did technically contain a female lead also... I am counting 4 or 5 total now with possible others.

[Pentagram-cracker]

I want to point out something regarding these "Spellcasting Females" in the series.

The thing you have to understand is that the Castlevania games are set in Old Europe but also contain a lot of Japanese influence. While I'm not trying to accuse Japan of being a sexist country, in their culture women have always been viewed as less phsyically imposing than men. I mean we're talking about a country where even today the female police officers still wear skirts instead of pants and aren't even allowed to carry firearms. However in their same culture women have traditionally been thought of as having a higher spirituality than the men do. There were believed to be many priestesses and old hags who had a strong connection with the supernatural and could banish evil spirits and demons. That is probably the main reason why in a lot of anime and fantasy video games made by Japan, you see a lot of those "magic girls" which are young female heroines that fight evil with spells and magical blasts. Then when you consider the fact that a lot of these Castlevania games are set in Colonial Era Europe where women had little to no rights and their status depended entirely on their husbands or fathers, I think the Japanese creators felt that if they wanted to include playable heroines to fight Dracula that they should give them the kind of strength they felt the women in their own culture had at that time, which was using magic rather than weapons. Plus European Mythology was known for its enchantresses too.

Of course here in the US we're more accustomed to the strong independant woman archetype, which I think has come from the fact that in our culture women were always forced to work hard in order to support themselves and their families and couldn't afford to just sit around and look pretty, and it's in our culture that women have proven they can be just as tough as the men which is why we have female police officers (who actually carry guns) and soldiers. Sonya Belmont seems to be the first example of a strong female heroine introduced in Castlevania who could fight with actual weapons, and of course she was created for an American-made Castlevania game that was sadly cancelled and made her a non-canonical character.

I think Shanoa is the closest we'll get to a strong female heroine that appeals to Western fans of the series. While she does fight by magical means, she actually uses weapons and gets phsyical while slaughtering demons and the undead.

I personally would love to have a new strong female protagonist who is like Sonya or Shanoa, but as long as this game is made by Japanese developers whatever playable females we are given in the series will be created with Japan's ideals of what a woman should be like.

[X]

^^This is a very logical way of looking at it and it does make a lot of sense. But it is unfortunate that much of the Japanese culture hasn't elevated woman status beyond what has long since been established. As this is the 21st century, a lot of countries need to make the efforts to destroy inequality and build up better relationships and understandings between the two sexes. As the old saying goes: 'He who does not adapt, shall perish.' I take this saying to heart every day of my life as it speaks volumes of meanings in just one small sentence. If said countries want survive in the new millennium they need to change with the times. Anyways back to the topic (sorry bout this rant). A female lead is needed for CV. Especially a female Belmont.

[darkwzrd4]

^^This is a very logical way of looking at it and it does make a lot of sense. But it is unfortunate that much of the Japanese culture hasn't elevated woman status beyond what has long since been established. As this is the 21st century, a lot of countries need to make the efforts to destroy inequality and build up better relationships and understandings between the two sexes. As the old saying goes: 'He who does not adapt, shall perish.' I take this saying to heart every day of my life as it speaks volumes of meanings in just one small sentence. If said countries want survive in the new millennium they need to change with the times. Anyways back to the topic (sorry bout this rant). A female lead is needed for CV. Especially a female Belmont.

This is why I put forth the idea that Julius could have a daughter that succeeds him as a vampire hunter.  First of all, it continues the bloodline.  And second, it's set in the near future where it's more likely to see a woman doing something that men traditionally do regardless of what country they're in.

[uzo]

That's an excellent breakdown. It really does make sense in why it happened when you really think about it, right or wrong.

I am personally of the opinion that a woman can do just about everything a man can, only a hell of a lot sexier. Female leads don't bother me at all. In a lot of cases I prefer them, if only for their obscurity. It's refreshing, and new in a lot of cases.

When done right, a female lead can give an interesting new outlook on the experience. And by done right, I don't mean a soulless object with beach ball breasts.

[thernz]

I hope they make a sexy male lead some time. The sexiest Castlevania will ever have should be a male. Subvert those conventions, baby.

i dont mean sexy like isaac

[Flame]

Youve got about half a dozen Belmonts to choose from. You mean you dont dig ANY of them?

Not even badass beard Julius?

[C Belmont]

Western mythology isn't exactly overflowing with strong female characters either you know, in Arthurian legend female characters often relied on magic or trickery/deception to achieve their goals that is if they were'nt simply damsels in distress.So I wouldn't go blaming Japanese culture solely for the prevalence of female characters that rely on something other than physical strength because it's pretty common to fantasy in general.

[thernz]

Youve got about half a dozen Belmonts to choose from. You mean you dont dig ANY of them?

Not even badass beard Julius?

They certainly look sexy but they don't act sexy.

besides trevor

[gortaithe]

i am so glad this is brought up here! yay! what a fantastic idea! and i agree, but i wonder how a warrior woman would be believable. making her a belmont would certainly help, i'd imagine. but is society (even this day in age) ready for a believable female warrior?

as for making her 'sexy', i feel would detracted from her. what she would probably need is VERY good and VERY strong voice. and a proper back story.

and realistic and 'sexy' simply do not mesh, in my thinking.

it is not practical for a female warrior to prance around, surrounded by enemies, with little on but a metal bra and panties. i would want this role to be believable.

if we were to follow the CLOS timeline, europe in the dark ages is cold, rough place. even moreso for women. so how could this warrior womon escape those harsh realities? look into history my friends. there are plenty of civilizations that had warrior women and societies that far exceeded 'equality among the sexes' we have even in our time.

i'd like to think that CLOS, while riddled with plotholes and inconsistancies, was still rich in history if not mythology. however,

(click to show/hide)

with the advent of the DLC's mercurysteam effectively killed off the belmont bloodline. so where would this female belmont come from?

[crisis]

what if a new CV heroine game looked like this?

Heavenly Sword Intro with Gameplay (Play Through)

[gortaithe]

certainly looks capable ^_^ and i had her in mind when i was writing my post LOL but i feel she is too skinny. and doesn't seem able to actually hold up that sword. lol but a very good idea! also... needs more clothes >< LMAO for castlevania climate... yes... clothes and armour.

[X]

If there is to be a woman warrior for a Belmont lead then I'd look no further then the northern tribes of Europe. Nordic/Celts/Vikings/Germanic/Anglo-Saxons would supply the perfect body-type for just such a warrior woman. In many of these tribes (believe it or not) there was equality amongst the sexes especially in the Viking circles. The Greek Amazon warrior women would be another good choice but they're in the wrong time period  And before I forget Spartan woman were also expected to be fit and strong. But again, wrong time period.

[gortaithe]

If there is to be a woman warrior for a Belmont lead then I'd look no further then the northern tribes of Europe. Nordic/Celts/Vikings/Germanic/Anglo-Saxons would supply the perfect body-type for just such a warrior woman. In many of these tribes (believe it or not) there was equality amongst the sexes especially in the Viking circles. The Greek Amazon warrior women would be another good choice but they're in the wrong time period  And before I forget Spartan woman were also expected to be fit and strong. But again, wrong time period.

history is awesome!!! and yes... it's in the nords my friend! i'd say they were beautiful too, because the roman women complained of them taking all of their men LMAO... i think it is more of a location issue rather than time period issue. keep in mind the gauls were a very nomadic people. so they could have been around... who knows? LOL gosh i'm so glad you knew about the nords! i didn't want to come right out and say 'helloo... valkyries... celts?" but oh well...
i don't know why, but i'm super fired up about the idea. 

[C Belmont]

(click to show/hide)

with the advent of the DLC's mercurysteam effectively killed off the belmont bloodline. so where would this female belmont come from?

   ...dhampirs anyone? (NOT THAT I LIKE THE IDEA)

If LOS introduced a female lead it would probably adhere to the more profitable sexy vampire stereotype in the same way that Gabriel was a morally ambiguous anti hero