Topic: Sexism in Castlevania

[Super Waffle]

In 2005, Portrait of Ruin introduced the Charm effect that was capable of brainwashing only male targets (i.e. Jonathan) and turning them against their female counterparts (i.e. Charlotte).

It wasn't until 2010 when this horrible injustice was put to rest in Harmony of Despair and Dracula gained a Charm spell capable of seducing female victims into his service.

why?  Who decided girls' brains were perfect and flawless and completely resistant to mindfuckery, while guys' brains were brutish and easily manipulated?  I'm highly offended by this.

[chainsawmidget]

And Why don't any vampire maids ever use their vacuums to look up Simon Belmont's skirt? 

[TheouAegis]

And only the butlers were skeletons, meaning they were forced into menial labor waiting on hand and foot even through death, while the maids were obviously new-hires and given some sort of freedom after their terms of service were up. .... .... I guess one needs to define "freedom" first, though. ... Nevermind, I think this was a bad example.

[Shiroi Koumori]

Why are there only succubi and not incubi in the games?
(The drama does not count)

[Mystic Myotis]

Why is it that female enemies hit on Shanoa, but male enemies don't hit on Alucard? So sexist. ;_;

And Why don't any vampire maids ever use their vacuums to look up Simon Belmont's skirt?

Very good question.  I'd totally do that if I was in their place.

[Mooning Freddy]

Symphony of the Night was actually quite a feminist game. The way Richter was a damsel in distress and Maria was sent to rescue him and all. 

[Super Waffle]

Symphony of the Night was actually quite a feminist game. The way Richter was a damsel in distress and Maria was sent to rescue him and all. 

Fixed it.

[chainsawmidget]

Symphony of the Night was actually quite a feminist game. The way Richter was a damsel in distress and Maria was sent to rescue him and all. 

And they even made Alucard look like a girl! 




... I'm sorry.  Somebody had to say it.   

[Tuxedo Mark]

All right, now that you've had your fun, how about we address the real sexism in the series, such as why the female protagonists are magic users and don't get to use actual weapons?

[X]

All right, now that you've had your fun, how about we address the real sexism in the series, such as why the female protagonists are magic users and don't get to use actual weapons?

That was an IGA thing. He claims that Female warriors are not historically accurate without actually having done the research himself. Take Joan of Arch as a good example. She was fighting for France in the early 1400's (1412 to 1431). This is before Sonia's time so I don't see why Sonia Belmont is unrealistic. Joan of Arch was a Knight wearing full-plate mail, brandishing a heavy sword and shield, and was ass-kicking the shit out of the English forces. In fact she was the leader of the french armies due to her skills as a tactician and was a spokeswoman of God. We also have the women of ancient Sparta, the Amazon tribeswomen of Greece and the Celtic/Germanic/Nordic warrior women of the northern European lands. And It does bug me that all the women protagonists in CV are nothing more then magic users and have secondary roles. The only exception is Shanoa. While she is THE main protagonist in OoE she is still a magic user. She is unfortunately not a Belmont nor does she wield the Vampirekiller. IGA had a chance to shine here but he fell short of it (and I'm assuming it was due to personal feelings about his dislike of women warriors).

[chainsawmidget]

That was an IGA thing. He claims that Female warriors are not historically accurate without actually having done the research himself. Take Joan of Arch as a good example. She was fighting for France in the early 1400's (1412 to 1431). This is before Sonia's time so I don't see why Sonia Belmont is unrealistic. Joan of Arch was a Knight wearing full-plate mail, brandishing a heavy sword and shield, and was ass-kicking the shit out of the English forces. In fact she was the leader of the french armies due to her skills as a tactician and was a spokeswoman of God. We also have the women of ancient Sparta, the Amazon tribeswomen of Greece and the Celtic/Germanic/Nordic warrior women of the northern European lands. And It does bug me that all the women protagonists in CV are nothing more then magic users and have secondary roles. The only exception is Shanoa. While she is THE main protagonist in OoE she is still a magic user. She is unfortunately not a Belmont nor does she wield the Vampirekiller. IGA had a chance to shine here but he fell short of it (and I'm assuming it was due to personal feelings about his dislike of women warriors).

Basically....

These characters are not historically accurate. 



These characters ARE historically accurate. 

[Mooning Freddy]

Joan of Arch was a Knight witch wearing full-plate mail, brandishing  a heavy sword and shield some witchful equipment, and was ass-kicking using dark satanic witchery spell casting to kick the shit out of the English forces.

Fixed! 

[Super Waffle]

Isaac is clearly the most feminine of the historical female warriors.

[darkwzrd4]

Not only are the female characters all spell casters, but virtually all the men are warriors. Sure, the men do use some magic, but they are still warriors for the most part. Alucard and Soma seem like exceptions at first but that only because they use more magic than other male characters. They are still warrior builds.

What is needed is a character development system that allows you to develop the character how you want: warrior based, magic based, or some combination of the two. Maybe who ever gets to do CV after MS finishes the LoS series will take this into account (long shot I know, but I can dream can't I?).

[Nagumo]

Not only are the female characters all spell casters, but virtually all the men are warriors. Sure, the men do use some magic, but they are still warriors for the most part. Alucard and Soma seem like exceptions at first but that only because they use more magic than other male characters. They are still warrior builds.

What is needed is a character development system that allows you to develop the character how you want: warrior based, magic based, or some combination of the two. Maybe who ever gets to do CV after MS finishes the LoS series will take this into account (long shot I know, but I can dream can't I?).

I would be interested in that. Seems like it would be an interesting new system. Personally, I would also like to see an option where you can play as a male or female main character and actually have it impact the game's story. The male and female MCs could have different relations to supporting characters (characters are friends in one scenario, potential  love interests or rivals in the other, and so on), have different personalities that causes them to make different decisions that lead to alternate story paths, etc etc.

Damn, I wish I had enough creativity to flesh out that idea further and pitch it to Konami.