Opinion - It's Their Turn
Nintendo's female characters get their turn
Nintendo in many ways is like the Walt Disney company. There’s a reason I like to call them the “Disney of video games”. One area that they’re similar in is the use of female heroines, mostly as the damsel in distress type. With the evolution of viewpoints setting a course for more independent female characters in Disney’s latest films, Nintendo has been a bit behind compared to the mouse. Hoever, there seems to be a change happening, with this year alone slowly becoming the year of the women for Nintendo.
While it is true that Princess Peach in particular has been the definition of damsel in distress, she has had roles in spinoffs and has been playable in titles such as Super Mario Bros. 2 (Super Mario Bros. USA in Japan) and Super Mario 3D World. Despite this, there was hope we could get a game solely starting the popular princess. The Super Mario Bros. Movie painted Peach in a new light that saw her become much more than just a kidnapped plot point. So, Nintendo unveiled Princess Peach: Showtime! finally giving Peach a major game. Sure, 2005 gave us Super Princess Peach on the Nintendo DS, but that game got a mixed reception and was a small title for Nintendo’s secondary handheld market. This new title was a whole new ball game with new mechanics and gameplay tailored, instead of trying to copy the typical Super Mario series formula.
Another princess that has usually been the damsel in distress type is Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda franchise. Despite the franchise having her name in the title, you have always played as Link, the constant hero no matter what timeline of the series. Now to be fair, Zelda has shown a more independent personality compared to Peach. The main reason Ganon entraps her is due to her strength and her connection to the Triforce of Wisdom. She also has a side story where she’s doing her own adventure in titles such as Skyward Sword and Tears of the Kingdom. I think more than any of the two, for Zelda, it was more a question of when not if she got a game.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom finally gives us that game. There’s still been some discussions on how Nintendo did it, as some people wanted a game in the scope of a AAA Zelda title instead of a spinoff in the art style of the Link’s Awakening remake. The way I see it, I think it gives her game more personality and independence. Like Princess Peach: Showtime! we can’t just follow the same formula as the games they were playing the part of damsel. In Echoes of Wisdom, you’ll be using different mechanics to play the game, with a focus on intellect rather than fighting. It also fits with the princess’ connection to the Triforce of Wisdom.
If there’s one woman that has been doing her own thing from the beginning in the Nintendo space, it’s been Samus Aran. The main protagonist of the Metroid franchise has been breaking barriers in the video game world since her surprise reveal at the end credits of the first game. Metroid has garnered a cult fan base, me among them, as the franchise is one of the innovators of the genre, we now call Metroidvania. In 2017, the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 was announced by Nintendo, only for the game to restart development in 2019 due to Nintendo not being happy with how Bandai Namco was handling it. Retro Studios, the team that made the original Prime trilogy, picked it up from there and we have been waiting on an update ever since then. Metroid Dread’s 2021 release was a great, but it was an old school 2.5D sidescroller, rather than the big feeling AAA first person adventure the Prime games were.
Now, in 2025, we know Metroid Prime 4 finally releases and Nintendo fans are hyped. In a world where the industry is expanding to more female players, Samus joins characters like Lara Croft to give them a strong female character to save the world with. I’ve always felt Samus deserved the spot in pop culture that Lara Croft has, so a brand-new massive title, that could get more hype by potentially being a cross-gen title with the Switch successor, could be a launching point for her.
So now the inevitable question, unfortunately asked in my opinion, why do more female characters in Nintendo games matter. For starters, there’s the obvious answer of why not. More representation of different viewpoints and cultures is healthy in any form of storytelling medium. If movies and music are going to show more female stories, why can’t video games. The greatest power that video games have is the ability to use interactivity to have players overcome challenges and make a difference. In a world where women’s voices are being muted, video games can offer a way to show many female players the impact their voice can have, even in a small sense of playing the hero in a fictional land. More female representation in gaming is good for many girls who can see themselves as the heroes they can be.
Lastly, it just makes good business sense. The fastest growing gaming demographic is women. The majority of Nintendo Switch owners are also women. As a Nintendo executive, I would see these stats and know that the way to keep the big N relevant is by going after these customers. This doesn’t take away from the Marios and Links and Kirbys, those guys are going to be around longer than we will; but Samus, Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, and many more female stars joining them only deepens the legacy and catalog of Nintendo’s franchises and games. So, the Switch will end off with a bang with the girls taking their turn, and I’m here for it. As Lebron James would say, “It's about damn time.”