Echoes of Wisdom is a Feminist Fable – Girly Juice

One of the great things about having my own blog is that I can write whatever I want and no one can stop me! Today, I want to talk to you about video games. In fact, one video game in particular: echo of wisdomthe latest addition The Legend of Zelda series.

I’m not old school Zelda Nerds, jumped on the game series bandwagon in 2017 breath of the wildan open-world adventure often hailed as one of the best video games of all time. But I’ve been a big fan ever since Otway I was excited when the team announced this The echo of wisdom—— Especially since it’s the first main line Zelda Games you can actually play as Zelda.

Inevitably, the choice was discussed. I didn’t look for it because I’d read enough “Women ruin everything with wOkE!!1!” tweets to last me a lifetime. Never mind that the series’ stock hero, Link, was specifically designed to be androgynous so that players of all genders could better relate to him – there will always be gamer bros who think diversity and social progress are the enemy, and I’m happy for that Let them continue to play in their little sandbox while the rest of the world grows and moves on.

I follow a lot of Twitch gamer boys and they are no However, insufferable misogynistic assholes I found it enjoyable to watch their first playthrough echo. No one ever said it was weird to play a girl. Instead, some of them smiled, controllers clicking, and exclaimed, “How cool is it that you get to play as Zelda in this game!”

after playing echo I myself see this as a feminist fable – and not just because you play Zelda. I don’t know how intentional this was by the creators, but I do know it was the first Zelda The game is directed by a woman, and that’s saying something!

Let me tell you some things I noticed while playing echo Through a feminist lens. (Spoilers ahead!)

Your (evil) hero and protector

(Content Note: Brief mention of sexual assault + harassment)

In some of the game’s first plot points, Link – who has saved Zelda from harm countless times before and is her true God-given protector – is stolen away by an evil entity. In his place is a body-snatcher-esque replica of Link who has all of Link’s raw strength and fighting skills but none of Link’s warmth and kindness. His eyes, once kind and friendly, were now red with anger. He might have saved her a hundred times, but now he wanted to end it.

“Dark Link” is one of the first bosses you face in the game, and I found this fight to be truly chilling. It reminded me viscerally of how a seemingly trustworthy man always showed me his true colors—whether it was sending unsolicited dick pics to my friends, going on random slut-shaming tirade, or (yes) Touch me on my own terms. No consent. It’s very disturbing to me when this happens and it can and does shake the foundation of my ability to trust anyone.

Likewise, Zelda’s own Father – King of Hyrule – Yes return In her place is the evil Stand, who promptly declares Zelda a criminal and throws her into prison. All the people Zelda should trust turn against her with hatred at all times. Like, damn; what a #relatable #mood.

Resourcefulness is a virtue

Main game mechanics echo is the ability to create echoes—illusory copies of various objects and monsters that you can use throughout the game for combat and puzzle solving. This is in stark contrast to most people Zelda In the game, you play as Link, who can personally destroy enemies with a sword or bow.

Link’s god-given power is courage, while Zelda’s god-given power is wisdom (which is also the title of the game). While playing, I was reminded of Audre Lorde’s quote: “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” While I agree with the wonderful point about inclusivity and activism in real life, it’s interesting What’s great is seeing how Zelda literally uses the tools of her oppressors to fight against them throughout the game. She can send a flaming bat flying towards Dark Link’s head, or hide in a clay pot to sneak past prison guards, or have a horde of murderous lizards mounted on centaurs try to kill her – but only if she ” After learning” these echoes usually come from her enemies themselves.

It reminds me of what some feminists call “working the system” or “playing the game” – for example, a female employee maintains a sweet smile and pleasant demeanor while strategically persuading her male boss to give her A chance for her. raised, in such a way that he almost ended up thinking it was his Thoughts, because it might be easier on his ego.

As Lorde’s quote illustrates, there are significant limitations to this strategy, albeit in a different context (she is talking about race and intersectionality in feminism). But to me, someone like Princess Zelda would be shrewd and cunning when fighting her enemies, especially since she doesn’t wield traditional weapons like Link or control the royal army like her father does.

Power is almost out of reach

Although Zelda is a well-known princess in the kingdom, she doesn’t have much power, either physically or politically. As I described, throughout the game she fights primarily by summoning echoes of objects and monsters that can deal direct damage, since she can’t herself.

Well, actually, there are yes One way Zelda can deal direct damage without summoning Echo… but it involves transforming into Link. (Did you know that pretending to be a man can help you succeed as a woman because the patriarchy is stupid? Yes, that’s a thing in video games, too.)

There’s a mechanic called “Swordsman Form” in which Zelda becomes a ghostly copy of Link, capable of damaging enemies with swords, bows, and bombs. But the bottom line is that you can only stay in this mode for 10-20 seconds at a time before your “energy” runs out, and then you transform back into Zelda. These brief link times are especially helpful during boss fights, but Blade Fighter’s “powers” are so rare that many players (myself included) don’t end up using this mode very often in normal play.

Some of the Twitch boys I follow were very complimentary of the game as a whole, but pointed out that it would be more fun if you could control combat more directly like in a traditional Zelda game. They say it feels tedious sometimes to wait, dodge enemies and watch your echoes defeat them for you instead of jumping in and joining the fight.

What about me? I don’t find these parts of the game boring – maybe because combat is rarely my favorite part of any game, or maybe because watching Echo kill monsters is as much fun to me as watching robots fight with Goblin battles are just as fun. tears of kingdom. But even putting aside the gameplay, I think thematically Zelda can only gain limited powers – because she Do. We see at the very beginning of the game that not even the fucking Princess of Hyrule can protect her from anything – her own father throws her into the ring with elaborate fabrications about the crimes she’s committed lies, and everyone…believes him. Zelda is forced to become a fugitive from her own kingdom because her father has real power and she herself – as a princess and a young woman – does not.

So while those Twitch guys have their hearts in the right place, I can’t help but laugh when they say it’s frustrating to be stripped of your power and agency. It’s also frustrating for many women – centuries or millennia before the problem occurred. Zelda The series even had a twinkle in Aonuma’s eye.

“She got him right back.”

The game begins with Link rescuing Zelda and ends with Zelda rescuing Link. I love this; it’s kind of perfect and reminds me of the ending pretty Woman, Richard Gere climbs Julia Roberts’ fire escape like a heroic prince searching for his princess:

Edward: So what happened after he climbed up the tower to rescue her?
Vivian: She immediately rescued him.

exist echo‘In this case, some might call this a predictable ending to this Zelda-centric story, but it also feels like the only way it could/should have ended. It embodies one of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout the feminist movement: that true progress, security, and happiness can only be found through collaboration and interdependence—and that people of all genders need help sometimes, and people of all genders Anyone can provide this help. We are more alike than we are different, and when we acknowledge this, we become stronger.

This isn’t a review of the game, but if it was, I’d tell you that it’s fun, engaging, has cool mechanics and a strong soundtrack, and encourages creative problem solving – so, basically, it’s a game.

But having said that, I think one of the coolest things echo of wisdom This is a story about femininity, directed by a woman, in a series where women have long been puppets and MacGuffins but never the heroes. Players have been saving poor helpless Zelda for decades; this latest version of her could save the fuck out of her Own, I’ve always wanted more women to feel empowered to do this. But this is why we fight and why we will continue to fight.

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