Has Samus always been a girl ?...

[lkermel]

Has any of you finished the Famicom Disk version of the first Metroid only released in Japan ? I wonder if Samus was depicted as a girl in the original Metroid or if it was something added later to the NES version ...
I'm trying to finish the Disk version to find out but I tought it might be quicker if somebody's been through it already :)
Thanks for your help

[K3V]

Are you implying that Samus is a tranny?

LOL

[exit]

I'm pretty sure she was always planned out to be a girl, mainly because that wasn't common at all back then. Infact, people still can't beleive that Samus is a girl and always refer to her as
"Metroid."

[jajaja]

Are you implying that Samus is a tranny?

LOL

Haha i was thinking the same thing when i read the topic LOL

I think the NES manual refer to Samus as "he" tho. Never been into Metroid, but i've heard that atleast. But it might be, that they changed Samus from a man to woman.

[lkermel]

Are you implying that Samus is a tranny?

LOL

English is not my native language and now that I'm reading my topic's title again... it can be indeed confusing, This is so funny :)


I think the NES manual refer to Samus as "he" tho.

Sometimes I wonder if people who write game manuals actually play games in full anyway ;)
But Samus being a girl was supposed to be a surprise I think, so it kind of make sense not to mention anything in the manual. Keep in mind that players would only find out if they finish the game in less than 5 hours, so it was a sort of reward.

[dedtech]

IInfact, people still can't beleive that Samus is a girl and always refer to her as
"Metroid."

Okay I was into Sega back in the day so I didnt play Metroid but, My brother and his friends did so I knew what they told me. Also, on G4 they did a thing about that and one of the endings has Samus in a bikini at the end. So.... either cross dresser or a woman. which one would bother them less??

[rbudrick]

I think the NES manual refer to Samus as "he" tho. Never been into Metroid, but i've heard that atleast. But it might be, that they changed Samus from a man to woman.


I remember participating in a rather heated discussion on this once:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62789

-Rob

[dedtech]

Heh Heh...

Page with all the endings including pics and the Bikini shot.

Metroid Database (http://mdb.classicgaming.gamespy.com/m1/endings.htm)

[CosmicMonkey]

I remember entering the 'Justin Bailey' password to play the game with armourless Samus. So, who is Justin Bailey?

[Mayhem]

I believe the argument that wins most votes is that it means "just in bailey", with "bailey" actually being a old slang term for swimsuit/bathing suit.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I think that she's only refered to as a "he" in the manual to keep the shock value intact. I remember the first time I beat the game and realized that she a woman, and it definitely suprised me. If somebody were to read the manual before finally beating the game, that would be ruined.

[link1110]

Sometimes I wonder if people who write game manuals actually play games in full anyway ;)

Remember the manual for Super Mario Bros. 2? Birdo (although always female in Japan; her Japanese name was "Catherine," go figure) was referred to as a cross-dressing male who'd rather be called "Birdetta."

[Evangelion-01]

samus = chick from aliens

[Contrabassoon86]

I believe the argument that wins most votes is that it means "just in bailey", with "bailey" actually being a old slang term for swimsuit/bathing suit.

If you look up the word "bailey", you can define it as the "what is enclosed within an outer wall, like a castle". Samus' suit of armor is like her "outer wall". So there you go, another take on Justin Bailey.

[FullCircle]

I believe the argument that wins most votes is that it means "just in bailey", with "bailey" actually being a old slang term for swimsuit/bathing suit.
Ah, but can anyone tell me what this Metroid password means:
N A R P A S S W O R D 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I was told it was a coincidence that this password triggered the debug mode, but I think "nar" may be null or generic?

[Push Upstairs]

Seems Samus isnt a natural blonde...

[GarrettCRW]

"NAR" is believed to refer to "North American Release" (since the Japanese version didn't have the password system) or T. Narihiro (who converted the game to the NES, and would therefore need such a password).

[Veepa]

I think the NES manual refer to Samus as "he" tho. Never been into Metroid, but i've heard that atleast. But it might be, that they changed Samus from a man to woman.


I remember participating in a rather heated discussion on this once:

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62789

-Rob

Aaah... Those were good times. Back when I would go on and on through several paragraphs about nothing important.

I think I made a good point there, though. If you're going to make a plot twist, you can't lie to use beforehand.

[FullCircle]

"NAR" is believed to refer to "North American Release" (since the Japanese version didn't have the password system) or T. Narihiro (who converted the game to the NES, and would therefore need such a password).
Ah. That makes sense now.

[ALAKA]

I remember entering the 'Justin Bailey' password to play the game with armourless Samus. So, who is Justin Bailey?

I found this at the metroid database:

WHO IS JUSTIN BAILEY?!?!?!

Although rumors have abounded over the years as to the identity of Justin Bailey -- ranging from some kid who beat the game to claims of "bailey" being a slang term for "swimsuit" (just in bailey, get it?), the truth is that the JUSTIN BAILEY password is a total fluke. If you play around with Metroid's password system something you can do with the Metroid Password Generator program, found in Fan Apps), you can come up with other names and words that work as passwords. The "Justin Bailey" code is one which was found early on and happened to work pretty well, so it became widely reported. In other words, there is no Justin Bailey who is associated with the Metroid universe and got his name made into a password.

[mailman187666]

yeah its hard to say whether or not Samus was originally supposed to be male or female when the game was originally created. It definately refers to samus as HIM in the old instruction manual for NES. I guess only the creators can tell us whether or not there was an error mde in the book or if she was supposed to be a he in the beggining. Something I didn't know before was that Metroid and Kid Icarus for the NES both used the same engine.

[LocalH]

The only "special" password is NARPASSWORD. That is, it doesn't validate with the regular password algorithm.

[rbudrick]

I think I made a good point there, though. If you're going to make a plot twist, you can't lie to use beforehand.

Nah, I still think your point sucks. ;) LOL :D


The only "special" password is NARPASSWORD. That is, it doesn't validate with the regular password algorithm.

This is interesting....wtf does it do?

-Rob

[InsaneDavid]

It definitely refers to samus as HIM in the old instruction manual for NES.

It was early in the NES' US launch, localization errors were plenty at the time. The Famicom Disk System version is still superior as it has a save dialogue similar to the Zelda games and no password BS.

[rbudrick]

It was early in the NES' US launch, localization errors were plenty at the time.

True, though it wasn't an error. ;)

-Rob

[ubersaurus]

I think I made a good point there, though. If you're going to make a plot twist, you can't lie to use beforehand.

Nah, I still think your point sucks. ;) LOL :D


The only "special" password is NARPASSWORD. That is, it doesn't validate with the regular password algorithm.

This is interesting....wtf does it do?

-Rob

All items, infinite missiles and health :P And free access to Tourian without killing the bosses, I think.

[FullCircle]

I think I made a good point there, though. If you're going to make a plot twist, you can't lie to use beforehand.

Nah, I still think your point sucks. ;) LOL :D


The only "special" password is NARPASSWORD. That is, it doesn't validate with the regular password algorithm.

This is interesting....wtf does it do?

-Rob

All items, infinite missiles and health :P And free access to Tourian without killing the bosses, I think.
You still need to defeat Kraid and Ridley. You start with the morph ball, bombs, ice beam and long beam. If you prefer the wave beam, you'd have to take a separate trip for it. With this password in, the average player can beat the game in about 15 minutes.

[slip81]

samus = chick from aliens

That's what I always thought, I just figured whoever made the game was a big Alien fan, or Sigourney Weaver fan, but then again who isn't :)

[rbudrick]

That's what I always thought, I just figured whoever made the game was a big Alien fan, or Sigourney Weaver fan, but then again who isn't

Well, she's female...a definite parallel with Ripley from Aliens. The Metroid series was directly influenced by the Alien series (the creators have fully admit this time and time again). Why do you think Ridley is named Ridley? After Ridley Scott, of course.

-Rob

[extrarice]

It definitely refers to samus as HIM in the old instruction manual for NES.

It was early in the NES' US launch, localization errors were plenty at the time.

As davidbrit2 mentioned in the previous thread on this (referenced earlier), it's just a translation error:


According to English language rules, the correct singular pronoun to use in a situation where you don't know the correct gender to specify for whatever reason, is in fact "he". And to make matter worse, Japanese doesn't really have gender-specific pronouns that would have been used in the context of a game manual. So you can blame all of this on translation issues, I'll bet. Heh.

earlier DP thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62789)

[rbudrick]

As davidbrit2 mentioned in the previous thread on this (referenced earlier), it's just a translation error:

I disagree reasons already stated in said other thread. Why would they tell you ahead of time and ruin the surprise endings? I still think they did it on purpose in the instruction book. I'm also pretty sure I remember Nintendo Power mentioning it was indeed a surprise (no way I'm digging through 10 billion issues to back that one up). They could have easily just said it was a typo, but they didn't.

BTW, anyone got the Japanese manual?

-Rob

[cyberfluxor]

Infact, people still can't beleive that Samus is a girl and always refer to her as
"Metroid."

Here's a prime example:
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20060603.jpg

But then, he may have used Metroid as a general reference for those that still don't understand her name's Samus. It just comes to show that it's still widely used.

[GarrettCRW]

As davidbrit2 mentioned in the previous thread on this (referenced earlier), it's just a translation error:

I disagree reasons already stated in said other thread. Why would they tell you ahead of time and ruin the surprise endings? I still think they did it on purpose in the instruction book. I'm also pretty sure I remember Nintendo Power mentioning it was indeed a surprise (no way I'm digging through 10 billion issues to figure back that one up). They could have easily just said it was a typo, but they didn't.

BTW, anyone got the Japanese manual?

-Rob

NP has mentioned multiple times over the years Metroid's surprise ending, and has never rebutted the story. The whole point of the bloody manual was that no one knows who Samus was, and who he looked like. If the story was significantly different in Japan, don't you think that TJ Rappel would have published it on the MDb by now?

[rbudrick]

NP has mentioned multiple times over the years Metroid's surprise ending, and has never rebutted the story. The whole point of the bloody manual was that no one knows who Samus was, and who he looked like. If the story was significantly different in Japan, don't you think that TJ Rappel would have published it on the MDb by now?

GarretCRW is da man and all you non-believers are fools! BWA HA HA HA HA!! :D

-Rob

[odyeiop]

http://pixpipeline.com/s/82733a7fb1be.jpg
I find your lack of faith disturbing..

Of course Samus is a chick.. if not.. then I've got some serious reconsidering to do about what I think is sexy o_O

[lkermel]

I haven't finished the DiskCard version yet, but I just read the Metroid review in the Japanese book sold at the Famicom 20th Anniversary and they talk in there about the surprise ending and Samus' gender. So I am now sure the ending was also part of the original Japanese version.

[GarrettCRW]

I haven't finished the DiskCard version yet, but I just read the Metroid review in the Japanese book sold at the Famicom 20th Anniversary and they talk in there about the surprise ending and Samus' gender. So I am now sure the ending was also part of the original Japanese version.

I've beaten the FDS version, and I can attest that the endings are the same, with the same rules (unlike Kid Icarus, which has different conditions for the best ending). I do believe that the argument is over.

[rbudrick]

I haven't finished the DiskCard version yet, but I just read the Metroid review in the Japanese book sold at the Famicom 20th Anniversary and they talk in there about the surprise ending and Samus' gender. So I am now sure the ending was also part of the original Japanese version.

I've beaten the FDS version, and I can attest that the endings are the same, with the same rules (unlike Kid Icarus, which has different conditions for the best ending). I do believe that the argument is over.

Pwn3d. LOL

-Rob

[Wavelflack]

I generally hate to quote myself, but as a Public Service I shall do so twice!








This is fucking idiotic. The point is that Nintendo didn't pay attention to what it was doing in writing the manual. The writer need not beat the game, or even play it. He just needs the general idea of the game, and information about weapons and enemies, etc.
The idea that "he" was intentionally put in the manual to misguide everyone's assumptions and therefore set up the "surprise ending" is not the product of a thinking person. The fact is that at that time (and even now, I'd wager), game players naturally assumed that the hero was male, unless it was specifically shown not to be (Athena. etc.) Ambiguous character? Male. Character in a space suit? Male. Unseen racecar drivers, spaceship pilots, tank crews, etc? Male. "Princess Zelda" with long hair and dress? FEMALE. There is no need to reinforce the natural assumptions EVERYONE makes.

*ring*--"Hello?"
(caller)--"This is Jimmy from Nintendo. Are you playing Metroid right now?"
--"No, but I guess I could be."
(N)--"Well, just remember something.."
--"Yeah?"
(N)--"The next time you play Metroid.."
--"Okay?"
(N)--"No matter what you may already think.."
--"?"
(N)--"Samus is ACTUALLY a man! NOT a woman!"
--"And?"
(N)--"That's just it! Don't you get it?"
--"No, not really. I guess I already figured that, but whatever."


At any rate, if you still want to remain in the little fanworld universe where all contradictions and mistakes are explained away with elaborate attributions (see Star Wars boards), then I'll have to make a final plea to the remaining micron or two of your mind not consumed by stupidity:

When you make a surprise ending, you do it by going against or away from the audience's assumptions. You can either build something up so that the audience thinks they know where it is headed, and then change course, or you can play on the audience's natural assumptions that they bring woth them.
The surprise ending cannot contradict the rest of the work. And the rest of the work cannot contradict the surprise ending. "The Sixth Sense" is an easy example to work from: The surprise ending is enabled because WE (the viewers) are not expecting an entire movie to be based on a dead person's experience and perspective. And it works because it is consistent. You can go back and see how the clues were there all along,but we misinterpreted them based on our natural assumptions. THAT is what makes the surprise ending so entertaining. Not that it is unexpected, but that it allowed us to believe one thing but actually mean another WITHOUT contradicting either belief.

The Sixth Sense does not have text at the beginning that says "Bruce Willis is alive and well all throughout this movie." Why? Because we already would assume so, and (most importantly) because it would not be consistent with the movie.
Go ahead and think of every "surprise ending" you can remember, and see if you can remember a time when the work itself flat out lied to you so as to surprise you later with the "truth".


By your reasoning, we would see surprise endings in every movie and game from here to eternity. All you have to do is lie about the ending. Let me see if I can make some surprise endings work out via manual inserts:

(Combat)--"You and a friend are in command of two completely disarmed tanks that are incapable of firing."

(Super Mario Bros)--"The Mushroom Retainers are a deceptive people. We know that the princess was killed several years ago in a border dispute. This does not prevent the Retainers from claiming that "our princess is in another castle!", but now that you know the truth, you will not be fooled into believeing that the princess is actually alive and in the castle of world 8. You know she is dead and will never appear in the game."

(Zelda)--"..and in the end, you will have to fight Ganon. A wild and wily foe, your only hope of defeating him is by hitting him with bait. A master of disguise, Ganon will conceal the damage done to him by the bait. Do not be fooled! Do not resort to magic swords or silver arrows! These will only anger Ganon, increase his life meter, and waste precious bait attacking time."

Extra!! Extra!! Quotable quotes, part 2:


Uh huh.

And the screenshot? (choice between boomerang and wooden sword)

That scene is not in the FDS version, or any rev of Zelda I have ever come across.

What is the secret intentional Nintendo meaning behind it?


I'm still curious as to the secret meaning behind the boomerang/ sword choice screenshot in the Zelda manual. After all, if we are to believe that Nintendo has carefully orchestrated all apparent typos and inconsistencies in their manuals as part of of a larger scheme of deception, then certainly there is a fantastic explanation for that screenshot...which is from no version of the game in existence.

While the thimblefull of guys who remain confused over this issue work out a suitably convoluted explanation for the Zelda screenshot, I guess perhaps one could at least volunteer a reason as to why it would be necessary in the first place to establish Samus' gender as "male".
Circa 1986 (or even now), do you suppose there was a single game player in the world who would assume, by default, that an action character in a spacesuit would be female?

So what would be the point of reinforcing a rock solid assumption?


Ready, GO!!

:)

[GarrettCRW]

Quoted himself, and referred to the manual for a completely different game.

Apples. Oranges. (Or, for the benefit of this thread, Octorocks. Zebs.) An error in one manual does not automatically mean an error in another game. Besides, lkermel referred to a book sold in......


*holds for the dramatic pause*



Japan.

[Wavelflack]

1.
This instruction manual thingy was done on purpose, not as a translation error, as Nintondos manuals didn't have really any of that.

2.
Nintendo was very meticulous. Trust me, Nintendo did NOT fuck up in their manual.

3.
Nintendo is not stupid and cares very much for its projects.

4. Zelda manual.

[Wavelflack]

Don't worry, Garrett. Even though I wasn't actually talking to you, I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings by making your attention seem unappreciated.

As a gesture of my munificence, I shall notice you in return!

As such, In the course of re-reading that other thread, I noticed that you glossed over a question I posed at the time.

"Wavelflack said:
Hmm...

Do you mean to say that the manual writer didn't actually play the game they were writing about?

Hmmm...

I'm saying the translator did what any good translator would do-they directly and faithfully translated the text they were given. Since the point about Pols Voice is technically correct (as the American player simply lacks a way to shout at the big-eared bastidges), no one ever bothered to create an oblique hint about the bow & arrow.


Tsk.
The manual writer was working on the American version of the game, wasn't he? And the American version had no microphone for the player to shout into?

So did the manual writer actually play the game?




Remember, this is your big chance at relevancy! Don't blow it!

:D

[GarrettCRW]

Remember, this is your big chance at relevancy! Don't blow it!

Earth to jerk:


I just read the Metroid review in the Japanese book sold at the Famicom 20th Anniversary and they talk in there about the surprise ending and Samus' gender. So I am now sure the ending was also part of the original Japanese version.

*looks in his stash of books*

Oh, wow, look! I have that book! And it's in both English and Japanese, too!


"The real identity of Samus Aran," revealed in the end, was one of the biggest surprises in the history of games.

Must I scan it in, too? Because, honestly, I tire of your flame-baiting BS.

[rbudrick]

The surprise ending cannot contradict the rest of the work. And the rest of the work cannot contradict the surprise ending.

Certainly it can, and does. Just because it upsets you balance in the world does not mean it didn't happen. You know what they say about that river in Africa...


The Sixth Sense" is blah blah blah blah

Total apples and oranges. Besides. People are more picky about movies. Nobody gave a shit about plot incontinuities in videogames in 1986...not that I think it was one.

And besides, you are ignoring the evidence that NOA AND NOJ have said it was intended as a surprise ending. Sure it wasn't obvious that people would assume her gender male and it may have not needed to be stated, but one could argue it was the narrator of the story in the instruction book also assuming it was a he, and therefore wanted you to think so too. It's a very common device in all forms of movies and literature.

Or, though far-fetched, maybe Nintendo didn't want people ruining the surprise for others by telling them it's a girl. People could plainly see in their instructions it said otherwise. However, the first explaiantion is far more likely.

Anyone got the direct contact info for Gail Tilden? I believe she was in charge of localization for all games back then.

-Rob