Don't blame Princess Peach for being kidnapped. Blame Bowser for kidnapping her

[thejboy88]

It's a trope almost as old as gaming itself. Princess Peach being kidnapped by Bowser, with Mario having to rescue her. Gamers of several generations have often criticised her for this, saying things like "she gets kidnapped too much" or, "she's incompetent" because of how often she gets imprisoned. And while I, for a long time, shared this sentiment, I came to realise something that, frankly, I probably should have picked up on much sooner.

Why are we blaming Peach for this? She didn't want this. She's the victim here, and yet we're constantly putting her down because of somebody ELSE's crime, namely Bowsers. HE'S the villain here. HE'S the one kidnapping this woman and dragging her from her home, so why isn't HE the one who gets the criticism?

I doubt I'm the only one who has thought of this, but yeah, it's just something I thought I should put out there for discussion.

 

[Ayen Matthews]

I blame the writers for not being able to come up with something different and rely on the same trope they've been using since the nineteen eighties. Super Mario Sunshine looked like it was going to turn away from this, and then they fall back on the same tropes they always do. Peach only had a few games to show she was more than a damsel in distress, one was a dream and the other was a RPG late in the Super Nintendo's life.

Zelda gets the same crap and she has even more instances where she proven to hold her own, but once again it's her fault the writers have Ganondorf take her prisoner. I don't understand people.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Well, if you're going to get so much into this. Fine. Let's do it.

Because she's a princess and doesn't spend any money on some goddamn security. It's not your fault if it happens once. Hell, let's say it's not your fault if it happens twice. But if it keeps fuckin' happening over and over again then you're doing something wrong or you're not doing something that you should be doing in order to prevent it from happening again. People are supposed to learn from their mistakes. She doesn't. I'm flabbergasted that Mario would feel compelled to keep saving that bimbo.

 

[Casual Shinji]

No, I don't blame Peach, or Bowser for that matter. Not directly anyway. I blame Nintendo for this endless shit routine of Bowser kidnapping Peach. It's that stubborn old man-grip Nintendo has on their franchise lore.

Do I blame Sansa Stark for getting (.....) by (......)? No. I blame the writers for putting her in the fucking victim role for the umpteenth time.

Peach is also a complete moron with a constant expression of surprised confussion on her face. Someone needs to just kill her off, please.

 

[Lictor Face]

The phrase "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." comes to mind.

For the record OP I've never been too hot on your particular line of argument.

Its true that the robber is primarily at fault for looting a house. But that doesn't absolve the owner of not buying more goddamn locks and maybe investing in a gun or guard dog. So long as money exists, robbers exist. So long as robbers exist, so does the need for security. Ignore it at your own peril.

 

[NPC009]

Instead of playing the blame-game, can I compliment Peach for being a pro-active saboteur in Paper Mario?

People make mistakes, especially people as dumb as the ones in the Mario games. What I want to see is characters (and not just Mario!) actively trying to fix said mistakes. That's what makes a set-up as simple and old-fashioned as a kidnapped princess fun.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Going with what other people have already said. First few times, totally on Bowser. He did it, he chose to take the path that he did.

But now? It's like this is a weekly thing for Peach. The only conclusion I can draw from it is that she secretly likes being kidnapped. Now, if every time this happened, she upped security and Bowser still got her, then fine. But she hasn't. It's kind of like walking into the middle of a busy street without looking and then blaming the driver that ran you over. She's at fault at this point, no doubt.

 

[Silvanus]

Do I blame Sansa Stark for getting (.....) by (......)? No. I blame the writers for putting her in the fucking victim role for the umpteenth time.

Just the one writer, unless we're talking about show discrepancies, which would be a very fair talking point vis-a-vis Sansa's role.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Do I blame Sansa Stark for getting (.....) by (......)? No. I blame the writers for putting her in the fucking victim role for the umpteenth time.

Just the one writer, unless we're talking about show discrepancies, which would be a very fair talking point vis-a-vis Sansa's role.

Only talking about the show here, never read the books, which I'm told are better.

 

[Erttheking]

Uh...wasn't aware I did this. I criticize the writer for being lazy and dipping into the same cliche bucket for the dozenth time. Seriously, it's been shown that we can have a perfectly functional Mario game with Peach as part of the main party instead of her being kidnapped AGAIN yet, but it rarely seems to happen.

It's even more infuriating with Zelda because the way they write her keeps implying that she has formal training but we get to see it even LESS!

 

[veloper]

Hey guys, Peach deserves all the blame for never telling Mario he needn't risk his life to interrupt her fake kidnapping play with Bowser. Peach has never been into Mario. Bowser is the man and that's why she's always getting kidnapped. It's a fetish.

 

[nomotog_v1legacy]

As others have said. You don't blame peach, you don't bowser bower. They don't have any choice in the matter. It's the writers, or more often the producers and publishes who get to make the choice.

(Though if peach did pick to get kidnapped, that could be kind of inserting. It gives her a new hook. Odd hook, but good hooks are often odd hooks.)

 

[Tilly]

I contest your claim that she doesn't want it. I think she loves it! I think she has a severe case of Stolkholm Syndrome.

 

[MatParker116]

She could hire better guards or just marry Mario already.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Why are we blaming Peach for this? She didn't want this.

After over thirty years it should be abundantly clear that it's all a game to them and nobody's kidnapping anybody.

Peach gets herself into a 'vulnerable' position, Bowser 'kidnaps' her and Mario get to jump in to the 'rescue,'

A good laugh is had by all and they go karting or play tennis on the weekends. That in itself should be the give away that the whole thing's play acting...

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Just because something happens over and over again, doesn't mean it isn't any less real. Israel and Palestine have had hundreds of "wars" in the last five decades, yet each one is still harrowing and terrible.

Peach is probably terrified each time, thinking "This is it, this time Bowser will surely burn me alive." Always remembering how close she was to death in the past, before Mario swoops in at the last second (after weeks of travelling across an entire country by foot.)

Shame on you people

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

After over thirty years it should be abundantly clear that it's all a game to them and nobody's kidnapping anybody.

Peach gets herself into a 'vulnerable' position, Bowser 'kidnaps' her and Mario get to jump in to the 'rescue,'

A good laugh is had by all and they go karting or play tennis on the weekends. That in itself should be the give away that the whole thing's play acting...

I think we might be looking at this from the wrong angle.

Maybe it's not Peach who wants to be kidnapped, maybe it's Mario who keeps having her kidnapped.

Every now and then he wants a weekend to himself, gets Bowser to kidnap Peach, spends a bunch of time dicking around accidentally going to the "wrong castles", then collects Peach Sunday evening. It would explain why he never kills Bowser, although he always appears to (vis-a-vis chucking into lava and such). It's all putting on a show for Peach to keep her from realizing the Fargo-like situation she's been put in.

 

[CaptainMarvelous]

I mean, if we're talking blame and contradictions, I'd blame Mario for inviting Bowser to go GO-KARTING with them all.
Also, maybe a minor thing, what's the ratio of Peach being kidnapped to her being playable?
And for that matter what happened to those seven kings in Super Mario 3? They still kidnapped?

OT: Given how she's got some pretty awesome in-game skills, I'm surprised Bowser even manages to kidnap her any more. And brings up the question in Super Peach of why Bowser doesn't kidnap Mario.

 

[visiblenoise]

I thought it was supposed to be part of the charm and/or tradition of Mario's world. Like how that one guy from South Park (which I don't watch) always dies. They don't care about people who are reading into it any more than that.