Jimquisition: Gamer Guys

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Something Amyss

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Knew that one was gonna bite me on the ass, should've clarified. She's never really made an effort to say that she liked gaming, if you know what I mean.[/quote]

Since she HAS done as such, I'm assuming you mean "I haven't actually watched her TVW videos but I hate her anyway, likely for reasons that I heard someone say and accepted wholly without any attempt at verification." In fact, you seem to be endemic of the problem being discussed at this point.

If I'm wrong, of course, please clarify. However, it's hard to believe you actually watched her videos and took that away.

The most notable example of this was that whole thing with her calling out Bastion for sexism because she ignored a big part of the game where most of the character development happened.
Haven't played the game, but even descriptions from sites about the game offer very little to make me think Anita is wrong. It also doesn't look as though she has to "ignore a big part of the game." Isn't most of her development missable? Again, if I'm wrong, feel free to clarify, but I've looked at a couple dozen pages now that talk about it in completely skippable terms. And even then, it speaks to characterisation less than history.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong. I can, at this point, only rely on what I've Googled.
 

LetalisK

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Before Jim got into the excitingly homo-erotic stuff, it didn't actually feel like he was talking about a parallel universe. I would not be surprised if the people who feel they need to vet gamer girls are the same ones that don't count guys who play Call of Duty and Madden as gamers.
 

Gindil

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Rebel_Raven said:
IkeGreil29 said:
About the Zelda issue, it's met an immense amount of resistance and hatred as illustrated in the comments of this article:
http://www.destructoid.com/gamers-urge-nintendo-for-a-playable-zelda-257454.phtml

I can't fully fathom some of the reasons people have against the idea of a playable Zelda short of the fear she'll get the "Princess Peach" treatment and get sent on a mission for a happy making vibe-sceptor using wild moodswings to make her journey, or treated like Samus in The Other M, which aughta speak for itself.
No one's against the idea of a playable Zelda. It just makes NO sense given the mythos of the Zelda games. She created the Master Sword, has untold amounts of power, then you want her to just be able to fight and beat up the bad guys? That's a Mary Sue character and not very interesting.

What people seem more interested is a female Link character or the option to choose the gender. If people made that more interesting, that'd be understandable. But playing as just Zelda when she already does so much in the game based on Wisdom, not Courage, is too dangerously close to being a character that becomes uninteresting.
 

Darken12

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IT'S TRUE. I'm a fake geek boy, and I just want your attention.

*cries bitterly*

I love you, Jim Sterling.
 

Rebel_Raven

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Gindil said:
Rebel_Raven said:
IkeGreil29 said:
About the Zelda issue, it's met an immense amount of resistance and hatred as illustrated in the comments of this article:
http://www.destructoid.com/gamers-urge-nintendo-for-a-playable-zelda-257454.phtml

I can't fully fathom some of the reasons people have against the idea of a playable Zelda short of the fear she'll get the "Princess Peach" treatment and get sent on a mission for a happy making vibe-sceptor using wild moodswings to make her journey, or treated like Samus in The Other M, which aughta speak for itself.
No one's against the idea of a playable Zelda. It just makes NO sense given the mythos of the Zelda games. She created the Master Sword, has untold amounts of power, then you want her to just be able to fight and beat up the bad guys? That's a Mary Sue character and not very interesting.

What people seem more interested is a female Link character or the option to choose the gender. If people made that more interesting, that'd be understandable. But playing as just Zelda when she already does so much in the game based on Wisdom, not Courage, is too dangerously close to being a character that becomes uninteresting.
Funny, you say no one's against it, but here you are saying you're against it since it makes no sense in game, and she'd become mary sue, and she'd be uninteresting. That's very much against Zelda having a more heroic role as the protagonist.
And lets not forget the comments section on that article, here.

Shiek? Tetra? Both combat capable Zeldas in the mythos of the game. Zelda helped fight now and then actively as herself, especially in fights vs Gannon.

How does it make sense that she's as powerful as all that, yet gets kidnapped in nearly every game? How wise is it to leave yourself vulnerable to being kidnapped in the first place, or not have people won over so you have a legion of people who volunteeer to, or insist on defending you? It's a bit of a long standing peeve of mine with "intelligent" people in games, tv, and movies. They seem to know everything but how to defend themselves.

Why ya gotta keep Zelda in the role of getting kidnapped? Are you saying it's impossible for Zelda to be the hero?

If she were well written as the hero of her own legend, she could pull it off without being mary sue.

A gender select Link would be ok, I guess, but I think Zelda as a hero would be more pallatable for me.
 

cthulhuspawn82

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At first I didn't get the satire because I thought he was being serious and making an excellent point. Back in the NES/SNES days the "dudebros" thought gaming was for nerds, and that was fine by me. Then they started picking up the habit and now gaming has devolved into noting but mindless PvP crap because the dubebros don't care about games, they just want to pwn newbs with there massive deeps.

So I'm going to pretend this video is a serious one and applaud it for showing how "Fake gamer guys" are a bigger threat to our hobby than "Fake gamer girls". Death to competitive multilayer, it lowers the bar for all gaming. Let that moronic caveman mentality stay on the football field. Co-op or SP only please.
 

JarinArenos

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cthulhuspawn82 said:
So I'm going to pretend this video is a serious one and applaud it for showing how "Fake gamer guys" are a bigger threat to our hobby than "Fake gamer girls". Death to competitive multilayer, it lowers the bar for all gaming. Let that moronic caveman mentality stay on the football field. Co-op or SP only please.
The video works on so many levels. Just more of Jim's brilliance.
 

Schadrach

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Rebel_Raven said:
Why ya gotta keep Zelda in the role of getting kidnapped? Are you saying it's impossible for Zelda to be the hero?

If she were well written as the hero of her own legend, she could pull it off without being mary sue.

A gender select Link would be ok, I guess, but I think Zelda as a hero would be more pallatable for me.
Ultimately, a big theme in the underlying mythos is that the same basic series of events happens time and again (though there are lots of arguments regarding the timeline, one thing is pretty consistent -- that Skyward Sword is the first game chronologically, and that Demise's curse is likely responsible for the whole repetition throughout history). I may be forgetting something, but I can't think of anything that says that the core characters in that particular story have to be any particular gender, just fill their specific positions. There's nothing that says that next time around it can't be Prince Zelig (with the blood of the goddess / triforce of wisdom) being taken and ultimately saved by Lana (with the spirit of the hero / triforce of courage).

What you are suggesting is breaking the entire "doomed to repeat itself" scenario because gender complaints. But the repetition of that scenario is core to the series.
 

Rebel_Raven

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Schadrach said:
Rebel_Raven said:
Why ya gotta keep Zelda in the role of getting kidnapped? Are you saying it's impossible for Zelda to be the hero?

If she were well written as the hero of her own legend, she could pull it off without being mary sue.

A gender select Link would be ok, I guess, but I think Zelda as a hero would be more pallatable for me.
Ultimately, a big theme in the underlying mythos is that the same basic series of events happens time and again (though there are lots of arguments regarding the timeline, one thing is pretty consistent -- that Skyward Sword is the first game chronologically, and that Demise's curse is likely responsible for the whole repetition throughout history). I may be forgetting something, but I can't think of anything that says that the core characters in that particular story have to be any particular gender, just fill their specific positions. There's nothing that says that next time around it can't be Prince Zelig (with the blood of the goddess / triforce of wisdom) being taken and ultimately saved by Lana (with the spirit of the hero / triforce of courage).

What you are suggesting is breaking the entire "doomed to repeat itself" scenario because gender complaints. But the repetition of that scenario is core to the series.
Not really gender complaints since you're open to gender swaps, rather I'd like to see/play as Zelda in action on her own outside of smash bros. :p

Doomed to repeat itself doesn't mean it happens the exct same way every time, does it? Variations, maybe like a plot revolving around Zelda's escape to find Link, while Link tries to get to her in a dual adventure game that can be played like a traditional LoZ Game, Zelda's Escape, or a switching perspective, maybe, culminating in them meeting up, then going to battle Gannon.

Of course it could take part in Zelda's time as Shiek, or Tetra in something of a prequel?

Oh, the game could mix ideas! You're Zelda resisting capture, possibly with an alter ego, but eventually, inevitably she gets captured (as heroes tend to be) then she attempts to free herself while Link tries to free her.

But honestly, it's up to nintendo if, and how they handle a Zelda game, or if they simply gender swap. Either way, they're shaking things up if they do, and I'd appreciate it.
 

RicoADF

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Jun 2, 2009
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tklivory said:
Thank you, Jim. Though this issue has more awareness these days, it is still a problem. I'm glad there seem to be so many people who seem genuinely convinced that this is not a problem anymore, but I would venture a guess most of these respondents are male who truly do not personally have an issue with this (which is fantastic).

I see this problem online, in video games, in comic books, in certain genres for movies and books... In many places. Someone wanted examples, and I gave up mentally cataloging all details of what's happened to me because they all just became more of the same over time.

Is it better than five years ago, ten years ago? Yes. But in the meantime, over the course of several years, I have opted to give up on any multiplayer outside of Assassin's Creed, physically going to video game stores, and engaging in conversations with people I don't know well about the things I love and am passionate about. I've been asked "oh, your boyfriend plays it, right?", "Well, yeah, but most girls pretty much play only Final Fantasy, don't they?", and "Oh, well, you just liked Avengers because of the actors, right?" more than once, from several different people.

And I have a pretty easy time of it compared with many of the other gamers I know who happen to be female, since I work in IT. I literally do not know a female gamer of my acquaintance who has not had condescension or antagonism directed towards her for playing in that playground (oh, unless they 'just' played Farmville or SIMS - those are fine for a girl to like. It's worse for those whose primary enjoyments are FPS or Sports games.)

By this point, my habits have been formed, and it would take a lot to convince me to change them simply because "it's better now." I hope the next generation of gamers who happen to be female reap the benefits of this time in which more guys respond with "What? This is still a problem?" than "Well, of course girls don't really mean it!"

But please don't dismiss the experiences of those who have withdrawn from a community because you haven't seen it yourself. It's out there. It has hurt people. And dismissing it should not be your first instinct.
I wonder how much if this is regional, as in it's an issue in the US but since most if not all gaming sites are based in the US and report on US issues it gets displayed as a world wide issue rather than a local one. Reason I wonder is that I know a few gamers that are girls, both online and off, and it's never been an issue in our groups but the girls have experienced it often from American's (not always though). What we have here isn't just gamers and non gamers, but rather gamers and non gamers in god knows how many nations with varying degrees of acceptance and social stigma. I think this year at the EB expo I'll pay a closer attention to who's at the expo, from memory there were girls there and there weren't any issues/they weren't being harassed from what I saw but I wasn't paying attention. Sorry to hear you've had bad experiences, hope that changes soon.
 

Crimsom Storm

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I think you're all missing the biggest issue: Some think it's about these frat boys that play Call of Duty and "think they're gamers", and some think it's about how we disrespect girls who "act like they're gamers" when in fact we've been gaming for so much longer. It's not about either of those in my eyes: It's about how no matter what game you're playing, even if it's Farmville, WE. ARE. ALL. GAMERS.

We ridicule men and women by hammering them with questions about obscure games they'd never know about just to prove that we're better gamers than them. We blame them for how gaming has "degraded". Yet they're not the problem. The companies make the decision to release games that cater only to them, not to hardcore RPG players like most on here seem to be. There are, however, games still coming out for those folks.

We need to stop shoveling blame onto one another, in some desperate grab for the "Good ol' days". We have indie companies gladly filling this role, and hardcore games like Dark Souls that hit their target audience and become successes. We also need to stop being exclusionary. We hated it when it was happening to us, now we're just doing the same thing we had done to us, when we fought to make it where gaming would be seen as a healthy, enjoyable hobby.

We have it pretty damn good now folks, and there are enough companies and genres to where everyone can get what they want. Be it the twitch gamer that loves shooters, the methodical grinders that play RPGs, or the strategy gamer that have night terrors about unit costs, we're all gamers, and there's enough of this digital pie to go around. If anything, we should be thanking them, because things like Kickstarter Games and Retro Indie Games exist because of the popularity they brought with them. I dare argue that they made things even more awesome for us and made the genre evolve even further.

At least be kind enough to give me a head start before you flame me. I'm allergic to death.
 

Matthew Abbott

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I always failed to see the point of elitism in hobbies or media preferences. Sure, I jokingly sometimes play the elitist, but I've never understood those who literally feel assaulted by the fact that some people do not fit their idea of what a (in this case, but it applies to many passtimes) gamer should be. Why someone should give a tin shit about that while simultaneously tolerating sexist, homophobic, and racist people is beyond me. If someone wants to call themselves a gamer because they play Farmville, let them. If someone wants to cosplay as a character because they like how they look, not because a particular affinity for the character or the media they come from, how does that harm you? I consider myself a football fan, but I don't know most of the players, I don't know how each team measure up, and I don't know the stats for each team. I only pay attention to the teams and players I like, and that fact means that someone could call me a "fake football fan" despite the fact I enjoy the game. There are no qualifications to be a gamer. Deal with it. Fake gamers are much less concerning than all the crap that actually does affect the community.
 

Lightknight

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Nov 26, 2008
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Zachary Amaranth said:
Lightknight said:
Well, our culture hasn't exactly been known for social aptness, particularly around women. We do have extremely anti-social or just plain awkward members in our ranks.
Well, a couple problems there:

1. This isn't the same culture anymore. Whether or not you (or anyone else) likes it, video games have developed into a much larger community.
Ok? I'm not sure how this relates to my comments that nerd culture includes a non-trivial number of socially inept individuals. The expansion of ranks only serves to dilute the proportions, not remove them.

2. This is at the same time we're seeking legitimacy from the mainstream. And since you think women should expect gamers to behave like hostile basement-dwelling manchildren, I expect you agree that gamers should at the same time expect to be treated as hostile, basement-dwelling manchildren. I mean, it's only reasonable, right? I hope you've never been one of those folks to act like we should have legitimacy.
? I did not say that. I was merely explaining why several odd interactions would happen, not that everything that happened was somehow ok and to be accepted. Don't read into social commentary as justification.

Numbered again for my sanity:

1. You just spent two paragraphs excusing, explaining and justifying a behaviour you don't believe is actually prevalent?
Seeing as you mistook my meaning to be a justification of sexual harrassment then I'm going to assume my clarification on my intention of the social commentary to annul the reasoning behind this point.

2. Examples have been given frequently, including this thread. I'm always wary of people who ask for evidence after evidence has been given. Perhaps you really did just saunter into the thread, but it seems suspect. Especially when you're already making excuses for the behaviour.
So no, you don't have evidence of events in which people have behaved innappropriately or said ridiculous stuff but no information regarding the prevalence of the mindset. I agree that anywhere it happens is a problem and, frankly, stupid. But I'm trying to figure out if this is a broad problem with a mainstream mindset or if we're looking at smaller cases and ballooning them. That's an important question to ask and asking it shouldn't make me out to be some kind of anti-woman person, it just makes me inquisitive. Does that make better sense?

I'd also attest that the continuation of this thread largely hinges on such a mentality. I'm not sure what else people are protesting. Well, most people. Some people seem to be trying to skirt it.
I'm not sure what this point is supposed to be. Are you saying that the continued discussion in this thread is ipso facto evidence of a larger trend against women in gaming? I see some discussion on people being frustrated about individuals being 'fakers' rather than individuals who are genuinely interested in our culture. While I think that's nonsense I wouldn't necessarily equate that to them hating all women entries. But to take it a step further and to actually start quizing people on their nerd knowledge is nonsense. Especially when one of the things that make us nerds is devotion to specific sub categories. Also, you've got to start somewhere. Some people are going to be new nerds. To believe them not knowing information that you know is just silly. It's like a person finding that they love sushi and then someone claims they don't because they've never had a particular kind of sushi.
 

The Lyre

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It's not really satire when the supposedly 'absurd' occurrences are pretty commonplace.

Geek-chic is still a thing - a ridiculous thing, where men now try to dress as some bizarre idealised version of the same tiny bespectacled kid we all laughed at and even bullied for no reason in school. I feel bad that we locked Joel in a closet, but apparently my old classmates now want to dress like him.

Youtube personalities do base their video-game related channels entirely on their own looks/loud online persona - and, in rare cases, charisma - rather than their actual knowledge of the industry. Sorry to be 'elitist', but I'd still rather watch Sterling than PewDiePie, even if I disagree with Sterling half of the time.

I don't know if I'd play Tomb Raider if it was Nathan Drake in a man-thong, but I wouldn't begrudge the fact that it was supposedly meant to 'appeal' to women. That's what, well, Boys Love manga and VNs are for. Apparently. I wouldn't know.

Of course, I don't have the right to tell people what they should or shouldn't watch, but when Sterling brings up the supposedly 'absurd alternate reality' of men using their looks to gain fame, wealth and popularity, I sort of wonder what planet he's living on where, apparently, male models don't exist. And, again, sorry to be elitist, but if I want information or news on my particular hobby, I'm going to trust someone who seems to have extensive knowledge in that subject rather than a model. It has nothing to do with them as people - I don't know them - and everything to do with their careers. One is modelling, the other is...what exactly is Sterling's job?

And as for obnoxious 'guy gamers' on Xbox Live...uh...can I have access to the VIP servers Sterling uses? Apparently he doesn't have to deal with the same riff-raff as I do.

I realise that I'm just being pedantic, and that this video is aimed at people who get bizarrely outraged at the idea of attractive people being successful for being attractive etc. but this whole video just goes straight over my head because everything he mentions actually exists.
 

TrulyBritish

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WaitWHAT said:
Y'know what? Imagine if there were such things as fake gamer girls and everyone integrated them into the community anyway! That way, the 'real' geeks would be accepted without protest, and the 'fake' ones would be forced to suffer an eternity of desperately pretending to enjoy something they don't.



EDIT:
Monxeroth said:


B-b-baka Jim!
I-it's not like i..i enjoyed the..episode or anything...stupid!
This does strange things to my undercarriage. But....please continue.
Oh WaitWHAT, you're such a naughty feller ;)

As for the video, yeah really amusing. I remain on the fence as to the existence of these "fake gamer girls" but certainly, I don't think we should be scrutinising everyone to see if they're allowed into our specialised club. What are we? The ever so Glorious PC Gaming Master Race? :p
 

viranimus

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Nov 20, 2009
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Funny thing to me is that it is not any where nearly as "satirical" as it is supposed to be. I can see rationalization for loathing toward the dudebro "hardcore" FPS/WoW gamer archetype that created this massive influx and social acceptance towards gaming and brought with it a far worse result.

But OT, I find it somewhat messed up that for someone who has preached that "we cant even discuss the topic of equality in gaming without someone getting hostile and offended" to constantly harp and essentially demand acceptance of their personal position as the only possible correct one. Its like most of those amongst the faux enlightenment crowd. You have to wonder who they are trying to convince.. you or themselves

Edit: if you DO decide to go back to the sarcasta-verse, perhaps you should do it right complete with the prerequisite black goatee.



Imma just saiyan
 

Gindil

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Rebel_Raven said:
Funny, you say no one's against it, but here you are saying you're against it since it makes no sense in game, and she'd become mary sue, and she'd be uninteresting. That's very much against Zelda having a more heroic role as the protagonist.
And lets not forget the comments section on that article, here.

Shiek? Tetra? Both combat capable Zeldas in the mythos of the game. Zelda helped fight now and then actively as herself, especially in fights vs Gannon.

How does it make sense that she's as powerful as all that, yet gets kidnapped in nearly every game? How wise is it to leave yourself vulnerable to being kidnapped in the first place, or not have people won over so you have a legion of people who volunteeer to, or insist on defending you? It's a bit of a long standing peeve of mine with "intelligent" people in games, tv, and movies. They seem to know everything but how to defend themselves.

Why ya gotta keep Zelda in the role of getting kidnapped? Are you saying it's impossible for Zelda to be the hero?

If she were well written as the hero of her own legend, she could pull it off without being mary sue.

A gender select Link would be ok, I guess, but I think Zelda as a hero would be more pallatable for me.
Uhm... No?

Maybe I see a character for something besides the one time they're captured, particularly when I see Zelda as this strong progressive woman that's a nuclear threat who has so much power as to create the Master Sword and give it to her Hylian Hero that the gender doesn't matter to me. Maybe instead of just whining "Oh she's captured, she's now useless" you could see that she never gives up on her realm and even as a princess with constraints, she finds ways to help you, the player, in completing the quest.

And she's fought in four games IIRC, while people also ignore how Midna helped out Link so much that it was basically her game far more than the listless Link. Then people forget that she was playable in the CD-i games and those sucked.

All you seem intent on doing is saying "Damsel = useless" based on what... A video from a media critic who just barely got into the game industry but markets herself as a gamer?

Honestly, what makes Zelda being playable so much different than having an option of a female Link? It's the same difference without changing the core mythos.
 

Rebel_Raven

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Gindil said:
Rebel_Raven said:
Funny, you say no one's against it, but here you are saying you're against it since it makes no sense in game, and she'd become mary sue, and she'd be uninteresting. That's very much against Zelda having a more heroic role as the protagonist.
And lets not forget the comments section on that article, here.

Shiek? Tetra? Both combat capable Zeldas in the mythos of the game. Zelda helped fight now and then actively as herself, especially in fights vs Gannon.

How does it make sense that she's as powerful as all that, yet gets kidnapped in nearly every game? How wise is it to leave yourself vulnerable to being kidnapped in the first place, or not have people won over so you have a legion of people who volunteeer to, or insist on defending you? It's a bit of a long standing peeve of mine with "intelligent" people in games, tv, and movies. They seem to know everything but how to defend themselves.

Why ya gotta keep Zelda in the role of getting kidnapped? Are you saying it's impossible for Zelda to be the hero?

If she were well written as the hero of her own legend, she could pull it off without being mary sue.

A gender select Link would be ok, I guess, but I think Zelda as a hero would be more pallatable for me.
Uhm... No?

Maybe I see a character for something besides the one time they're captured, particularly when I see Zelda as this strong progressive woman that's a nuclear threat who has so much power as to create the Master Sword and give it to her Hylian Hero that the gender doesn't matter to me. Maybe instead of just whining "Oh she's captured, she's now useless" you could see that she never gives up on her realm and even as a princess with constraints, she finds ways to help you, the player, in completing the quest.

And she's fought in four games IIRC, while people also ignore how Midna helped out Link so much that it was basically her game far more than the listless Link. Then people forget that she was playable in the CD-i games and those sucked.

All you seem intent on doing is saying "Damsel = useless" based on what... A video from a media critic who just barely got into the game industry but markets herself as a gamer?

Honestly, what makes Zelda being playable so much different than having an option of a female Link? It's the same difference without changing the core mythos.
Uhm, yes? You said no one is against the idea of Zelda having her own game, and yet here you are, being against it?

Really? we're involving "her?" This is why we can't have civil conversations, and I'm being dead serious. It's rediculous!

No, my opinions aren't based on she who shalt not be named lest the entire conversation derail into personal attacks on her.
Is it impossible to people that others might have reached a similar conclusion without her input? Yes, I've seen her videos, and they didn't really change a damn thing for me save enlighten me on Dinosaur Planet's fate as an example of something I bloody well hate in the game industry.

Off camera rulership doesn't count for me, nevermind off camera actions period.
Even if it -did- count, the idyllic worlds of peace with little to no military prepared to do anything more than one guy with a wooden sword, even with a chunk of triforce, can do is really -bad- leadership to me. I don't care how long peace has gone on, if a kingdom lacks a decent army, it's a failure. It doesn't have to be personally led by the ruler, there can be delegation to someone who can make an army worth a damn.
If the princess were really so beloved, there'd be an army of volunteers trying to rescue her at the least, and not just one guy. There'd be people training to be her bodyguard to keep her safe beyond, ya kknow, her one hero. Where's the fanatics trying to save her along with Link?
Why has the kingdom seemingly given up on Zelda when she gets captured? Why is there no more than one champion? Is she really thought of that poorly that no one, by hire, by volunteer, or by any reason, doesn't want to be there to defend her, and get better in preparation of it?
But I guess that's the curse, isn't it?

Lets not forget that the instant she drops disguise, she's captured. Regardless of anything she's done before. Regardless of all her power you boast she has. She's utterly helpless in the face of being captured, and generally does nothing until the end. It's irritating. I've always found it irritating when things like that happen. Me, personally, with no input from others.
I don't believe in power I don't see in action, or better yet, control via a playable character. Actions speak louder than words. Being playable speaks louder than being an NPC. Seeing that the evbents don't back up the boasts makes those boasts ring false with me.

It's ALWAYS been a peeve of mine that the wisest, most intelligent of people in media like TV shows, movies, and games are still dumb enough to not be able to defend themselves, either personally, or by having others at the ready, or what have you.
This is compounded by the fact that if they know they're a frikking target (I.E. being important to the society in any way), and it's compounded moreover when they continually ignore the threat over and over again!

Heck, considering it's Link who saves Zelda time, and time again, it seems more reasonable that -he's- the real threat that needs to be kidnapped, and rendered helpless. Seriously, one guy curbstomps an army, plus the puzzles, and he's left alone consistently to fight in his own element to come out on top time and time again? That's pretty dumb villainy there. It's not like the person kidnapped over and over again is going to be able to resist being captured anyhow, right? Go for that target second.
But I guess that's the curse isn't it?

Being temporary help isn't particularly awesome to me. An NPC is an NPC to me. No NPC can rival a player character for me. All it can do is make me wish I could be that NPC.
NPCs dont get the spotlight, they're shunted off into the background, or off stage completely while the playabale character gets things done. Playable characters do get the spotlight since nothing gets done to solve the problems without the playable characters.

There's prolly a plethora of reasons people forgot about the CD-I games.

So, why Zelda instead of gender swaps? What does it do for -Zelda- here if we just gender swap? Male, female, Zelda's role is the same, time, and time again with little variation.

Even gender swapped, Link is Link. Link will likely play the exact same regardless of gender. Possibly more annoying is that gender won't likely play any real role in the story. It'll likely just be link as a girl, not really being treated diffirently than typical link. Sure that's something akin to equality, but what's the point of a gender swap if it's so shallow to the point that nothing else has changed?

I'd like a female protagonist in a Zelda game to be a somewhat meaningful change, here, gender issues aside. Wouldn't you?