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Mr. Fantastic

Alt-account
Banned
Apr 27, 2018
3,189
I can't think of any off the top of my head but are there any Nintendo characters that are Hispanic or Latino?

only one I can think of is Misango and he's like D-list at best

misango.jpg


we aint ever getting shit
 

Baleoce

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,179
Doc Louis should be playable. His final smash should be him running you over with his bike.
Imagine if they just put Mike Tyson in. His final smash could be exactly the same as fighting him in punch out. You use it and he disappears, and 8 bit versions of him appear on screen for every affected character, and they have to dodge every hit to not get knocked off.
 

Alcibiades

Banned
Feb 3, 2018
630
User Banned (2 weeks): History of dismissive posts in serious topics
You can pick a black Mii character, black Inkling and a black villager. I really don't understand the issue here. Most of the roster is non-humanoid anyway...
 

The Adder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,107
TL;DR: Spring Man represents everything you need to know about ARMS with his design alone, which is something that neither Ribbon Girl or Twintelle do as good of a job at. That alone puts Spring Man closer to Ryu than Liu Kang. The fact that the graphic novel is Spring Man-focused shows that Nintendo's still staying the course.

With that said, I could see Twintelle replacing Ribbon Girl as the leading lady.
The graphic novel was planned well in advance of the game's release I am sure. Moreover, Spring Man doesn't tell you everything about the game. The eponymous ARMS in ARMS aren't arms. They're the weapons. And more than just your arms can have the stretchiness thing applied.

Having said that, I agree with your conclusion, as between the two of them they cover everything about the game and universe and, in addition, have the fire and ice thing going.
 

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
Member
Dec 28, 2017
24,630
Just remember that these are old characters many times. Also, "white" people are the vast majority in North America and definitely Japan. Game makers design their games to sell to the most people. All that said, I believe there are dark skinned costumes for Splatoon kid and Mii. So modern games are accounting for more skin colors. It's hard to think of many dark skinned videogame characters in general. Mr Sandman, Twintelle, Barrett, ???? Not exactly the most popular characters.
There's a fuckton. Of the top of my head you have
  • Elena from Street Fighter
  • Zasalamel from Soul Calibur
  • Demoman
  • Shadow Man
  • Doc Louis
  • Sazh from FFXIII
  • Shinobu from NMH
  • Dudley from Street Fighter
While you won't see Sazh and Demoman in Smash, the rest could easily get in. Posters ITT saying there aren't many black characters in the first place are dead wrong. No reason why Nintendo can't add them in.
 
Last edited:

feyder

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,156
Sure, both are pretty sucky, but for the most part when it comes to dismissing representation concerns, it comes off as individual opinion. Something like: "I don't see it", or "I don't think it matters in a Japanese developed character focused game like Smash"
But when you have people attack someone because of their race, is that not coming off as a little bit much?
Who is attacking him? He said he's a white person yet doesn't associate with any character and so doesn't think people should care about this, dismissing the concerns of the thread.

In response, it was pointed out that due to him being white, he hasn't had the opportunity to understand what it's like to not be represented, so he shouldn't be dismissive of how others feel about this topic.
 

Smiles

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,897
Just remember that these are old characters many times. Also, "white" people are the vast majority in North America and definitely Japan. Game makers design their games to sell to the most people. All that said, I believe there are dark skinned costumes for Splatoon kid and Mii. So modern games are accounting for more skin colors. It's hard to think of many dark skinned videogame characters in general. Mr Sandman, Twintelle, Barrett, ???? Not exactly the most popular characters.

That is the point really it will take many decades before we can catch up, games with PoC leads are not being made that often and as you pointed out developers create games to reach the most people so minority groups are not always going to get representation in the most popular games.

It is something to shine a spotlight on, but it is not something any reasonable person should hold their breath for because it will take a lot of willingness and many years to change.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,722
The point is that some do not make that connection between a fantasy world and real life counterpart because the story does not frame it in such a way. Yes something like Fire Emblem is obviously inspired by European feudalism and romanticism, but many people don't consider Marth to be "European" or white, he is from.... whatever the Fire Emblem world is called. I haven't played The Messenger so I don't know if that takes place in our world, but you are projecting your knowledge about how ninjas are portrayed in our world into a fictional (?) one.

It's the old "Why are all anime characters WHITE?" routine. Because the audience imprints their ideas onto characters, often in spite of (or because of) the creator's intentions.

We're discussing racial representation in video games. The "It's a fictional world" point doesn't apply, because ultimately that would lead to no group getting any representation outside of documentaries because 'it's fictional'. If the world and characters are clearly directly modelled after European characters, then it's fair to say they represent European people.

If there's someone out there who is enough of a dumbfuck to say that "All anime characters are WHITE" while ignoring all the clearly Japanese signposting in them, then Iunno. I don't even know what kind of mindset you have to go through to just pretend a bunch of white european people took over modern Japan and are all eating noodles and generally just being pretty darn Japanese.
 

casey_contra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,377
Seattle, WA
The main thing Nintendo needs to work in is creating LEADING PROTAGONISTS that are non-white. They are capable of creating black and brown characters, but they rarely are the main characters of games, making them unlikely to end up as playable fighters in Smash. Yes, Urbosa would be a cool fighter, but being a one off character in a Zelda game that is only really featured in flashbacks and a small portion of the gameplay makes it hard to justify making her a unique character on the same billing as Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf.

I have a lot to read in this thread... but you touched upon one of my two points:

1) Nintendo/Gaming in general needs to do a better job at creating more diverse leading and prominent characters. Before we even talk about who gets into Smash we need to talk about how to expand the pool of black and brown characters to choose from.

2) Smash needs to look at the black/brown characters that exist already while also considering a (hopfully) expanding pool of characters to choose from. As mentioned, Twintelle and Elma are awesome choices - especially Twintelle because she isn't the "main" character but definitely the fan favorite.
 

Mr. Fantastic

Alt-account
Banned
Apr 27, 2018
3,189
fuck it, I am now campaining for MISANGO

He's black/brown, latino AND a native person, he's more diverse than generic American Twintelle.

latest
 
Nov 17, 2017
12,864
How many humans/humanoids in the roster? I think that would be a more accurate description
Mario
Link
Samus
Dark Samus
Zero Suit Samus
Luigi
Captain Falcon
Peach
Daisy
Popo and Nana
Shiek
Zelda
Dr. Mario
Marth
Lucina
Young Link
Ganondorf
Roy
Chrom
Pit
Dark Pit
Wario
Snake
Ike
Pokemon Trainer
Lucas
Olimar
Toon Link
Villager
Mega Man
Wii Fit Trainer
Rosalina
Little Mac
Palutena
Robin
Shulk
Ryu
Ken
Cloud
Corrin
Bayonetta
Inkling
Simon
Richter
Mii Fighters

So like some of these are the same person, some are humanoid but not human but there are more "humans" in Smash than animals and other creatures.
 

mikeys_legendary

The Fallen
Sep 26, 2018
3,009
If you followed the IP you would know. As much as it still annoys me that I had to tan my Villager in Animal Crossing New Leaf now they are trying to put a black villager as an option in Smash hmmmph.
I will not appreciate Shantae as a PoC when the devs kept changing her skin from dark to light and back again, felt like they could not make the commitment for the sake of marketing and sales. Not a good history there for PoC. It matters what you do with these characters because PoC rarely get to see them in games.

Black folks already have to give characters like Elma and Twintelle a pass because they come from a long history of the Japanese meme of Black Skinned person with White Hair. It is a really weird thing you find in anime and manga always this theme of dark skin and white hair, like they really are trying to avoid creating a black character so they made this race of white haired people.
It's my understanding that the fans (rightfully) brought this up with the devs for Half Genie Hero and she was changed back to her darker skin tone. That I followed. I'm unsure of whether or not a similar controversy occurred before that but I guess I wouldn't be too surprised.

I get the argument you're making, but she's never been officially depicted as anything other than a person of color in her games. Imo that's what counts.
 

DaToonie

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,136
But none of the characters in Smash Bros. are real...

Seriously. They are all fictional made up video game characters. Whether it's Link or Isabelle they are equally made up.

Literally none of us are like link, like Mario, like Ike, like any of them. I am white and don't feel like I associate with any of the characters in the game. Does that mean I'm not represented? They could all be black, blue, or green. None of them actually represent me. So I just don't find myself caring.

Some of the characters are multiracial in the game with different skins even. Not even miis really feel like... Me.

I a fat 32 year old white male who has dreams of more. But I don't see anything that represents me.

Not do I really give a crap. I don't play Smash Bros to self associate to characters

It's a lot harder to understand this kind of thing when you're well represented in practically every game you have and will ever play.
As well as all other forms of entertainment.
 

KtSlime

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,910
Tokyo
Maybe I'm not reading this for long enough, but everything here seems to spell out that, regardless of the setting, regardless of where the story takes place, it is still seen as being a product that represents Japan, ie, "It is a game made in and by the country of Japan". Nothing I am reading indicates that characters with distinctly European features and names are, themselves, of Japanese ethnicity, but that the character was written and designed with a 'Japanese mindset', to paraphrase in my own words. They may impart Japanese values and motives on these characters, but not their ethnicity.

To put it succintly, this article backs up, "Fire Emblem is a game made in Japan, with a Japanese Flavor", and not, "Fire Emblem is a game that takes place in a regionally Japanese world with ethnically Japanese characters".

EDIT: The Ghost in the Shell example provided does not really apply to Fire Emblem, as no one in Fire Emblem has a Japanese name. (They may have a distinctly Japanese person's idea of what a European name sounds like, but they aren't Japanese names.)

I think there has been a misunderstanding, in the case of Fire Emblem and other fictional world settings, Japanese players/readers/viewers do not assume the characters to be Japanese nor European based on the language, clothing, mannerisms, etc. It's like watching Star Wars, even though I am hearing Han Solo speaking American English, it does not mean that I should assume the character is American, thanks to the text at the beginning, I know it is taking place in a galaxy far far away.
 

Splader

Member
Feb 12, 2018
5,063
Who is attacking him? He said he's a white person yet doesn't associate with any character and so doesn't think people should care about this, dismissing the concerns of the thread.

In response, it was pointed out that due to him being white, he hasn't had the opportunity to understand what it's like to not be represented, so he shouldn't be dismissive of how others feel about this topic.

here were a couple posts that stood out for me.
You should just be quiet since you're white, you probably dont and never will understand. By default, you feel like that because you are represented and you dont even know it.

I was disappointed in this too. I think there's some concept art floating around where
she has all the weird crystal hair stuff going on but retains the brown skin.
I would've greatly preferred that. It even looks better.

I'm at least glad that her true form is only a thing in the very last cutscene and they immediately give you the option to keep her default look.



250px-Wario_SSBU.png

That last one especially is pretty damn mean. I mean yeah sure, we're all adults, what's a joke here and there, right? Definitely not a joke in good faith though.

His post was arrogant and ignorant all in one, but at the same time I can somewhat understand him. I've "connected" with Link as a character for years, same with plenty of other non-brown characters. You don't need to be the same race to connect/relate to a character. I agree it helps plenty, and I'd love to see more leading roles by people of color (Just Cause is a great example), but that doesn't limit me in any way in connecting or relating to characters.
 

WrenchNinja

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,742
Canada
How about not constantly bringing up alternate costumes and skins as get out of jail free cards when games chooses to represent characters with light skinned defaults. This is like letting them have their cake and eat it too.
 

DanteLinkX

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,730
But what color is gannon? I have always seen ganon and gerudo race (and gorons too) in general as the black characters in zelda.
 

Splader

Member
Feb 12, 2018
5,063
I think there has been a misunderstanding, in the case of Fire Emblem and other fictional world settings, Japanese players/readers/viewers do not assume the characters to be Japanese nor European based on the language, clothing, mannerisms, etc. It's like watching Star Wars, even though I am hearing Han Solo speaking American English, it does not mean that I should assume the character is American, thanks to the text at the beginning, I know it is taking place in a galaxy far far away.
I've sorta always associated Fire Emblem characters as Japanese tbh. Yeah plenty of the games take place in a more European setting, but I dunno, them being Japanese-like was just stuck in my head.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,722
I think there has been a misunderstanding, in the case of Fire Emblem and other fictional world settings, Japanese players/readers/viewers do not assume the characters to be Japanese nor European based on the language, clothing, mannerisms, etc. It's like watching Star Wars, even though I am hearing Han Solo speaking American English, it does not mean that I should assume the character is American, thanks to the text at the beginning, I know it is taking place in a galaxy far far away.
If Japanese players were having this conversation, right now, trying to decide how much ethnic representation that Japanese and/or Asian players get in games, would Marth go under "Japanese race" or "White European race"? Would he be viewed as being closer to Mario and Link? Or closer to Ryu?

I've sorta always associated Fire Emblem characters as Japanese tbh. Yeah plenty of the games take place in a more European setting, but I dunno, them being Japanese-like was just stuck in my head.
Hhhhooooooowwwwww!!!!???
 

SixtyFourBlades

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,864
I think Twintelle is definitely going to be the ARMS character that gets in. She is a girl, black, and very popular for...reasons.
 

Deleted member 4093

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,671
You're dumbing down basically his entire being into his race... I don't get that, and I don't think I ever really will. Yes his point was pretty damn ignorant, but maybe it's more so because he's, you know, ignorant on the issues? Literally dismissing anything he'd ever say because of his race sounds insane to me.
I'm dumbing down his entire reasoning for the way he feels because of race. YES
Maybe that poster doesn't have a moustache tho
lol
He can't be capable of understanding because he's white?
He can but at the moment, it is what it is.
 

Smiles

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,897
There's a fuckton. Of the top of my head you have
  • Elena from Street Fighter
  • Zasalamel from Soul Calibur
  • Demoman
  • Shadow Man
  • Doc Louis
  • Sazh from FFXIII
  • Shinobu from NMH
  • Dudley from Street Fighter

I don't see these as Smash worthy characters. I think Nintendo is the key here at least if we are on the topic of Smash Twintelle and Elma are the most iconic fit, Doc Louis should not be fighting, Punch-Out has a really bad history when it comes to race a lot of the humor was pretty racist to all peoples. Smash use to mean you had to at least had a history with Nintendo platforms. Any of those on your list is kinda Assist Trophy levels because putting them in for the sake of skin color would bring Smash to the level of PS All-Stars. If you have to google the names we already lost the deal.

The point is you won't downgrade the cast with Twintelle and Elma they carried their games enough and still on the minds of many fans of the Switch.
 

louis89

Member
Jun 11, 2018
69
Tokyo
You should just be quiet since you're white, you probably dont and never will understand. By default, you feel like that because you are represented and you dont even know it.
I'm black and I don't understand it either, so it's not just him.

In all the time I was playing games growing up I literally never gave any thought to the fact that the fictional characters in the games I was playing were a different race as me. If a black character was available I'd be likely to pick them, like in Streets of Rage for example. But I've never actually cared beyond that.

I identify far more with Michael than Franklin in GTAV, because Franklin is a street gangster and is nothing like me as a person. His skin colour is one small part of his character, just like it is for me. I have no affinity with a character just because they're a similar colour to me; they don't represent me and they have nothing to do with me. And someone doesn't not represent the kind of person I am just because they're white. This idea of race-based "representation" in fictional media is just so bizarre to me.
 

Splader

Member
Feb 12, 2018
5,063
If Japanese players were having this conversation, right now, trying to decide how much ethnic representation that Japanese and/or Asian players get in games, would Marth go under "Japanese race" or "White European race"? Would he be viewed as being closer to Mario and Link? Or closer to Ryu?


Hhhhooooooowwwwww!!!!???
Yeah I dunno. Maybe because Marth has always spoken Japanese in any game I've played him in, or that Lyn was the first Fire Emblem character I interacted with.
 

TheOGB

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,993
- We need more major PoC characters in games
- We need more major PoC characters in Nintendo games
- We need Urbosa, STAT
 
Nov 17, 2017
12,864
That last one especially is pretty damn mean. I mean yeah sure, we're all adults, what's a joke here and there, right? Definitely not a joke in good faith though.
Did you really take me posting a picture of Wario as an attack? He said he didn't feel represented as a fat white male who dreams of more. I showed him a fat white male who dreams of more who is in the game to point out that, he actually is represented. Even though there was some humor intended, it's far from being mean or being an attack. You seem to be more upset about our tone in responding to the guy than his total disregard for how minorities feel about representation and why it might be important to them.


His post was arrogant and ignorant all in one, but at the same time I can somewhat understand him. I've "connected" with Link as a character for years, same with plenty of other non-brown characters. You don't need to be the same race to connect/relate to a character. I agree it helps plenty, and I'd love to see more leading roles by people of color (Just Cause is a great example), but that doesn't limit me in any way in connecting or relating to characters.
I can connect with Link too. That doesn't mean there shouldn't be more diversity. There is an inherent difference when you have grown up seeing people that look like you put only in minor roles, stereotyped roles or none at all versus when people that look like you almost 100% of the time are represented. As a black male, I connected differently to the movie Black Panther than I did Captain America. Doesn't mean I couldn't connect to Captain America but it's very different and there is a problem when someone who isn't black tries to tell me that it doesn't mean anything.
 

Splader

Member
Feb 12, 2018
5,063
I'm black and I don't understand it either, so it's not just him.

In all the time I was playing games growing up I literally never gave any thought to the fact that the fictional characters in the games I was playing were a different race as me. If a black character was available I'd be likely to pick them, like in Streets of Rage for example. But I've never actually cared beyond that.

I identify far more with Michael than Franklin in GTAV, because Franklin is a street gangster and is nothing like me as a person. His skin colour is one small part of his character, just like it is for me. I have no affinity with a character just because they're a similar colour to me; they don't represent me and they have nothing to do with me. And someone doesn't not represent the kind of person I am just because they're white. This idea of race-based "representation" in fictional media is just so bizarre to me.
It really sorta baffles me too. Like do people think they can identify with Link more because they're white? Or with the Master Chief because they're white?
A well-written and created character will be able to connect with pretty much anyone, regardless of race.
 

TheOGB

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
9,993

Thatguy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
6,207
Seattle WA
There's a fuckton. Of the top of my head you have
  • Elena from Street Fighter
  • Zasalamel from Soul Calibur
  • Demoman
  • Shadow Man
  • Doc Louis
  • Sazh from FFXIII
  • Shinobu from NMH
  • Dudley from Street Fighter
While you won't see Sazh and Demoman in Smash, the rest could easily get in. Posters ITT saying there aren't many black characters in the first place are dead wrong. No reason why Nintendo can't add them in.
Forgot about Doc. Sandman seems like a better fit for Smash as a Little Mac opponent.
 

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,711
United States
How many humans/humanoids in the roster? I think that would be a more accurate description

By my count, there are 44 human/humanoid characters in the Smash Ultimate roster. This is more than half the playable characters. So if you want to say there are 44 playable humanoid characters, only 3 of them (Inklings, Villager, and Miis) offer you black or brown skin tones. None of these skin tones are the default and are options beneath more prominently featured white characters. By the metric the OP is going for, there remains zero black or brown characters in the fighter roster by default.

The status quo is unchanged whether you count from 44 or 72. The answer is still that there are zero black or brown fighters outside of three skin-tone options for other characters. Those three options are good. I am grateful for them. I am glad there are brown Inklings and Villagers. But the problem as a whole persists.

There have been a few people who've asked this, so I don't mean to single you out. You were just the most recent person to reply to.
 

KtSlime

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,910
Tokyo
If Japanese players were having this conversation, right now, trying to decide how much ethnic representation that Japanese and/or Asian players get in games, would Marth go under "Japanese race" or "White European race"? Would he be viewed as being closer to Mario and Link? Or closer to Ryu?


Hhhhooooooowwwwww!!!!???

It's kind of late right now, so I am not going to LINE any of my friends to ask, but that is an interesting question. I would assume, that most never would have thought about it until the question is posed to them. Ethnic representation isn't a big deal here, it is thought of in a very different way than in the West.
 

feyder

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,156
here were a couple posts that stood out for me.

That last one especially is pretty damn mean. I mean yeah sure, we're all adults, what's a joke here and there, right? Definitely not a joke in good faith though.

His post was arrogant and ignorant all in one, but at the same time I can somewhat understand him. I've "connected" with Link as a character for years, same with plenty of other non-brown characters. You don't need to be the same race to connect/relate to a character. I agree it helps plenty, and I'd love to see more leading roles by people of color (Just Cause is a great example), but that doesn't limit me in any way in connecting or relating to characters.
I can agree, since I've also connected with plenty of white characters.

But then the next question is: why aren't there more coloured protagonists? If we can connect to characters of any race, why are they all white by default 99% of the time?
 

Nothing Loud

Literally Cinderella
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,981
You're right that it's lacking, but it does have Ganondorf, Little Mac, and skin color options for Villager and others.

That's the pity with Japanese character game designs though since the 80s. Characters have been known to have many colorful hairstyles, but they're usually pale-skinned.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,722
Yeah I dunno. Maybe because Marth has always spoken Japanese in any game I've played him in, or that Lyn was the first Fire Emblem character I interacted with.
Lyn (specifically for her character), I can understand (as she is Sacaean, which is like Elibe's Asians). Marth, if having not yet played Fire Emblem, I can understand (Though I, and most others, took this as 'hes the guy only in JP games so he only gets JP voice', but that's not something that would apply to the JP audience). But as soon as you open a Fire Emblem game and see any of the other characters, I can't see looking at any of those and thinking the majority are Asian.
 
Oct 25, 2017
3,722
It's kind of late right now, so I am not going to LINE any of my friends to ask, but that is an interesting question. I would assume, that most never would have thought about it until the question is posed to them. Ethnic representation isn't a big deal here, it is thought of in a very different way than in the West.


This is a fair point that they may not consider it (and this fact that they probably DON'T give it much thought in general is why I give early Nintendo characters a full pass on race), but I would be shocked that if after thinking about it they would place Marth and Roy as being more Japanese than European.
 

The Adder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,107
that doesn't make it any better m8
I mean

A. It makes yoyr statement factually wrong, which is why I'm correcting it (same as I've corrected misconceptions surrounding Ken's heritage)

B. It points out that, hey, Twintelle is also a woman who gets to be both athletic AND feminine, which is rare.

And

C. It just generally pisses me off when people see black folks advocating for something and, instead of saying 'hey, let's get in on this too' they decide to say 'fuck what the darkies want, what about us'.