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Influential Female Characters: Evie Frye

Posted on May 12, 2017 by thiathebard
Influential Female Characters: Evie Frye

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It isn’t easy being a woman in Victorian times. Neither is being an assassin intent on cleaning up an insanely corrupt London.  Evie does it with grace and snark. Her targets hardly stand a chance against her precision when killing. When it comes down to it there really isn’t a better woman for the job then Evie Frye.

acs-gameplay-og-EVIE Assassin’s Creed is a gaming franchise that has produced many successful games. There was even a movie made from the concept of the games recently. Players have been able to choose highly trained assassins in multiple areas and times in history; including but not limited to the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the golden age of piracy to play. These characters have targets, for various reasons, to dispose of. In Assassin’s Creed Syndicate the player gets to play as both Jacob and Evie Frye.

Evie  is the elder of the Frye twins. Both were trained by their father in the ways of assassins. Evie, however, took her training just a little more seriously. She and her brother are in London trying to rid the city of corruption in their own way. Evie’s way just happens to be using all her training and brains to kill her targets.


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Evie is honestly just a fun character to play. She is beyond capable in a role that we haven’t gotten to see many of her gender participate in. She is sarcastic. She is ruthless at times. She is so smart. She fights just as well as any of the other assassins. If you have been searching for a female character with depth and daggers, I suggest you pick up Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Yes, you have to switch between playing Evie and Jacob but at least she is an option, which has been lacking in the other Assassin’s Creed games, save one.

Evie and Jacob have a great sibling relationship despite being so different. It is nice to see a character whose base concept is that of a killer to also be shown as so human. Her scenes with Jacob help to show that. They tease each other. They challenge each other. The Frye twins keep each other human as they hunt down their targets and I am really happy that they get to have that complexity given to them.

So if you are looking for a femme fatale in a historical setting, I would giving Assassin’s Creed Syndicate a try!

what a cutie

Always keep sparkling!

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Influential Female Characters: Princess Zelda

Posted on March 10, 2017 by thiathebard

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I know a lot of people who love Princess Zelda. Why wouldn’t they? She’s beauty. She’s grace. She’ll punch you in the face. Well, that is all dependent on which incarnation of Zelda one is playing, that is. She has evolved and changed with every version of The Legend of Zelda that has been released.

Despite her name being in the title of of the games, Princess Zelda is not the main character. The main character is our own pot smashing Link. In every game, we have a different version of Link. Usually he is saving or aiding Zelda. Then why name the games after Zelda? Because there would be no need for Link to be adventuring if not for Zelda.

Yes, she starts off as a damsel in distress, but in many of the newer games, Zelda handles herself fairly well. Also every Princess Zelda is chosen by fate, though often also a member of the ruling family,  to be charged with the Triforce of Wisdom. So, basically, she is a boss with all the wisdom to rule and a chosen one to boot. So yes, her name should be in the title of all the games.

In the first Legend of Zelda game, Zelda is not even seen until after Link defeats the big boss. However, she guides him throughout the game. Zelda usually has some form of psychic powers, including telepathy and sometimes premonitions. She is always very wise and fair in her judgement, which makes her a wonderful ruler. It, however, does not seem to be able to help her evade being captured.

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Zelda’s age and appearance depend largely on the game and Link’s age. Sometimes she is a child, a teenager or a young woman. Usually she has blonde hair – though sometimes brown – with blue eyes, pointed ears and long dresses. There are a few times where she wears boots and pants. Normally she looks very much the picture of a princess. She is always proficient with music.

Her role in the games also varies depending on the game. In earlier games she was normally a damsel for Link to save. There are times when she even wields Link’s blade. In some games, she has her own sword. Other times she has a bow and arrows.

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She is a kind ruler. Zelda tends to be forgiving of those who have wronged her. However, if you hurt someone she cares about, *coughLinkcough*, all bets are off. Her relationship with Link changes from game to game. Sometimes they seem to be together romantically by the end of the game. She does always seem to care about him and his welfare.

I like how feminine she is. I like how she is always strong, but not always in the way of having to physically fight. Zelda does everything within her power to protect her people. At the end of the day, Zelda is a really interesting character. I think it is important for her strength of mind to be something for gamers to look to as a positive trait as well. Sometimes we push away characters like Zelda because they are not always physically strong. That is is a mistake. Zelda has a lot of positive qualities that we can look to and emulate. 

Here is to Princess Zelda, the chosen princess of her people and overall boss!

Always keep sparkling, friends!

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Influential Female Characters: Chun-Li

Posted on February 10, 2017 by thiathebard

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Let’s just be honest about this from the jump; Chun-Li is a boss. She is the first female playable character in fighting games. The unofficial First Lady of arcade games. She has a great backstory and an unwavering sense of justice. Also, it is just so fun to play her and kick the actual snot out of people.

Chun-Li is also one of my favorite characters because she is closely tied with my early childhood.

When I was a kid, we went out for pizza a lot. Most of the local pizza places had some arcade style games. The real arcade was too far, so this was where my brother, my cousins and I played these games. One of these restaurants had Street Fighter. My brother and I loved Street Fighter. I always played Chun-Li. I loved how strong she was. I particularly loved how she could kick forever and kick so high. Thankfully, the owners thought it was cute to have me yell; “KICK! KICK! KICK!” as Chun-Li would decimate her opponents in battle. You can get away with causing some shenanigans as a cute little girl in pigtails bent on slaughter till your pizza is ready.

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There weren’t a lot of choices for me as a little girl to play a female character that were not a damsel in distress. Chun-Li was that option. She has always been a capable and highly ranked character in the games. She high kicked her way into my heart and let me know I could get myself out of situations and even be a little sassy about it.

Now that I am older, I can also really appreciate her backstory. Most of the time her origin story is that, as a little girl, she was very interested in martial arts and her father trained her. Her father was a detective who would go missing. She became a detective herself to find him. From there, she goes to all sorts of places and lengths to stop villains. 

chun-li_various_agesChun-Li fights for justice. Sometimes she fights for vengeance. She is a police officer and an overall likable person. She has been voiced and played by some pretty cool actresses, including Ming-Na Wen in the movie of which we do not speak from 1994.

Chun-Li is a fun character. She doesn’t have to be someone’s girlfriend. She is a career women with a backstory that is a part of her but does not define her. She uses her talents to help others. Chun-Li is also a favorite of cosplayers and who could blame them with her cool outfit? Honestly she is just a really great character to play.

Let us know what you think about Chun-Li in the comments below!

Always keep sparkling (and kicking), my friends!

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