The Gender Revelation of Samus Aran in Super Smash Bros: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

The identity of Samus Aran as a woman has been a topic of interest among gaming enthusiasts and fans of Super Smash Bros. for decades. However, did most people think that Samus was male when the original Super Smash Bros. game was released in 1999?

The Timing of Samus's Gender Revelation

It is important to note that the release of the original Super Smash Bros. in 1999 came at a time when the gender of Samus was not as widely known as it is today. The character Samus Aran, whose true gender was revealed in the original Metroid game on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1986, had undergone a decade of development and evolution in the gaming world by 1999.

Super Smash Bros. was developed by Nintendo as a fighting game that featured a roster of iconic Nintendo characters. The game was first released in Japan in 1999 under the title Square-Beri-Beri before its international release. At the time of its release, Super Smash Bros. was the first opportunity many players had to witness the evolution of Samus Aran as a fully realized female character. This was a period in which the gaming community was only beginning to understand the depth and complexity of Samus's character.

Common Knowledge in the Gaming Community

However, it is worth noting that the status of Samus as a woman was common knowledge within the gaming community long before the release of the first Super Smash Bros. game. The first Metroid game, which revealed Samus as a woman, was released in 1986, more than a decade before the emergence of Super Smash Bros. This revelation was widely discussed and documented in gaming magazines, fan forums, and community publications.

By the time Super Smash Bros. was released, many gamers were familiar with the full character bios and backstories of Samus, having played multiple Metroid titles and keeping updated with the latest gaming news. Nevertheless, it was still possible that some players who had not delved into the Metroid series did not know about Samus's true gender.

The Accessibility of Information

The state of information accessibility during the late 1990s was vastly different from today's digital age. Before the internet became widespread, information about gaming franchises and their characters often took longer to reach a broader audience. Players often relied on magazine articles, in-game cutscenes, and limited video content to learn about their favorite games and characters.

For many gamers, especially those who primarily played Super Smash Bros. as their first exposure to the Metroid series, the character’s gender might not have been a known detail. The game's development focused on showcasing the battling mechanics rather than the in-depth character histories, which could have contributed to this oversight.

Conclusion

While it is not surprising that some players might have thought Samus Aran was a male when they first experienced her in Super Smash Bros., this perception should be understood within the context of the time. With the release of each subsequent Metroid game and the growing awareness of the character across different gaming platforms, the true gender of Samus Aran became common knowledge in the gaming community. However, the accessibility of this information varied, and some players might have remained unaware due to the limited channels of information dissemination in the 1990s.