Depending on how you look at it, Nintendo can either be one of the most or least progressive of video game companies. On the one hand, almost every Mario game has something to do with Peach getting kidnapped and Mario having to rescue her, with the same going for The Legend of Zelda and Zelda getting rescued by Link.
Meanwhile, however, not only was Metroid the first game to have a prominent, strong, and independent female lead in pretty much all of video game history, but Nintendo has clearly made efforts to make Peach less of a damsel in distress and more of someone who can defend herself in some recent games (such as Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, where Peach helps Mario significantly throughout the quest - albeit while captured). In addition, Zelda is often portrayed as a strong fighter in more recent Zelda games, such as Ocarina of Time, where she poses as Sheik to help Link reach all of the temples in the post apocalyptic future, and Wind Waker, where the reincarnation of Zelda is, in fact, the leader of a group of pirates.
Are the more progressive elements of Nintendo games enough to make up for the negative stereo types present in many other games, or is the situation more nuanced and mixed than it is absolute and definite? Better yet, is the continued lingering presence of negative stereotypes and gender roles in the name of keeping themes and general plot lines the same throughout series acceptable, or does the situation warrant a massive overhaul of what have generally become accepted tropes of certain series (Peach is always captured, Zelda always needs Link to save the world, etc).
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