Its why I think she is a shout out instead of an expy to similar. She has enough auxillery similarities to show that she was atleast partially inspired by Samus.
Meh, I'd say it's barely fitting at best. For one, Samus doesn't keep quoting Choso stuff all the time (nor do we ever get much of a sense it affects her personal values) the way Cora has practically gone Native with Asari. Furthermore Samus was adopted and raised as a Choso, while Cora trained with them as part of a program.
For two, Samus' origins isn't that well known outside the Metroid fandom, so it's something rather obscure to use for a shout out outside of way more well known Metroid tropes (Arm cannon, morph ball, surprise gender reveal)
For three, the whole "Resembles the zero suit" is tenous at best. Samus wears a cat suit, Cora's armor has a helmet, is also notably bulkier, and outside of "Form fitting outfit" the two have nothing in common in terms of color and design. And if having a form fitting outfit is all it takes to reference the zero suit, you'd have an easier time saying Catwoman and Supergirl are shout out to Samus. This link is furher weakned by Cora wearing regular clothes when NOT in her armor (t-shirt and pants) and that her armor isn't the undersuit to anything unlike the zero suit.
"Her job as a member of a Pathfinder team even makes her occupation similar to Samus's activities in the prime games: exploration of alien worlds."
Not really? Cora's a second in command of an exploration crew. Samus is a bounty hunter (And her mission in the prime games (Where she, btw, never is seen in the zero suit) isn't exploration. She's there to deal with specific threat or rescue lost soldiers in the case of the 2nd game. Cora's very job involves a team while Samus is a solo act.
Edited by Ghilz
Alright, can we have a word or two about Contrasting Sequel Main Character?
At this point, I'm ready to declare it a moot point in a series that's got Loads And Loads Of Characters. For example, you can say Liam is a contrast for Kaidan (straight male love interest), he's a contrast for Ashley (human squadmate), he's a contrast for Garrus (both cops), he's a contrast for James (hotheaded male human love interest), he's a contrast for....you get the idea.
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Isn't all this moot since this isn't even the trope? Contrasting Sequel Main Character only applies to protagonists, so the trope should only be applied to Ryder, not party members.
Edited by Tahaneira
Looking at the description, you're right. I thought that it was being extended to playable party members or team protagonists, but no—the description offers no such flexibility (or reach, for that matter).
To be fair (I am the one who launched the trope), it didn't occur to me at the time to make it for supporting character, nor did anyone in YKTTW point this out. So it's more an omission than a strict limit.
There's also an argument to be made that when stretching the definition outside of protagonists, it becomes harder to decide who is who's counterpart. It's easier to compare main characters coz they have the same role in the story.
That said, I do think the definition is being stretched when it's cherry picking traits from half a dozen characters to point them all as contrast. The (initial) intent was to contrast two protagonist who differ in many (if not most) points as a way to take a sequel in a different direction.
That said, I do know it's not my trope, so both points might be worth taking to TRS. I'm just offering insight on my thought when I launched it.
Edited by Ghilz
I always feel launcher intent matters in determining Trope Decay. Although I can see the case for contrasting multiple characters if it's a small cast with an equal-numbered team, in this case, there's SO MANY characters through the franchise that it's just impossible.
For that matter, how can we tell the difference between intentional contrast and Counterpart Comparison? If we are comparing multiple characters, contrast is bound to show up by coincidence. I agree that this trope should be limited to when they clearly contrast only one character, since any more is messy enough to make it arguable.
To TRS?
It doesn't help that BioWare loves their tropes. I wouldn't doubt that you could find major parallels between characters in Mass Effect and those in KotOR, or SWTOR, or Dragon Age for that matter. We can't exactly divine intent without asking the writers directly, so this trope could balloon rather quickly; and trying to restrict it to 'one counterpart per character' sounds like YMMV arguments waiting to happen.
Edited by Tahaneira
While we're waiting for the TRS to get going, should we also do the % thingy to the other examples on the page? (No idea what that process is called.)
No, when you put two % signs in front of an example, so it's still in the code but not showing up on the page.
Oh "commenting out".
Meh. If someone wants to, that's fine. We've got the discussion rolling, so it's not a big deal, IMO.
Edited by KingZeal
Could Cora be a Shout-Out to Samus Aran from the Metroid series?
A badass, female, blonde, space born, human super soldier trained as a commando by a Crystal Spires and Togas type alien race. Mass Effect's skin tight space suits makes her armor look similar to the Zero Suit. Her job as a member of a Pathfinder team even makes her occupation similar to Samus's activities in the prime games: exploration of alien worlds.
Granted there is a big difference: Samus is a one woman army who much prefers to work solo, while Cora is far less independent, working best with a team, and her follower attitude is a main reason she was passed up as the new human Pathfinder.
Update: She also uses cryo-ammo as part of her level 6 abilities. Like Samus's preferred Ice Beam.
Edited by RemiV Hide / Show Replies