Four Black Gaming Characters that aren’t Stereotypes
Negroid. n. An African-American that perpetuates negative stereotypes against black people. i.e. Cole Train, Lil Jacob
Lil Wayne was sentenced today on three counts of being a dumb negroid.
This is always fun to write about. Gaming has a history of making black characters out to be extremely lame. Lame as in one-dimensional and cut from the same stereotypical mold. Everytime I bring up race in games, the conversation with my white friends inevitably ends up going, “Why does it matter what race you’re playing as? It doesn’t matter to me. Sounds like you’re the one who’s racist.” Am I just weird for that? Is it wrong that I pick males when the game lets me pick gender, too?
I don’t think game developers are racists. They’re just mostly asian and white dudes who aren’t particulary good at creating any minority characters without stereotyping. Here’s to the ones who are: my top 5 non-stereotypical black characters.
Zasalamel
If you don’t know how to make a cool black character, mixing James Earl Jones with Samuel L. Jackson and giving him a scythe can’t hurt. Fighting games are notorious for having laughably stereotypical characters of all creeds. Jeffrey McWild is black. I’d say he speaks for himself, but he kinda just roars and throws random words in sentences. Zasalamel is a testament to great character creation all around.
He’s the main bad guy in Soul Calibur III, but not your typical cackling villian. Zasalamel plays it cool, seeing people as mere casualties of his quest. What quest, you ask? He is looking for the all-powerful Soul Edge sword because he taught himself how to reincarnate and he’s tired of it now. That’s a badass motherfucker in any race, ladies and gents.
Sheva
No, no, Resident Evil 5 isn’t racist. The word I’d use is racially insensitive. Disagree? Try playing it in front of your African mother.
“No mom, you don’t get it. They’re zombies, see?”
Co-op compadre Sheva could have been a bland tacked-on attempt at being politically correct but Capcom did a crazy thing and made her an intriguing character. She’s sexy in a very independent way, wanting to save the people of her home from the virus that’s been administered to them unknowingly. The human compassion she shows while remaining strong in the face of zombies renders Sheva a better character than any in the series outside of Leon Kennedy. Maybe. Only downside: her fetishy and completely random tribal downloadable content outfit. Pretty messed up. Baby, steps people.
Sazh
The fact that the black guy in Final Fantasy XIII has a chocobo living in his afro certainly didn’t give me a great first impression, but Sazh is a lovable and valuable member of the team. The Final Fantasy series also brought us perhaps the most well known black character in gaming: Barret of FFVII. Sazh gets the edge by being likeable without having to fall back on Negroidian qualities like swearing and yelling.
Sazh is on the hunt for his kid, basically Jaden Smith’s character in Pursuit of Happyness, who’s been taken away from him. He’s is the most grounded character in FFXIII, often making wise remarks and helping the other characters through their individual drama. The cutscene where he must finally face his own is the most gripping in the entire game because he’s so believable. In a franchise with giant walking chickens and melodramatic heroes, Sazh is perhaps the most realistic character Square has ever made.
Alyx Vance
She is a double oddity in the world of gaming because she is both a woman and a black character who’s cool. Alyx Vance of Half-Life 2 is a techie, knows her way with guns, strong, and even has a sense of humor. She’s arguably the best NPC buddy in gaming history. At one point in Half-Life 2: Episode One she starts making zombie sounds just to fuck with you. My kind of woman.
Best part about Alyx Vance is that you haven’t played the game you wouldn’t know she was black. She can just be interesting without resorting to the same played stereotype of black people being loud and outlandish. Unborn children know Cole Train’s black.
Vance is the Obama of video games. Her dad looks like Morgan Freeman, meaning even if her mom is Elin Woods she can still fill in “African-American” on bubble sheets. Asalaam-Alaikum.
The list would have been longer, but I ran out of good black characters. We’ve come a long way as human beings. So much so, that we have learned that your skin is not who you are. I’ve played games as white guys and various creatures all of my life to much fun, and I’ll continue to do so after I’m done with this article. It would just be nice if I could be some more black characters from time to time that didn’t all act the way society thinks we’re supposed to. Crazy thought, right?
***Remember the time: Jaleel’s workin day and night to bring you the off the wall Combo Breaker every Friday. It would be dangerous to miss out this time around. You’ve got to be there.***
About the Author
Jaleel is an editor on The DamnLag and author of "Combo Breaker". A video game journalist since 2004, he's had to churn out every cliche article imaginable. Combo Breaker is his initiative to inject real, investigative journalism into the industry. Just don't ever tell him he's wrong (he probably wouldn't believe you anyway).
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