I think it's genius. In an entire land of hollows, the dead, armored knights, and beasts, you have this one character who looks like she belongs in an entirely different game, in order to raise a red flag for the player and/or trick them into thinking there is actually a moment of sunshine and happiness in an entirely desolate place.
We (as a gaming community) always assume that Dark Souls is genius and that, therefore, anything in it is genius, every single element.
But let me ask a heretical question. Is this actually the case?
Let's not look at the
ideal dark souls, but the
actual dark souls. What female characters are actually there?
- A whole host of Princesses/maidens - Dusk of Oolacile, Reah, Anastacia, very typically female characters in male-aimed fantasy stories, all of which are very, well, helpless.
- Priscilla. Technically a waif as well (her portrayal really fits to this!) but I'm mostly counting her as a positive.
- The two spider sisters, of course bare chested, and the first you see (LONG before Anor Londo) has a cutscene that immediately zooms on her breasts. The second is absolutely helpless.
- The Darkmoon Knightest who, aside a few summons/invaders the only fighty female character. Stands out way more than Amazing Chest
- The Witch of Izalith, who is, by the way, the only female Lord, and by far the most pathetic (weird that!). Most people don't even realize you probably do encounter her.
- A few non-pretty NPCs, who I like (undead merchant! the cat! the mushroom!). A few meaning three.
For most of the game, all you see is stereotypical fantasy ladies. Waifu, usually fairly helpless. Queelag immediately has the camera turn into a horndog. When you get to Anor Londo, what you saw of female characters is generic as heck. Amazing Chest Ahead is not in fact the Thing That Does Not Fit The Game.
Quite the opposite: Her generic fanservice appeal is as generic as what you saw before when it came to most female characters! When I saw her, I didn't think. "oooh, boobies, this is finally a safe haven, so good, much peace, wow", I just groaned, because she was another one in a long list of female characters that are just fairly typical for dude-aimed fantasy.
Yeah, she's looking like a generic sexy waifu, but is she really out of place? I argue she's not. She's fitting in perfectly. You're typically getting to her relatively shortly after "zoom on breast" spiderlady. You've already met a firekeeper and a number of waifs. You've only seen two female characters (three counting the cat, maybe) that aren't of that mold. Gwynevere is just another one of the typical ones!
Priscilla stands out far more than Gwynevere does. Sure, also fairly waify, but she's one of the few bosses you don't even have to fight - she just gives you the exit, just like that. She's generous, and sure seems to consider her home pretty nice. She's seeking nothing, unlike everyone else, including the illusionary Gwynevere. If anyone stands out, it's Priscilla. If we're supposed to assume Gwynevere is this supposed unfitting element, it'd be pretty weird to have Priscilla in the same general area, but...she's right around the corner. If Gwynevere was supposed to be such a subversion, putting Priscilla next to her would greatly weaken this, and yet that's exactly what they did.
In conclusion, I think taking Miyazaki at his word is the more sensible conclusion than assume genius because the game added boobies.
It's fine when not every element of Dark Souls holds up all that well. Neither does the entire Lost Izalith area. It's still a good game.
Those who are even the slight bit curious about the plot of Dark Souls
And this paragraph is just rude. People that do not agree that "showing tits is genius" are not uncurious, nor is any sort of lore "lost" on them.
The idea that the special leader is an illusion isn't new or difficult to understand. Remember The Wizard of Oz?
This really is "breathing out of her skin is genius and you'll be sorry once you understand the genius" all over again, imo.
