The Women of Heavenly Sword

Heavenly Sword is one of the most tragically underrated games on the PS3. It received a lot of acclaim from the critics, but was often accused of spectacle over substance, and came out in the early days of the system where everyone was still knocking around the gimmicks of the PS3 Sixaxis controls. It is not a perfect game, it suffers from uninteresting boss fights, tacked on motion controls (which are mostly redeemed by the fact that you can turn them off) and frustrating QTEs and puzzle sections. Still, it offers a deep and challenging combat system, tight responsive controls and stunning visuals, rivalling most games being released 5 years later. On top of all that, you have an amazing story, directed by Gollum himself, Andy Serkis. Serkis also provides the mocap and voice performance for the lead villain, Bohan, stealing every single scene he is in. However, I'm not here to talk about the game. It's great, underrated and one of the better action games on the system. I'm not here to talk about Serkis' amazing performance/direction either. I'm here to talk about the three women of Heavenly Sword.

(Spoilers to follow, read at your own risk)

I'm going to start with the villain, Whiptail. Whiptail was a woman once, but has somehow ended up a part eel/part snake/whip-wielding...thing. She is devoted to her master, King Bohan and it is insinuated that he somehow turned her into what she is now. Whiptail is fuelled by sex and anger and views our heroine as a potential ally. Throughout her battle, she attempts to lure Nariko in with promises of a life of luxury in servitude. Ultimately, Nariko weakens her by praying on her relationship with Bohan. While she is hardly the greatest written character, she provides a surprisingly deep and haunting villain.She has become a victim of her love, truly becoming a worthless monster in his eyes. Had she not fallen so hard, perhaps she would have been on the side of good. But the heart is blinding and love ultimately is the downfall of Whiptail, as she dies at the hands of her love. True tragedy.

The second playable character is a young girl called Kai. Little is known of Kai at the start of the game, we are introduced to her as a strange, vague child, with a morbid fascination in playing "twing, twang" (read: shooting bad guys with her high powered crossbow). It is later revealed her whole clan was slaughtered in front of her by the psychopathic General Fox, and she herself may have been tortured, or worse. Nariko finds her some time later and the two bond as the only women in an all my clan. They bond over their grief and loneliness, Nariko at the loss of her mother and alienation by the clan, and Kai over the loss of her whole clan. Kai desperately clings to her childish innocence, playing war as a simple game, but beneath that shell hides a raging inner turmoil. She is fully capable of defending herself, often showing ingenuity and prowess in battle. She even manages to assist Nariko even while being tormented by the man who murdered her family. Kai provides a truly tragic heroine, one who overcomes an overwhelming hardship and ultimately rises to save the day, many times. She's like Batman and R2-D2, haunted by a tragic past, forever hiding in the shadows and saving the day, often as an unsung hero.

And then we have Nariko herself, who is, in my own opinion, one of the greatest female characters. Now, let's just get this out of the way. Yes, her outfit is revealing. You can see half her butt, and she wears little more than some strips of fabric. However, she is not wearing any more or less than any other character in the game. In fact, she is probably wearing more than most of the male characters. Justification, perhaps, but there is very little titillation involved with the way she looks. In herself alone, Nariko represents a lot of the games major themes. Born during a time of prophecy, Nariko is seen as a portent of doom. A male was meant to be born to lead them to glory, instead a daughter is born. Nariko's birth kills her mother, and her father nearly murders her before she can draw her first breath. She is alienated, feared and even hated by her clan, and her father treats her as a pupil first, and daughter second. Still, he clearly loves her and trusts her enough to gift her their most sacred possession, the Heavenly Sword. Driven to rescue her father and save her friends form Bohan's army, she takes the sword in hand and forfeits her life. Those who wield the sword are cursed to die, but Nariko does it without hesitation. And eventually, through sheer willpower, she bends the weapon to her own will, bringing herself back to life long enough to slay the King and bring piece to the land. She dies a hero, worshipped by the clan. Kai sums up: "Some worshipped the sword, others killed for it, but only you saw the truth." Nariko's character just simply wouldn't have worked as a male. Ninja Theory used the power of gender roles to reinforce Nariko's character arc. Her whole story could be seen as a metaphor for a woman's struggle to exist in a male dominated world. There are no females in positions of power in this game, and those with power are hated and feared.The game explores a lot of strong themes: religious persecution, misogyny, genocide, sexual tension, ignorance and many more, and Nariko herself personifies nearly all of them. Her story arc ties the world together and she is it's beating heart. That is why I truly believe that Nariko is one of the best written (and marvellously acted by Anna Torv) female characters in gaming. Now, go buy the game. It's less than 20 bucks in any gaming store.