I asked my daughter the other day what she thought about getting a Ninja Turtles. Her first & only question was "is there a girl Ninja Turtle!?" After some research I discovered there are (Venus, Jennika, etc), but not in the 1987 show. I tried to sell April as a strong, female character, but admittedly she's not a ninja (or turtle...) and she's not a "playable" character like the 4 turtles.

It was a heartbreaking question, but did make me wonder: what games feature strong female characters? Do any pinball machines have a lead female character that either isn't overly sexualized or someone's bride ?

Jennika (resized).png

Venus (resized).png

Yes! Good call

I was thinking that as well. Love the game, and Catwoman is a great character in the series, but you're right the "heroes" get the spotlight in the game itself.

Solid choice. Didn't even think of TNA

Good to hear your daughters enjoy the game. I do feel April fits the bill, just not the star of the show in this case. It wouldn't be canon, but why not program in a 5th selectable character in Turtles that you could enable or disable in the settings? Jennika seems pretty badass...

I love that. I didn't make the story connection before when I played it, but did really enjoy the game.

I see your point in some respects, but I like how Ben Heck described themes on one of the podcasts recently (I forget which one) - "wish fulfillment". In other words, you are Batman fighting villains or, in the example you gave, a mobster robbing a bank. If you are not fulfilling a wish or if you cannot connect to the wish, it's just not engaging.

Thank you - my apologies for the repeat topic!

With respect, this is not quite what I was getting at, I was responding to your statement about how you're "not playing as anyone or anything" in pinball, which I don't feel is accurate, regardless of the age of the pinball machine. Theme is everything IMHO when it comes to getting people interested & engaged in pinball. A good theme makes you feel like the protagonist and it's more immersive. If you are already invested in playing pinball as an experience like you and I, then I agree you may care more about shooting, progressing, scoring, etc. But since you mentioned Early Sterns, how about Meteor? You are coordinating a rocket strike to save the world from extinction-level event. Tell me that isn't wish fulfillment!

As far as why gender depictions matter, we'll probably have to agree to disagree on that.

Haven't actually played Avengers yet, but looks sweet. Will have to seek one out now. Thanks for the recommendation

Halloween SE on order

Good question, I should've clarified. I like Mudflaps description of the TNA protagonist "just a tough, smart chick". I'm no prude, but let's be honest, most women in pinball art are hyper-sexualized and/or objectified. There are some exceptions as mentioned by other posters. Really not intending get on a soapbox or make a big statement here, more wanting to put things in my gameroom when possible that my daughter would be interested in playing. She is interested stories, shows, and games about other kids her age and especially female characters that are like her (curious, tough, smart, kind).

Agree, that's the conundrum here. I really like BoP as a game, but she's not really an empowering character. For one, she's the "bride" of Pinbot. I get it's a Bride of Frankenstein reference, but it's like calling Catwoman "Batman's girlfriend". Second, you are shooting balls into a sex robot's mouth, so....

Haha. Never seen that game. That's awesome and unexpected!

YES! Genius!

Really appreciate all the thoughtful responses in this thread. My takeaway: there are a lot more options than I thought! Bravo to those who companies who have chosen/highlighted more inclusive themes & characters.