(LifeSiteNews) — A female character introduced in the U.S. version of a Nintendo video game 20 years ago is now a “transgender” male.
In 2004, purple ghost Vivian was included in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Game Cube console along with her evil sisters Marilyn and Bedlam.
Vivian was mocked incessantly by her siblings because she was “ugly.” She has re-emerged in this year’s Nintendo Switch remake for the U.S. market as having been picked on because she was born a boy.
NEW: Nintendo @NintendoAmerica has gone woke. They just introduced a transgender character in a kid’s game. Vivian discusses her gender identity and her sisters’ transphobia with Mario. She says she realized she “was their sister…not their brother.” pic.twitter.com/DZMSwGEr7u
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 23, 2024
“Truth is, it took me a while to realize I was their sister… not their brother,” Vivian tells Mario in the game, according to Nintendo Life Magazine. “Now their usual bullying feels heavier.”
The New York Post is reporting that in non-U.S. markets, Vivian’s “true identity” was included in the first edition of the game.
“In the original 2004 Japanese version, Vivian was also transgender and subject to teasing from her sisters,” the outlet has said.
CBS also reports that a review by IGN magazine states that in the Italian edition of the 2004 game, Vivian’s sisters “misgender” her, causing her to lash out and to be “proud of her transition.”
The Post has further stated that “the difference in the new 2024 edition is that the teasing is toned down, with game-makers adopting a more celebratory attitude towards Vivian’s trans identity.”
Reaction to Vivan’s “coming out” to U.S. gamers has fallen along ideological and religious lines.
Conservative voices on social media bemoaned the fact that yet another cultural institution has embraced wokeism and are grooming young people into supporting LGBT ideology.
Pro-LGBT activist website GLAAD has reported that as of November 2023, there were 146 console games available in the Xbox store that featured LGBTQ content. Sony PlayStation had 90 such games while the Nintendo Switch eShop included 50.