“Of course, pop culture experts will know the most notable fictional Muslim woman is Parvana el-Hasan, the eponymous protagonist of the Parvana video game franchise. Parvana made her debut in Parvana: A Muslimah‘s Journey for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, but developer Qiblah Studios could not have known the girl with the sword and the pink hijab would go on to earn herself a spot in the video game halls of fame alongside characters like Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man.”
An excerpt over from an article on the presence of Muslims in western pop culture, giving a special shout-out over to Parvana. The
Parvana series is a beloved video game franchise, especially over in the Middle East and developed by the Iranian game developer Qiblah Studios. The franchise focuses on Parvana, who must travel to the Muslim holy cities while fighting dangers and monsters in a fantastical version of the Middle East. The first game took inspiration from
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in terms of gameplay and presentation (which was due to the head developer getting the Japanese version.)
The franchise took off for openly having a female protagonist in the game and helping to become one of the leading ladies of gaming. The franchise would continue and expand on Parvana. She would get a sequel for the NES (which details her journey back to Iran) though her true rise would come on the SNES with
Parvana: Quest for Truth, which would have Parvana end up searching for her father's disappearance across a fictional version of Iran. The SNES game would flesh out much of her and her supporting cast, showing her to be a quiet and dignifed young woman. Her supporting cast would include her shrewd if comical younger brother who is a traveling merchant, and her mother, a strong supportative woman. It would also introduce her reoccurring nemesis and the one who made her father disappear, a shaitan sorcerer named Dhajil. As such, it would become quite a celeberated game.
Her jump to 3D showed a transition in the franchise.
Parvana 64 would see her go across the fictional verson of Iran, known as Eryhan, to stop Dhajil from attempting to take over her homeland. It would also flesh her and her family out a bit. That said, developers noted that they hit a stumbling plot for Parvana. And like her contemporaries, her way out of this creative funk would be to become unorthodox. This would be seen in the GameCube game
Parvana: Occidental Pilgrimage. Parvana ends up teleported to a fictional version of Europe by a trap by Dhajil and she must make her way home. Here, the game franchise would develop a magic system and flesh Parvana's characterization the most. We learn her likes and dislikes along wth seeing a happier side of her. Notably, we also see the introduction of her love interest, a scholarly alchemist. The two bond over how different they are from their countrymen, their love of learning and their loneliness. This along with the angle of forbidden romance captivated audiences, especially by how raw the pairing felt. The story is framed as a coming of age story; as one of the developers put it- "Parvana is launched into a new world and have to change and grow, like we have to."
The franchise would also branch out into spinoffs. One is a more comical adventure of her brother and his looking for treasure (inspired by the Warioland games) over on the Gameboy Advance and later the Nintendo DS. Another would be a crossover between Parvana and
Shantae of all people, a result of a magical artifact. The dynamic would be amusing as Parvana plays the straight woman to Shantae and her friends, yet never opposes going with their antics. The crossover game is also known where she and her love interest actually first kiss, thanks to Shantae. The next mainline game would be for the Nintendo Wii, in
Parvana: Quest of Destiny. Parvana must save her homeland once more, as Dhajil has let loose demons and monster while she was away. It refined on the system along with increased puzzle-solving. Players could also use the Wimote to simulate her sword swings. She would also appear in Super Smash Bros Brawl alongside Sonic the Hedgehog as the first non-Nintendo characters there, appearing since then. Her next game, for the Wii U, would be a direct sequel, in
Parvana: Restoration. While Parvana saved her home, it's still in ruins. However, a key to healing the land lies with her going to find the "King of Djinn" to heal her land. She travels to the nation nearby to find it. She also uses the magic slate she found (the Wii U) to go and make matters easier. And then would be her latest game for the Nintendo Switch in
Parvana: Enlightenment which has her and her love interest venture up north in an open-world action-adventure with RPG elements. The land here is themed after Central Asia and explores a new facet of Parvana. Here, a form of pilgrimage with her beloved as she confesses feeling unsure of what to do with her life and the two working together to conquer this uncertainty. This reflects on Qiblah Studios' own thoughts on how to move forward. Beyond this, Parvana has appeared in DLC packs for Shantae games, usually with new adventures and dialogue. The Parvana franchise remains quite beloved over in Iran and in west, and considered a premier example of Iranian representin in pop culture. It also showcased the close bond between Iran and the United States.
"After refusing to aid the British in their coup attempt in Iran, President Eisenhower would back Mossadegh, resulting in Iran becoming a parliamentary republic. This show of support would strength American-Iranian relations as the latter became America's premire ally in the Middle East."