Who is this new leader?

[JSMCAG]

Well, if you don't mind removing the intro voiceover, one could easily make a mod that replaced all instances of Maria I to Maria II, and changes the intro... And since you will likely be playing Portugal, the leaderscene mismatch doesn't matter at all does it?

Well what if I want to hear a leader speaking portuguese? Let's just pretend Pedro II doesn't count! We can't have Maria II introducing herself as Maria I! Maybe they'll take a page out of Pedro and just say she's Maria, Queen of Portugal (and the Algarves, pretty pleaaaase?... But for that to happen, Isabella would have to say she's Queen of Castilla and Léon, so that's not likely...)

But yes, it'll be incredibly easy to change, and I'm sure that by the time the game reaches this side of the shore, there will already be a mod to change that!

And it's not the end of the world, anyway... Just a weird choice...

What's the deal with Gustavus anyway? Why does it look like he was modeled after Eric XIV? (sorry for the offtopic)

Unless they REALLY wanted that beard, I have no idea...
I guess Erik XIV is more easily distinguishable than the actual Gustavus would be, but if that's the reason, then going for him only made them sink further, not help them...

 

[Zenon_pt]

WOW...
couldn't believe it...
MARIA?!?

 

[nunor]

WOW...
couldn't believe it...
MARIA?!?

You look happy.

 

[Colmar]

WOW...
couldn't believe it...
MARIA?!?

My reaction is a bit different. She's not even the best Maria they had, much less the best leader.

 

[trexeric]

Darn it, they chose Maria the Mad? Aren't they worried about name confusion with Maria Theresa?

 

[Scaramanga]

What do we do with a problem called Maria (and Maria Theresa)?

 

[kingchris20]

I'm surprised it wasn't Afonso I

 

[pedrosfm]

I'm surprised it wasn't Afonso I

That would have been bizarre. He's responsible for almost the entirety of what is today's present Portugal, but his sole focus was the war against the moors, their expulsion from the Iberian peninsula and the expansion of the borders towards the south. The Age of Discoveries was still a long way ahead and we weren't yet drawn to the sea as we came to be.

But he is one of the greatest in our history, that's for sure. We know him more by the name Dom Afonso Henriques which is also more iconic, rather than Afonso I. Both are perfectly valid though.

 

[DudewiththeFood]

She has no beard.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Sometimes you can just tell when they're only using a female because they want more females. I'm not sure if this is better or worse than Joan of Arc from Civ III. Unlike Joan, Maria actually ruled--but she was terrible at it. Portugal has so many other good rulers they could have chosen; it's obvious Maria was only chosen for the female factor. From now on, when I talk about "token chick syndrome" leading to bad leader choices, Maria I is my new go-to example. I'm all for female rulers, but I wish we could keep it to ones that, you know, make sense.

Anyone care to take bets on how long after release it will be before a mod comes out that replaces her with someone better?

Can we do animated leaders yet?

: We can't have Maria II introducing herself as Maria I!

I personally would find it weird that any leader would introduce themselves as "the first." She would probably just know herself as Maria.

 

[JSMCAG]

I personally would find it weird that any leader would introduce themselves as "the first." She would probably just know herself as Maria.

... Nice point. It was late at night, so I probably wasn't thinking right at the time...

I'm kinda disappointed we didn't get to see her in motion... Lots of photos and clips of Portugal, but none of the leaderhead, making her and Casimir the only leaders we haven't heard yet... I'm just going to assume they haven't recorded her lines yet - don't disappoint me Firaxis!!!

 

[vcutag]

I actually sort of like Wu because she was animportant, good ruler and she was from the Tang or Ming dynastys, both of which are really important so it doesn't matter which one. So, she ruled China successfully during one of its heights, she was pretty cut-throat, and she really embodies the imperial system of empresses wielding more influence than was supposed. Since only a handful of emperors stick out like she did, there's no good reason not pick her, and I'm sick of grinchy Qin Shi Huang, I like her. A little random, but I think a lot of thought was behind picking her.

But you really can't make the case that China didn't have other, more worthy leaders (Qianlong, Kangxi, Yongle, Sun Yat-Sen, etc.) than Wu Zetian. She was included because she was a woman. If you want to illustrate a woman wielding more influence than she should, you could pick Cixi.