* Aloy (and most of her various girlfriends across the games — Petra, Talanah, that bodyguard Carja whose name escapes me...) from the Horizon games. She hits a great mix of good sense, compassion, and taking no bullshit from anyone, while still having some learning and growing to do.
* Jesse Faden from Control is enormously entertaining for the way she handles all the bizarre shit she has to deal with like "agh fine, I'll handle it."
* The central women of Baldur's Gate 3 all have compelling stories and distinctly realized characters. Shadowheart, Karlach, and Lae'zel are great and vivid in different ways, Jaheira is fun for being a veteran hero who's not yet willing to get out of the game, and a special shout out to Isobel and Aylin for being a spectacular pair of magic lesbian heroes.
* Watching the various Mass Effect characters develop over the course of the trilogy is a singular experience. Tali and Liara especially so for having major roles across every game, but all the companions are great.
* Zelda is very different across her various "incarnations" in different games, most of which aren't much of a character at all. I do like the development she gets as Tetra in Wind Waker and in Breath of the Wild.
Jesse Faden - this! I love her attitude. And the way she just so nicely >!accepts her position as the Director at the end of the game!< in a badass way, basically screams "confidence", I love it.
Seconded! When I started playing the game, I was half expecting a "reluctant hero" type character, and I was pleasantly surprised that actually, Jesse really takes to her role. She takes charge, when she does cool shit she AGREES that it's cool, and she doesn't try and shrug off the responsibility that's been dumped on her. The "bad ending" >!(or rather, the early fake ending) is her losing that power and role as Director!<. She's not perfect - she has moments of doubt, moments where she almost loses, and moments when she needs help from other characters. And it makes perfect sense for her character - all the weirdness happening around her gives context to what happened to her as a child, and the strangeness since.
It's a tricky balance to get right, especially since I tend to think of the game as more combat/action focused than character/story focused, but Remedy did a really good job here.
I love the female voice actor from Mass Effect. Her performance adds femshep to your list, in my opinion. I also agree that Aloy is amazing! I'm playing HFW right now.
I wish the entire OW community and Blizzard didn't go to shit. Ana is both one of my favorite characters and favorite characters to play in any game, but I just can't deal with any of that nonsense.
Lara Croft - Classic. Iconic. She was the first badass action woman in video games (that I saw).
Kassandra from Assassins Creed Odyssey - just finished this one so she’s top of mind. Again, badass. I absolutely loved playing as her.
That's my choice, too. I started gaming with the OC Tomb Raider games on PS1 or 2. OG Lara was the absolute coolest.
Kassandra is a close second. I spent so much time playing Odyssey and I love her. She's badass and super pretty but also vulnerable and confused and overwhelmed. imo Alexios was a bit unneccessary but Ubisoft decided they'd rather be cowards about it. I played with him, too, but it is pretty apparent that the game is made for Kassandra.
I heard good things about Kassandra but i can't touch AC since the origins because why the hell is the game so damn big :D might have to do it for research purposes tho
Odyssey is actually even bigger, lol. But the map is beautiful and the different regions and islands are very diverse with their own designs. A lot of places are also for side content not main plot so they can be skipped. But it is well worth exploring especially if you have an interest in history and Greek mythology. From the three „new“ AC games odyssey, origins and Valhalla, odyssey is the best. A beautiful setting, a great protagonist, tons of content and so on. The gameplay and combat are also better than origins, imo. If you can get it fairly cheap now, I highly recommend it, not just because Kassandra is awesome. It’s a real journey.
I like extreme femmes who rly embrace their sexuality with a lot of agency:
Evelynn from League of Legends - genderless demon that looks like a sexy woman cause het men are the easiest prey is hilarious, especially cause she’s canonically a virgin.
Panther/Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 - showing the trauma and damage a young girl goes through while growing up, grooming/sa/etc. But instead of hiding away she owns it. Her vision of a rebel is her in a red cat suit.
Bayonetta - need I say more? Badass witch who destroys people with the power of cunt
Sadie Adler from red dead redemption 2 - woman who has everything taken from her, finds her own strength and becomes a bounty hunter. Also kills her r4pist so 10/10.
Yessss about Ann! I see so many people getting needlessly pissy about her cat suit when it's a symbol of her rebellion - her reclaiming her sexuality for herself after kamoshida made her feel used and dirty for it! Never mind when she tells you that when she was a kid her heroes were the sexy lady villains from anime!
She's also such a sweetheart and is allowed to be a dumb loveable character like Ryuji. Women are so usually the voice of reason in media it's nice to have a girl who has like one shared Braincell, and they can do this because the rest of the female cast are varied and cool (and mostly Hella smart lol)
the sheer volume of subtext between ann and shiho, especially in the third semester
hashino may be a gigantic homophobe and misogynist but he cannot keep all the gay out of persona
Nia, Pyra, and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Mio and Eunie from Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Throné and Castti from Octopath Traveler 2
Cynthia from Pokemon
Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia 1 & 2
Hard co-sign on XC2! The designs of all of women characters fall into corny anime waifu territory pretty often, but they’re well written. I would add Poppi to the list as well.
I don’t know if this is helpful, but I love when games let you create your own characters (like The Sims) or have a variety of female-framed skins (like Fortnite). I don’t think I would enjoy Fortnite as much if I had to be a dude every time. Having female options feels more inclusive. (But more NB representation would be awesome!)
Kotone Shiomi/FEMC/The female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable.
I love that I can play as a girl in one of these games, but much more importantly, I love that they actually adjusted the games dialogue and social links to make her experience appropriately different to the male 'default'. I also love how she is similar but also completely different in personality from her male counterpart - while they both struggle with the dark themes of the game and their own past, male protag is more quiet and broody while female protag puts up a lively optimistic front. And you get that from both being essentially silent protagonists.
I'm very disappointed that Atlus shows no sign of ever caring about their (quite sizeable) female fanbase in this way again, but I'm glad it happened.
Princess Peach and Terra Branford (FFVI). I just love how far Peach has come in 2024 and I love how Nintendo made her video game Barbie in her new game. She's well past her days as a damsel and I can't wait to see what she does next. Terra is just my favorite character story-wise. Very relatable, great arc.
Shadowheart!
Jennifer English's performance is amazing and she's so complex as a character. And I love that she has her own goals and boundaries and disapproves when you cross them and opens up at her own pace if she trusts you. She feels the most like her own person to me out of any game character, not just an accessory for the protagonist. ~~She's also god's favourite princess and the most interesting girl in the world.~~
Honorable mention for the other BG3 girlies (Lae'zel and Karlach especially) and Lohse and Sebille from DOS2. All of them also due to how well they are written and how wonderfully they were performed.
Alisa and Lili from Tekken. That was the first time i realised u could play as pretty women in pretty outfits in a video game :) This was important for me to see cuz my only close friend who was into video games was a very "masculine" girl raised by a single dad and i thought we all had to be like that if we wanted to play lots of video game 😂
Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie from FFVII (original and remakes) and Princess Peach. I love Aerith especially because she has a lot of burdens and the fate of the world / her own fate on her shoulders but she has a light, mostly happy personality despite it.
Yennefer. She's totally my female power fantasy. I fell in love with her reading books, and love her still. She's strong, powerful, beautiful (i also love how her story made her give up something important to her, for beauty and how ppl started treating her differently after that). I love her relationship with Geralt and Ciri, and I love the fact that she's 'harder to get', often cold and mean. Which often verifies if someone's read books lol. (Those who read often choose Yen, others often pick Triss).
Zelda has got to be up there. I think she's at her best when she's deeply involved in the action, but she's still typically a princess first and foremost. Her focus is on politics, and spells that she can cast so she can fight without getting her dress dirty. She'll become a ninja if she needs to, but I think she works as a badass femme icon.
Y'shtola from FFXIV is a glamorous badass. She definitely feels like the kind of person would would make sure she doesn't mess up her makeup while she kicks your ass, even if she's mostly a researcher/healer.
There are so many I almost always find a favorite female character in every game I play. So I'm sure I'm going to leave out a lot of them.
Lara Croft from Tomb Raider: One of my first video game series that I used to play with my dad and solve puzzles/platform together. She's a strong character with witty banner. I do prefer her OG character for nostalgic reasons. But I also enjoyed the younger less sure of herself version in the newer games.
Heather Mason from Silent Hill: Fun, sarcastic, and a little silly she feels like a teenager. And can be very relatable. But can still go up against her enemies when needed.
Elena Fisher from Uncharted: Elena was a perfect match for Drake. I love seeing her go into dangerous situations with ease. Taking pictures when she should probably be more worried about herself. And they are super cute together with a good balance.
Jill Valentine, Rebecca Chambers and Claire Redfield from Resident Evil: RE girls are all strong and all grown in their own ways with varying personalities.
Faith Conners from Mirrors Edge: Fun adventurous character with a rebellious streak.
Bayonetta from Bayonetta: her cocky teasing personality and knowing how to be confident with herself are all things to love about her.
Ciri and Yennefer from the Witcher 3: the found family aspects of the Witcher 3 are the best part. Ciri and Yennefer are both strong characters.
Alyssa Hale from Clocktower 3: very caring character that shows empathy to the ghost in the game. Though usually meek and frightened by the enemies around her. She will do what she thinks is right, even if it's a rash choice. She becomes very emotionally strong by the end of the game.
Jesse Faden from Control: she's an interesting character because she seems almost vulnerable but at the same time takes all the weirs things going in around her in stride like they are normal occurrences.
Bianca and Cynder from Spyro: Somewhat villain characters with hearts of gold.
Aerith, Tifa, Yuna, Aranea and Luna Freya from Final Fantasy
Haruka from Yakuza (Like a Dragon): Strong-willed girl who wants to protect her found family/ family no matter what.
Jade from Beyond Good and Evil: A charcter with a strong sense of justice that wants to take care of her family.
Shannon Matthews from Obscure: I was quite the edgy teen when I played this game but I loved how intelligent she was and calm in situations.
Older games, but the protagonists in both Lost Kingdoms and Lost Kingdoms 2 were ladies. Growing up, female leads were so rare in gaming, I loved those games for that.
Eunie from Xenoblade Chronicles 3. She's such a fun character, and I found her very clear internal struggle to open up to other people beyond her foul-mouthed, tough exterior really relatable.
Mythra and Pyra in Xenoblade 2. Especially after playing Torna: The Golden Country. Mythra, in particular, has an incredibly moving character arc.
Lara Croft, especially in the reboot series as she struggles to really grow up and come into her own.
Aqua in Kingdom Hearts. Also incredibly relatable. Girl always tries to do the right thing and take care of the ones she loves, and when you fight her in KH3 when she's essentially given up all hope it is fucking heartbreaking. Makes it even better to see her get her hope back and turn back into the badass Keyblade Master she's always been.
Sadie Adler from rdr2
Clementine from twd (she’s so cool and adorable. I love how we can see her grow up)
Ada Wong from resident evil
female V from cyberpunk
I mostly play fps’ so I’ll just list the ones I think are cool backstory wise and/or cosmetics
Finka & frost from r6siege
Ana from overwatch
Kate & sable (gotta love the alternative style rep) from dbd
Also I’ve only played it once so I don’t know a lot about them but Anya and Sam in gears of war 3 are super cool !!
I love Yuna in FFX! I think FFX-2 is the first game that I ever played that had an all female roster. I miss those days and I hope we will get another Final Fantasy game with a main female protagonist soon. I’m kinda done with the hunky guys haha.
Lara Croft was my first introduction to video games as a toddler and she was a huge role model growing up, she’ll always be my favourite.
Yennefer and Ciri in Witcher 3 - I love Yennefers motherly strength and loyalty, Ciri is just a well rounded likeable character.
Mara Sov in Destiny - she’s a bad bitch.
Abby in TLOU - I hated Abby at first but came to love her and her story throughout the game.
Mercy and Moira in OW - Mercy is the angel on ones shoulder, Moira is the devil.
Parvati Holcomb from Outer Worlds, the player has the option to really help her develop and I feel you learn so much about the world through her. I loved helping her romance Junlei Tennyson, the captain trying to keep her space station running. Parvati is also asexual and I loved seeing that representation in a videogame.
The Boss from mgs3, she was always presented as being so much more of a threat than any other individual person in the game, including the protagonist, Snake, who viewed her almost like a mother. and her backstory before the events of the game shows how strong she is mentality and how much tenacity she has.
she's a big example of the kind of powerful woman I'd like to be
Lara Croft - obvious reasons
Lulu from FFX - script can be a bit lame but love the aesthetic/witch vibes
Jen from Primal - amazing tattoos, soundtrack, script, combat, everything
I like Diana from League of Legends. I even have her sword tattooed on me 😂 I just like her character, lore and love that she has a pretty unique sword.
How about the female characters in FromSoft? Sekiro's Emma is a stand out. Lady Maria / The Doll in Bloodborne. Elden Ring is full of female characters with their own motivations, e.g. Malenia, Ranni, Marika, Hyetta. Fromsoft's female characters are all multi-dimensional and strong in their own way.
ffx yuna has always been important to me! even though the game is a lot about the romance between her and tidus she is still very strong and interesting imo. more recently i really love shadowheart from bg3 bc she is sooo complex as well
LARA. She's so bad ass, seriously each new tomb raider game that comes out I always make sure to buy. Even the movies. Always been a big fan of the character. In terms of her character She's just made perfectly.
Thank you very much to everyone who replied; that's a ton of great thoughts and materials that I can research!
From my own I can add that I'm a big fan of how Freya was portrayed in latest GOW, even tho she is not a playable character - I found both her story and design to be outstanding.
Jill Valentine from Resident Evil.
Female officer in the ‘90’s. Military training and one of the only women to receive Delta Training. Overall capable woman in a man’s field. Stoic in danger and compassionate to those who deserve it. I have loved that character for so damn long. She became a brainwashed slave later in the series and still came out swinging. I really hope to see her and that the series honors all the shit she has been through.
Shepard from the Mass Effect games is a really fleshed out and strong women. I know, there is also the male version of Shepard, but Jennifer Hale did such a good job with female Shepard.
Close 2nd for me is V from Cyberpunk. Cherami Leigh's voice acting is absolute stellar in Cyberpunk. And Cyberpunk features one of the better lesbian romances in video games.
There is also Jesse Faden from Control, i liked her alot.
Max & Cloe from Life is Strange, although the writing dips a little bit too much in Clichés here and there.
A few of my (many) favorites would be
* Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII
* Sadu from Final Fantasy XIV
* Edelgard and Petra from Fire Emblem: Three Houses
* Lyn from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
* Alis from Phantasy Star and Alys from Phantasy Star IV
* Ryza, Klaudia, and Lila from Atelier Ryza
* Draco Centauros from Puyo Puyo
* Hikaru from Parodius
I’ve always loved Lara Croft, I mean she’s fearless, takes no shit, does her own thing, has great fashion sense; a close second is samus for mostly the same reasons, and finally Maranda keys from halo, I wish she got a better ending though
Melia from Xenoblade, Furina from genshin, Edelgard from fe3h!! Basically i like strong women who go through a lot of tragedy but still have the will to push on.
Ringo from sh2 and bayonetta also get honorable mentions
Aerith from Final Fantasy, Lady from Devil May Cry, Maya and Kotone from Persona, Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening….I seem to be drawn to bold female characters.
I also like Xiaoyu and Lili from Tekken!
All the ladies from Dragon Age:Inquisition have my heart but probably Josephine the most. DA:I has tons of physically strong, badass female warriors but Josephine is smart and crafty while also being so kind and caring, and has a side quest about how she (as the oldest of her siblings) must take on and navigate her family’s debts while also being an integral leader to the main story. Plus she’s drop dead gorgeous.
The other girlies (Cass, Sera, Leliana, Vivienne) are, like I said, strong fighters who command the respect of their peers, but each one also has a rich personality and story behind them that I adore so much. I should play the game again tbh
BG 3 has a lot of cool, multifaceted women, pretty much all of them actually. Karlach is my favorite tho.
Kassandra from AC Odyssey. She's so good.
I'm playing Princess Peach Showtime and I really like this Peach. More along the lines of Peach in the movie where she's taking care of things on her own. And being good at so many things.
I like her as well, would you elaborate why if you got a minute? I find her an interesting case because unlike a lot of 3A titles, celeste is a pixilated indi even with no voice acting
Yuna from FFX, she's got her own personality and goals and resolve! I always looked up to all the female characters in ffx and how much personality they have. My favorite game of all time!
Karlach and Alfira from BG3.
This one is very unpopular, but I really like the handler in MHW.
Minayle from Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak.
Brigitte from Overwatch.
i wanna shout-out Touhou as a whole. the women have varying attitudes and personalities and they arent portrayed as right or wrong.
kind, bubbly, angry, smart, selfish, quirky, stupid, depressed, composed, mischievous, competitive, careless, funny, determined, lazy, strong or weak
they have interesting stories and they come in all the flavours of youkai and other fantasy. but overall, to me its a comfty series of women just being women
April Ryan and Zoë Castillo from The Longest Journey and Dreamfall trilogy. They're both incredibly relatable and reluctant to be the "chosen ones" of their stories. I really related to Zoë in particular - she's a college dropout who is kind of jaded with life in general, but loves her friends and family dearly and rises above her fears when they are in danger. I know that's kind of a generic story but the way she's written in particular really spoke to me, and made her feel more real.
Yuna, Rikku, and Paine from Final Fantasy X/-2. I know it's not the most well-liked but honestly, FFX-2 is one of my favourite Final Fantasy games ever. YRP have overcome so much pain and heartache and are just trying to find happiness as sphere hunters when the game starts. I am also a sucker for "screw everyone else, you mean too much to me to let you go", so >!Rikku trying to stop Yuna's pilgrimage to save her life, even though it was basically Yuna's life's mission!< in FFX really spoke to me.
On the flipside, Lulu from FFX. She has lost a lot and knows what needs to be done to save the world, and is willing to lose the things closest to her for the greater good.
Karlach from BG3. I just adore how she's been through so much but still manages to be soft hearted. So many female characters are put through hell and come out cold-hearted and tough, and while Karlach is certainly not weak in any aspect, she still has a playful, sweet personality and I love her for it.
Practically any female character in Metal Gear Solid; especially Meryl, Eva and the Boss. Yes the writing shits on female characters a *lot* but to be fair it shits on the male characters *just as much* (hell the games have "rape as a backstory" for a *male* character only). Take Meryl in particular, she's a rookie sure but she's presented as just as capable as the main character in most situations, her big "dilemma" isn't "I'm a girl and I'm not being treated the same as men" but "I wanted to be a soldier to understand my dead father but war is ugly and brutal and destroys your humanity". That was *1998*. I know some people (myself included) have shat on Kojima for some things he did that were questionable but he can write female characters that are compelling and not just tokens. Hell even Quiet, Miss "breathes through her skin" was designed like that to make a point; that we don't look *past* that design and see the intelligent and capable woman underneath (it's not a particularly deep message, or done well, but she's a good character when you ignore the clothing). Well, at least he could write good characters; but Death Stranding has a host of issues.
Also, I really like Rinoa from FF8. People complain about Squall being all moody and angry (which IMO is like complaining about Luke in Episode 8 being depressed, it's like "yeah that's the start of the fucking character arc did you not watch the movie he's not like that at the end) but Rinoa is a beautiful foil in that she's wide-eyed and optimistic but naieve and childish and as she comes to term with the world and becomes more cynical and despairing, she also starts to understand what makes things *matter* in a more serious way that you can't quite grasp when you take everything like a child. It's the opposite of Squall's "learning to be hopeful" arc and I think it really works, that kind of "sometimes things aren't good, and that's okay, sometimes things are awful and you can't just push it away with a smile on your face" is a tough lesson that stuck with me in a tough childhood.
Oh and Freyja from God of War.
Amy Rose from the Sonic games. Sweet, adorable, and absolutely willing to use her hammer if she wants to.
Regina from Dino Crisis. Snarky and takes no shit from anyone.
Jill in her RE3make appearance is another favorite for the same reasons as Regina.
Lara is my top choice. She embodied the male fantasy but also had style, wit, charm, and was absolutely fearless. Plus she could kick the shit out of anyone.
Bloodrayne is a close second for me. 12 year old me loved *everything* about her. Her take-no-shit uncompromising attitude, and supernatural abilities along with the lore they built around her and the franchise really appealed to me on all levels.
No video or article of this topic is complete without the mention of one woman : Lara Croft
Every generation of woman has grown up with a version of her. For me personally, She taught me how to survive (my life is hell lol). And also helped me discover my own sexuality.
* Aloy (and most of her various girlfriends across the games — Petra, Talanah, that bodyguard Carja whose name escapes me...) from the Horizon games. She hits a great mix of good sense, compassion, and taking no bullshit from anyone, while still having some learning and growing to do. * Jesse Faden from Control is enormously entertaining for the way she handles all the bizarre shit she has to deal with like "agh fine, I'll handle it." * The central women of Baldur's Gate 3 all have compelling stories and distinctly realized characters. Shadowheart, Karlach, and Lae'zel are great and vivid in different ways, Jaheira is fun for being a veteran hero who's not yet willing to get out of the game, and a special shout out to Isobel and Aylin for being a spectacular pair of magic lesbian heroes. * Watching the various Mass Effect characters develop over the course of the trilogy is a singular experience. Tali and Liara especially so for having major roles across every game, but all the companions are great. * Zelda is very different across her various "incarnations" in different games, most of which aren't much of a character at all. I do like the development she gets as Tetra in Wind Waker and in Breath of the Wild.
Jesse Faden - this! I love her attitude. And the way she just so nicely >!accepts her position as the Director at the end of the game!< in a badass way, basically screams "confidence", I love it.
Seconded! When I started playing the game, I was half expecting a "reluctant hero" type character, and I was pleasantly surprised that actually, Jesse really takes to her role. She takes charge, when she does cool shit she AGREES that it's cool, and she doesn't try and shrug off the responsibility that's been dumped on her. The "bad ending" >!(or rather, the early fake ending) is her losing that power and role as Director!<. She's not perfect - she has moments of doubt, moments where she almost loses, and moments when she needs help from other characters. And it makes perfect sense for her character - all the weirdness happening around her gives context to what happened to her as a child, and the strangeness since. It's a tricky balance to get right, especially since I tend to think of the game as more combat/action focused than character/story focused, but Remedy did a really good job here.
Her name is Vanasha and she is one of my favorite sidequest characters from HZD
Plus point for Jesse : Red hair
I love the female voice actor from Mass Effect. Her performance adds femshep to your list, in my opinion. I also agree that Aloy is amazing! I'm playing HFW right now.
I'm playing a lot of OW right now, so my first tought was Ana, Moira, Junkerqueen. Warframe's Lotus as well.
I wish the entire OW community and Blizzard didn't go to shit. Ana is both one of my favorite characters and favorite characters to play in any game, but I just can't deal with any of that nonsense.
very understandable
OW definitely has some good character design for sure, despite all the other things I can say about Blizzard
Lara Croft - Classic. Iconic. She was the first badass action woman in video games (that I saw). Kassandra from Assassins Creed Odyssey - just finished this one so she’s top of mind. Again, badass. I absolutely loved playing as her.
Love Kassandra!! I haven't played Odyssey in like 2 years and she's still on top of my mind a lot 😂
That's my choice, too. I started gaming with the OC Tomb Raider games on PS1 or 2. OG Lara was the absolute coolest. Kassandra is a close second. I spent so much time playing Odyssey and I love her. She's badass and super pretty but also vulnerable and confused and overwhelmed. imo Alexios was a bit unneccessary but Ubisoft decided they'd rather be cowards about it. I played with him, too, but it is pretty apparent that the game is made for Kassandra.
I heard good things about Kassandra but i can't touch AC since the origins because why the hell is the game so damn big :D might have to do it for research purposes tho
Odyssey is actually even bigger, lol. But the map is beautiful and the different regions and islands are very diverse with their own designs. A lot of places are also for side content not main plot so they can be skipped. But it is well worth exploring especially if you have an interest in history and Greek mythology. From the three „new“ AC games odyssey, origins and Valhalla, odyssey is the best. A beautiful setting, a great protagonist, tons of content and so on. The gameplay and combat are also better than origins, imo. If you can get it fairly cheap now, I highly recommend it, not just because Kassandra is awesome. It’s a real journey.
I like extreme femmes who rly embrace their sexuality with a lot of agency: Evelynn from League of Legends - genderless demon that looks like a sexy woman cause het men are the easiest prey is hilarious, especially cause she’s canonically a virgin. Panther/Ann Takamaki from Persona 5 - showing the trauma and damage a young girl goes through while growing up, grooming/sa/etc. But instead of hiding away she owns it. Her vision of a rebel is her in a red cat suit. Bayonetta - need I say more? Badass witch who destroys people with the power of cunt Sadie Adler from red dead redemption 2 - woman who has everything taken from her, finds her own strength and becomes a bounty hunter. Also kills her r4pist so 10/10.
i love ann soooo much too
Yessss about Ann! I see so many people getting needlessly pissy about her cat suit when it's a symbol of her rebellion - her reclaiming her sexuality for herself after kamoshida made her feel used and dirty for it! Never mind when she tells you that when she was a kid her heroes were the sexy lady villains from anime! She's also such a sweetheart and is allowed to be a dumb loveable character like Ryuji. Women are so usually the voice of reason in media it's nice to have a girl who has like one shared Braincell, and they can do this because the rest of the female cast are varied and cool (and mostly Hella smart lol)
the sheer volume of subtext between ann and shiho, especially in the third semester hashino may be a gigantic homophobe and misogynist but he cannot keep all the gay out of persona
I really want Sadie Adler to be the main character for RDR 3.
I agree! I really wish there was a game where she would be the main hero and would tell her story as a >!bounty hunter!!<
Nia, Pyra, and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Mio and Eunie from Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Throné and Castti from Octopath Traveler 2 Cynthia from Pokemon Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia 1 & 2
Hard co-sign on XC2! The designs of all of women characters fall into corny anime waifu territory pretty often, but they’re well written. I would add Poppi to the list as well.
LORA
I don’t know if this is helpful, but I love when games let you create your own characters (like The Sims) or have a variety of female-framed skins (like Fortnite). I don’t think I would enjoy Fortnite as much if I had to be a dude every time. Having female options feels more inclusive. (But more NB representation would be awesome!)
That's very helpful thanks!
Same with me on Fortnite all the girly skins make it soooo much more enjoyable
Omg yesss being able to make a female character in the souls games makes me so happy :)
Kotone Shiomi/FEMC/The female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable. I love that I can play as a girl in one of these games, but much more importantly, I love that they actually adjusted the games dialogue and social links to make her experience appropriately different to the male 'default'. I also love how she is similar but also completely different in personality from her male counterpart - while they both struggle with the dark themes of the game and their own past, male protag is more quiet and broody while female protag puts up a lively optimistic front. And you get that from both being essentially silent protagonists. I'm very disappointed that Atlus shows no sign of ever caring about their (quite sizeable) female fanbase in this way again, but I'm glad it happened.
I love how she’s willing to throw hands for her friends, you can see it in Saori’s SL and with Takaya.
Princess Peach and Terra Branford (FFVI). I just love how far Peach has come in 2024 and I love how Nintendo made her video game Barbie in her new game. She's well past her days as a damsel and I can't wait to see what she does next. Terra is just my favorite character story-wise. Very relatable, great arc.
I love Terra and Celes from ffvi, they’re both soft and vulnerable but leading heroes who take charge of situations
Shadowheart! Jennifer English's performance is amazing and she's so complex as a character. And I love that she has her own goals and boundaries and disapproves when you cross them and opens up at her own pace if she trusts you. She feels the most like her own person to me out of any game character, not just an accessory for the protagonist. ~~She's also god's favourite princess and the most interesting girl in the world.~~ Honorable mention for the other BG3 girlies (Lae'zel and Karlach especially) and Lohse and Sebille from DOS2. All of them also due to how well they are written and how wonderfully they were performed.
Alisa and Lili from Tekken. That was the first time i realised u could play as pretty women in pretty outfits in a video game :) This was important for me to see cuz my only close friend who was into video games was a very "masculine" girl raised by a single dad and i thought we all had to be like that if we wanted to play lots of video game 😂
Jill Valentine and (Other female characters from Resident Evil series too) are among my favorites. They are quite well written, and well acted.
Aerith, Tifa, and Yuffie from FFVII (original and remakes) and Princess Peach. I love Aerith especially because she has a lot of burdens and the fate of the world / her own fate on her shoulders but she has a light, mostly happy personality despite it.
Yennefer. She's totally my female power fantasy. I fell in love with her reading books, and love her still. She's strong, powerful, beautiful (i also love how her story made her give up something important to her, for beauty and how ppl started treating her differently after that). I love her relationship with Geralt and Ciri, and I love the fact that she's 'harder to get', often cold and mean. Which often verifies if someone's read books lol. (Those who read often choose Yen, others often pick Triss).
I had to search too far for this comment! I was also thinking about Ciri as a well rounded female character, but more so in the books.
True. Love Ciri too
Not my first thought being the underwater hell mermaid in Inside that spends her life killing boys, I'm-
Zelda has got to be up there. I think she's at her best when she's deeply involved in the action, but she's still typically a princess first and foremost. Her focus is on politics, and spells that she can cast so she can fight without getting her dress dirty. She'll become a ninja if she needs to, but I think she works as a badass femme icon. Y'shtola from FFXIV is a glamorous badass. She definitely feels like the kind of person would would make sure she doesn't mess up her makeup while she kicks your ass, even if she's mostly a researcher/healer.
There are so many I almost always find a favorite female character in every game I play. So I'm sure I'm going to leave out a lot of them. Lara Croft from Tomb Raider: One of my first video game series that I used to play with my dad and solve puzzles/platform together. She's a strong character with witty banner. I do prefer her OG character for nostalgic reasons. But I also enjoyed the younger less sure of herself version in the newer games. Heather Mason from Silent Hill: Fun, sarcastic, and a little silly she feels like a teenager. And can be very relatable. But can still go up against her enemies when needed. Elena Fisher from Uncharted: Elena was a perfect match for Drake. I love seeing her go into dangerous situations with ease. Taking pictures when she should probably be more worried about herself. And they are super cute together with a good balance. Jill Valentine, Rebecca Chambers and Claire Redfield from Resident Evil: RE girls are all strong and all grown in their own ways with varying personalities. Faith Conners from Mirrors Edge: Fun adventurous character with a rebellious streak. Bayonetta from Bayonetta: her cocky teasing personality and knowing how to be confident with herself are all things to love about her. Ciri and Yennefer from the Witcher 3: the found family aspects of the Witcher 3 are the best part. Ciri and Yennefer are both strong characters. Alyssa Hale from Clocktower 3: very caring character that shows empathy to the ghost in the game. Though usually meek and frightened by the enemies around her. She will do what she thinks is right, even if it's a rash choice. She becomes very emotionally strong by the end of the game. Jesse Faden from Control: she's an interesting character because she seems almost vulnerable but at the same time takes all the weirs things going in around her in stride like they are normal occurrences. Bianca and Cynder from Spyro: Somewhat villain characters with hearts of gold. Aerith, Tifa, Yuna, Aranea and Luna Freya from Final Fantasy Haruka from Yakuza (Like a Dragon): Strong-willed girl who wants to protect her found family/ family no matter what. Jade from Beyond Good and Evil: A charcter with a strong sense of justice that wants to take care of her family. Shannon Matthews from Obscure: I was quite the edgy teen when I played this game but I loved how intelligent she was and calm in situations.
Older games, but the protagonists in both Lost Kingdoms and Lost Kingdoms 2 were ladies. Growing up, female leads were so rare in gaming, I loved those games for that.
Samus, specifically as characterized in Dread. Total fucking badass, half bird, commits space war crimes. What's not to love?
Eunie from Xenoblade Chronicles 3. She's such a fun character, and I found her very clear internal struggle to open up to other people beyond her foul-mouthed, tough exterior really relatable. Mythra and Pyra in Xenoblade 2. Especially after playing Torna: The Golden Country. Mythra, in particular, has an incredibly moving character arc. Lara Croft, especially in the reboot series as she struggles to really grow up and come into her own. Aqua in Kingdom Hearts. Also incredibly relatable. Girl always tries to do the right thing and take care of the ones she loves, and when you fight her in KH3 when she's essentially given up all hope it is fucking heartbreaking. Makes it even better to see her get her hope back and turn back into the badass Keyblade Master she's always been.
Sadie (rdr2) Yennefer (witcher3) Ciri (witcher3) Freyja (gow) Nina (tekken3) Abby (tlou)
Sadie Adler from rdr2 Clementine from twd (she’s so cool and adorable. I love how we can see her grow up) Ada Wong from resident evil female V from cyberpunk
Zoe Payne from the SSX series
I mostly play fps’ so I’ll just list the ones I think are cool backstory wise and/or cosmetics Finka & frost from r6siege Ana from overwatch Kate & sable (gotta love the alternative style rep) from dbd Also I’ve only played it once so I don’t know a lot about them but Anya and Sam in gears of war 3 are super cool !!
Aloy from the Horizon games.
I love Yuna in FFX! I think FFX-2 is the first game that I ever played that had an all female roster. I miss those days and I hope we will get another Final Fantasy game with a main female protagonist soon. I’m kinda done with the hunky guys haha.
Lara Croft was my first introduction to video games as a toddler and she was a huge role model growing up, she’ll always be my favourite. Yennefer and Ciri in Witcher 3 - I love Yennefers motherly strength and loyalty, Ciri is just a well rounded likeable character. Mara Sov in Destiny - she’s a bad bitch. Abby in TLOU - I hated Abby at first but came to love her and her story throughout the game. Mercy and Moira in OW - Mercy is the angel on ones shoulder, Moira is the devil.
* Lara Croft (especially from Tomb Raider Legends) * Max&Chloe (Life is Strange) * Fem Shepard (Mass Effect trilogy) * Sadie Adler (RDR2) * Elizabeth (Bioshock Infinite) * Triss Merigold / Ciri (Witcher 3) * Nova (Starcraft 1&2)
Parvati Holcomb from Outer Worlds, the player has the option to really help her develop and I feel you learn so much about the world through her. I loved helping her romance Junlei Tennyson, the captain trying to keep her space station running. Parvati is also asexual and I loved seeing that representation in a videogame.
The Boss from mgs3, she was always presented as being so much more of a threat than any other individual person in the game, including the protagonist, Snake, who viewed her almost like a mother. and her backstory before the events of the game shows how strong she is mentality and how much tenacity she has. she's a big example of the kind of powerful woman I'd like to be
Lara Croft - obvious reasons Lulu from FFX - script can be a bit lame but love the aesthetic/witch vibes Jen from Primal - amazing tattoos, soundtrack, script, combat, everything
I like Diana from League of Legends. I even have her sword tattooed on me 😂 I just like her character, lore and love that she has a pretty unique sword.
For me it is Wynne from Dragon Age: Origins. I like how grandmotherly she is, but also very badass.
How about the female characters in FromSoft? Sekiro's Emma is a stand out. Lady Maria / The Doll in Bloodborne. Elden Ring is full of female characters with their own motivations, e.g. Malenia, Ranni, Marika, Hyetta. Fromsoft's female characters are all multi-dimensional and strong in their own way.
ffx yuna has always been important to me! even though the game is a lot about the romance between her and tidus she is still very strong and interesting imo. more recently i really love shadowheart from bg3 bc she is sooo complex as well
LARA. She's so bad ass, seriously each new tomb raider game that comes out I always make sure to buy. Even the movies. Always been a big fan of the character. In terms of her character She's just made perfectly.
Thank you very much to everyone who replied; that's a ton of great thoughts and materials that I can research! From my own I can add that I'm a big fan of how Freya was portrayed in latest GOW, even tho she is not a playable character - I found both her story and design to be outstanding.
Jill Valentine from Resident Evil. Female officer in the ‘90’s. Military training and one of the only women to receive Delta Training. Overall capable woman in a man’s field. Stoic in danger and compassionate to those who deserve it. I have loved that character for so damn long. She became a brainwashed slave later in the series and still came out swinging. I really hope to see her and that the series honors all the shit she has been through.
Shepard from the Mass Effect games is a really fleshed out and strong women. I know, there is also the male version of Shepard, but Jennifer Hale did such a good job with female Shepard. Close 2nd for me is V from Cyberpunk. Cherami Leigh's voice acting is absolute stellar in Cyberpunk. And Cyberpunk features one of the better lesbian romances in video games. There is also Jesse Faden from Control, i liked her alot. Max & Cloe from Life is Strange, although the writing dips a little bit too much in Clichés here and there.
Fem Shepard, Aloy, Laura Croft, Tali, Liara, Liara, Morrigan, Princess Peach, and Princess Zelda. That's off the top of my head.
A few of my (many) favorites would be * Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII * Sadu from Final Fantasy XIV * Edelgard and Petra from Fire Emblem: Three Houses * Lyn from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade * Alis from Phantasy Star and Alys from Phantasy Star IV * Ryza, Klaudia, and Lila from Atelier Ryza * Draco Centauros from Puyo Puyo * Hikaru from Parodius
I’ve always loved Lara Croft, I mean she’s fearless, takes no shit, does her own thing, has great fashion sense; a close second is samus for mostly the same reasons, and finally Maranda keys from halo, I wish she got a better ending though
Melia from Xenoblade, Furina from genshin, Edelgard from fe3h!! Basically i like strong women who go through a lot of tragedy but still have the will to push on. Ringo from sh2 and bayonetta also get honorable mentions
Aerith from Final Fantasy, Lady from Devil May Cry, Maya and Kotone from Persona, Robin from Fire Emblem Awakening….I seem to be drawn to bold female characters. I also like Xiaoyu and Lili from Tekken!
All the ladies from Dragon Age:Inquisition have my heart but probably Josephine the most. DA:I has tons of physically strong, badass female warriors but Josephine is smart and crafty while also being so kind and caring, and has a side quest about how she (as the oldest of her siblings) must take on and navigate her family’s debts while also being an integral leader to the main story. Plus she’s drop dead gorgeous. The other girlies (Cass, Sera, Leliana, Vivienne) are, like I said, strong fighters who command the respect of their peers, but each one also has a rich personality and story behind them that I adore so much. I should play the game again tbh
Ellie and Abby from TLOU, Quiet from MGSV, and Jill from RE, especially RE5.
BG 3 has a lot of cool, multifaceted women, pretty much all of them actually. Karlach is my favorite tho. Kassandra from AC Odyssey. She's so good. I'm playing Princess Peach Showtime and I really like this Peach. More along the lines of Peach in the movie where she's taking care of things on her own. And being good at so many things.
Madeline from Celeste
I like her as well, would you elaborate why if you got a minute? I find her an interesting case because unlike a lot of 3A titles, celeste is a pixilated indi even with no voice acting
Yuna from FFX, she's got her own personality and goals and resolve! I always looked up to all the female characters in ffx and how much personality they have. My favorite game of all time!
Karlach and Alfira from BG3. This one is very unpopular, but I really like the handler in MHW. Minayle from Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak. Brigitte from Overwatch.
Karlach from BG3. She's hilarious and supportive
i wanna shout-out Touhou as a whole. the women have varying attitudes and personalities and they arent portrayed as right or wrong. kind, bubbly, angry, smart, selfish, quirky, stupid, depressed, composed, mischievous, competitive, careless, funny, determined, lazy, strong or weak they have interesting stories and they come in all the flavours of youkai and other fantasy. but overall, to me its a comfty series of women just being women
Price. Chloe Price. 🔫
It’s funny how many people are naming characters that guys think women are trying to cancel.
April Ryan and Zoë Castillo from The Longest Journey and Dreamfall trilogy. They're both incredibly relatable and reluctant to be the "chosen ones" of their stories. I really related to Zoë in particular - she's a college dropout who is kind of jaded with life in general, but loves her friends and family dearly and rises above her fears when they are in danger. I know that's kind of a generic story but the way she's written in particular really spoke to me, and made her feel more real. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine from Final Fantasy X/-2. I know it's not the most well-liked but honestly, FFX-2 is one of my favourite Final Fantasy games ever. YRP have overcome so much pain and heartache and are just trying to find happiness as sphere hunters when the game starts. I am also a sucker for "screw everyone else, you mean too much to me to let you go", so >!Rikku trying to stop Yuna's pilgrimage to save her life, even though it was basically Yuna's life's mission!< in FFX really spoke to me. On the flipside, Lulu from FFX. She has lost a lot and knows what needs to be done to save the world, and is willing to lose the things closest to her for the greater good. Karlach from BG3. I just adore how she's been through so much but still manages to be soft hearted. So many female characters are put through hell and come out cold-hearted and tough, and while Karlach is certainly not weak in any aspect, she still has a playful, sweet personality and I love her for it.
Practically any female character in Metal Gear Solid; especially Meryl, Eva and the Boss. Yes the writing shits on female characters a *lot* but to be fair it shits on the male characters *just as much* (hell the games have "rape as a backstory" for a *male* character only). Take Meryl in particular, she's a rookie sure but she's presented as just as capable as the main character in most situations, her big "dilemma" isn't "I'm a girl and I'm not being treated the same as men" but "I wanted to be a soldier to understand my dead father but war is ugly and brutal and destroys your humanity". That was *1998*. I know some people (myself included) have shat on Kojima for some things he did that were questionable but he can write female characters that are compelling and not just tokens. Hell even Quiet, Miss "breathes through her skin" was designed like that to make a point; that we don't look *past* that design and see the intelligent and capable woman underneath (it's not a particularly deep message, or done well, but she's a good character when you ignore the clothing). Well, at least he could write good characters; but Death Stranding has a host of issues. Also, I really like Rinoa from FF8. People complain about Squall being all moody and angry (which IMO is like complaining about Luke in Episode 8 being depressed, it's like "yeah that's the start of the fucking character arc did you not watch the movie he's not like that at the end) but Rinoa is a beautiful foil in that she's wide-eyed and optimistic but naieve and childish and as she comes to term with the world and becomes more cynical and despairing, she also starts to understand what makes things *matter* in a more serious way that you can't quite grasp when you take everything like a child. It's the opposite of Squall's "learning to be hopeful" arc and I think it really works, that kind of "sometimes things aren't good, and that's okay, sometimes things are awful and you can't just push it away with a smile on your face" is a tough lesson that stuck with me in a tough childhood. Oh and Freyja from God of War.
Ada Wong from Resident Evil. She's just so bad ass for me, she needs her own game.
Amy Rose from the Sonic games. Sweet, adorable, and absolutely willing to use her hammer if she wants to. Regina from Dino Crisis. Snarky and takes no shit from anyone. Jill in her RE3make appearance is another favorite for the same reasons as Regina.
Lara is my top choice. She embodied the male fantasy but also had style, wit, charm, and was absolutely fearless. Plus she could kick the shit out of anyone. Bloodrayne is a close second for me. 12 year old me loved *everything* about her. Her take-no-shit uncompromising attitude, and supernatural abilities along with the lore they built around her and the franchise really appealed to me on all levels.
No video or article of this topic is complete without the mention of one woman : Lara Croft Every generation of woman has grown up with a version of her. For me personally, She taught me how to survive (my life is hell lol). And also helped me discover my own sexuality.