greatest female in video game history

Kris is pretty special getting to choose your gender at the beginning of a Pokemon game is standard now, but it wasnt always. Pokemon Crystal was the first game that didnt force you to play as a guy, and Kris paved the way for every female Pokemon protagonist who came after.

The female robot counterpart to main Cave Story protagonist Quote, Curly Brace wasnt made available as a playable character until later editions of the game unless you count fanmade patches that switch a few sprites around in the original version. Either way, we loved the mystery surrounding this heroine, who can even die saving Quote if youre not careful throughout the game.

We much prefer Nariko to developer Ninja Theorys later female heroine, Trip. Nariko is fighting for her life and her people in Heavenly Sword Trip, meanwhile, literally slips a slave collar onto Enslaveds other protagonist, Monkey, while hes knocked out. Who does that?

Amaterasu is pretty killer as a heroine. She wields the celestial brush to draw enemies in half and make the sun rise. Thats the privilege of the sun goddess, after all. And shes an adorable white wolf. Theres literally nothing we dont like about her.

Clementine is the focus of plenty of rescues in Telltales The Walking Dead game, but wed argue that shes a heroine in her own right. She saves Lees life in the very first episode, and she even becomes a right little badass once he teaches her how to wield a gun.

Bonnie isnt the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption, but she is pretty atypical when it comes to women in the Wild West. She takes on roles that we normally associate with men during that time period, and she even saves Marstons life. If not for his wife, we think hed have had a thing for her, too. Who could resist that confidence?

Jeanne is the fictionalized, video game version of Joan of Arc. In the game, she fights at the forefront of the Hundred Years War between France and England only with, like, monsters and magic and stuff. To be fair, who knows what really happened back then?

Tifa puts up with a lot in Final Fantasy VII, running the bar, hosting Avalanche meetings, helping take care of Marlene, and even taking care of Cloud when hes suffering his massive breakdown partway through. Were still not sure where she falls in terms of the whole Cloud/Zack thing, but suffice to say shes a trooper the whole time. And unlike Aeris, she doesnt get herself killed before the first discs even over.

Lara Croft may be the most iconic female character in gaming, but lets not forget that she was designed from the getgo to be little more than a male fantasy of a woman. A dual pistolwielding, tigerkicking male fantasy, but a jiggly male fantasy nonetheless. Whether Crystal Dynamics new reboot of the character can alter that remains to be seen.

Bayonetta is, like many other female video game characters, rather crudely, but at least hers is creative her hair is both her clothing and her weapon, giving guys a reason to pick up the game and girls a reason to wonder whether theyre using the wrong shampoo. That said, she kicks more ass than pretty much anyone else in gaming.