Greatest Female In Video Game History

Ellen Folklore 2007

1. After growing up in an orphanage, Ellen visits the remote Irish village of Doolin to discover something about her parents. What she gets instead is a slightly terrifying fantasy world full of a twisted version of Pokmon. Yet she takes it all in stride, and even puts those little monsters to work for her. .....

Rayne Bloodrayne 2002 to 2004

2. Rayne is the definition of an antiheroine shes the protagonist of the Bloodrayne series, but shes not exactly a beacon of morality. She is a murderous vampire, after all. And though shes hypersexualized, what do you expect from the ultimate human predator? .....

Alicia Claus Bullet Witch 2007

3. Yeah, shes a witch. But shes a good witch, we swear She uses her powers over nature to fight demons, and her massive gunrod is and empowering. Shes cute, too. .....

Jennifer Tate Primal 2003

4. We always appreciate when gender roles in video games are reversed, considering how ingrained the savetheprincess thing is in our culture. In Primal, Jennifer goes on a terrible journey to rescue her boyfriend. We hope our girlfriend would do the same. .....

Cate Archer No One Lives Forever 2000 to 2003

5. Catherine Ann Archer is a topnotch British secret agent, easily following in the footsteps of James Bond and the like. Except in the 60s. So like a much, much sexier version of Austin Powers. .....

April Ryan The Longest Journey 1999 to 2006

6. Aprils not just an artsy girl she can also shift between worlds, which makes for a long and exciting journey (hence the title). Shes also the fulfillment of like, four different prophesies. So thats awesome. .....

Coco Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot 1997 to 2010

7. Coco popped up as a cute sidekick to her brother, Crash, in Crash Bandicoot 2 Cortex Strikes Back, and she became a playable character in Crash 3 Warped. OOGA BOOGA. .....

Carla Valenti Indigo Prophecy 2005

8. Carla Valenti can be viewed as a predecessor of sorts to Heavy Rains Madison Paige, since both games were made by Quantic Dream. As such, she also appears topless in the game. Its awkward, but besides that shes an admirably relatable heroine. .....

Lilith Borderlands 2009 to 2012

9. Lilith shares the Borderlands stage with tons of other protagonists, especially if you count the sequel, but her phasewalking ability is one of the most useful powers in the series. We love that she even got some lines and a fleshedout story in Borderlands 2 all praise The Firehawk. .....

Madison Paige Heavy Rain 2010

10. Madison is one of four protagonists in Heavy Rain, but she might be the most compelling. Not least of which for the shower scene, which we obviously appreciated. But her influence on the story is invaluable, particularly in her presence making Ethan less of an apathetic dick. .....

Alex Roivas Eternal Darkness Sanitys Requiem 2002

11. Alex isnt the most interesting woman on this list, but she does have to put up with a lot in Eternal Darkness. She pretty much goes completely insane throughout this psychological scarefest, yet she somehow manages to (mostly) keep her cool until the end. .....

Lightning Final Fantasy XIII 2010 to 2013

12. FFXIII wasnt great, but Lightning is nevertheless one of the strongest female characters in the entire Final Fantasy lineup. And she knows that family is the most important thing in the world, so shes got that going for her at least. Plus the pink hair is a bold choice (unless its natural is that natural? Either way). .....

Zoey Left 4 Dead 2008 to 2009

13. Zoey handles the zombie apocalypse as well as any other character in the Left 4 Dead series, and thats more than you can say for some of the ladies in The Walking Dead (yeah, were not huge fans of Lori). In fact were thrilled that Valves zombieshooting series isnt a complete brofest. .....

Manon Batiste Medal of Honor 1999 to 2005

14. Batiste stands out as one of the few female characters in a genre typically dominated by males the war shooter. Shes appeared in several games, and was even playable in Medal of Honor Underground as the main protagonist. .....

Heather Mason

15. Despite the massive pile of fail known as Silent Hill Revelation 3D, we still love Heather Mason as the protagonist of Silent Hill 3. And we dont fault Adelaide Clemens portrayal of her in the film, either. She was adorable there were, uhh, some other issues, though. To say the least. .....

Aya Brea

16. Aya is one of the most loved female characters of the PlayStation generation, and even her PSP adventure from 2010 The 3rd Birthday was wellreceived. And thats saying a lot for a PSP game. .....

Konoko

17. Its big news that Bungie has moved on from Halo, but its not like that was the only series they ever worked on before Halo, there was Oni, where players took control of the purplehaired symbiote Konoko. Shed even give the Master Chief a run for his money. .....

Zoya

18. Zoyas the smartest character in Trine and Trine 2 while the others fight for glory and magic, shes the only one whos just after riches the whole time. Were not sure if that makes the thief a heroine, but it certainly makes her prudent. .....

Anya Stroud

19. The COG Anya Stroud had a cursory presence in the first two Gears of War games, but she finally emerged as the series first female playable character in Gears of War 3. To be honest, she scares the shit out of us, but at least shes fighting as a heroine on the right side. .....

Alyx Vance

20. Alyx Vance is still one of the best female characters in games, more than half a decade after the debut of HalfLife 2. And thats because she bucks basically every stereotype there is shes no damsel, for one thing, and shes one of the least sexualized females in games. Unless you use one of those mods that makes her boobs huge and gives her a ton of makeup, in which case fuck you. .....

Jill Valentine

21. There are a lot of female characters in the Resident Evil series, but most of them are idiots. Thats not a knock against them most of the male characters in Resident Evil are idiots, too. But Jill stands out as the most likable, maybe because she was the original. Her evolution throughout the series has made the most sense, as well. Except when she went blonde, but thats hardly the worst thing about RE 5 in any case. .....

Chell

22. Wed love to put Chell higher on the list, but lets be honest what does she actually do? Were boggled when Gordon Freeman gets stuck at the top of best character lists, too. She doesnt say anything throughout either Portal game, but hey, at least shes not objectified at all, either. .....

Hana

23. Hana is another badass female mercenary who uses her assets to her advantage, and we dont really have a problem with that. The fact that shes an openly gay protagonist makes her even more of a badass, even if that relationship is somewhat sexualized for a male audience. .....

Sam

24. Sam goes down in history as the only video game protagonist we know of whos a bonafide magician. And in the Vegas sense, too, not the Final Fantasy type. .....

Meryl Silverburgh

25. Sure, Meryl needs rescuing once in a while. But shes the real deal, too a career soldier, like Snake, and shes been with him through various parts of his various journeys. Thats about as much sense as we can make of the Metal Gear Solid plot. .....

Shanoa

26. Shanoa is the leader of the DS Castlevania games eponymous Order of Ecclesia, the group that steps up to defeat Dracula when the Belmonts are nowhere to be seen. And thats no easy task. It probably helps that certain story events have wiped away all her memories and emotions. .....

Shantae

27. Shantae is the star of her own platforming series, which began on the Game Boy Color of all places. There arent many existing franchises that began on that particular portable platform, but theres just something about the halfgenie girl shes even got a new game coming out on 3DS soon. .....

Chris Lightfellow

28. Despite any overexcited village children Chris may or may not semiaccidentally murder over the course of Suikoden 3, weve still got a lot of respect for her tough love approach to leadership. The love part is in the hug. .....

Peach

29. BUT PEACH IS A DAMSEL RAAAWWWR We can hear you angrily yelling now. But seriously, calm down. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom has proved to be just as capable a heroine as Mario and (to a much lesser extent) Luigi are heroes. Check out Super Princess Peach on DS if you havent yet. And sorry for the dig, Luigi, but we call em like we seem em. .....

Yuna

30. Final Fantasy X was, at the time, the only game in the series to receive a direct sequel, in the form of Final Fantasy X2. Some saw it as overkill, but we were okay with it, since it gave us another excuse to step into the supple boots of the capable summoner Yuna. .....

Kris

31. 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. .....

Curly Brace

32. 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. .....

Nariko

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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 MacFarlane

36. 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 d Arc

37. 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 Lockhart

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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. .....

Liara TSoni

41. We see Liara as much more than a simple love interest for Commander Shepard shes also a way for players to connect with the games alien races on a deeper level. We never thought wed be able to feel so many feels for a blue squidhead lady, but then Liara came along and stole our hearts. And our guns, and then she shot us for calling her a squidhead. .....

Terra Branford

42. Before Lightning, there was a much better female Final Fantasy protagonist Terra Branford, the star of FFVIs rather large cast. Her amnesiariddled storyline seems typical at first, but we were floored when her true identity eventually came to light. Shes one of the most compelling and complex heroines in gaming. .....

Jade

43. Jade is active, smart and compassionate to boot. Before defeating the DomZ and becoming the savior of everyone, shes working at an orphanage taking care of the children whose parents were victims of the war that shes about to become very involved in. She even loves nature is there a more perfect heroine out there? .....

Chun Li

44. Besides being probably the most iconic fighting game character ever, ChunLi is also a true heroine shes an undercover Interpol officer seeking revenge on the criminals responsible for her fathers death. She was even the first female character in a fighting game, earning her the prestigious title of First Lady of Fighters. .....

Aveline de Grandpre

45. Aveline is such an envelopepusher a black, female, Frenchspeaking protagonist in this world of stereotypical white males, she represents a major step forward for diversity in games. While Liberation wasnt our favorite, its certainly through no fault of hers. She was even freeing slaves before it was cool. .....

Joanna Dark

46. Perfect Dark was the perfect followup to Rares Goldeneye 007, and Jo makes the ideal counterpart to James Bond. Shes capable, , and whipsmart, always ready with a witty retort, whether shes talking to the president or to aliens from outer space. Its really too bad what they did to her in Perfect Dark Zero, but well always remember the downtoearth superspy from the original. .....

Commander Shephard

47. Many players choose to go with a male Commander Shepard, whether because they themselves are male or because thats whos been portrayed on the games covers. But Femshep, as the female Shepard has become known, has picked up steam over the course of the series to become, arguably, a better choice. Playing as a female changes the lens through which you view the Mass Effect universe, and besides, Jennifer Hale is a much better actor than whoever play .....

Faith

48. Faith bucks a lot of stereotypes as a female game character shes athletic and normally proportioned, for one thing. She began her life underground as a thief, but quickly joined the side of good as a Runner, a position that allows her to undermine the dystopian society in Mirrors Edge. Now were just waiting for the sequel. .....

Zelda

49. Princess Zelda has taken on many roles throughout the series, and sure, Link often has to rescue her. But she rarely falls directly into the role of the damsel ever since Ocarina of Time, shes either been fighting dark forces in disguise, rescuing Link as a swarthy ladypirate, or just straight up three steps ahead of him, as in Skyward Sword. Even when she does need rescuing, she usually lends a hand with her archery skills and winds up saving Li .....

Samus Aran Metroid 1986 to 2010

50. Sure, this is predictable. But what else can we do? Shes got every trait of a true heroine, and shes one of the least sexualized female characters in games. She was paving the way for female protagonists when character sprites were still made of a few dozen pixels. And she bucked gender stereotypes of course the spacefaring bounty hunter is a guy long before Peach and Zelda ever shook off their damselindistress personas. Samus was the original b .....