Hey everyone. As you all know, the gaming community loves to rank anything and everything associated with video games. From the best games of the year to the best games in a given series, and this is probably one of the most famous, or infamous, topics in gaming. The top video game female characters. There are a ton of these going around and they always tend to fall in to two main categories, the hot/sexy category and the badass/respected category. This divide has always sort of perplexed me, especially since so many of these lists tend to overlap characters. So many of these beautiful girls are also badasses and so many of these badasses are also beautiful. So why not talk about both qualities at once? Well that’s what this list is meant to do.
Before I start, I’m just going to go over the rules I personally made for this list to keep things interesting. The first is that I wouldn’t have more than one girl per game series, and the reason for that is simple. Some games have WAY more female heroines and characters than others *cough final fantasy and dead or alive* and I didn’t want to make a list comprised of only a few series. The next rule was that the character had to originate from a video game first and foremost. This is a video game list after all, so games based on comics or anime are immediately out. The character had to be from a game/series that I have played so that I actually know these characters well enough to examine them (as characters! I swear!). Lastly, the character could NOT just be eye candy. They had to have, in my opinion, a strong or at the very least interesting character. And with that out of the way, let’s begin.
10) Immorta (The Wonderful 101)
Probably one of the biggest outlier on this list, and definitely the most recent character but she’s definitely memorable. I like how she starts out as a rather mysterious and possibly villainous femme fatal only to have a rather surprising and heart filled backstory. She has a very calm and collected demeanor only to become quite fiery and emotional once her motivations come to light, and the personal nature of her story makes her quite empathetic and relatable. Oh and not to mention she’s a latex wearing crossbow wielding alien. Plus I just love how she and Wonder Red have this crush for each other.
9) Rozalin (Disgaea 2)
The wonderful thing about the Disgaea series is how it tends to turn established ideas on their heads, and the series’ first princess character was no exception. You’re not trying to go through the game to save this demonic princess, nope this gun toting beauty is shackled to you via the plot and tries to kill you on more than one occasion. I think what makes Rozy so memorable is how strangely realistic she seems at times. This kind of character has been done a lot, and many times is done horribly. She’s a sheltered and spoiled princess but she’s not overly bratty and actually grows quite a bit over the course of the game. She hits a nice balance of being deliciously devilish and sweet.
8) Lei-Fang (Dead or Alive)
Oh c’mon. You all knew one of the DOA girls would have to make it in to a top 10 video game girls list, it’s practically the law. Anyways, Lei-Fang may not be the most popular DOA girl but she’s definitely my favorite by far. She’s strong, has a great fighting style, cute hairdo, and rocks a Chinese dress like nobody’s business. Lei-Fang was harassed by thugs once but saved only to become determined to become stronger to prove that she can handle herself. Like pretty much all fighting game character, Lei-fang is all about kicking ass and taking names. Not much else I can say about this Chinese beauty.
7) Shion Uzuki (Xenosaga)
Shion is a lot of things but your archetypal RPG main character she is not. She doesn’t have a big phallic compensating sword but she does have a nice big voluptuous brain. Hey, smart girls are hot! How smart is Shion? Smart enough to be the head scientist in an R&D divison of a company in space, and creating her own lesbian sex android that also functions as a super weapon killing crazy ghost aliens…..or something like that. All joking (or not joking) aside Shion makes this list based on her rather unique character, personality, and the perspective those traits offer to see the games’ story through. In a genre of games that has become quite trope and archetype centric, Shion offers a lot as a protagonist even among the incredibly rare female JRPG protagonists. She also has a giant robot and that alone like triples your score.
6) Tharja (Fire Emblem Awakening)
Before anyone asks, yes this is my preferred ‘Waifu’ for the avatar in Awakening, and for good reason (they make for a beastly battle couple). She’s interesting, attractive, powerful, and a little frightening but in a sexy kind of way. She can be harsh but that only makes her acts of true kindness that much more potent. She’s unique, complex, and an overall awesome character. There’s a lot of subtlety to Tharja that I love, but of course most people know this character for her fanservice in a red bikini.
5) Lady (Devil May Cry)
Lady kicks a lot of ass and she looks damn good while doing it. It says a lot about Lady that she’s a demon hunter like Dante who can hold her own against a legion of demons but is 100% human with no special powers of her own. Unless you count extreme gymnastic skills and carrying lost of ammo as powers that is. She has a great back story and makes for a perfect narrator for DMC3. Her rather serious personality clashes nicely with Dante’s rather aloof demeanor and the two play off each other with great chemistry. I think she makes for a much better heroine/romantic interest than Trish, but that has mostly to do with Trish being modeled after Dante’s mother. *shudders*
4) Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
It’s hard to talk about female game characters and not bring up Jill. What is there to say that hasn’t already been said hundreds of times? She’s beautiful, brave, intelligent, and can stand her own with the best of the best. Even faced with horrific challenges and enemies, Jill keeps her cool and stays to the mission. As to be expected, she’s a cop after all. *Insert Jill Sandwich joke here* Oh, and she’s never once gone completely stupid and punched a fking boulder!!!
3) Zelda (Zelda)
One of the original princess’ of gaming, she’s another timeless female gaming icon. Now you may be asking yourself, why did Zelda make it this high on the list? Well that’s simple, character growth. Zelda started out in much the way Princess Peach began, as a damsel in distress that needed to be saved from evil. Where Zelda stands out is how beautifully and effortlessly Zelda grew out of this trope, and early on. Zelda has become more of a guide and a voice of wisdom within her world, guiding Link on his quest instead of just sitting around and waiting. Unlike most princesses, she’s also more than willing to get her hands dirty and fight the good fight (sometimes as an alter ego or herself), but she also knows when to take other options for the good of her kingdom. As far as this gamer is concerned, Zelda is the top princess.
2) Samus Aran (Metroid)
What? You were expecting a Zero Suit picture? As if this wasn’t obvious, Samus Aran is the quintessential female badass of gaming. What makes this ring so true is that her gender isn’t even really that big of a part of her character. To the whole world she was just Samus Aran the bounty hunter until it was discovered she was also a woman which only drove her badass meter up by a factor of 10. What makes this even better is that Samus doesn’t try to suppress her feminine traits or be ‘one of the guys’. She doesn’t act like a man because she knows there’s no need to do so. Samus is the ultimate proof that femininity and strength can coexist in a single person.
1) Yuna (Final Fantasy X and X-2)
Okay I know what you all are wondering, how in the hell does Yuna beat Samus? Simply put, I just love and adore this character to death and I think her story is one of the very best in gaming. Yuna's strength of character and her devotion to her cause is just inspiring. She's a hero in the truest sense of the word, and almost a Christ like character. She's willing to brave hardships and take part in what would culminate in her becoming a sacrificial lamb just for a few years peace for her world. And she does it all with a smile on her face, even after she learns that her faith is a sham. This makes her eventual departure from her faith and use of forbidden weaponry to save the world all the more powerful. I could go on and on but I'll leave it there.
So there you have it, there's my top ten. Feel free to add your own lists if you want.
Edited by Azure-Edge, 06 April 2014 - 09:19 PM.
