Compelling Video Game Heroines

Oh yay, another thread about fictional gender equality. No, I was playing Dead Rising 2 a minute ago and it hit me - how many compelling video game heroines that are playable are there, really?

Without:

• Strictly fighting game characters.
• Visual novels and roleplays.
• Being unplayable.
• Or custom-built (Fem Shep, Female Courier/Dovahkiin, Saints Row Boss)?

Can't think of that many. Lara Croft, Tifa, maybe, Faith Connors, MadisonPaige, and Clementine.

I wouldn't count [[Portal2 Chell]] because she's basically hands and feet for the player, or Samus because of Other M.

edited 4th Sep '15 2:36:05 PM by Soble

I'M MR. MEESEEKS, LOOK AT ME!

Yuna from FFX, has basically condemned herself to die so that the world could experience a small era of peace and is basically walking the long road to die. while dealing with a guy who she knows could never handle it before deciding that there has to be a better way.

Then in X-2 she is dealing with the pain of loss in addition to the fact that she does not have a death sentence over her head, as basically her BF died for her, she grows and goes on a bit of a teenaged wild streak while also dealing with emotions that were ignored before such as jealousy, fun, competition, and pride.

edited 4th Sep '15 2:42:59 PM by Memers

Zero from Drakengard3 while not necessarily being a super fleshed out character does subvert a number of expectations people have with female characters. the game itself has a few unfortunate moments but i do think it is at least interesting.

Lenneth from ValkyrieProfile isn't initially the most interesting character in the narrative of her game but her becoming less stoic/more human and emotional is part of the game's point.

What do you mean by "roleplays"? I would interpret that to mean RPGs, but then you go on to mention Tifa, and pothole her name to Final Fantasy VII, a JRPG.

Come to that, are selectable party members admissible? I imagine not, but I'd rather ask than assume.

Otherwise, Adventure Games might be one place to look: Grace Nakimura and April Ryan come to mind. One might perhaps also include Nico Collard.

edited 4th Sep '15 4:05:23 PM by ArsThaumaturgis

My Games & Writing

Faith from Mirror's Edge would probably count.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "compelling", but here's a short list.

• Yuna from Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. I know she was already mentioned, but I want to note that X-2 is one of the only RPGs I've played with an all-female cast.
• Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII
• Sarah Kerrigan from Starcraft has her own expansion, but I'm not sure if that entirely counts.
• Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite also got her own DLC storyline.
• Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness. There are many other protagonists (mostly male), but she's the one who ties all their stories together.
• Juni from Knytt Stories, Mi from Knytt Underground, and Saira from Saira
• Iji from the game of the same name
• Recette from Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
• Red from Transistor
• Lilac, Carol, and Milla from Freedom Planet
• Cadence, Melody, and Aria from Crypt Of The Necrodancer

Also, there's a female protagonist tag on Steam you may want to take a look at.

edited 4th Sep '15 6:08:34 PM by Mezzopiano

Do not fear power... fear those who wield it.

Lucina could count as one. She went back in time so she could save her kingdom and her future. That's a really cool accomplishment for her as a character.

And despite Other M, I still consider Samus as one for one reason. All female protagonist in gaming probably would not exist if it were not for Samus.

Your works are one trope short.

one game that will most likely be ignored by any future games does not negate samus' impact or importance.

Senia.

You say I am loved, when I don’t feel a thing. You say I am strong, when I think I am weak. You say I am held, when I am falling short.

Cate Archer from No One Lives Forever is arguably the best femmeprotag in gaming history.

Then of course you've got Lara Croft, Samus.

In a non-playable sense that can extend to Alyx Vance too who might as well be playable in Ep1.

edited 6th Sep '15 2:04:17 PM by Jenaiqueserasera

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion."

Unplayable is against the rule of the thread.

How about Portal protagonist Chell?

edited 6th Sep '15 7:27:48 PM by AnotherGuy

Any playable character from Touhou Project would count, really

Sex-negative outrage culture and the Illuminati are real

By "compelling" do you mean "interesting" or "convincing"?

Because if you mean "interesting" I got a lot:

• Samus from Metroid (I'm in the Fanon Discontinuity of Metroid: Other M camp.)
• Lucca from Chrono Trigger
• Carol from Freedom Planet
• Freya from Final Fantasy IX
• Curly from Cave Story
• Riesz from Seiken Densetsu 3 (BTW, 5-character names hype!)
• Monica from Dark Chronicle
• the Elf from Dragon's Crown
• Gradriel from Princess Crown

edited 7th Sep '15 12:46:37 AM by FlamingoKai

My Deviant Art account. There might be art there. Sometimes.

I've seen plenty of good female characters in games, so the ones I'm mentioning here are just some of the first that come to mind.

First off, I'd definitely agree about Yuna, for reasons that have already been stated. And as far as Final Fantasy goes, Terra and Celes probably qualify. FFVI has an Ensemble Cast, but those two are some of the most important. Lightning's been mentioned, although for other unrelated reasons, I didn't like her much.

As for others, there's Shiki from The World Ends With You. Given the way the battle system works, you control both Neku and his partner, so I'm pretty sure she counts as playable. She has goals and motivations of her own, and although her character arc is very much intertwined with Neku's, she isn't defined by him as a character. The emphasis is on the two of them supporting each other - it's not just a one-way thing. Her character arc was well-written, and there were elements of it that I could relate to personally. Maybe that's why she ended up being my favorite from the game.

Fire Emblem is usually pretty good about this, too. Lyn is one of the more obvious examples, as is Lucina, but there are plenty of others. I'd also like to mention Elincia in Radiant Dawn, since her segment of that game serves as a real test of character for her.

I know a lot of people don't like her, but I think Shion from Xenosaga is worth mentioning. She's one of very few female main characters I've seen in JRPGs, and she she starts the series as the leader of an important weapons project. She's definitely a very flawed character, but there's a lot to her, and she has plenty of personality. A lot of her worse moments are connected to situations that would make anyone upset. People don't always act rationally under pressure.

There's also Melia from Xenoblade. Actually, I think any of the female party members could qualify - Melia's just the first one that comes to mind because of how much focus she's given. Sharla's pretty cool too - she's shown to be more than capable of taking on a position of authority, given that she's running a refugee camp when you first meet her. Additionally, even if Fiora's relationship with Shulk takes up a lot of focus, she's still a well-defined character personality-wise, and a large part of her role in the story has to do with her connection to Meyneth.

I've also found that the Tales games are usually pretty good about their women. It varies from game to game and character to character, but pretty much everyone has some level of complexity in that series. I'd give some specific examples, but this post is long enough already.

edited 7th Sep '15 2:39:20 PM by SapphireBlue