Example Female Characters you think qualify as good/strong/etc (with reasons)
- Thread starter Scorched_Cascade
- Start date
Especially with the ending from that game theres the whole:necromanzer52 said:
Is she actually a real person
Ayame (Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven)-The guy she loves is dead but that is not how she defines herself or is defined. Her motivation is duty and her friendship with Princess Kiku keeps her knee deep in the dead. By this game she is also the sole survivor of the Azuma ninja as Rikimaru (the male main character) is presumed dead. She has become very cold and detached due to the death of her clan brother and lover (Tatsumaru)but is still capabale of the more positive emotions. She protects Kiku and would lay down her life for her.
Note: this is before Ubisoft turned her into a stripper.
Nanami from Suikoden II. A lot of characters from that game actually, but she's one of the main characters so I'm picking her.
There is a deceptive amount of depth to her character, being the adoptive big sister to a young general (you). At the same time she struggles to keep feminine, keeping those she cares about safe, as well as taking care of an orphaned little girl. She gets my vote for this thread!
There is a deceptive amount of depth to her character, being the adoptive big sister to a young general (you). At the same time she struggles to keep feminine, keeping those she cares about safe, as well as taking care of an orphaned little girl. She gets my vote for this thread!
I'm digging on Aveline from DA2, too. Hey, she could have easily been "warrior woman" (see Xena), but instead with get a widow (hey, it's in the demo) who pretty much is burying herself in work in order to move on. I've known my share of RL women in positions of authority (military, airline captains) and she totally rings true. Great modeling, too. Pretty, yeah, but looks like an athletic woman.
And not to completely echo the above poster, but Sigrun rocked. Heck, she wasn't even that good looking. Not ugly, just plain. OMG, a main female character who doesn't look like a fashion model but is still funny and likeable? Stop the presses. Wish she'd come back in DA2, but it doesn't seem likely (I'm not done with the game yet, so no spoilers if she does).
Outside of the Bioware games, which have always been long on narrative, sure Alyxx from HL2. But you know, I've always liked the women in the L4D series. Both Zoe and Rochelle seem real. No easy feat when the main method of characterization is the occasional cut scene combined with combat chatter.
And not to completely echo the above poster, but Sigrun rocked. Heck, she wasn't even that good looking. Not ugly, just plain. OMG, a main female character who doesn't look like a fashion model but is still funny and likeable? Stop the presses. Wish she'd come back in DA2, but it doesn't seem likely (I'm not done with the game yet, so no spoilers if she does).
Outside of the Bioware games, which have always been long on narrative, sure Alyxx from HL2. But you know, I've always liked the women in the L4D series. Both Zoe and Rochelle seem real. No easy feat when the main method of characterization is the occasional cut scene combined with combat chatter.
LoLthewaever said:
Just noticed the (with reason) header.
anyways....
Most of my gripes with Bayonetta's character had little to do with the game's campiness and over the top sexual humor.
I didn't like Bayonetta because of her trope. Being the "Too cool for school" type that's mastered the secret art of "not giving a shit," and we're suppose to confuse this conceded behavior as a virtue.
Plus, the story was a holy mess, I mean, really!
Wow, was the story God awful!
The Kuun Laan from Homeworld Cataclysm. Yes I know it's a spaceship but think about it.
It's the mothership that's forced to jettison it's lower decks when they are infected by a mad virus thing. Said decks later return and refer to the ship as their quite literal "mother." Only to get facefucked by an extremely phallic "siege cannon." There is so much of that mad shit going on in the homeworld series it's unreal.
Plenty of the women in Planescape stand out for me as well. Perhaps of particular note would be Fall From Grace, the celibate succubus who runs a "brothel of slating intellectual lusts." It's a characterisation that doesn't shy away from some very explicit gender issues and it leaves Grace as a very textured and inherently feminine character, something that often seems missing from a lot of the tomboys that fill the ranks of popular game protagonists.
System Shock's SHODAN also comes off as an interesting use of gender in character. She's a robot so gender doesn't really matter, and yet so much would be lost if SHODAN were portrayed with a male voice. It just wouldn't work. The "panting and sweating as you run through my corridors" line would lose its squick, and all that stuff involving birthing chambers and the like feels a lot more intense when you have this vicious, matronly persona sitting behind it all taunting you.
Here's one that's a little more recent.. Tenenbaum from the first bioshock, the second one is a fanfic so it doesn't count. Her origins are interesting. She basically made it through the nazi death camps because she had some kind of twisted fascination with human experimentation and eugenics, a talent that culminates in her part in creating the abominations that are the little sisters, and then somehting changes. A lot of things that have been shut off and repressed begin bubbling to the surface under the influence of these poor little girls and tenenbaum finds her gender creeping in on her. The children remind her of her own crippled and tortured childhood and before she knows it Tenenbaum experiences a maternal instinct that touches every facet of her character, instigating genuine, believable and highly gendered change.
It's the mothership that's forced to jettison it's lower decks when they are infected by a mad virus thing. Said decks later return and refer to the ship as their quite literal "mother." Only to get facefucked by an extremely phallic "siege cannon." There is so much of that mad shit going on in the homeworld series it's unreal.
Plenty of the women in Planescape stand out for me as well. Perhaps of particular note would be Fall From Grace, the celibate succubus who runs a "brothel of slating intellectual lusts." It's a characterisation that doesn't shy away from some very explicit gender issues and it leaves Grace as a very textured and inherently feminine character, something that often seems missing from a lot of the tomboys that fill the ranks of popular game protagonists.
System Shock's SHODAN also comes off as an interesting use of gender in character. She's a robot so gender doesn't really matter, and yet so much would be lost if SHODAN were portrayed with a male voice. It just wouldn't work. The "panting and sweating as you run through my corridors" line would lose its squick, and all that stuff involving birthing chambers and the like feels a lot more intense when you have this vicious, matronly persona sitting behind it all taunting you.
Here's one that's a little more recent.. Tenenbaum from the first bioshock, the second one is a fanfic so it doesn't count. Her origins are interesting. She basically made it through the nazi death camps because she had some kind of twisted fascination with human experimentation and eugenics, a talent that culminates in her part in creating the abominations that are the little sisters, and then somehting changes. A lot of things that have been shut off and repressed begin bubbling to the surface under the influence of these poor little girls and tenenbaum finds her gender creeping in on her. The children remind her of her own crippled and tortured childhood and before she knows it Tenenbaum experiences a maternal instinct that touches every facet of her character, instigating genuine, believable and highly gendered change.
Freya from ff9
strong, determined and brave yet burdened with lost love and forced to struggle powerlessly as her race is almost wiped out to a man (rat?) during the story, I wish they had developed her back story a little more in the 3rd disc but still one of my favorite characters
strong, determined and brave yet burdened with lost love and forced to struggle powerlessly as her race is almost wiped out to a man (rat?) during the story, I wish they had developed her back story a little more in the 3rd disc but still one of my favorite characters
We also knew that:KalosCast said:
-She felt compassion (not killing the last metroid since it imprinted her as it's mother figure)
-She was willing to put everything on the line and massacre space pirates IN THEIR OWN BASE to protect this last metroid.
- She DID feel fear (look at her face just after the final boss fight of Metroid Prime 2. She's FREAKED. Not breaking down, but FREAKED)
- She's capable of emotion (metroid prime 3. Watch after you take down each of those "special" bosses. She's clearly upset)
-She HATED taking orders (it's in the opening of Metroid Fusion)
-She had a grudging respect for Adam, and didn't mind him calling her "Lady" since he was the only one who made it sound dignified, rather than sarcastic.
-When she got screwed over, she ACTUALLY planned to self destruct the station she was on to try to kill off the evil parasites she was fighting, knowing FULL WELL that she would kill herself in the process (Granted, she didn't end up having to do that, but still, she came to that decision on her own, showing she had guts)
- She killed Ridley 4 times and wasn't visibly fazed by him (in metroid Prime, she appears a BIT freaked as she finishes him off, though).
And then other M comes and goes LOL GUYS GUESS WHAT!
SPOILERS FOR OTHER M:
- Samus Actually HATES being called lady!
- Samus feels EXHILARATED to be following orders again!
- Samus can't think for herself enough to even bother CALLING Adam to REQUEST authorization for the stupid Varia suit (I'm sure he would have allowed her to use it, she's IN A FIRE AREA. Why she never even asked if she could use it, I cannot understand).
- Samus has a phobia of Ridley (ok, expected), and guess what, she's SO SCARED that she starts crying and needs a bunch of strong men to save her! (...despite the fact that according to the timeline of the series she's KILLED RIDLEY 4 TIMES?! WHAT?!)
- Samus feels EXHILARATED to be following orders again!
- Samus can't think for herself enough to even bother CALLING Adam to REQUEST authorization for the stupid Varia suit (I'm sure he would have allowed her to use it, she's IN A FIRE AREA. Why she never even asked if she could use it, I cannot understand).
- Samus has a phobia of Ridley (ok, expected), and guess what, she's SO SCARED that she starts crying and needs a bunch of strong men to save her! (...despite the fact that according to the timeline of the series she's KILLED RIDLEY 4 TIMES?! WHAT?!)
Other M screwed up a lot of (at least implicit anyway) Metroid Canon. It turned Samus from a tough (but human) hero, into a total wuss.
I was disappointed The Longest Journey didn't get a shout out during that recent Extra Credits episode. Zoe from Dreamfall shows up once, but April Ryan, arguably one of the most well realized and thought out protagonists in gaming regardless of gender, was forgotten. Which is a pity because seriously, though I've played a lot of games... probably more than is strictly heathly, April Ryan remains my favourite. She alone is what made The Longest Journey such an incredible experience.
The gameplay was bleh, the visuals blurry and poor even for their time, and while the soundtrack is nice it's nothing great. But April Ryan is such a compelling and sympathetic protagonist that I'm not only willing to plow through any of the games otherwise boring traits in order to learn more about her and her unfolding story, but I'm happy to do so.
She's probably the only character in a videogame, a genre popularized by warriors and mercenary that regularly mow down hundreds of opponents without thought or care, (Hell, pretty much every example in this topic falls into that category!) that I'd genuinely like to meet. She feels real enough!
My favourite game protagonist.
The gameplay was bleh, the visuals blurry and poor even for their time, and while the soundtrack is nice it's nothing great. But April Ryan is such a compelling and sympathetic protagonist that I'm not only willing to plow through any of the games otherwise boring traits in order to learn more about her and her unfolding story, but I'm happy to do so.
She's probably the only character in a videogame, a genre popularized by warriors and mercenary that regularly mow down hundreds of opponents without thought or care, (Hell, pretty much every example in this topic falls into that category!) that I'd genuinely like to meet. She feels real enough!
My favourite game protagonist.
Any and every female character from the Fire Emblem series..... except maybe Erika and Elincia.
Trishka from Bulletstorm for..... something. Hell, she's voiced by Jennifer Hale, doesn't that get her instant acceptance into the Awesome Female character section....
Err... female Shepard
Trishka from Bulletstorm for..... something. Hell, she's voiced by Jennifer Hale, doesn't that get her instant acceptance into the Awesome Female character section....
Err... female Shepard
Ah damn, from games.
I suppose there was a game but it's not where the real character development took place.
*sigh*
I suppose there was a game but it's not where the real character development took place.
*sigh*
Thank you for summing that all up so effectively, complete agreement on all points.aegix drakan said:
Cecilia from Wild ARMs 1. Her character goes from the irresponsible heir-to-the-throne in training to the reliable, compassionate princess she's supposed to be.
<spoiler=Game spoiler for those who haven't played it>
Especially when the team discovers Rudy is an automaton, making him quite similar to the antagonists they're fighting, built from the days during the first Filgaia vs. Demon war. When Rudy cuts off his own arm to save himself from Zeikfried's seemingly suicide move and he discovers that he's like the demons, it's up to Cecilia to help save Rudy from himself. When Cecilia goes into Rudy's subconsciousness, she discovers Rudy's innermost torments. After she defeats the demon within Rudy, that's where she finds her true character, and the meaning of Love.
Hmmm, come to think of it, Lady Harken (from the same game) can also be put into this category. Her story isn't as deep as Cecilia's is, even with her relation to Jack, but it's just as meaningful. And just as powerful.
<spoiler=Game spoiler for those who haven't played it>
Especially when the team discovers Rudy is an automaton, making him quite similar to the antagonists they're fighting, built from the days during the first Filgaia vs. Demon war. When Rudy cuts off his own arm to save himself from Zeikfried's seemingly suicide move and he discovers that he's like the demons, it's up to Cecilia to help save Rudy from himself. When Cecilia goes into Rudy's subconsciousness, she discovers Rudy's innermost torments. After she defeats the demon within Rudy, that's where she finds her true character, and the meaning of Love.
Hmmm, come to think of it, Lady Harken (from the same game) can also be put into this category. Her story isn't as deep as Cecilia's is, even with her relation to Jack, but it's just as meaningful. And just as powerful.
Oh man, beat me to it. I was actually thinking that a LOT of the girls from all across the entire series qualify for this, Kasumi being my top pick.Klumpfot said:
I would add that a few of the girls from Record of Agarest War are good, perhaps Noah being the most 'normal' out of the lot.
I also say Rikku. Yes, she's a bit of an airhead. Okay, more than a bit, but she's smart--look at the tech she likes to play with--capable in a fight, has no problem voicing her own opinion--even when it means going against an entire government BEFORE she joins your party--but she's also willing to ask for help. Her character suffered a bit in X-2 appearance wise, but this is Japan we're talking about. I stand by my statement.
Okay, let's go down a list here...
Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3, since we're mentioning Persona. Strong, capable, and has good leadership qualities, not to mention the resources. And while we're at it, Aigis, as she is the female Commander Data of RPGs, basically. (Should the Female Protagonist for the PSP version count?)
Lucca from Chrono Trigger. Basically a genius savant with technology and inventor, using machinery (including guns and grenades) to overcome her physical limitations as a fighter. Decent personality overall, the Egon Spengler of the game.
Alys Brangwin of Phantasy Star 4. A smart, savvy, and well-experienced Hunter living on a hostile world. Basically something of a legend, she fits the concept of the strong female character in an RPG well. (Second choice from this game would be Kyra Tierney, the Esper.)
Terra and Celes from Final Fantasy 6. Reasons may vary, though the character personalities and fighting abilities pretty much speak for themselves. These two have to be good quality AS female characters. Terra is both level-headed and a for-the-good-of-all type of person (Plus the central-main character, right?) and Celes is suppose to be General. (And I know being a General might not seem all that great when you consider Kefka, but General Leo was a right and proper fellow!)
Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3, since we're mentioning Persona. Strong, capable, and has good leadership qualities, not to mention the resources. And while we're at it, Aigis, as she is the female Commander Data of RPGs, basically. (Should the Female Protagonist for the PSP version count?)
Lucca from Chrono Trigger. Basically a genius savant with technology and inventor, using machinery (including guns and grenades) to overcome her physical limitations as a fighter. Decent personality overall, the Egon Spengler of the game.
Alys Brangwin of Phantasy Star 4. A smart, savvy, and well-experienced Hunter living on a hostile world. Basically something of a legend, she fits the concept of the strong female character in an RPG well. (Second choice from this game would be Kyra Tierney, the Esper.)
Terra and Celes from Final Fantasy 6. Reasons may vary, though the character personalities and fighting abilities pretty much speak for themselves. These two have to be good quality AS female characters. Terra is both level-headed and a for-the-good-of-all type of person (Plus the central-main character, right?) and Celes is suppose to be General. (And I know being a General might not seem all that great when you consider Kefka, but General Leo was a right and proper fellow!)
Well, the obvious one would be Alyx vance, but The Boss from MGS3 is a great example, and surprising given Kojima's track record with other female characters.[footnote]Example: "Hey, eva, what's our mission now... Also, why did you unbutton your top again?[/footnote] She's a badass character to be sure, but they don't neglect her femininity, even so far as to include a doomed romance between her and the sorrow and her giving up her child. While these are obvious ways of saying "hey yeah she's still a woman", the far superior moments are much more understated, and relate more to the backstory between her and Big Boss, where she acts to what would be closest to a mother figure/mentor, who still utterly kicks his ass unless she throws the fight.
I agree with your opinion on Lilith in Borderlands. I absolutely love her! Which is obvious because of my avatar. But I honestly think she is a great character.
Elena from the Uncharted series. She's a reporter that can handle her butt whenever she's in danger. And can even shoot well.
The Boss from Metal Gear Sold 3. I really don't think I need to go into specifics of how much of an awesome woman she was.
Zoey from Left 4 Dead. She just kicks zombie butt! And I enjoy playing as her.
Also agree with what you said about Jill Valentine from Resident Evil. I absolutely love her and what a great and strong character she was. Also loves playing as her in Resident Evil 5.
Elena from the Uncharted series. She's a reporter that can handle her butt whenever she's in danger. And can even shoot well.
The Boss from Metal Gear Sold 3. I really don't think I need to go into specifics of how much of an awesome woman she was.
Zoey from Left 4 Dead. She just kicks zombie butt!
And I enjoy playing as her. Also agree with what you said about Jill Valentine from Resident Evil. I absolutely love her and what a great and strong character she was. Also loves playing as her in Resident Evil 5.
I'm going to say:
-Faith Connors, from Mirror's Edge.
-Alice, from American McGee's Alice.
-Ellie, from Dead Space 2 (you owe me an eye, you bastard!).
-Emma & Emmy Honeywell, from The Last Remnant (yes, I liked that game ¬_¬).
-Mona Sax, from Max Payne.
-Elaine Marley, from... no, no, if you don't know this one, you deserve to burn in hell.
-Therese & Jeanette from Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines.
-Kaine from Nier.
-Seth Balmore from Lost Odyssey.
...aaaaand that's all I can remember right now.
-Faith Connors, from Mirror's Edge.
-Alice, from American McGee's Alice.
-Ellie, from Dead Space 2 (you owe me an eye, you bastard!).
-Emma & Emmy Honeywell, from The Last Remnant (yes, I liked that game ¬_¬).
-Mona Sax, from Max Payne.
-Elaine Marley, from... no, no, if you don't know this one, you deserve to burn in hell.
-Therese & Jeanette from Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines.
-Kaine from Nier.
-Seth Balmore from Lost Odyssey.
...aaaaand that's all I can remember right now.
*badass thunbs up* It's what I do. Thanks for the pat on the back!darthcendiarygrenade said:
And thank you too. I don't blame you for not getting into the Prime series. I for one have trouble getting into Super Metroid, for some reason.KalosCast said: