Female Game Characters: The Good, The Bad, and The Sexist.

[Xaositect]

Have to agree with the Kreia vote. She did something in Star Wars morality that I dont think Ive ever seen before: displayed intelligence. Its either ridiculous and over the top evil, or ridiculous and over the top good. Kreia stopping me after giving money to a beggar (I always have pity on pathetic people) and warning to be careful not to "cause more damage with an open hand, then a closed fist" is one of my highlights of gaming. Yes KOTOR II in many respects was an unfinished mess, but scenes like that tell me it had the potential to surpass KOTOR. That Kreia scene really got me thinking, and it changed my perspective somewhat. Not to mention she opened my eyes to the fact that the Jedi teachings are flawed, and the Sith are a bunch of idiotic impostors, taking a title that was never theirs to begin with. But even still, that both groups are essentially the same thing.

Plus her face looks like it was plowed by crazed Ord Mantell farmers, which is pretty cool.

 

[shadow skill]

Kreia is one of the few Jedi to basically confront people with the fact that the whole Star Wars mythos as it is presented through various characters is idiotic. I do love her for that though KOTOR 2 was an unfinished pile that I stopped playing after a while.

 

[Theokotos]

Second on April Ryan. I spent most of my teen years wanting to be her and to this day she stands as the strongest female lead I can think of. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ladies of silent hill though. I can't think of one that, even though the player was given limited personal information, didn't project such a strong, real personality, that I didn't feel there was surely a deep and rich history behind her.

 

[Llasnad]

I am a big fan of Samus, she becomes a well fleshed out character after you get out of the 8/16 bit era. Back in the day when the NES/Snes games came out, they made a short comic series about her that gave insight into her time being raised y the Chozo, and who she came to get her armor.

 

[wahi]

is it sexist to call ashley graham(re4) a *****?
since no one seems to be saying it, at least in the replies i read,
allow me : CORTANA,CORTANA,CORTANA.... still waiting for bungie to announce halo 3 for the pc

 

[frontier psychiatrist]

I would like to note the female cast from Mass Effect aswell.

I've always loved Tali. She's a very regular and neutral sort of person who just gets shit done without any drama, posturing or attention whoring. Her personality isn't exaggerated in any way. There's no archetype going on (like those outlined in the first post), no overwhelming personality trait. She's nice, but doesn't grovel at your feet like Liara. She has clear opinions about things, but doesn't shove them down your throat like Ashley. She has her own problems, but talking to her doesn't feel like reading a teenager's Livejournal entry. In fact, it's endearing how mundane one of her problems is: she has trouble sleeping because the Normandy is too quiet (shit, I thought she was going to talk to me about how her parents were murdered by Space Orcs).

We don't yet know what Tali looks like under her mask, but her features (eyes and nose) are definitely very human looking. I hope she's unveiled in ME 2 and turns out to be very pretty. The Asari were blatant, juvenile fan service, but they're nowhere near as interesting and alluring as Tali. Lots of people are fascinated by her.

I also like her voice acting.

 

[Lewrawen]

Zelda of OOT has a few redeeming points (ala Sheik), and at least she has some sense of importance to the story unlike Peach who exists solely to give you something to chase.

Samus, for reasons mentioned earlier

Gandraya of Metroid Prime 3 for being harder than the final boss and looking slightly awesome

 

[ideitbawx]

did anyone ever play "Space Bunnies Must DIE!" for pc? the game blows, but you play as this redneck waitress-like chick, shooting down hordes of deformed horny rabbits who want to eat her. then she leaves the club and hunts long-earred aliens (ba-dum tish).

part of the reason game characters are typically so stock and stereotyped (both male and female), is because most game dev's and writers base what they create on their researched-but unexperienced-imagination. i'm sorry, but most programmers and dev's are LONERS! they don't know how a real character SHOULD BE! i've been there, i know first-hand! so what do we get instead? generic, offensive, half-baked stereotypes

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I would say any of Itakagi's (sp?) characters deserve be stricken from the record as aweful and pitifully sexist.

For my favorite Female Character in a game, I vote for General Celes from Final Fantasy 6, the haunted, tragic and ultimately heroic character whom still remains one of my absolute favorite RPG characters to this day.

EDIT: I found Female Commander Shepard, Ashley Williams and Tali from ME to all be thoroughly excellent female characters. Though I agree with the poster before me that Tali manages to be excellently feminine while at the same time not coming across as butch or manly. She's also not fanservicy, unless you like your women mysterious and with cool outfits (I do...). Liara wasn't bad, but she is pure blue boobed fan service.

I would also argue that Samus Aran kind of doesn't count as she is simply the players avatar in the game and not really a character in her own right. It doesn't mean she isn't awesome however.

 

[Rikrok77]

I think I would vote Alyx because she is a very 'real' representation of how we would expect people to behave in the situation

Character design seems to have fallen by the wayside in recent years, something I find unacceptable. Game devs have to realise that they must create beleiveable characters instead of repeatedly churning out macho men/women or 'emotional' types.

 

[avixk7]

I'd like to add Sarah Kerrigan from Starcraft as one of my favourites. She a character that you care for and her transformation from hero to villain is very compelling. I'd be pretty terrified if she came knocking on my door.

I also love Jade from Beyond Good and Evil, Alyx Vance, and Bastila. All very strong characters.

 

[shirin238]

Elena from Uncharted, I liked the part on the jetski where nathan is helplessly driving while she has the rocket launcher

 

[Onomatopeia]

Heather from Silent Hill 3, though she is a brat she can come across as the tomboy but she still has an emotional quality that really progressively engages the player.

 

[RetroViruses]

WTF? I can't find a mention of GLADOS or Chell. Glados, although she was a robot, caused the mental and physical destruction of MANY Aperture Science Test Subjects, and Chell figured out and survived dozens of complex tasks and eventually spoilerspoilerspoilerspoilerspoilerspoiler found the cake spoilerspoilerspoilerspoilerspoiler

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

I agree with whoever suggested Kreia, she might be partially insane, which actually just helps show her as a well developed character. Bastilla is another good character. Also Juhani and Mission Vao both seem to be complete characters.
A couple characters I would like to nominate. Julia Lafortz? (not sure about the last name) from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. She's smart, and although she is a non-combatant, she has a strong personality, she is apparantly gifted in some form of magic, which probably helps her survived in the monster overrun mountains she dwells in. That and she is the only other being aside from Hector's summoned allies that doesn't try to kill you. She also appears to be a love interest of Hector the main character (maybe since it is made apparent she looks like his deceased girlfriend) and (spoiler alert!) She is willing to help Hector despite the gravity of the fact that Hector must ultimately destroy her brother Issac. (end spoiler).

Another character I would like to nominate as a good female character is Adriana from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. She's attractive, she's powerful, she is complete. She can blow em away with lightning or tear em up with a sword, and all without breaking a nail. In all seriousness though, I think it is believable that she can be a strong warrior as she has the appearance of a career adventurer, and although she isn't a rippling mass of muscle, it is still believable that she can certainly hold her own with a weapon.
Also, Atalanta from Herc's Adventures. While she isn't as strong as the male characters, she more than makes up for it with her natural grace, dexterity, and speed.
Now characters who could fall into stereotypes, the amazon from Diablo 2. I don't know why blizzard felt they needed to give the amazon and the female playable characters in general in the game a pair that could double as a trampoline. (players of conker's bad fur day will understand the trampoline reference.)

 

[evilomega13]

I'm suprised no ones mentioned it before, but...
Lyn from Fire Emblem 7. I like her, because she isn't really a stereotype (well, not in my opinion anyway.). She's also the second best charecter in the game, and she has a suprisingly deep personality. Plus she's the first charectar you see.

 

[Xvito]

I'm gonna have to go with Barbie from the Barbie games.




Please note that I'm not serious in any way with that sentence.

 

[UltraBlumpkin]

Tifa Lockhart was a badass in FF7 and the movie. She held her own and had a compelling role in the storyline. You can call her a hottie without enough clothes if you want, but I think she was pretty decently dressed. Also, she may be small for her strength, but nobody in that game really follows actual physics of the real world. It's a game, and it's fun, you shouldn't need to explain how people jump 3 stories high and have catlike reflexes.

 

[DragonPuff]

One of my favorite game characters of all time, and who just so happens to be a girl, is Bebedora from Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits. She is one that totally defies all character stereotypes, and is so adorable at it that you can't help but love her for it. She theme song is one of the best out there too. ^-^

In fact, looking back, most of the female characters in that game are interesting. Even better, there is just as many female cast as male. Some of the girls do fit into those catergories posted above, but other parts of their character break them from them. For instance, Tatjana. She seems to fit into the Maneater class at first, but then, she really doesn't. She's a strong woman, wears realistic clothing for her position (including a lab coat), and doesn't get involved with any of the male cast, emotionally or physically.

I'd have to just recommend the game for people to see the sheer greatness of all the cast.