I'm going to take a look at why I think this might be (just an initial impression, and one I'll probably touch on later once I have more hard data), and also present what I feel are eleven of the best female characters in video games.
Most male leads in video games are designed for the player to project themselves into. Master Chief from Halo might be one of the biggest badasses in video game history, but from what I remember of playing Halo 3 (the only Halo game I could even get through, and even then I didn't like it that much, but that's a topic for another time), the man had the personality of a block of American cheese. Lead characters in many first-person shooters, in fact, are usually either "the new guy" or simply "that guy everybody respects but they never really reveal much about."
Many games are changing this, however, and the more the camera moves away from the main character's perspective, the more depth the character tends to have. But even then, a lot of famous characters are pretty much just there for the (male) players to insert themselves into and live vicariously through. Nathan Drake from Uncharted might have personality, but Squall from Final Fantasy VIII was even more dull than Master Chief.
Female characters, on the other hand, seem to be overall better constructed. While I never really liked the games, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider always had her own personality. Joanna Dark from Perfect Dark came with her own thoughts and opinions on things, even while you were guiding her down a hallway to shoot enemy spies.
Here's my list of eleven female characters who I thought were extremely well-created, with interesting backstories, personalities, and motivations...and granted, most aren't that bad to look at, but it's actually pretty hard to find any characters in general in video games who aren't somewhat attractive, though I freely admit it's worse for female characters than males (look for something on Thursday involving this).
11. Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw
Hold on, hold on. Look, I'll admit that the character is extremely oversexualized. A tiny top, short skirt, jumping around and with other customizable outfits that somehow manage to show even more skin...yeah, she's probably not supposed to be the poster child for "fairness for women in video games."
But as I said in my review of the game, while initial impressions of her might be "well, if I have to watch a character's backside as it runs around, at least it's a pleasant backside," she quickly grew on me and I found myself really respecting the character behind the stereotypical cheerleader
Regardless of whether she's killing zombies, dwelling on how the "standards" around her require her to watch her weight, or talking about her favorite hobbies, Juliet is strong, capable, and doesn't let anything really get the best of her. She can take on the forces of Hell, have the harshest language I've ever heard in any video game thrown at her, and she doesn't let it affect her in the least or damage her self-image. That, I think, is pretty respectable.
Plus, she actively works against the player if you try to move the camera around to sneak a peek somewhere you shouldn't. That gets bonus points in my book.
10. Jade from Beyond Good and Evil
This one's a gimme for a lot of these lists, but there's a good reason for it. The first time we meet Jade, she's raising a group of orphans (with help from her Uncle Pey'j) and fighting off an alien attack trying to take them away. We later see her taking on the role of an investigative reporter, freedom fighter, and leader amongst her people as we get deeper into an alien plot to take over a world and a secret government conspiracy.
There's also looks at her own life and the adversity she had to overcome to be the character she is now, which adds even more depth to her story. Seeing a character this strong who worked hard to earn her place, regardless of gender politics, makes her even more impressive.
9. Karin Koenig from Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Karin is an....interesting case. See, originally I was going to have her on my "I bought the game for the looks" article, except a) I already liked the series this was part of, and b) she's a really fascinating character.
She starts the game as a lieutenant in the German Imperial Army during World War 1 (It's a Japanese game, so history is as flexible as a rubber band), ordered by her commanding offer to seize control of a town they're invading. Keep in mind, the game has already established major characters for the series by this point, but the entire game starts here, from her point of view. Upon realizing that her side might not be as much the good guys as "being used by the real bad guys," she joins the real heroes and fights against her former comrades.
Now, I don't want to spoil the major revelations involving this character (if you really want to know, go Google it), but I know a lot of people who played the game and had very strong reactions to how her story concludes. I really recommend people hunt down the entire Shadow Hearts series and play it. However, that does branch us to my next character...
8. Koudelka from Koudelka
Is it cheating to have two characters from the same series on this kind of list? I don't think so. And it's my list, so here we go.
Koudelka is my favorite terrible game. A mix of horror and classic RPG elements, you have three main characters you guide through the plot, and one is a young gypsy girl named Koudelka Iasant. Troubled from a young age with visions, Koudelka foresaw the death of her own father when she was nine, after which her mother tried to simply kill the child. She failed, but her family members believed Koudelka was possessed, so they banished her from their village.
Koudelka found her way to London, where she managed to get some training with her powers with the help of a psychic medium, and upon her new maternal figure's passing, wound up making her way across the countryside earning money as a medium and, well, the world's oldest profession.
Pretty grim stuff, but through the storyline of her game, she grows in power, saves the world, and develops a relationship with Edward Plunkett and, well, again, I don't want to spoil anything. You really should at least find a "Let's Play" for the game and watch, because it's simply great.
7. Alicia from Bullet Witch
This one I was hesitant about. Alicia is a great character in what is a pretty mediocre game, but I've found myself tossing it back in to replay multiple times. Perhaps it's that she's ridiculously powerful (there really is something cathartic about seeing a whole bunch of demonic villains hanging out around a gas station, so you drop a F3 tornado on them and watch vehicles fly away), the fact that she carries around a broom that doubles as multiple firearms depending on the setting, or the fact that she, much like Koudelka, also has a pretty tragic back story that she manages to rise above and overcome.
Also, much like Juliet, there aren't very many moments where she isn't in total command of the situation around her and never really gets overwhelmed by anything that faces her, whether it's government troops yelling at her like the civilian she is or the villain of the game taunting and mocking her, Alicia manages to rise above it all and come out on top.
I'm a big fan of the character, and people can probably pick the game up pretty cheap by now if they want to try it for themselves.
6. Quistis from Final Fantasy VIII
Okay, this one is a bit of a sore spot for me. See, Final Fantasy VIII has a special place in my heart, since it's really the first game I ever played that was both solid RPG combat and had great FMV cutscenes...on the first disc.
Correction, the first disc of Final Fantasy VIII has a special place in my heart. The rest of the game just got so bizarre I gave up after some junk about monsters coming from the moon and I had no idea who the bad guy was anymore. Plus, I wanted nothing but terrible things to happen to most of the main characters.
I liked Selphie, though she seemed a little annoying sometimes. I liked Irvine, even though he was supposed to do just one thing to save the world, and botched it. And then there's Quistis. I loved Quistis, and got so mad when she simply became another background character. A top of her class graduate who immediately became a teacher of the next generation of soldier when she was eighteen, but struggled between her responsibilities as an educator and staff member and her desire to have a connection to people in her own age group. She gets the start of such an interesting story...and then it's all buried under the junk of the plot and becomes pretty much irrelevant. Which, I guess, is better than being Rinoa. God, I hated Rinoa.
Oh, and Quistis also kills an early boss in the game (unless, y'know, you level up a LOT before you face it) with a GIANT MOUNTED GUN.
Hell yeah!
5. Aya Brea from Parasite Eve
Aya Brea is another character I simply loved, and I probably played Parasite Eve about five times. I only played the sequel twice, but that was because it just wasn't as good a game, really. I haven't touched the third game, and probably won't since it seems they completely changed up the game formula.
But back to Aya. Strong, confident, and capable, she's the only person able to face a terrifying threat in New York City that can simply melt people by standing in the same room as them. It's a threat that can reanimate a t-rex skeleton, and can only really be defeated by luring it into the depths of a naval cruiser and then blowing up the ship. And even then, there's a new stage AFTER the game ends!
You get your standard RPG secret origin moments (no spoilers), and an interesting familial relationship with another character, but the strength this character has to face a threat on the scale she faces is one to admire and respect, even when (perhaps especially when) you have her during some vulnerable moments, trying to catch some sleep or recuperate from a rough fight before wading back into battle again.
4. Alys from Phantasy Star IV
Alys was one of the first female characters I really enjoyed in a video game. She was tough as nails, one of the baddest of the bad in her world, the top hunter of the Hunter's Guild, and a mentor to your main character, Chaz. She's tender, but tough. Kind, but fair. Strict, but out of care and concern, with no real malice against people who don't mean to do others harm. In other words, she's the embodiment of being a hero to the people of the world.
And then she dies.
Oh yeah, spoiler alert from 1993.
For all the people who whine and snivel about Aeris/Aerith/whoever dying in Final Fantasy VII, you can all shut up. THIS is the most shocking and heartbreaking video game death of all time, if only because they've spent all this time establishing this bond (literally from the beginning of the game) between your character and her, and then it simply strips that away and makes your character complete the transformation from young apprentice (boy) to mighty warrior and leader (man).
3. Jessica Cannon from SiN: Episodes
Yeah, I know, I've referenced this woman before. However, I really, really like this character, and I think it's tragic that this game series never got any more than the first installment of the game.
Your partner against an evil corporation (because when aren't they evil?), she rescues your character at the very beginning of the game, helps set up the story, and frequently acts as a capable and dependable ally during different parts of the game (except for the times you get separated to serve the plot). She's quick-witted, has multiple smart responses to situations, but is willing to confide her fears and concerns when you have some private moments during scene transitions. She's just as tough as your character (remember, she saved you at the start), and the ending of the first episode leaves her in a pretty rough spot (the second episode was going to involve her recovery and treatment).
I'd love to see a game that simply spotlights her, and would help fund the Kickstarter campaign to bring this game series back.
2. Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The hero of the woefully under appreciated game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Alex doesn't actually do much for much of the game. She spends most of the game exploring a giant mansion and reading a book that, if I remember correctly, is made out of skin and seems to transport the reader back so they see everything that happened first hand. Her sanity starts to crumble, she starts to doubt reality around her, and seems doomed to a destiny of madness.
Yet, she still manages to push herself ahead through a mental journey no person should ever face, all to discover the truth behind the grisly murder of a loved one and to save the world from an ancient evil. She draws on the spirits of those whose tales are told in the story before hers to aid her in her fight, bringing her combat skills to take down her enemies, and shoulders a responsibility that I couldn't imagine many other characters from any video game being able to hold.
Plus, she's voiced by Commander Shepard from Mass Effect! Bonus!
1. Carmen Sandiego from...well, you know.
I don't think this one is cheating, even though she's had several origin stories.
Picture this. The best crime-fighter a world-class police organization has ever seen leaves said police agency to become the greatest thief who ever lived. There are multiple reasons theorized as to why she did this. One involves a magical artifact that would give her supreme power. Another is that she simply wants a greater challenge, one that can only be obtained by challenging the best and brightest of the very organization she left behind. Another is that she's an anti-hero who tries to steal things that won't hurt people when they go missing, and in fact teamed up in the cartoon a few times against other thieves who have no such scruples.
Either way, you have a woman of mystery with a sharp sense of fashion. When I played these games, I distinctively remember both her sharp taunts one minute, and her affectionate teases the next, letting me think it really was a game to her, and that she was almost as disappointed as I was when I lost. And I lost a lot.
Because seriously, this was before the Internet, how was I supposed to know the chief export of Uruguay?
So next up I have another Ask Erik (finishing up a follow-up question from last week)...maybe next I'll just do my "Top Eleven Characters From Games Teenage Erik Wanted To Own For The Wrong Reasons."
Because, really, sexualization and exploitation in games is nothing new.
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