Top 10 Female Leads in Video Games

10. Any game that supports female character creation –

I recently moved from rolling strictly dudes to rolling only female characters when given the chance in video games that allow me to choose between the two sexes. Because who wouldn’t want to spend 30-100+ hours playing as a female?

9. Sonya Blade –

Sonya Blade has been a staple in the Mortal Kombat franchise since the first game released in 1992. Ever since then, Sonya Blade has cartwheel-kicked her way into our lives and has made numerous appearances that spans 9 games, 2 movies, and various other entertainment outlets.

8. GlaDOS-

Ahh, GlaDOS our “the cake is a lie” loving, passive aggressive AI matriarch is a hard circuit board to deny. Although not THE lead in the Portal series, she is the one who cynically narrates Chell through two games.

7. Jade –

Jade (Beyond Good & Evil, not Mortal Kombat) is one of the most recognized female protagonists in video games and made her debut in 2003’s, Beyond Good & Evil. Armed with a brain and a camera, Jade broke the objectified female mold and has received praise in other various top ten female protagonist lists throughout the years.

6. Jill Valentine –

You may have heard of this little franchise called, Resident Evil. Yeah, I haven’t either. But from what I hear, there is this zombie-equalizing bad-ass character, Jill Valentine. Although I hear she wasn’t as strong as her partner, Chris Redfield, she was better equipped with skills and weapons which allowed her to kick serious zombie ass. Jill Valentine has also appeared in numerous other Resident Evil games and movies.

5. Commander Shepard –

Kicking ass and taking names is Commander Shepard’s second job in the Mass Effect franchise. Her first job is leading a rag-tag group of assassins, scientists, and mercenaries against an eminent threat, the Reapers. Spanning three games, this leading lady traversed the universe in the Normandy leading her crew, battle after battle, wiping out the Reapers which resulted in an ultimate act of selflessness.

4. Princess Peach –

This peach of a lady stole Mario’s heart in Nintentdo’s Mario and Donkey Kong franchises, which in turn stole our hearts. This heroine made her epic levitating debut in one of my favorite Mario games, Super Mario Bros. 2. Since then, Peach has been in a multitude of spin-offs and even getting her own game, Super Princess Peach.

3. Chun Li –

It’s only natural that the first female in a fighting game be on this list. Not only the first, but arguably the most effective in a fighting game as well. She debuted in Street Fighter 2 and has been in just about every other Street Fighter since. If you don’t think she deserves to be on this list, especially at number 3, I have a SF2 machine in my house that will prove otherwise.

2. Lara Croft –

Besides all the negative sexual attention this character received when the first Tomb Raider released, Lara Croft was one of the first female characters in a strong protagonist role. Armed with two pistols and the ability to climb any mountain, crevasse, hillside, or cliff, Lara Croft treads fearless into any cave welcoming any challenge she faces.

Recently rebooted, Lara Croft was given a new appearance and story. Although Lara was portrayed as a broken young woman, by the end of the game she was transformed into a fearless adventurer. I look forward to seeing what new adventures come her way.

1. Samus Aran –

Yes, Samus hails at number one of this top ten female lead list. Why, you ask? Samus is in the Guinness Book of World Records: Gaming Edition as, “the first playable human female character in a mainstream videogame.” Not only is she the first but, at the time, a dominant force in video games as the protagonist of the Metroid series. She didn’t just jump, bop, and run from left to right like her cousin, Mario. She spun, gunned down, and morphed her way in, through, and around the world of Zebes, eradicating Mother Brain.

Being a male in his mid-thirties, I grew up in the NES era and one of my favorite games was Metroid. The developers pulled one of the biggest and greatest switcheroos by unveiling that Samus was a female in this male dominated genre. Being young, and only seeing male protagonists, imagine how astonished I was when I found out that this ball-morphing, spin-jumping, arm-gun shooting protagonist was actually a female. Mind. Blown.