20 Best Female Protagonists in Video Games

The topic of women in gaming, both as players and developers, has been getting a lot of attention recently. Unfortunately, the majority of that attention has been negative and has focused more on the blatant harassment and sexism in the gaming industry and its culture.

But believe it or not, it is not all doom and gloom for the female characters in video games themselves. In fact, there have been quite a few game titles that have featured strong independent women as their main protagonists. So let’s celebrate women in gaming by focusing on these popular characters who have provided us with positive role models and given us hours of gaming enjoyment.

[dirthurts]

I'm really a big fan of Jade, and Laura Croft (where is she at?).
Alyssa is also a great choice, being that she's vulnerable yet still sticks with it.

Sadly, this list only makes me realize how we need to work on how women are portrayed in games. We need more strong characters!

[Root]

No Elena Fisher.....for shame

[coolbeans]

Protagonists are the main character in the story.

You can ask why Alyx Vance is listed and in the picture, but you'll only be confused by their reasoning. SPOILER: they state she's an important non-playable character and gets honorable mention...but there would only be nineteen if you didn't count her.

http://media.tumblr.com/tum...

[Root]

I was going to say

If she got in then why couldn't Elena

Chloe in Uncharted is a secondary character but I'd class Elena as a main character.

[coolbeans]

If you want to stay true to the title (which they didn't), neither would be included or honorably mentioned in this case.

Elena would be categorized as a "major character," not the main character. Regardless of how helpful she is, the narrative and conflicts coming from the antagonist aren't focused on her.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

I'm pretty sure after this year is over we can add Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinte, Jodie Holmes from Beyond:Two Souls,and Elly from The Last Of Us.

[Moncole]

Ms. Pacman is Pacman in drag.

[dirthurts]

Pacman-Hoe.

[Bathyj]

I knew theyd miss Hana from Fear Effect. How come this series gets no love?

[thebudgetgamer]

No Madison Paige?

[Bakkies]

My fave is the old Lara Croft, people have some strange idea about her, but here are the facts:

She is strong and independent, never relying on anyone but herself for her success. She is not intimidated by anyone and is very goal orientated. Anyone who gets in her way will get a fist or a bullet. She makes the men around her seem inept and lazy. She is attractive, but she's never plays the victim, always the agent.

Here are points I dislike in female protagonists:

-They play the victims.
-Emotional.
-Reliant on other people for her success.
-Seeks preferential treatment.
-Weak.

Kudos for the author for putting in Rosella, great to know someone remembers her.

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

pretty good list but i think i could of added elika as well.

[Myst]

Aveline de Grandpré was quite the surprise. Still kind of sad that there was no Playstation avatar of her :( or a lot of these ladies.