5 Video Game Princesses That Didn’t Really Need Saving

The hero rushing to the aid of the captured princess is a timeless tale. Pixelated protagonists have been stomping mushrooms and hurling balls of fire in order to rescue the damsel in distress since video games realized that not every entertainment outing had to be tennis-based.

The funny thing is, right about the time the world really got into strong female leads like Lara Croft and Jill Valentine, the old traditional rescue-the-helpless-princess mold gained enough nostalgic cachet to never really feel outdated. So it continues to this day and will likely always continue.

Then again, there are plenty of princesses that don't really require rescue.