Since my girl Lara is what started my thought process on this topic, I will start the discussion with her. Tomb Raider was not the first action adventure game to have a female protagonist, (hold onto your panties we will talk about her in a minute), but she was the first bad ass female to really turn the video game world on its head. In 1996 developers at Core design and publishers at Eidos Interactive gave me what I had been dreaming of for years, a female Indiana Jones! I have loved video games since I got my hands on my first NES controller the year it came out in America, but until Miss Croft entered my life I had no idea where games where gonna take me. Lara was the first truly bad ass female in games. She has everything! She is smart enough to figure out all the crazy puzzles left behind in tombs ( I mean really, who knew opening a tomb was so damn hard). She could duel wheeled pistols while flipping around rock faces and dangerous terrain (She killed a dinosaur, come on, that's BA). Plus she is hot! Girls wanted to look like her, guys wanted to date her (OK, some of us girls wanted to date her too). She has everything. If somehow you have gone through your whole life without playing a Tomb Raider game pull out your retro systems and start, please. You will have plenty to chose from. Edios did 6 games from 1996-2009 and Square has done 4 since 2010, with the new Tomb Raider (coming out in a North America on March 5) being the 11th installment in the series. Now in the new game Lara has switched out her pistols for a bow, but I am still super excited to see what adventures I get to go on with her.
As I mentioned above Tomb Raider was not the first female lead in an action adventure game. Nintendo actually brought us the first female protagonist way back in 1986 (once again feel old saying way back to "86). Listen closely though kids, there's a kicker, no one knew that she was a girl until you beat the game! Seriously. Developers at Nintendo introduced us to a bad ass space soldier named Samus Aran in their game Metroid. We played our NES all night long watching Samus clad in the coolest 8bit armor and weapons we had seen so far on the system. We used Samus' arm cannon to take out aliens left and right, and gave orders to all our underlings. Then we beat the game and Samus takes off her helmet and low and behold, it's a girl! Now this was an amazing moment for me as a little kid gamer (ha ha, not telling you how old I was, but will tell you it was probably "88 before I played the game). I was so excited that Samus was a girl. But, I do have to stifle a giggle when I think what it must have been like for the average male gamer when they found out they had been playing a female soldier the whole time :) Now Nintendo has continued the Metroid series throughout their various systems since the NES. Some are worth a look, others I think fell a little short of the mark. But, no matter what the current games are like, Metroid and Samus will always hold a little place in my heart for being the first female action game bad ass.
The second genre that has been bringing us bad ass females without fail for years is my favorite game genre, role playing. And my favorite game developer makes my list twice for games that have strong female leads (gee maybe that is why they are my favorite?). Bioware has been giving us amazing RP games for years and they have also given me some of my favorite female characters. The first Bioware series worthy of note is of course Mass Effect, first introduced in 2007, (don't act so surprised, anyone who knows me or my writing knew they'd be on my list). The ME trilogy is a wonderful story driven action game that brings us so many strong female and male characters that in my limited space all I can really do is list them. Ashley, Liara, Tali, Miranda, Samara, Jack, Aria, Samantha, Edi, and of course FemShep help make the series what it is ( the best game series of all time, my opinion of course). Bioware does an amazing job of writing both the male and female characters in ME as actual people (or in some cases aliens) that you would want to be around. The women in the game are not just pretty things to look at. They are just as strong, if not stronger than most of the male characters in the game, both in personality and physical strength. If you are looking for a great starting point in the RP gaming world. Start with this game. You will never look back.
As I mentioned the second RP game to make my list of strongest female leads is the Dragon Age series, also from Bioware. Now I have to admit I have not played this game yet ( I know, I know I have no idea why either, it is next on my list). I actually did not realize how many strong females it has in it until beginning my research for this post. This is where I thank all of my Twitter followers for their suggestions of their fav. game characters. It is you guys who introduced me to the overwhelming desire to stop everything and play this game. Apparently DA has two very powerful female mages, Morrigan ( a shape shifter) and Wynne who are both part of your party. You also have a strong female rouge who has both physical strength and conviction in her beliefs, named Leliana. Like ME you are also able to chose your playable character (The Grey Warden) to be a female as well. I have no idea how this game has not been on my play list, (give up my RP geek card willingly), but rest assured that it is now. If you, like me, have not played this series yet, grab it and we can play it now. I am excited to meet all of these amazing characters.
The last game I want to bring to our discussion is Witcher 2. Withcher 2 is a RP game originally for the PC that has recently been ported to the Xbox 360 (this being the version I play). Atari and Namco Bandai immerse you immediately into a world of magic and war from the moment you first enter the game. The thing I like most about this game is that it is a prime example of what I started the blog out saying. I do not have to have a playable female character in order for me to relate to the strong female influence in the game. Geralt is a male witcher and the only playable character to chose from. But in no means does this take Witcher off my list of bad ass female character games. Along your journey you come across some of the most powerful woman I have seen in RP games. The first female you come in contact with is Triss. She has a strong mix of both confidence and beauty, not to mention an overwhelming loyalty to your character. There are two female warriors that you meet along your journey. Ves, who is one of the strongest fighters in the game (often outmatching the males in her squad), and Saskia, who was a commander during her homeland's civil war. (She also killed a dragon, yep, she's my favorite). The female sorceresses that you meet in the game are often considered some of the most powerful and ruthless female characters you find in the genre. They bring bad ass to the magical plane. Sheale de Tancarville combines her beauty and power to get pretty much anything she wants done, but with that said she doesn't seek out any kind of suitor. She is strong enough on her own. Filippa Eilhart on the other hand balances her powerful magic with her strong and often edgy personality. If you love RP games, Withcer 2 is a must play. I applaud Atari and Namco for blending female strength so seamlessly into a game that could easily be solely male driven.
So that is my celebration of all my favorite female bad asses in video games. As always I would love to hear what you think. Do you agree, disagree, think I left a ground breaking game of this list? Let me know. There is a list of links at the end of the post for everything I mentioned in this months blog. Until next time, may the force be with you. Your favorite Girly Geek Jessy.
you can follow me on Twitter @JessicaRocco
