Best Female Characters

In terms of having strong roles and deep personalities. 

I'd say my top 5 are:

Ellie (The Last of Us)

Shepard (Mass Effect 1-3)

Samus Aran (Metroid series)

Elizabeth (Bioshock Infinite)

Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2 series)

Any other ones I should keep note of.  The unfortunate thing is that I was going to make a list of the top 20 female characters, but I realized that many of them simply didn't have that much depth to them.  Then again, most male characters don't either but there are only more memorable male characters out of sheer persistence.

Lightning in FFXIII.

Flavia in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Saskia in The Witcher 2.

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss.  She has a very interesting backstory, and is designed sensibly.  Female JRPG characters can tend to be stereotypes or designed in an overly "sexy" or "cute" way, but she is designed modestly, and has a very distinct personality, while still being "attractive."  She's one of my all time fav (if not my completely favorite) female game characters.  

Although Maria from Knights in the Nightmare is also great.  She, too, has a great personality and back story, and her goals are... Well, rather interesting, to say the least.

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

wiouds

Yeah I never got the thing with Saums, either.  The entire story, generally speaking, from Metroid is barely there, and the most insight into her personality is that she supposedly hunts bountys after her planet was destroyed.  Athgouh I haven't played Other M, but I hear that she was really "wimpified" in that game.

That being said, I still enjoy Metroid a lot.

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

wiouds

Princess Peach is probably the worst in terms of female character development.

In Super Princess Peach, her special is attack against enemies is crying.

Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss.  She has a very interesting backstory, and is designed sensibly.  Female JRPG characters can tend to be stereotypes or designed in an overly "sexy" or "cute" way, but she is designed modestly, and has a very distinct personality, while still being "attractive."  She's one of my all time fav (if not my completely favorite) female game characters.  

turtlethetaffer

Tear Grants is just plain awesome with how many stereotypes she averts. One of my favorite female characters.

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

drekula2

Princess Peach is probably the worst in terms of female character development.

In Super Princess Peach, her special is attack against enemies is crying.

It all about how you look at Princess Peach. She not a fighter and more a healer. I see her as strong because she does not let the danger and threat of danger to changer her. Look at what Bowser has done to capture the princess and you can see there is not much that can be done to stop him.

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss.  She has a very interesting backstory, and is designed sensibly.  Female JRPG characters can tend to be stereotypes or designed in an overly "sexy" or "cute" way, but she is designed modestly, and has a very distinct personality, while still being "attractive."  She's one of my all time fav (if not my completely favorite) female game characters.  

 

4nationfury

Tear Grants is just plain awesome with how many stereotypes she averts. One of my favorite female characters.

Yeah, I love her :oops:  She is seriously awesome.  The designers were inspired with her character, and she is probably the only animated character I can honestly say I'm attracted to.  Plus I like how she is sometimes too serious or literal... Just saw a skit today where Luke said "You haven't changed a bit, Tear" and she said "My clothes?  Yeah, I thought the Yulian robes might prove useful."  Made me chuckle, which is not something most games do.  Plus, her "anti stereotpye" thing doesn't come off as forced at all... It feels quite natural, to me, at least.

Then again, all the characters in that game (at least the playable ones) have great personalities.  The writers were top notch when they made the script.

Bayonetta.

Cortana from halo. Physically she is not female, but emotionally, come on, you can feel it.

I really liked Midna from twilight princess as well.

Virtues last reward has Phi, she's a great female character.

Finally there's Bonnie from RDR. Wish you could have spent more time with her.

Personally I have to go with some of my favs

Elizabeth- Bioshock Infinite

Ellie- TLOU

Tifa- FF7

Lulu- FF10

Elena Fisher- Uncharted series

Catwoman- Batman Arkham City

Sarah Kerrigan- Starcraft series

Lucina- Fire Emblem Awakening

Sumia- Fire Emblem Awakening

Jill Valentine- RE series

Bayonetta- Bayonetta series

my favorites when it comes to females in games irregardless if they're playable or not:

Just based on what i can think of off the top of my head as well.

Nariko from Heavenly Sword. She is my personal favorite. I really liked the arch of her being a prophecy that it was supposed to be a man to rise above and save their people but instead she was born. and in the end she still rises to the occasion even as the sword is poisoning here. There was a strength and fortitude there that i really enjoyed. 

Mass Effect's - Shepherd, Tali, Kasumi, and Liara i liked the best and felt had interesting personalities and arcs.

Ellie, Tess, and Marlene (for what little she's in there) from Last of Us.  What has been said about these two has already been said, but what i got out of it i enjoyed both of their characterizations a lot. 

Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite. 

Kat from Gravity Rush - standard "i got amnesia what the hell is going on who am i" trope, but still... liked her adventure a lot and hope to see a sequel in the future. 

Jade from Beyond Good and Evil, what's been said about her has already been said.

the female cast of Valkyria Chronicles series - yes a lot of standard anime tropes get used, but i don't remember tropes meaning "really terrible and you should be ashamed for using it". A lot of the ladies are enjoyable they got their own arcs in them. 

that's all i can think of off the top of my head right now. 

If we were going for sex appeal alone. it'll always be Chun Li for me :P 

Tess, while everyone seems to ignore her, is pretty good in The Last of Us, she basically drags Joel around everywhere and seems to be pretty good with surviving.

From what I remember, Trip in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was pretty good, at least from what I remember she had to get Monkey (the male lead) to calm down most of the time.  Sure, she didn't want to really travel with him but she never felt weak (maybe I need to replay this now to see if she was a good lead).

Alyx Vance and Mona Sax would be my top picks.

Triss Merigold - The Witcher 2

Trip - Enslaved was pretty awesome character

I really like Shepard, Samus Aran, Lightning, Juliet Starling, Jill Valentine, and Cortana.

Triss Merigold - The Witcher 2

Trip - Enslaved was pretty awesome character

Flubbbs

How did I forget Triss ???? Some beautiful pixels she was.

• Elena Fisher - Uncharted series
• Alma Wade - F.E.A.R. series
• Sheva Alomar - Resident Evil 5
• Elizabeth - Bioshock: Infinite
• Ellie - The Last of Us

Top 5

1. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider) - Probably the most detailed female character to date, and very well done.
2. Elena Fisher (Uncharted) - Best character in Uncharted.
3. Faith (Mirrors Edge) - Can't wait to see more of her in Mirrors Edge 2.
4. Samus Aran (Metroid) - Not as fleshed out as other characters, but manages to convey that sence of good ethics and badassery.
5. Midna (Twilight Princess) - Possibly the best sidekick link has had yet, and one of the most interesting Zelda characters.  Would love to see more of her.

Honorable mentions:  Zoe Payne (SSX), Catwoman (Arkham City), Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark)

PS - doing this list makes me realize how few female characters actually are the main character and have a fleshed out story.  Though there are a good handful.

• Kate Archer
• Mona Sax
• Alyx Vance
• Jeanette & Therese Voerman
• Sarah Kerrigan
• Jan Ors
• Lara Croft
• Velvet Velour

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

turtlethetaffer

Yeah I never got the thing with Saums, either.  The entire story, generally speaking, from Metroid is barely there, and the most insight into her personality is that she supposedly hunts bountys after her planet was destroyed.  Athgouh I haven't played Other M, but I hear that she was really "wimpified" in that game.

That being said, I still enjoy Metroid a lot.

Piers Nivans !Lulu_Lulu

LMAO

Also, I agree on Midna.

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

[QUOTE="wiouds"]

I like Lara Croft from the new Tomb Raider game.

Princess Peach is not a bad character if you are willing.

The problem with Samus and Shepard is that both have or had no real strong traits about them without the player.

firefox59

Yeah I never got the thing with Saums, either.  The entire story, generally speaking, from Metroid is barely there, and the most insight into her personality is that she supposedly hunts bountys after her planet was destroyed.  Athgouh I haven't played Other M, but I hear that she was really "wimpified" in that game.

That being said, I still enjoy Metroid a lot.

It wasn't bad, and honestly Samus was one of the best characters in it. I just didn't love one of the later scenes.  But hey, the story was better than the Hunters and Metroid Prime 3 story.  Other M was an extremely flawed, yet very fun, innovative and addictive game.

[QUOTE="Lulu_Lulu"]Piers Nivans !drekula2

LMAO

My favourite are:

• Ellie (The Last of Us)
• Nariko (Heavenly Sword)
• Serah Farron (Final Fantasy XIII)
• Jaina Proudmoore (World of Warcraft)

Rinoa Heartilly

gotta love the female leads in videogames. my top 5 would be

female 'daisy' shepard

lightning

lara croft

kat - gravity rush

mila - dead or alive

Katherine marlowe from uncharted 3. She is probablly my favorite female game character.

Katherine marlowe from uncharted 3. She is probablly my favorite female game character.

 

Gargus

***SPOILERS (for the show Dexter) SPOILERS***

oh my gosh it's DR Vogul from Dexter!  Haha never noticed.

also i like Halsey from the Halo series

My favorites in no particular order:

The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

Ellie (The Last of Us)

Ashe (Final Fantasy XII)

Bayonetta (Bayonetta)

Yukiko Amagi (Persona 4)

Chie Satonaka (Persona 4) 

Elena Fisher (Uncharted series)

Rosie (Valkyria Chronicles)

Mitsuru Kirijo (Persona 3)

Fang (Final Fantasy XIII)

Off the top of my head:

• Alyx Vance
• Kreia
• Sarah Kerrigan
• Samus Aran

Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss. She has a very interesting backstory, and is designed sensibly. Female JRPG characters can tend to be stereotypes or designed in an overly "sexy" or "cute" way, but she is designed modestly, and has a very distinct personality, while still being "attractive." She's one of my all time fav (if not my completely favorite) female game characters.

Although Maria from Knights in the Nightmare is also great. She, too, has a great personality and back story, and her goals are... Well, rather interesting, to say the least.

turtlethetaffer

Tear Grants, absolutely. She is one of my favorite female characters in a Tales game, very hot, very attractive, but also very intelligent and is very confident. I approve highly. She was and still is a great character to know in Abyss!

Shepard from ME1-3.
Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2.
April Ryan from The Longest Journey.

[QUOTE="turtlethetaffer"]

Tear Grants from Tales of the Abyss. She has a very interesting backstory, and is designed sensibly. Female JRPG characters can tend to be stereotypes or designed in an overly "sexy" or "cute" way, but she is designed modestly, and has a very distinct personality, while still being "attractive." She's one of my all time fav (if not my completely favorite) female game characters.

Although Maria from Knights in the Nightmare is also great. She, too, has a great personality and back story, and her goals are... Well, rather interesting, to say the least.

Metamania

Tear Grants, absolutely. She is one of my favorite female characters in a Tales game, very hot, very attractive, but also very intelligent and is very confident. I approve highly. She was and still is a great character to know in Abyss!

Yeah plus it's funny how serious she can be.

Well...someone already said Tear from Tales of the Abyss. I also really like Natalia from the same game.

She's smart, very mature for her age, caring, assertive, and a responsible leader who loves her people. She was also the character I used the most throughout the whole game.

I'd say all the girls from Persona 2, 3, and 4. But if I had to pick two, I'd pick these girls:

Like all the characters in the Persona games, they start out as typical anime archetypes ("rich girl" and "pretty popular girl") but are fleshed out into well rounded characters as the game goes on. You discover that behind their initial perfect demeanors that they have demons and insecurities that trouble them as well. They aren't defined simply by their gender or one specific trait, rather, they have several aspects that define them. 

Honorable mentions:

• Alicia, Rosie, Isara, and Selvaria from Valkyria Chronicles
• KOS MOS, Juli Mizrahi, and Shion from Xenosaga
• Elly from Xenogears
• Ashe and Fran from Final Fantasy XII
• Katherine from Catherine
• Io Nitta and Makoto Sako from Devil Survivor 2
• Rozalin and Etna from the Disgaea series

-Alys Brangwin(PS4)
-Sarah Kerrigan(Starcraft)
-Zoe Castillo(Dreamfall)
-April Ryan(TLJ and Dreamfall)
-Jeanette Voerman[VTMB: Bloodlines)
-Kate Walker(Syberia)
-Nei(PS2)
-Anna Navarre(Deus Ex)

Trip from Enslaved and Bonnie from RDR were great characters.

• Bayonetta
• Lightning
• Morrigan
• Fem Sheperd
• Elisabeth

Well...someone already said Tear from Tales of the Abyss. I also really like Natalia from the same game.

She's smart, very mature for her age, caring, assertive, and a responsible leader who loves her people. She was also the character I used the most throughout the whole game.

I'd say all the girls from Persona 2, 3, and 4. But if I had to pick two, I'd pick these girls:

Like all the characters in the Persona games, they start out as typical anime archetypes ("rich girl" and "pretty popular girl") but are fleshed out into well rounded characters as the game goes on. You discover that behind their initial perfect demeanors that they have demons and insecurities that trouble them as well. They aren't defined simply by their gender or one specific trait, rather, they have several aspects that define them. 

Honorable mentions:

• Alicia, Rosie, Isara, and Selvaria from Valkyria Chronicles
• KOS MOS, Juli Mizrahi, and Shion from Xenosaga
• Elly from Xenogears
• Ashe and Fran from Final Fantasy XII
• Katherine from Catherine
• Io Nitta and Makoto Sako from Devil Survivor 2
• Rozalin and Etna from the Disgaea series

 

Lucky_Krystal

I thought Natalia was mroe typical than Tear.  Still a good character, but a bit too whiny about Asch... I swear half her dialogue was "Asch..."

Orta and also Kya