Gaming has changed a lot over the years. Not just through graphics but also to the point that games can tell impactful stories with powerful characters that can inspire anybody. And since March 8th is International Women’s Day, let’s take a look at 10 amazing female characters in video games to honor women everywhere!
Celebrate Women’s Day with Amazing Female Video Game Characters
10. Malenia From Elden Ring
One of the many demigods in Elden Ring, Malenia has never known defeat. However, her strength doesn’t come from combat prowess alone. Having been born with Scarlet Rot, Malenia fought against her own body for her entire life.
But through pure determination, she learned to fight for the sake of her twin brother, Miquella. And that’s even after losing limbs and having to rely on unalloyed gold to keep the Rot from spreading. In a world that’s full of pain and greed, Malenia fights for her brother instead of herself. Despite that, she needed to give up her pride and damage her own body.
9. The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3
How far would you go for your country? The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3 sacrificed her life and her reputation for the sake of keeping her country safe. After spending her life protecting civilians with her actions, she agreed to be seen as a traitor. This led to convincing one of the soldiers she raised to kill her. But she stayed content with the knowledge that the truth behind her actions would never be known to more than a few people.
8. Ciri from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Ciri is forced to face a lot of hardship from a young age in The Witcher. But she doesn’t give up. With the help of characters like Geralt, she’s able to overcome a difficult fate and take matters into her own hands. Of course, having the Elder Blood and the enhanced magic that comes with it helps her face the many obstacles in her path. But relying on companions to guide you as you grow into your own and trusting that you aren’t alone are their own forms of strength that create amazing people.
7. Senua from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Senua is a character full of contradictions, but she’s also an important representation of mental illness in gaming. She shows that you can be terrified while being brave. You don’t have to be perfect to be strong or to be a hero. Even with her flaws and struggles, Senua takes a lot of burdens on her shoulders and does the best that she can. It’s a shame that Hellblade gets overlooked. But now is the perfect time to embark on the journey of this powerful woman now that Hellblade 2 is in production.
6. Karlach from Baldur’s Gate 3
It’s tough to pick just one amazing woman in Baldur’s Gate 3 to be on this list. But Karlach took this spot through her positive attitude towards adversity. She’s lived a terrible life so far. She even ended up sold to demons to fight in their war, resulting in her heart being replaced with an Infernal Engine. Karlach is undeniably strong in a physical sense, given that she’s a Barbarian by default. Yet, even after being wronged by the people around her and knowing that she’ll die if she doesn’t return to Avernus, Karlach stays upbeat, positive, funny, and never stops caring about her companions.
5. Heather Mason from Silent Hill 3
The nightmarish world of Silent Hill isn’t for the faint of heart. Heather was technically born in the middle of those horrors. She holds her own against them when it’s time for her to return and face the truth of her past life. However, facing your past life isn’t any easier when there are cultists who want you to give birth to their deity lurking around town. After dealing with others trying to decide her fate in her past and current lives, Heather has the strength to overcome the will of the cultists and free herself from Silent Hill. Then, she decides on her own future.
4. Tifa from Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy is full of amazing women, but Tifa deserves some love with the recent release of Rebirth. Aerith often takes the spotlight due to being the last Ancient and meeting a tragic fate. But Tifa is amazing without a special heritage. In the remake, Tifa especially supports the group to the best of her abilities. Even though both she and Aerith like Cloud, they form a great friendship and work together without any issues.
When the moment comes that Aerith dies, Tifa is devastated to the point that she’s the last one to leave the spot where they left Aerith’s body. She’s an amazing woman, and she shows the importance of women supporting each other.
3. Claire Redfield from Resident Evil 2
Like Final Fantasy, Resident Evil has plenty of amazing and strong women in the series. However, Claire is unique in that she doesn’t have any formal training before jumping into the lead role of a zombie outbreak.
Claire knows some self-defense courtesy of her brother, Chris, but she isn’t as well-trained as characters like Jill or Ada. But that doesn’t stop her from heading to the center of an outbreak to search for her brother. Along the way, she makes friends with Leon and saves Sherry. Even if she doesn’t find Chris, Claire remains undaunted by danger when it comes to protecting the people she loves.
2. Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda
Zelda is the mortal incarnation of Hylia, and that means that she ends up being reborn every time the world is threatened by Demise (often in the form of Ganon or Ganondorf). However, she never tries to escape from her duty to her people. Again and again, she does anything she can to protect the people of her kingdom, even if that means surrendering, as in Twilight Princess.
While she might be unhappy in BOTW with her inability to unlock her sealing powers, when the time came that somebody she cared about was going to die, she put herself in the path of danger and managed to use her powers just in time. Princess Zelda holds so many qualities that make her both an amazing woman and an amazing leader.
1. Samus from Metroid
Samus proved that gender doesn’t matter in games, and women can take on an incredible adventure just as well as men can. In the first Metroid, it’s not even revealed that Samus is a woman until the end when she takes off her armor. Her gender doesn’t impact her ability to protect the galaxy.
Aliens influenced Samus and the world of Metroid, and that included creating female characters with the bravery to fight against odds that seemed insurmountable. In 1986, Metroid and Samus helped pave the way for other amazing women in gaming, which gives her the number one spot in this list.
And those are 10 amazing female characters in video games to honor International Women’s Day. Representation has increased a lot over the years, and games that let you create the main character now let you create your perfect protagonists. From here, check out more content like how Princess Peach: Showtime brings with it empowering new mechanics!
