Fuck Yeah, Awesome Ladies In Video Games

Art by VOCODERHEATHEN

When I was a girl, I dreamt of standing in a room looking at a girl who was and was not myself, who stood looking at another girl, who also was and was not myself. My mother took this for a nightmare. I saw it as the beginning of a career in physics.

Rosalind Lutece
Bioshock Infinite
Irrational Games

Once again, it’s difficult to articulate precisely why this character is awesome without going into spoilers, but I will do my best.

Rosalind is a brilliant physicist, not dissimilar to the Infinite version of Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum. A fatalist, she spends much of the game quipping back and forth with her brother, the two of them forming the most fascinating peanut gallery I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering.

Art by Ailovc.

“Booker, are you afraid of God?”
“No. But I’m afraid of you.”

Elizabeth
Bioshock Infinite
Irrational Games

I think Becky Chambers put it best in her Bioshock Infinite review: Elizabeth is “a woman who needs rescuing, and who challenges my expectations of what that means.”

Presently, Elizabeth is being called one of the best companion characters in video game history, which to my mind does her a great disservice. She is a character - and she happens to be a companion. It is not that she is the pleasant tagalong girl that is any great accomplishment - just looking at her design, from the waifish model to the blue doe eyes, makes it abundantly clear that she was tailor-made to be likeable and invite your protection. What’s significant is that she rises above it, and how. Elizabeth is not the companion character in Bioshock Infinite. Elizabeth is Bioshock Infinite, as much as is Booker DeWitt.

I’ll likely edit this entry with some spoilery elaboration when the game is old enough, but in the meantime I’d encourage everyone to check it out for themselves.

Art by bluewickedbehemoth

Nothing like a nice relaxing stroll on the beach…blasting bad guys with my boomstick!

Ashley Williams
Mass Effect Series
BioWare

Born into a close-knight military family, Ashley is a soldier walking in her forefathers’ footsteps, and their shadow. Her grandfather was an instrumental figure in the first war humans ever fought with aliens, and his surrender led to subsequent generations of her family being passed over despite top performance and hard work. Ashley herself is somewhat resentful of both authorities and aliens, not only due to her situation, but out of generalized mistrust. Loyalty matters deeply to Ashley, and though she can be difficult to win over, she is as reliable as they come. She is also very fond of poetry, and brave enough to spontaneously quote a verse or two as befitting the situation.

We do not speak of her terrible redesign.

Art by Masateru.

“…”

Samus Aran
Metroid Series
Nintendo, Retro Studios

I’ve hesitated to include Samus here for a couple reasons: the Zero-Suit, the way she is often rendered while wearing it, general overexposure, and of course, the still-smarting disaster that was Other M.

But you know what? If I can’t support a 6’3”, 200lbs, bounty-hunting, alien-blasting, armor-wearing silent protagonist whose arch enemy is a giant cybernetic brain, then I don’t know what I can support anymore.

Here’s to you, Samus, and here’s hoping Team Ninja never gets their hands on you again.

Art by KirioSanjouin

“I am tired of ruling in a husband’s name. If I marry again, it will not be to become a figurehead. If being a consort is not enough, then marry Alistair. Perhaps he will bend over more gracefully than I would.”

Queen Anora Theirin
Dragon Age: Origins
Bioware

Though she is only queen of Fereldan by marriage, Anora has been doing all of the ruling for as long as she has been able. She is, after all, quite suited for it - intelligent, pragmatic, and loved by her people, Anora is unquestionably good at her job. Despite having married into power, she is no seductress, and her looks and sexuality have nothing to do with her authority. Instead, Anora is ruthlessly political, and players may learn soon after meeting her that Anora will do whatever she feels she has to in order to hold onto her power. She is not, however, a heartless, power-mad queen - a large part of her motivation for wanting to hold on to her position seems to stem from her understanding that there is no ruler more fit.

Anora gets a lot of hate - specifically, she’s often called a bitch (while her arguably-even-worse father is usually spared such designations). Without getting too deep into it, I don’t think you have to like a character personally in order to appreciate that they’re well-written for their role in the story.

And besides, bitches get stuff done.

Art source (artist removed)

“Look, I’m not going to argue with you. I’ve never cared about philosophy anyway. But there is one thing I can say! You really piss me off!!”

Prier
La Pucelle: Tactics & Disgaea Series
Nippon Ichi

Prier is a teenaged girl whose goal in life is to become the Maiden of Light, a paragon of divine femininity prophesied to wield great power and protect the world from darkness. She figures she can more or less get there by kicking in the face of anybody who crosses her and hers. Eventually, she’s forced to come to terms with the fact that she is, perhaps, not suited for the job - her aggressive and sometimes selfish demeanor aside, she’d rather do what she feels is right than what’s written in the holy book. Some ill-fated romantic feelings for a boy compound the feelings of inadequacy, but Prier doesn’t let them keep her down for long. Instead, she finds strength in acknowledging her true self: A loudmouthed, righteous ass-kicker, a nurturing friend, and a Big Damn Hero in her own right.

Prier is one of those unfortunate characters who is well written and poorly designed. Despite being pretty awesome, she has become more widely known for her ever-expanding Powergirl-boobs and cameo role in somebody else’s game. To anybody who knows of her from Disgaea but has yet to play La Pucelle, I recommend it thoroughly.