Monday, 6 July 2009 06:31 pm
Video Game Heroines
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deckardcanineI don’t know how many of my readers will take interest in this, but I felt like making a top 10. It’s not based on a survey and certainly not pretending to be objective; it’s me expressing personal preferences. If you want credentials, I can name more than 100 video games I’ve played over the years, counting computer games but not the ones that come with the computers or can be found free online.
As even non-gamers may have guessed, the video game industry has always been dominated by men. It comes as no surprise that most characters are male, and the females tend to be overly feminine (like Princess Peach Toadstool) and/or prone to fanservice (like Lara Croft). Fortunately, the ratio of female players to male players has risen considerably, and this may have something to do – whether as cause, effect, or both – with the presence of some heroines I can truly respect.
For my 10 favorites, I had a few criteria. First, they have to be controllable, so Midna from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is disqualified. Second, they have to be unique and not a member of a class of clones, so the assassins from Diablo II: Lord of Destruction are out of the running (if their kinky attire wasn’t enough). Third, they cannot be personally customizable, so forget anything like The Sims. I had briefly planned to add that they have to have premiered in a video game, but my list of possibilities was short enough already; besides, I’d hate to leave out two of my highest.
You’ll find a few arguably sexy women on the list. Believe me, that factor does not increase my rating. Anything that hints at sexism is a liability in my book.
10. Dixie Kong
Donkey Kong Country was revolutionary in graphics and sound for the Super NES, but the simple themes always struck me as a bit old-fashioned. Perhaps the most embarrassing thing about it was the fact that the only female was Candy Kong, an eyelash-fluttering pseudo-pinup primate. (At least, I think it was pseudo; she didn’t turn me on even at age 12.) Rareware would show a similar new-old dichotomy eight years later with Star Fox Adventures, leaving me less than heartbroken when the company parted ways with Nintendo.
Thankfully, the immediate follow-up to DKC made notable improvements: Candy was gone without explanation, Donkey’s decent grandmother joined the supporting cast, the muscle-headed gorilla was the one in distress, and cute monkey pal Diddy was joined in action by his equally cute… uh, chimp?… girlfriend. Dixie’s prehensile ponytail made for some interesting gameplay, and her bubblegum and soda made for a nice loop animation during the periods when she wasn’t moving around. And while Diddy celebrated level completions by turning his hat sideways, donning shades, holding a boombox, and making monkey noises to a hiphop beat, Dixie showed more musical talent by rocking an electric guitar. (Hmm, maybe she taught Diddy sometime before Donkey Kong 64.) It was the first time I really felt proud to handle a girl character, tho I naturally let my sister take her in team mode.
Her debut must have worked well, because she got top billing in the third installment, subtitled Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. It didn’t live up to the expectations set by predecessors, but Dixie was hardly part of the problem. Alas, DK64 replaced her with her less beloved younger sister, Tiny.
Not that Dixie didn’t have her own problems. I would put her higher on this list if she didn’t blubber unrealistically upon losing a life or getting thrown onto a flat surface – something that makes Diddy merely rub his cheek. It also occurs to me that if someone shaved her head, she would have absolutely no action advantages over Diddy. Samson Kong?
9. Princess Rosalina
I was ready to dismiss the entire cast of the Mario franchise, but then I remembered how much fun I’ve had driving this woman’s go-kart in Mario Kart Wii. Of course, there’s not much character development in a racing game, however wacky; her personality is best shown in her first game, Super Mario Galaxy, where she isn’t playable yet.
Don’t let her nominal princesshood or her superficial resemblance to Peach give you the impression of cloying: She’s much more impressive in my mind, starting with her womanly voice. More importantly, she acts like a wise and compassionate ruler and not just an overgrown kid. In fact, according to her storybook, she gained that maturity at an early age. That may have been largely borne out of necessity, but her subsequent direction of a powerful observatory is more than I could hope to accomplish in her shoes.
Mary Sue type? Eh, could be. I will say that her long absence from civilization away from the Luma has rendered her manner a little stilted by human standards. She keeps referring to Peach as Mario’s “special one,” suggesting that she forgets the appropriate term. Then again, it might be her sly way of pointing out that after all the times that Mario’s saved his princess, Peach still won’t give him anything better than a peck on the lips.
8. Relm Arrowny
Terra may be the first and most prominent playable character in Final Fantasy VI, but her persona is largely dictated by the plot, and her unique power is almost useless in my experience. Celes the renegade general is better than Terra in almost every way, but there are still only so many times that I like her Rune ability. Besides, her famous opera soprano impersonation was overrated even before the midi attempt at singing became laughable.
Relm, by contrast, neither inherited her powers nor had them forcibly infused. She appears to be a self-taught 10-year-old prodigy in an art – heh, a literal art – practiced by nobody else that we see: quick portraits so lifelike that they give enemies a taste of their own medicine. There are few battles in which I don’t use her Sketch move, and a special beret to turn it into Control (exactly what it sounds like) makes it ten times better. If for some reason that’s not your thing, or if you enter the tower where standard magic is the only option, then you’ll appreciate her having the most magic points of all 14 characters.
Her grandfather can benefit by learning from the moves she copies, but there’s an element of tough love between them – in her favor. “I’m going to paint your picture” has never sounded more threatening.
7. Alex Roivas
Heh, from R.A. to A.R. Alex must know that courage is not the opposite of fear. Players are more than likely to hear her whimper, “This isn’t really happening,” in the course of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, but she refuses to leave her grandfather’s haunted mansion without resolution regarding his death. Eventually, she even goes toe-to-toe with a warlock bent on the destruction of humanity – after a nice verbal slam on his 2,000-year-old scheme.
It may be that the machinations of an equally evil entity arranged for her destiny as the final champion against the darkness, but that makes her no less impressive. None of the previous 10 heroes have her combination of health, magic energy, and sanity. Only her running speed and endurance are merely average, and she’s not in the business of retreating. If she just had Michael’s machine gun or even Karim’s two-handed sword, there’d be no question of who was readiest for the showdown.
6. April Ryan
Hey, another A.R. name! We may not get to see hallucinations like Alex’s, but few games give us a deeper look inside a character’s head than The Longest Journey. And I rather like what I see – or rather, hear. Whenever your adventure stalls, you can have her check things out and offer her spunky take on them. Here are some samples of her wisdom: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, not a banana.” “Life should come with a warning label; it’s bound to kill you sooner or later.”
Okay, so she’s not always bright: The plot (fate?) demands that she do some stupid things. But who in real life doesn’t get equally stupid once in a while? At least she recognizes her faults in retrospect, and she won’t accept your commands to do something that would get her badly hurt or arrested.
Like Relm, April is a natural born artist. Unlike Relm, she doesn’t simply replicate; she aims for creativity. Fitting for a problem solver, and a rare person who can tap into the magic dream world by accident. I’d like to meet her.
No, I have not played the sequel Dreamfall. I understand that she’s unfairly lost almost all of what little she had to begin with, materially and socially, and taken on a darker image. Credible enough in light of the first game’s otherwise hopeful ending. Eh, maybe I don’t want to meet her after all.
5. Ororo “Storm” Munroe
Unlike many guys my age, I had little to no interest in the X-Men until the second movie came out. It was soon followed by X-Men Legends, which brought them RPG elements and catered to fledgling fans. I found Storm far more valuable than a token minority (take that, Bishop and Sunfire from the sequel). Lightning, wind, flight… small wonder she used to be worshipped. There’s never a bad time to have her active on the team, and certain parts are hard to take on with any of her 13 possible teammates instead. Her personality is fleshed out pretty well, too. “I feel as strong as a hurricane!” makes an inspiring level-up declaration.
Might I note that half the playable characters (disregarding the seldom available Professor X) in the first game are female. Of the rest, Jean Grey is probably the best, but she works mainly as a helper, not a brawler off doing her own thing. Four of the five other women were actually dropped for X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse, with only Scarlet Witch helping to make up the difference. You may lament the decline of affirmative action for gender, especially given all the new playable males, but I have to admit that the outgoing parties were pretty lame (and what can you expect given the team’s politically incorrect name?). Kudos to Storm for surviving the cut, among other great dangers!
4. Aika
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That’s right; I’m including a teen semi-pirate with unusual fashion sense – not exactly a choice role model. But I appreciate the rare tomboy and somewhat less rare well-adjusted orphan. In Skies of Arcadia, Aika’s as good a platonic female friend as Vyse could hope for; when he’s down, she’s always the one to pull him back up.
I meant that figuratively, of course, but it’s often literal, thanks to her having some of the best magic in the game for healing or offense. What she lacks in the power of her boomerang swings, she more than makes up for in speed and other abilities. Certain Super Moves, in fact, make her especially handy for just about every battle in the whole long game, two of them capable of ending most normal battles instantly. Wouldn’t trade her for Drachma, Gilder, or Enrique if I could. I can’t quite say the same for the equally cute but obnoxiously weak and frail Fina, who is most characterized by her gradually decreasing coyness and naïveté.
One more thing about Aika: She likes cats, even tho they’re nowhere to be seen. Nostalgic, perhaps? Well, any girl who draws herself as a sly anthro-cat for a ship flag is all right in my book, albeit slightly egotistical.
3. Raine Sage
I didn’t really expect to include any women whose primary gameplay function was as a healer, but Raine is so darn good at it. Besides, her light-based attacks have an impressive tendency to finish the battles in Tales of Symphonia, which runs even longer than SoA. I never go up against a boss without her if I can help it. Sheena, Presea, and even central figure Colette are much more optional.
Despite being low on attack power, Raine commands a lot of fearful respect from other members of the party. Sheena, who’s probably more popular thanks to her looks, is just as prone to anger but lacks the righteousness or the authoritative charisma that Raine has honed in her years as the sole teacher at a school. Heck, just getting that job in a prejudiced village, and after being banished from home before adulthood with her baby brother due to similar prejudice, is an accomplishment.
Oh, Raine has her faults. Her brother, now 12, has learned to be good at laundry and cooking because she bombs at both. But healing and teaching popularly are not her only gifts. In her 20s, her general knowledge is unparalleled among those less than a millennium old. Whenever there’s a new machine to work with, she’s the one to figure it out – and make it self-destruct as necessary. (Where did she even get the chance to study this material in a relatively low-tech world?) Her interest is hardly limited to modern stuff, either, with hearts in her eyes at the sight of ancient ruins. Geek all the way!
Once again, I haven’t tried the sequel, because it’s not well-rated by anyone I know of. I hope they didn’t mess up Raine, anyway.
2. Titania
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance had the most playable female characters I’d ever seen in one game: 14, versus 32 males (15 versus 36 if you count those who can be unlocked for trial maps). Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn broke that record: 25 versus about 45. Only a handful stood a chance at this list. I gave strong consideration to Nailah the Wolf Queen, who is nearly invincible and one of just two creatures ever known to cross the big desert – on foot, no less. Unfortunately, (a) she’s rude to her faithful servant, (b) we don’t know much else about her, and (c) she’s not around as often as she ought to be.
Ultimately, I decided that a certain axe-wielding paladin trumped them all. The mature Titania helps keep the Greil Mercenaries orderly and informed in the absence of Greil, so big a help to Commander Ike that the plot won’t allow her to die. Not as cold and hard as Raine, tho: She allows herself tears over the death of Greil, who is indeed worth the cry.
In PoR, she’s what gamers call a Jaegin, meaning she starts out far more awesome than her teammates, so you’ll want to be careful not to let her do too much of the killing (she could clear the first dozen levels on her own!). But as Jaegins go, she’s good at improving herself and not becoming a bad choice later on, even if you don’t overuse her. At the very least, when unarmed, she makes a wonderful human shield, capable of drawing lots of attacks for several levels without getting hit (or, if “less lucky,” getting hit without getting hurt).
In RD, she’s not really a Jaegin but decidedly the best of the eight equestrian knights from start to finish. And considering the versatility of that class, it’s saying something.
1. Great God Amaterasu
Yes, I realize that the Okami manual claims that the makers have rendered the Shinto goddess genderless, presumably in order not to bother immature boys. But they did an incomplete job of it: The other gods call Amaterasu “mother to us all.” I say that outweighs the evidence presented by the lifted leg for the misnamed Golden Fury attack.
In spite of her being the first game hero I’ve seen attack with the excretory system (not counting Yoshi’s “eggs” made by swallowing things), Ammy’s powers as the highest god could blow Aslan away. My religion is not hindering my appreciation here. Even when her Divine Instruments and almost unprecedented Celestial Brush become inaccessible, she can kick a lot of demon butt. And she’s not part of an ensemble; she’s the star and does almost all the fighting.
It helps, of course, that she takes the form of a barking, quadrupedal, non-anthro wolf – one of the best creatures to flow between cute and intimidating while always beautiful (a trait rather reduced in Link’s lupine transformation). The form also is conducive to Ammy’s unstable image after her century nap, from the graceful deity who leaves grass and flowers with every step to the dim, groggy, unclean beast who could fall into slapstick if not careful.
The game is big on rewarding you for good deeds other than defeating foes. It’s very endearing as Ammy lends her powers to complete optional chores, restore patches of greenery, or feed all kinds of animals. If you prefer to engage in vicarious naughtiness, you can always vandalize and attack innocent people, such as by headbutting a sick old man. (Yeah, I tried it once. I’ve done worse in other games just to see what would happen. Brings to mind a Johnny Cash song….)
There are plenty of things to love about Okami. Ammy alone is bound to have me playing again and again.
I don’t think I’ll go into honorable mentions, but if you’d like to mention some of your own favorites in comments, go right ahead.
As even non-gamers may have guessed, the video game industry has always been dominated by men. It comes as no surprise that most characters are male, and the females tend to be overly feminine (like Princess Peach Toadstool) and/or prone to fanservice (like Lara Croft). Fortunately, the ratio of female players to male players has risen considerably, and this may have something to do – whether as cause, effect, or both – with the presence of some heroines I can truly respect.
For my 10 favorites, I had a few criteria. First, they have to be controllable, so Midna from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is disqualified. Second, they have to be unique and not a member of a class of clones, so the assassins from Diablo II: Lord of Destruction are out of the running (if their kinky attire wasn’t enough). Third, they cannot be personally customizable, so forget anything like The Sims. I had briefly planned to add that they have to have premiered in a video game, but my list of possibilities was short enough already; besides, I’d hate to leave out two of my highest.
You’ll find a few arguably sexy women on the list. Believe me, that factor does not increase my rating. Anything that hints at sexism is a liability in my book.
10. Dixie Kong
Donkey Kong Country was revolutionary in graphics and sound for the Super NES, but the simple themes always struck me as a bit old-fashioned. Perhaps the most embarrassing thing about it was the fact that the only female was Candy Kong, an eyelash-fluttering pseudo-pinup primate. (At least, I think it was pseudo; she didn’t turn me on even at age 12.) Rareware would show a similar new-old dichotomy eight years later with Star Fox Adventures, leaving me less than heartbroken when the company parted ways with Nintendo.
Thankfully, the immediate follow-up to DKC made notable improvements: Candy was gone without explanation, Donkey’s decent grandmother joined the supporting cast, the muscle-headed gorilla was the one in distress, and cute monkey pal Diddy was joined in action by his equally cute… uh, chimp?… girlfriend. Dixie’s prehensile ponytail made for some interesting gameplay, and her bubblegum and soda made for a nice loop animation during the periods when she wasn’t moving around. And while Diddy celebrated level completions by turning his hat sideways, donning shades, holding a boombox, and making monkey noises to a hiphop beat, Dixie showed more musical talent by rocking an electric guitar. (Hmm, maybe she taught Diddy sometime before Donkey Kong 64.) It was the first time I really felt proud to handle a girl character, tho I naturally let my sister take her in team mode.
Her debut must have worked well, because she got top billing in the third installment, subtitled Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. It didn’t live up to the expectations set by predecessors, but Dixie was hardly part of the problem. Alas, DK64 replaced her with her less beloved younger sister, Tiny.
Not that Dixie didn’t have her own problems. I would put her higher on this list if she didn’t blubber unrealistically upon losing a life or getting thrown onto a flat surface – something that makes Diddy merely rub his cheek. It also occurs to me that if someone shaved her head, she would have absolutely no action advantages over Diddy. Samson Kong?
9. Princess Rosalina
I was ready to dismiss the entire cast of the Mario franchise, but then I remembered how much fun I’ve had driving this woman’s go-kart in Mario Kart Wii. Of course, there’s not much character development in a racing game, however wacky; her personality is best shown in her first game, Super Mario Galaxy, where she isn’t playable yet.
Don’t let her nominal princesshood or her superficial resemblance to Peach give you the impression of cloying: She’s much more impressive in my mind, starting with her womanly voice. More importantly, she acts like a wise and compassionate ruler and not just an overgrown kid. In fact, according to her storybook, she gained that maturity at an early age. That may have been largely borne out of necessity, but her subsequent direction of a powerful observatory is more than I could hope to accomplish in her shoes.
Mary Sue type? Eh, could be. I will say that her long absence from civilization away from the Luma has rendered her manner a little stilted by human standards. She keeps referring to Peach as Mario’s “special one,” suggesting that she forgets the appropriate term. Then again, it might be her sly way of pointing out that after all the times that Mario’s saved his princess, Peach still won’t give him anything better than a peck on the lips.
8. Relm Arrowny
Terra may be the first and most prominent playable character in Final Fantasy VI, but her persona is largely dictated by the plot, and her unique power is almost useless in my experience. Celes the renegade general is better than Terra in almost every way, but there are still only so many times that I like her Rune ability. Besides, her famous opera soprano impersonation was overrated even before the midi attempt at singing became laughable.
Relm, by contrast, neither inherited her powers nor had them forcibly infused. She appears to be a self-taught 10-year-old prodigy in an art – heh, a literal art – practiced by nobody else that we see: quick portraits so lifelike that they give enemies a taste of their own medicine. There are few battles in which I don’t use her Sketch move, and a special beret to turn it into Control (exactly what it sounds like) makes it ten times better. If for some reason that’s not your thing, or if you enter the tower where standard magic is the only option, then you’ll appreciate her having the most magic points of all 14 characters.
Her grandfather can benefit by learning from the moves she copies, but there’s an element of tough love between them – in her favor. “I’m going to paint your picture” has never sounded more threatening.
7. Alex Roivas
Heh, from R.A. to A.R. Alex must know that courage is not the opposite of fear. Players are more than likely to hear her whimper, “This isn’t really happening,” in the course of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, but she refuses to leave her grandfather’s haunted mansion without resolution regarding his death. Eventually, she even goes toe-to-toe with a warlock bent on the destruction of humanity – after a nice verbal slam on his 2,000-year-old scheme.
It may be that the machinations of an equally evil entity arranged for her destiny as the final champion against the darkness, but that makes her no less impressive. None of the previous 10 heroes have her combination of health, magic energy, and sanity. Only her running speed and endurance are merely average, and she’s not in the business of retreating. If she just had Michael’s machine gun or even Karim’s two-handed sword, there’d be no question of who was readiest for the showdown.
6. April Ryan
Hey, another A.R. name! We may not get to see hallucinations like Alex’s, but few games give us a deeper look inside a character’s head than The Longest Journey. And I rather like what I see – or rather, hear. Whenever your adventure stalls, you can have her check things out and offer her spunky take on them. Here are some samples of her wisdom: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, not a banana.” “Life should come with a warning label; it’s bound to kill you sooner or later.”
Okay, so she’s not always bright: The plot (fate?) demands that she do some stupid things. But who in real life doesn’t get equally stupid once in a while? At least she recognizes her faults in retrospect, and she won’t accept your commands to do something that would get her badly hurt or arrested.
Like Relm, April is a natural born artist. Unlike Relm, she doesn’t simply replicate; she aims for creativity. Fitting for a problem solver, and a rare person who can tap into the magic dream world by accident. I’d like to meet her.
No, I have not played the sequel Dreamfall. I understand that she’s unfairly lost almost all of what little she had to begin with, materially and socially, and taken on a darker image. Credible enough in light of the first game’s otherwise hopeful ending. Eh, maybe I don’t want to meet her after all.
5. Ororo “Storm” Munroe
Unlike many guys my age, I had little to no interest in the X-Men until the second movie came out. It was soon followed by X-Men Legends, which brought them RPG elements and catered to fledgling fans. I found Storm far more valuable than a token minority (take that, Bishop and Sunfire from the sequel). Lightning, wind, flight… small wonder she used to be worshipped. There’s never a bad time to have her active on the team, and certain parts are hard to take on with any of her 13 possible teammates instead. Her personality is fleshed out pretty well, too. “I feel as strong as a hurricane!” makes an inspiring level-up declaration.
Might I note that half the playable characters (disregarding the seldom available Professor X) in the first game are female. Of the rest, Jean Grey is probably the best, but she works mainly as a helper, not a brawler off doing her own thing. Four of the five other women were actually dropped for X-Men Legends II: Rise of the Apocalypse, with only Scarlet Witch helping to make up the difference. You may lament the decline of affirmative action for gender, especially given all the new playable males, but I have to admit that the outgoing parties were pretty lame (and what can you expect given the team’s politically incorrect name?). Kudos to Storm for surviving the cut, among other great dangers!
4. Aika
That’s right; I’m including a teen semi-pirate with unusual fashion sense – not exactly a choice role model. But I appreciate the rare tomboy and somewhat less rare well-adjusted orphan. In Skies of Arcadia, Aika’s as good a platonic female friend as Vyse could hope for; when he’s down, she’s always the one to pull him back up.
I meant that figuratively, of course, but it’s often literal, thanks to her having some of the best magic in the game for healing or offense. What she lacks in the power of her boomerang swings, she more than makes up for in speed and other abilities. Certain Super Moves, in fact, make her especially handy for just about every battle in the whole long game, two of them capable of ending most normal battles instantly. Wouldn’t trade her for Drachma, Gilder, or Enrique if I could. I can’t quite say the same for the equally cute but obnoxiously weak and frail Fina, who is most characterized by her gradually decreasing coyness and naïveté.
One more thing about Aika: She likes cats, even tho they’re nowhere to be seen. Nostalgic, perhaps? Well, any girl who draws herself as a sly anthro-cat for a ship flag is all right in my book, albeit slightly egotistical.
3. Raine Sage
I didn’t really expect to include any women whose primary gameplay function was as a healer, but Raine is so darn good at it. Besides, her light-based attacks have an impressive tendency to finish the battles in Tales of Symphonia, which runs even longer than SoA. I never go up against a boss without her if I can help it. Sheena, Presea, and even central figure Colette are much more optional.
Despite being low on attack power, Raine commands a lot of fearful respect from other members of the party. Sheena, who’s probably more popular thanks to her looks, is just as prone to anger but lacks the righteousness or the authoritative charisma that Raine has honed in her years as the sole teacher at a school. Heck, just getting that job in a prejudiced village, and after being banished from home before adulthood with her baby brother due to similar prejudice, is an accomplishment.
Oh, Raine has her faults. Her brother, now 12, has learned to be good at laundry and cooking because she bombs at both. But healing and teaching popularly are not her only gifts. In her 20s, her general knowledge is unparalleled among those less than a millennium old. Whenever there’s a new machine to work with, she’s the one to figure it out – and make it self-destruct as necessary. (Where did she even get the chance to study this material in a relatively low-tech world?) Her interest is hardly limited to modern stuff, either, with hearts in her eyes at the sight of ancient ruins. Geek all the way!
Once again, I haven’t tried the sequel, because it’s not well-rated by anyone I know of. I hope they didn’t mess up Raine, anyway.
2. Titania
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance had the most playable female characters I’d ever seen in one game: 14, versus 32 males (15 versus 36 if you count those who can be unlocked for trial maps). Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn broke that record: 25 versus about 45. Only a handful stood a chance at this list. I gave strong consideration to Nailah the Wolf Queen, who is nearly invincible and one of just two creatures ever known to cross the big desert – on foot, no less. Unfortunately, (a) she’s rude to her faithful servant, (b) we don’t know much else about her, and (c) she’s not around as often as she ought to be.
Ultimately, I decided that a certain axe-wielding paladin trumped them all. The mature Titania helps keep the Greil Mercenaries orderly and informed in the absence of Greil, so big a help to Commander Ike that the plot won’t allow her to die. Not as cold and hard as Raine, tho: She allows herself tears over the death of Greil, who is indeed worth the cry.
In PoR, she’s what gamers call a Jaegin, meaning she starts out far more awesome than her teammates, so you’ll want to be careful not to let her do too much of the killing (she could clear the first dozen levels on her own!). But as Jaegins go, she’s good at improving herself and not becoming a bad choice later on, even if you don’t overuse her. At the very least, when unarmed, she makes a wonderful human shield, capable of drawing lots of attacks for several levels without getting hit (or, if “less lucky,” getting hit without getting hurt).
In RD, she’s not really a Jaegin but decidedly the best of the eight equestrian knights from start to finish. And considering the versatility of that class, it’s saying something.
1. Great God Amaterasu
Yes, I realize that the Okami manual claims that the makers have rendered the Shinto goddess genderless, presumably in order not to bother immature boys. But they did an incomplete job of it: The other gods call Amaterasu “mother to us all.” I say that outweighs the evidence presented by the lifted leg for the misnamed Golden Fury attack.
In spite of her being the first game hero I’ve seen attack with the excretory system (not counting Yoshi’s “eggs” made by swallowing things), Ammy’s powers as the highest god could blow Aslan away. My religion is not hindering my appreciation here. Even when her Divine Instruments and almost unprecedented Celestial Brush become inaccessible, she can kick a lot of demon butt. And she’s not part of an ensemble; she’s the star and does almost all the fighting.
It helps, of course, that she takes the form of a barking, quadrupedal, non-anthro wolf – one of the best creatures to flow between cute and intimidating while always beautiful (a trait rather reduced in Link’s lupine transformation). The form also is conducive to Ammy’s unstable image after her century nap, from the graceful deity who leaves grass and flowers with every step to the dim, groggy, unclean beast who could fall into slapstick if not careful.
The game is big on rewarding you for good deeds other than defeating foes. It’s very endearing as Ammy lends her powers to complete optional chores, restore patches of greenery, or feed all kinds of animals. If you prefer to engage in vicarious naughtiness, you can always vandalize and attack innocent people, such as by headbutting a sick old man. (Yeah, I tried it once. I’ve done worse in other games just to see what would happen. Brings to mind a Johnny Cash song….)
There are plenty of things to love about Okami. Ammy alone is bound to have me playing again and again.
I don’t think I’ll go into honorable mentions, but if you’d like to mention some of your own favorites in comments, go right ahead.
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The programmer who led the Portal project was also a woman, she worked out a lot of the weird physics problems caused by the portal implementations.
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Most of mine are from pretty old games, I haven't had the budget for new games lately, so there are a lot I can't compare. I also missed some classics, I haven't yet played any of the Final Fantasy games or Knights of the Old Republic.
Also, most of mine really don't have much in the way of character development, or really any story at all. And, the animations on the old games are also kinda sparse. So, to a good extent, you could just say that I like the games, it's hard to separate. I gave up trying, but consider them to fit into three distinct categories, those that aren't significantly different from their male counterparts in the same game (but are the characters I like to play anyway), those that *are*, such as in fighting games where every character is quite different, and those that are the star of the one woman (or whatever) show.
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