Top 10 Female Protagonists in Video Games

We’re starting this list off with the sexy witch. While her sultry demeanour no doubt distracted many, beyond the eye-candy Bayonetta is a formidable fighter that can take on the armies of heaven and hell, and still have enough energy to dance. One of the last of the Umbra Witches, lot’s of ladies have defeated demons, but she’s eaten gods with her hair. That’s probably how she retains her figure.

The Orange Jumpsuit test subject escapee certainly had all odds stacked against her, trapped with a murderous AI in the empty Aperture Science facility, with only a portal gun and her long fall braces for comfort. She only makes the 9th spot since she’s a silent protagonist, and thus loses marks for personality. But, she still scores points for doing it all in high heels.

It’s one thing to try and clear your sister’s name after she’s been framed for murder, it’s another when a totalitarian government is covering up the crime. For Faith Conners however, on said regime is a walk in the park, as she’s a master of vertigo inducing parkour and not too shabby at unarmed combat. And with a open world sequel on the horizon, we can’t wait to step into her shoes again.

To follow up the runaway success of Goldeneye 007 on the N64, and no longer holding the license, Rare needed a character to be their successor to James Bond. Their answer was this sexy agent in a cyberpunk future. Joanna Dark is the Carrington institute’s best agent, proficient in almost any weapon and who’s achievements include saving a President Obama lookalike, And singlehandedly stopping a century long alien conflict.

Bet you a vast majority of viewers won’t know who this gal is. April Ryan is a “Shifter” a person able to travel between the worlds of futuristic Stark, and the mystical world of Arcadia. Thrust into an adventure across incredibly beautiful scenery, her creator describes her character in the first game as being akin to that of Frodo Baggins, and she thus evolves to take after Aragorn in the sequel, Dreamfall. Look out for the upcoming entry Dreamfall: Chapters to find out more about her.

Claire may also be a fan favourite but Jill has the skills and resume to back up her place on the list. Taking on the lead role in Resident Evil’s 1, 3 and Revelations, Jill has survived 2 Zombie outbreaks and escaped a city just as it got nuked. Along the way, she battled monsters ranking from the unstoppable Nemesis to the cruise ship-devouring behemoth. A former member of the S.T.A.R.S special task force, Jill would be the first person to call if you find yourself in a Zombie Apocalypse.

The girl dressed in green from one of the most underrated games of all time, Jade is a freelance photographer who also takes care of children orphaned by an alien attack, and soon has to use her martial arts skills to help take down the Alpha Section dictatorship. That all being said, we’d love to put her higher but so far she’s only appeared in one game. Hey Ubisoft where’s that sequel that you teased us with back in 2008?

While she was indeed introduced as a secondary character to Lee in the first game, one who acted as a moral compass,iIn the second season she takes on the lead role and becomes a badass in the process, We’re not going to spoil too much here because of new fans jumping onto the series each day but we’ll just leave you with this: She’s an 8 year old kid that can kick ass in a zombie apocalypse.

Samus of the most iconic video game heroines, who gender was actually hidden from the player until the end credits in the first game. Never the less this ruthless bounty hunter has single headedly committed genocide against a deadly alien parasite, stopped 3 Space Pirate operations, destroyed 2 planets and saved many other worlds. This should be top spot material right? Well unfortunately there are 3 simple words that disregarded almost all those achievements: Metroid … Other … M.

Before we get to the top spot, lets have a look at some other kickass ladies.

Aveline de Grandpré (Assassin's Creed: Liberation)
FemShep (Mass Effect)
Juliette Starling (Lollypop Chainsaw)
Rayne (Bloodrayne)
Alice (America McGee's Alice)

Topping off our list is the character that needs no introduction, we’ve seen Lara in multiple iterations from her busty yet angular days, to even having Angelina Jolie filling her role. But without question the best iteration of Lara has to come in the form of her 2013 reboot appearance. In this incarnation she takes of the role of an aspiring adventurer fresh out of college in a fight for survival for not only herself but the rest of her crew after being shipwrecked. The way this character has evolved, along with her lasting legacy as the quintessential videogame stunner, gets her into the top spot.

Do you agree with our list? Which heroine’s shoes did you like to step into? For more defining top 10’s published everyday, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com