Top 10 Strong Female Video Games Characters

This lady likes to let her fists do the talking. A childhood friend of Cloud, she serves as the motherly figure of Avalanche, being the most empathetic among the group. Don’t get us wrong, just because she’s harbouring some strong feelings for the Ex-Soldier doesn’t mean she can’t beat the ever-loving crap out of people. With her superior strength, weaponised gloves, and a Limit Break that involves summoning a combat-ready dolphin, you’ll start wishing you’d chosen a different career path if you’ve sided with the Shin-ra Corporation, because she’s on a mission to smash it to pieces.

Ada Wong may be a femme fatale shrouded in secrecy but this former member of STARS has been to hell and back. For the majority of the series’ run, she’s been up to her ears in zombies. Trapped inside an infested mansion, fighting her way through Racoon City, even outlasting the fearsome Nemesis, Jill managed to conquer situations that would have killed others. Heck, she was even brainwashed by Albert Wesker and forced to fight her old partner, and still managed to shrug it off. She’s as tough as nails, but we’re guessing her therapy bills are huge.

She paved the way for all female characters that followed in this iconic turbo-charged beat-em-up, and has remained a staple of the series ever since. While she may be excitable and have an overly strong sense of justice, Chun-Li is a fierce combatant, just ask her opponents. While she may be young and not packing the strength of her more bulky counterparts, her lightning fast reflexes and signature technique, the Lightning Kick, are just as deadly. Her boundless determination to punish the likes of M. Bison and his vile crew may come across as more adorable than threatening at points, but you’ll be singing a whole different tune when you have a hundred rendering kicks coming your way.

Her martial arts prowess and discipline in Jodo make her a capable fighter, but where Jade really shines is in her investigatory skills. After becoming a freelance journalist in order to help provide for the orphans under her care, she becomes entangled in an anti-government plot, where she uses both brawns and brain to uncover conspiracies involving human trafficking and the fierce alien race known as the DomZ. Even those that weren’t impressed by the game’s ending can’t deny that the gal in green was a great role model, showing journalism at its finest in her relentless hunt for the truth.

She makes bad look oh so good. One of the last few Umbra Witches in existence, Bayonetta is humanity’s last line of defence against threats from both heaven and hell. Definitely not your traditional heroine, as she incorporates style and substance in equal measure. Armed with a gun on each limb, packing all manner of spells and summons, and fulling embracing her sensual nature, this witch will make you blush before putting a bullet in your head. With the strength to play Frisbee with a satellite and punch God into the sun, it’s probably best to stay out of her way.

Valve just seem to have a knack for creating awesome female characters, look no further than the silent and strong-willed Chell (xref) However, our vote had to go to Gordon Freeman’s partner in crime. Daughter of physicist Eli Vance, Alyx grew up in a world ruled and tormented by the Combine. After escaping the Black Mesa (“Black May-sa”) Research Facility, she joined the resistance and slowly rose to become one of its prominent figures. She’s saved Gordon’s life countless times, knows her way around a gravity gun and is an expert hacker. Who else would you rather have by your side while the world is ending?

Lovingly nicknamed FemShep by fans, this female incarnation of the space-fairing veteran is more often than not favoured over her male counterpart due to Jennifer Hale’s incredible performance. Whether she’s a kind-hearted Paragon or merciless Renegade, Shepard is the last light in humanity’s darkest hour against the all-powerful Reapers. She can handle any firearm, gives some of the best motivational speeches in video games, is a terrible dancer, and even gets down and dirty with the likes of Garrus Vakarian. She's just plain old badass in every sense of the word.

As a human, she took up arms against the Zerg threat as a Terran Ghost. As the Queen of Blades, Sarah Kerrigan might just be one of the most powerful and destructive forces in the universe. After being betrayed by her superiors, she was captured and transformed into a vicious hybrid that laid waste to millions of lives. Ever since, she’s been torn between the remnants of her old life and the burning desire for revenge on those that wronged her. She may have a monstrous appearance and an army of Zerg at her fingertips, but her desire to atone as well as avenge makes her one of the most complex characters in video games.

Back in the day, she was nothing more than a pixilated chest, nowadays she’s the toughest gal to ever explore a tomb. An archaeological prodigy, Ms Croft has gone through several reboots over the years, but her central characteristics have always remained the same; she’s a fighter, she knows her way around a pair of pistols, and no matter the danger she always finds a way to make it out of the impossible situations alive. Her latest incarnation took this to a whole new level and she struggled not only against the elements, but beasts and hired killers, all while suffering all manner of wounds. Ouch.

Before we reveal out number one pick here are a few honourable mentions.

Chloe Frazer
“Uncharted” series (2007-)

Lightning
“Final Fantasy XIII” series (2009-13)

Joanna Dark
“Perfect Dark” series (2000-10)

Clementine
“The Walking Dead” series (2012-)

Faith
“Mirror’s Edge” series (2010-)

The galaxy’s most efficient bounty hunter was making a name for strong woman in video games before anyone even realised it. The sudden reveal that the silent hero underneath the power armour was a female shook up the gaming landscape, and has gone on to only further prove herself as an icon for all characters to aspire to. She may be a women of few words, but her fight against the likes of Mother Brain, Ridley and the Space Pirates for the sake of all peaceful races in the galaxy more than make up for it. And yes, despite Other M undercutting her character, she still managed to take care of business when it came to dealing with Space Pirates and alien parasites.

Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favourite strong female character in video games? With new top tens published every day be sure to subscribe to MsMojo.