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My Top 10 Female Fighters from the Tekken Series

Posted on March 11, 2017 by gamerangel301

Another International Women’s Day has come and gone, so here’s another list to celebrate females in video games – more specifically from my favourite video game franchise, Tekken.

Rules:

This list is in no partical order apart from the top 3 spots.
I can put family members in the list, i.e. Julia and Michelle Chang can both be included in this list
Having said that, I’m not allowed to put two female characters in the list if they have the same fighting style, i.e. if I choose Miharu Hirano, that I cannot put Ling Xiaoyu on the list either are their fighting styles are the exact same.
However, I can put family members in the list if they have the same fighting style but they differ in execution, .i.e. again with Julia and Michelle Chang, they have the same fighting style, but their execution differs due to they way they perform some moves, along with different grapples and throws.
These rules don’t really make sense, but I don’t care – I had to restrict myself some way so I could get this list done
Oh, and I won’t be including any new female fighters from Tekken 7 as I have yet to play them (but I will by June – maybe I’ll do a 2.0 version of the list then).

Enough about the rules – let’s crack on!

#10 – Kunimitsu

Introduced in the original Tekken, disppearing by Tekken 3, but included in Tekken Tag Tournament 1 & 2, Kunimitsu is a fox-mask wearing ninja banished from the Manji Clan by their leader and fellow fighter, Yoshimitsu.

Despite her fighting style being similar to Yoshimitsu’s, I had more fun playing as her – especially in the last game she appeared in TTT2 where her style had been slightly revamped, along with her image.

She is quick, nimble and has some great blocking moves. That, and she can spit fire in TTT2.

#9 – Zafina

Zafina is probably one of the newest characters on this list, but also probably one of the most mysterious. She also plays a very big role in Tekken 6, especially in the Scenario Campaign. She from a line of assassin’s who guard a sacred temple that houses a legendary monster (Azazel). She also a astrologist.

Her fighting style is often described as ‘creepy’ due to her 3 stances (Scarecrow, Tarantula and Praying Mantis), flexibility and strange animations. That, and she also laughs when performs some moves.

Her style is almost successful in button-mashing but the fact that she took down a group of foreigners who were after the contents of the temple single-handedly at a young age and the fact that she seems to know a lot about other Tekken characters, such as Dragunov and Raven, says to me she is wise and strong female not to be messed with. Unless your name is Jin Kazama (spoilers!).

#8 – Nina Williams

One of the originals who has appeared in every Tekken game (she’s actually the only female character to do so), Nina is not only an iconic figure for the Tekken series, but she’s an all time favourite (in September 2012, DigitalSpy released a poll of who the most popular Tekken character was at the time and Nina won by 10.8% of total votes).

Nina is your typical assassin (don’t let the wedding dress fool you) who grew up with her young sister Anna (who also appears in the series). Both her parents were trained assassins and so passed their skills onto their daughters. Despite this, the sibling rivalry began at a young age when their father clearly favoured Nina over Anna. Her storylines throughout the games don’t really differ either – she was sent to assassinate all three of the Mishima boys (OK yes, Jin is technically not a Mishima because of his last name but his heritage dictates that he is, end of) in the first 3 Tekkens, then Steve Fox in Tekken 4, then settling things between herself and Anna in Tekken 5 and then becoming Jin’s bodyguard in Tekken 6 – meaning her storyline isn’t exactly original, but I love the sibling rivalry between her and Anna. Then again, families seem to get fucked up in Tekken.

She also has a tragic backstory – she lost her father before Tekken 2; she kidnapped and drugged by a underground assassin group; she was kidnapped again after Tekken 2 and put in the experimental cryosleep where she was impregnated (not raped) unwilling; suffering from amnesia and then having to fight her sister constantly – I would say that’s pretty messed up. Yet, none of it really seems to affect her – she is ruthless, even after finding out about her child who she ‘felt nothing’ for.

She fighting style is tricky but she can pull off some great moves, including breaking limbs and even stabbing the heel of her shoe through her opponents back.

If you’re a fan of Nina, I highly recommend you play her side-story game, Death by Degrees. It’s a bit more X-rated compared to Tekken (although her ending for TTT2 was pretty brutal) and the control schemes are different, but it is good (the story, not so much).

#7 – Ling Xiaoyu

Xiao is probably the least-liked character from the series to be on this list but I see her differently. Yes, she is annoying by following Jin around all the time, being immature when getting into arguments with her grandfather and she’s so cutesy, it hurts. Despite this, I still like her.

Her fighting style is hard to master – or maybe it’s because she has so many cool moves that I want to keep doing them over and over again so I do and my opponent ends up predicting my moves. But that doesn’t explain why I had such a hard time defeating Jinpachi Mishima during Tekken 5.

I like to think Xiao has matured as year go by (but still not graduated high school) and is someone who can handle herself. However, in the least movie Tekken: Blood Vengance, I didn’t really enjoy how she was portrayed – in the beginning, she was shown to be a bit of a trouble maker because of her lateness to school and breaking the gym equipment easily. Then it came to the ending segments (with that awesome 3 way fight scene) where she was hugging a half-broken Alisa, crying constantly and whining at Jin to stop. No, Xiaoyu! You’ve done well without him so far, you can do well without him now.

Sorry to the haters, but Xiao is a small, powerful woman with a caring personality and that whole anime-cute vibe.

#6 – Asuka Kazama

Another ‘annoying’ character – only because she keeps the peace and sticks her nose into other people’s business. But she is a ‘brutish tomboy’ who’s pretty strong and has a comedic side.

Asuka is Jin’s cousin (don’t even get me started on the pairing stuff I’ve seen for them) with the same fighting style as Jin’s mother Jun (still with me?) but poplar opposite. In comparison, Asuka’s execution of the Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts is much ‘heavier’ with more damage made than Jun. That and Asuka enjoys fighting, whereas Jun uses it as a last resort.

If I would compare myself to any character in Tekken, it would probably be Asuka. Yes, I have brown hair and brown eyes, but the fact that believes in justice (and not quite as patronizing as Pharah from Overwatch) and isn’t afraid to fight with the boys makes her very appealing to me.

#5 – Angel

OK, so there’s something you should know about me – I’m obsessed with angels (the clue is in the name, right?). It’s not because I’m religious – because I’m not – but I’m drawn to angels because of their good energy and the fact that they have wings.

Angel has only appeared in 3 games – Tekken 2, Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. In Tekken 2, she wishes to fight Devil so Kazuya can be at peace with himself once again (despite not being a part of his soul, as many players speculated). After that, she disappears and it is thought that she was unsuccessful.

Granted, she uses the same moves as Devil and Kazuya (including a laser beam) and makes some weird sounds sometimes but she is a beautiful character, despite the games hinting of her having a ‘merciless’ side. Kinda reminds me of Elysium from Soul Calibur V.

#4 – Alisa Bosconovitch

When I first saw Alisa in a reveal trailer for Tekken 6, I definitely thought she looked a like out of place for Tekken. She’s more anime than Xiaoyu, and that’s saying something. Then again, she is a robot and Tekken does not skip out on robots.

I’ve always been a fan of robots in any genre, mainly because of how they perceive humans. For example, in Tekken Blood Vengance when Xiaoyu is crying (yet again) about how humans should destroy eachother because they are not worthy to live, Alisa says, “Don’t say that, Xiao-san. I’ve grown rather fond of you all,” (or words to that affect). And who can forget the joke on when Xiaoyu falls asleep on her – “Are you recharging too, Xiao-san?”.

Despite her sweet personality, she can have a deadly side – I mean, she has fricking chainsaws in her arms! Her head can explode! She can fire her fists like rockets! That, and she was created for Jin when he went all dark side. That twist in Scenario Campaign!

T6_BR_-_Alisa_versus_Law_-_Head_Explosion_-_2

Alisa_versus_Bryan_-_Tekken_6_Bloodline_Rebellion

She’s not like other robots – especially the many in Tekken. She has emotions and cares for other people – even putting herself in danger for the sake of their lives. And she’s super polite (I know a rough amount of Japanese and I know for a fact she uses many of the polite terms that are not always fully translated).

#3 – Emilie “Lili” De Rochefort

I was really surprised how quickly Lili became popular after her debut in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. Maybe it’s because of her fighting style – it is a unique form of ‘Street Fighting’ that comes from mainly classical dance and ballet choreography. Much like Christie Monteiro and Eddy Gordo, she is a heavy button-mashing character – despite this, her moves are gracefully and poised, but do a hefty amount of damage. That, and she’s great to use when you have your opponent pinned against a wall.

Her backstory is also much more personal compared to other characters. She comes from a rich family and so was targeted often by kidnappers. One day, she fought back and managed to take down her attackers (the Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection opening is a good example of this). Thus began her lust for fighting but her father despises violence, so she does it in secret. She then gained a rival – Asuka Kazama.

I have great satisfaction in using many of Lili’s great moves and somewhat snobbish personality.

#2 – Christie Monteiro

Christie was included in my blog entry for Internal Women’s Day last year, so I’ll keep it short.

Despite being an almost carbon copy of Eddy Gordo, Christie adds that playfulness and sex-appeal that Tekken needs to appeal to the not-as-serious fans. She’s very much happy go lucky and cares deeply for her loved ones – mainly Eddy and her grandfather.

However, I feel that in Tekken (2010) she is portrayed as nothing but a love interest for Jin (despite their paths never really crossing in the games) and rarely fights (granted, she took down Nina, but apart from that, she doesn’t really fight much).

And let’s not forget the possible romantic connection between her and Eddy (I’ve written about it for another blog entry).

#1 – Jun Kazama

A beautiful, fearless fighter who wants nothing but peace and purity in this world. She hates fighting, but will do so in order to make things right again. Despite the parallels between herself and her niece Asuka, she also draws some similarities to Angel – they both want the same things and even their endings in Tekken Tag Tournament are remarkably similar. Even in one of the Tekken comics, Angel gives her power to Jun in order to stop Kazuya, making many fans speculate that they may be one in the same person/spirit. I personally think they may be connected, but not necessarily two halves to a whole person.

I do feel sorry for her – when she knew she was pregnant with Jin, she got as far away as possible from the Mishimas in order for him not have hatred filled in his heart like the rest of them – even to the point where she fought off Devil before he was born. Jun was the only family he had, but even she knew he would not be able to survive on his own should something happen to her and instructed him to find his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, despite his actions in the past and what eventually happened at the end of Tekken 3. Sadly, her prediction was true, and she disappeared. Many thought she was dead, but Tekken’s director Katsuhiro Harada, confirmed that they only deceased Tekken characters are the first King and the first Armor King.

If Jun does return, it will definitely shake things up and , hopefully, answer some questions.

Jun is mysterious yet good hearted, as portrayed in Tekken: The Motion Picture where she worries over Michelle Chang. I hope that she does come back, even though Tekken 7 may be the end of it all.

And there you have it – I hope you enjoyed it! Let me if you would make any changes to this list – do agree with my decisions, or do you disagree?

I may do more lists like this for other games serious I enjoy. Who knows?

Thanks for reading. Until next time, take care!

My Top 10 ‘Nearly Couples’ in Video Games

Posted on February 18, 2017 by gamerangel301

[WARNING OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day earlier this week, I’ve decided to write a list of 10 of my favourite ‘nearly couples’ in video games. But what dos ‘nearly couples’ mean? Well, it means that both characters express an interest in eachother, but neither they nor the game ever states that they are a ‘true couple’ – so official and married couples will not be on this list (sorry Nathan and Elena). But here are some rules:

As stated, these couples cannot be married or in a relationship.
I will not include games from manga and animes with spin-off game titles (mainly because I’ll probably do a anime version of this list) and I will include comic book, graphic novels, etc., etc. (otherwise this list will never be complete).
I can only choose one ‘couple’ per franchise, i.e. if I choose Mario and Peach from the Super Mario series, I cannot choose Luigi and Daisy (spoilers, I didn’t choose either)

Alright, I think those are enough rules, let’s count it down!

#10 – Batman X Catwoman (various games)

For me, Batman and Catwoman are one of the golden comic book couples – their story is complicated yet not complicated at the same time. Their tales have been told in many different ways – sometimes they are in a relationship and even have children together; other times, they choose to abandon their love over their duties.

In the Arkham video games series, Catwoman appears often (even appearing as the antagonist in one of the games), however their relationship is touched upon, but never really explored. You can tell there is something between them – mainly evident in Arkham Knight when the Riddler kidnaps Catwoman so Batman has to solves puzzles in order to defuse a bomb planted on her. A relationship is also hinted between them in Injustice: Gods Among Us when Catwoman pleads with Batman to leave Gotham with her, but Batman being Batman, he declines so he can save the city once again, and they end up fighting eachother.

In Telltale’s Batman game, Catwoman is included at the start and over the course of the 5 episodes, their relationship intensifies to the point where they spend a night together. But in the end, Catwoman flees Gotham out of fear, and Batman has to let her go.

The reason why they’re #10 is because their origins are comic books and is predictable, but being such an iconic couple, I couldn’t not include them.

#9 – Reiji Arisu X Xiaomu (Namco X Capcom, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga series, Project X Zone series)

Who the hell are these people? No, what you should be asking is – who is this man and fox girl thing?

Reiji and Xiaomu first appeared in Namco X Capcom – a action RPG consisting of characters from various Namco and Capcom titles. It was Japan-only release game, so that’s probably why you’ve never heard of them or the game.

Reiji and Xiamou work for an organisation called Shinra, whose investigate disturbances in time and space, known as ‘fluxes’. 10 years prior to Namco X Capcom, Reiji’s father Shougo, was killed in a battle between Shinra and Ouma (another organisation). The game’s antagonist, Saya, is held responsible for the death of his father, which is why the two hold a grudge against her.

Namco X Capcom is a pretty long-winded game (it consists of 45 chapters) and through it, Reiji is given the role of being a ‘tight ass’ – all he cares about is duties and on the occasion, does show his caring side, especially towards Xiaomu. Xiaomu, however, is almost completely the opposite – she’s high spirited, comedic and often flirty towards Reiji. The two are a great team and seem to care deeply for one another. Hell, Reiji has a gun called ‘Gold’ while Xiaomu has a gun called ‘Silver’. Coincidence? I think not.

#8 – Solid Snake X Meryl Silverberg (Metal Gear Solid series)

Now, I haven’t played much of MSG but I know enough to dictate that Meryl was a definite love interest in Metal Gear Solid (it’s even stated on Wikipedia, so it must be true).

Meryl is a trained solider with a tomboyish attitude. She is very open with Snake – evening stating that during her childhood, she understood the world of guns more than the world of female puberty. He fate can also be decided by the player – if Snake endures being tortured by Revolver Ocelot, he will escape with her in the final segment of the game. If Snake does not, however, Meryl is later killed and Snake leaves her body to be buried in the ruins of Shadow Moses.

There are also some scenes the player can prompt during gameplay – for example, if Snake stares at Meryl during first-person mode, she begin to blush and ask embarrassing questions.

Meryl does return in later MGS games (despite her absence in MGS 2 to leave the previous game’s ending ambiguous) but is no longer seen as Snake’s love interest – in fact, she goes on to marry Johnny Sasaki/Akiba, the solider who imprisoned her in the first MGS game.

#7 – Delsin Rowe X Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker (InFAMOUS: Second Son)

This is the first game I picked up in the InFAMOUS series, and also for my PS4. Second Son follows Delsin Rowe – a typical ‘bad boy’ teenager who suddenly gets super powers and decided to use them to fight against the prejudice of ‘Conduits’ (people who can absorb superpowers).

After discovering a series of murders of drug dealers, Delsin tracks down a girl called Fetch. After having a little fight and talking some sense into her, Delsin discovers that reason why she has been killing drug dealers is because of the death of her brother – the only person who accepted and protected her (this is explained more in InFAMOUS: First Light). Fetch eventually begins to trust Delsin, and there’s even a flirty conversation between the two before she helps him out on taking down some down guys.

#6 – Silver X Blaze (Sonic the Hedgehog series)

Not all of my ‘nearly couple’ can humans. Equally, I wanted to include LBGTQ characters too, but I couldn’t find any (boo).

Both Silver and Blaze first appear in Sonic ’06 (shudders) working together, despite how they met never being explained. Together, they try to stop Iblis and Sonic himself. Blaze is seen as the more calmer of the two – even to the point where she has to rescue Silver to ‘keep him out of trouble’.

Upon finally defeating Iblis, Silver tries to seal it within himself, but is rejected. Blaze, with her pyrokinesis skills, was accepted as vessell, and thus sacrificed herself. However, all events are erased, meaning that Silver and Blaze never actually crossed paths.

Due to Blaze’s powers, she often isolated herself due to other people’s fear, meaning she often spent time alone and found it hard to trust people. So, in order for her to even consider Silver a friend – despite how they met – means that they have some sort of special connection.

#5 – Warren Graham X Max Caulfield (Life is Strange)

Life is Strange is a beautiful indie game about friendship and consequences. You play as Max Caulfield – a shy and dorky teenage girl who discovers the power to turn back time. Warren is one of Max’s closest friends and a typical ‘science geek’. He is introduced almost at the beginning of episode 1, in which Max has to return the flash drive Warren gave her which contains films. Once Max gets it back from one of her classmates Dana, it is hinted that Warren has strong feelings towards Max, but she does not feel the same way.

Throughout the episodes, there are little ‘moments’ between the two – Max can help Warren with a science experiment to help his grade advance later in the week. At the end of episode 2, Max is seen with Warren watching an eclipse after going through the day’s events, ending with Warren moving closer to her so she is no longer cold.

Warren also takes a few beatings for Max through the game, mainly by one of the game’s antagonists, Nathan Prescott. Many characters seem aware of Warren’s feelings for her, despite Max being oblivious or just plain ignoring it. You can also make a choice to go on a date with Warren for a movie marathon in episode 2 and towards the end of the final episode, she can choose to hug, kiss or leave Warren before jumping back in time.

How Max’s and Warren’s relationship develops after the game ends is down to the player’s final choice in episode 5. If the player decided to sacrifice Chloe for Arcadia Bay, all of their developments through the episodes are erased due to Max rewriting history. But if the player does not sacrifice Chloe, a body is seen covered in a blanket by the Two Whale Diner next to a car that looks similar to Warren’s, indicating that he was killed during the storm.

#4 – Alex Weiss X Lara Croft (Tomb Raider (2013))

Similar to Max and Warren, it is heavily hinted throughout Tomb Raider that Alex has feelings towards Lara, but she does not return them. Alex often defends her when Reyes turns on her or tries to cheer her up when she feels helpless.

Alex is the last member of the Endurance to die (apart from Whitman, but I don’t count him for obvious reasons), and is certainly the saddest death for me. The crew discover the PT boat that needs to be repaired in order to escape Yamati. Alex volunteers to sneak back aboard the now broken-down Endurance, hoping he may get the chance to impress Lara when he returns. Despite this, Lara goes to search for him after he doesn’t return, only to find out that he is stuck and cannot escape. Despite being injured, Alex found the tools but has a gas container pinned on his leg, ultimately breaking it. Lara tries to free him, however with the impending Solarii and the ship on the verge of destruction, she has no choice but to leave him.

A journal can later be found written by Alex, expressing his feelings for Lara. She takes his death hard, and vows that she will may sure no-one else dies.

#3 – Cloud Strife X Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)

I’m sorry, but I am a true supporter of Zach and Aeris being a couple.

The Final Fantasy universe has created a large amount of true love stories, but with Cloud being my favourite Final Fantasy character, I had to choose this couple over everyone else.

While Cloud and Tifa’s relationship is not hugely displayed in Final Fantasy VII (due to player’s choice as well), it is probably more evident in the movie Advent Children. I mean, they’re living together with 2 kids no less!

Tifa is a date option in the Golden Saucer segment of the game. It is also revealed that Cloud and Tifa were next door neighbours in Nibelheim before it was destroyed. When Tifa’s mother dies when she is 8, Cloud protects Tifa while climbing Mt. Nibel (despite her mother dying, Tifa thought her mother was there, so she went to go find her) but ended up being injured and their relationship somewhat impacted. However, before Cloud joins SOILDER, he sees Tifa one last time at the clock tower (a frequent date spot, apparently) and vows to protect her should she ever get a in trouble.

#2 – Eddy Gordo X Christie Monteiro (Tekken 4 – onwards)

Despite Tekken being a fighting game, it definitely explores personal relationships – the whole Mishima family are a good example.

Eddy was first introduced in Tekken 3 after being released from prison for a crime he did not commit – the murder of his parents (Kazuya Mishima was the one who actually killed them) and enters the tournament to extract his revenge (even though Kazuya did not appear in this game).

Christie is introduced into the following game as Eddy’s pupil. Eddy’s master is her grandfather and they were both in prison together. Eddy was release before his master, and so he made a vow to teach his granddaughter Capoeria. The two became close – so close that all 3 of Christie’s storylines revolve around Eddy and finding him while he broods on his first world problems.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, Christie pairs up with Detective Lei Wulong to search for Eddy, who she believes is after the Pandora Box. Lei warns her that it is a small chance he is involved, to which she replies, “Even if there’s the smallest chance, I’ll go! I have so much to say to him..,” She later witnesses his ‘death’ and is taken over by the power of Pandora.

Needless to say, Christie shows a much later interest in Eddy (this is especially evident in both their endings for Tekken Tag Tournament 2) but due to Eddy’s ambitious nature, he leaves her behind.

#1 – Link X Zelda (The Legend of Zelda series)

Link and Zelda’s relationship is easily one of the most frustrating romance pairings I have had to deal with. Link is – majority of the time – rescuing Zelda from Ganondorf and other evil doers; Zelda aids Link like a complete badass; it’s obvious they love eachother BUT THEY HAVEN’T EVEN KISSED YET!

Skyward Sword is probably the most we’ve gotten out of their relationship. It is placed as the first Zelda game and probably the strongest of their relationship – not just because of those scenes where it looks like Zelda is about to kiss Link but actually pushes him off Skyloft; or because Zelda’s father mentions how Zelda is slightly jealous of Link’s relationship with his Loftwing (yeah, she really gets jealous over a huge bird) or because of the way Zelda defends Link from Groose’s bullying ways – it’s because everything Link does in Skyward Sword is for Zelda. Yes, he rescues her in Ocanria of Time, but in Skyward Sword, Link allows Zelda to stay under the care of Impa – despite his mission being returning her to Skyloft. Skyward Sword certainly explores Link’s and Zelda’s relationship more than any other Zelda game, but then again, Breath of the Wild looks promising.

And there you have it – I hope you enjoyed! Do you agree with my list? Or would you make any changes? Let me know!

Until next week – take care! And happy belated Valentines Day!

My Top 10 Female Characters in Video Games

Posted on March 12, 2016 by gamerangel301

In light of International Women’s Day earlier this week, I thought I would revisit the majority of the games I’ve played over the 10 years I’ve been a gamer and see which were my favourite female characters.

With females gamers on the rise, there are now plentiful amounts of good female characters to appeal to the increasing audience. Granted, my choices chnage all the time this is not a true representation of my favourite female characters, plus I had a lot to choose from that I wanted to include…maybe I’ll do a top 20 – 11 one?

Anyway, let’s not dwell too much on that thought – here’s my top 10 female characters in video games (*warning of entries swapping around or in and out, depending on the mind set of the author).

#10 – Samus Aran (Metroid)

Sadly, I wasn’t even born when Metroid first released (1986), but I know of the famous story of the ending of Metroid as I’m sure the majority of gamers do. The game follows Samus from the planet Zebes as she retrieves Metroid organisms that were stolen by Space Pirates, who plan to use the organisms as biological weapons to destroy the Galaxy. Samus would travel among planets, firing her blaster and curling up into a ball to navigate through tight spaces. But the best thing about this game was the fact that the player wasn’t aware they were controlling a female character as she was wearing an armour suit that covered her from head to toe and indicates that she was a female, such as long hair or her bodily shape. It isn’t until the very end of the same when Samus takes the armour off and reveals a spirit-rendered female in a bikini.

Samus is one of the earliest female protagonists in video games and arguably one of the most influential for the future generations of female video game protagonists.

#9 – Chun-Li (Street Fighter)

Similarly to Samus, Chun-Li was one of the earliest female characters to be created – at least, in regards to the Street Fighter series she has appeared in nearly all of them (including spin offs) and is one of the most popular characters within the franchise – she’s even had songs written about her. Her backstory of becoming a interpol officer so she can seek revenge for her father’s death, her playability within the games (she know to be usable by beginners and veterans alike) and her sex appeal (although I would argue she is not one of the most sexualised female characters out there) has made her popular among male and female gamers alike. And who wouldn’t notice those amazing thighs?

#8 – Cassandra Alexandra (Soul Calibur)

Cassandra first appeared in Soul Calibur II as the sister of Sophitia who made her debut on the first Soul Calibur game Soul Edge. Will she was well liked from her first appearance, she was compared a lot to her sister and some players when criticized her for this. While only appearing in another few games after this, she began to ‘come into her own’ and regarded as a different character alongside Sophitia. And she was complete opposite too – Sophitia fights and doesn’t enjoy it, while Casandra seems to enjoy it – she can heard laughing when she pulls off certain moves. That, the evident love she has for her sister and comic relief in here endings, makes her one of the more popular characters.

#7 – Blaze (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Despite her few appearances in the Sonic series, Blaze has become a fan favourite. Even though technically speaking she is the second feline to be introduced to the series, she possesses the power of pyrokinesis (the ability to control flames), she is definitely one of the more solidarity characters in the video game world. Because of her powers, she has always distanced herself away from other people and enjoyed doing things by herself rather than rely on someone else. But this, of course, is changed when she and Sonic work together. She also has a notable friendship with Silver which sadly was erased when the timeline was altered in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (*shudders*). I believe her to a character that develops highly in a short amount of time and the fact that she doesn’t like being called her full title of ‘Princess Blaze’, makes her a little bit more down-to-Earth and likable.

#6 – Max Cauldfield (Life is Strange)

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I completed this game recently, so I won’t go into detail about it too much. Life is Strange is an episodic game that follows teenager Maxine Cauldfield who had visions of a tornado destroying her home town while discovering her powers of rewinding time. Being the protagonist among several well-written characters, Max is portrayed as a quirky but shy girl who doesn’t really know where she fits in with the world yet. But she has a heart of gold as evident from her talking with the students at her school of Blackwell Academy (which is optional) and the fact that she helps out the majority of other characters, such as saving Alyssa in each episode from getting hit by something or investigating the disappearance of Rachel Amber. While I was playing Life is Strange, I related a lot to Max in the ways she acted and things she would say when exploring. And she’s a fan of movies.

#5 – Rosalina (Super Mario)

Rosalina is one of the latest characters to be introduced to the Super Mario series, with her debut being Super Mario Galaxy. After Peach is kidnapped (yet again) by Bowser, Mario is aided by Rosalina and her Lumas to travel around the galaxy in order to power up the Comet Observatory to save Peach. When first meeting her, she is noticeably elegant and sweet, but Rosalina’s backstory is were it hits home. As the player collects more power stars, more is added to the book found in Rosalina’s library. It tells the story of how Rosalina found a lost Luma and travelled into the galaxy via a spaceship to help him find his parents. But why was she doing this? It is plausible that helped the Luma because she herself had lost her own mother. Despite being alone in space, other Lumas befriended her and she soon protected them as if they were her own children.

#4 – Zelda (The Legend of Zelda)

This is very cliche (as the majority of this list is) but it’s hard not to include Zelda in this list, especially with me being a huge Zelda fan. Zelda is everything you want in a female protagonist – despite being kidnapped by the game’s antagonist Ganondorf numerous times throughout the games, she has shown herself to be able to handle herself with her fighting skills. That, in combination with her sweet nature, her attractiveness and relationship with Link makes her one of my ideal female characters in the whole of the gaming world. My favourite appearance of Zelda has to be in Skyward Sword – while this game highly focuses on Zelda and Link’s relationship, it’s hard not to invest in Link’s feelings throughout the game. She teases him and genuinely seems to care about him, making them the ultimate wannabe soulmates.

#3 – Evie Fyre (Assassin’s Creed)

Here another unsurprising entry if you follow my blog. Again, I’ve written about Evie before so I’ll keep it brief. Evie Fyre ticks all the boxes for what I want in a female video game character – smart, caring, funny and is a fricking baddass when it comes to fighting. I would argue that both of the Frye twins are lovable characters, but Evie has the extra edge on me – maybe because she doesn’t often get herself into trouble like Jacob.

#2 – Christie Monterio (Tekken)

My story with Tekken began when I first bought my Playstation 2 console and played the demo disc that came with it for so long because I couldn’t afford anymore games. One of the demos was Tekken 4 with only two playable characters – Paul Phoenix and Christie Monteiro. Being a girl, I naturally choose the female character. By my God, did I fall in love with Christie. Granted, she is basically a carbon copy of Eddy Gordo (Tekken 3) and her storyline sucks, but there’s just something about her. It might be because she’s a very happy-go-lucky kind of gal, or maybe it’s because I can rack up a lot combos with her that help me win fights.

#1 – Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

I know – it’s a major surprise that I chose one of the earliest female video game characters alongside Samus and Chun-Li who has created more debate issues than Donald Trump (haha, political and relevant joke inserted) and become one of gaming poster girls as my top woman in gaming. Is there much more I can say about her? Well, I feel with the new reprised version of Lara has made her a bit more human, and therefore a little bit more lovable – she was scared out of her wits (understandably) when stranded on a murderous island, yet she pushed it away and fought her way to the top to save her best friend. That, and the fact that her body portions are much less exaggerated than before, uses double pistols, shotguns, SMGs and all sorts of other weapons, make her my favourite. And the fact that she was portrayed by Angelina Jolie, one of my favourite actresses.

There we have it – hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you agreed/disagreed with my list via comments. And to all my female gamers – Happy Bealted International Women’s Day!

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