Awesome female protagonists

Inspired by Christian's review of The Guardian Legend, and the fact that so few games have really good female protagonists who exist not just as a sexy bum to watch while shooting giant monsters (Bayonetta, cough), I thought I would get a discussion going of some of my favourite female protagonists in games and why they're well done.

It's weird to me how there are so many gamers out there who are female and just want to appreciate a well-made game, and yet very few developers actually make this a priority – I guess they're just afraid of the teenage male population not buying their game for fear of playing as a girl (and therefore making said teenaged male "faggy" or something stupid like that), and the type of well-crafted game that appeals to, say, my girlfriend or most thinking, gaming females, just doesn't get made for a variety of stupid reasons. Games need fewer token gestures and more awesome protagonists. I'll update this list as I come across more awesome female protagonists, too, and feel free to make suggestions in the comments section.

1. Samus Aran (Metroid Series)

Although I'm infinitely worried about Team Ninja's handling of her in Metroid: Other M, and have been kind of weirded out by the love of the Zero Suit, Samus is a pretty kickass character. The fact that she first showed up on the NES is incredible, sharing the limelight with, pretty literally, one other female protagonist (Mira from the aforementioned Guardian Legend). Although she doesn't have a speaking role as with almost all other Nintendo characters (well, until Other M comes out), it's clear that she's a badass who pretty often flouts all stereotypical depictions of females in gaming. The fact that she's conventionally pretty and yet is nearly indistinguishable from the other space marines in the series is admirable. And she could totally kick the Master Chief's ass (take that!).

2. Nico Collard (Broken Sword series)

Although I've only maybe played an hour of Shadow of the Templars (Director's Cut) on my DS, it's clear that Nico is an intelligent, well-written character in a well-written game. The fact that she's allowed to be a relatively normal person working a pretty normal job (as a journalist) makes the game and the characters special in gaming. I've always been a sucker for adventure games, as I feel that they actually tell stories in a meaningful way, and Nico is a really good example of the type of female character that gaming could use more of.

3. Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning is one of the few shining spots in what I think is a pretty disappointing game overall (so far at least). The way her character is designed is pretty progressive for a JRPG (although she does share the same game with the frightfully anime-styled Vanille, all high pitched giggles and horrifying female stereotypes intact). She's allowed to feel genuine emotions throughout the game, but is also tough and focused, which is unusual for gaming. She and Sazh are the only characters who feel human in the game, and I wish the game would focus more primarily on her than all of the other, shittier characters (like this asshole).

4. Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2)

Because Gordon doesn't ever talk and, unlike Samus, is actually a complete blank-slate, Alyx is essentially the real protagonist of the Half-Life 2 Episodes. Valve gives the player a genuinely intelligent companion that the player can't help but feel for, and Alyx is a demonstration not just of a good female character, but a good character in videogaming in general. I'd almost go as far to say that they should just ditch Gordon for the next Half-Life and have you play as Alyx.

And… how sad is it that I'm tapped out already? If you have any suggestions for additions to this list, please suggest them. It's about time that videogame companies realize that they've almost completely alienated half of their potential population of serious gamers by being so incredibly shortsighted.