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Don´t get me wrong now. I think it´s great that E3 2015 celebrated the women of Gaming by showing a strong lineup of games with female leads (there were a lot of video game industry women on site as well). I’ve no problems with that whatsoever. However, I did have a problem with how that awesome news was presented during E3, which would be the following “2015 had the most ladies yet.” So what´s wrong with that then? Well, for starter female characters and protagonists (playable and none playable) have always existed in one form or another since the dawn of video games (Lady Bug from 1981, was the earliest known female protagonist in a video game).

So I have to agree with the tweet that Rhéa tweeted out just recently (as seen in the picture down below).

It´s true, since there´s been quite a few memorable female video game characters over the years.

Personally, there´s a lot of female protagonists which I have loved for years. Females such as:
Oni (2001)
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider – 1996)
Samus Aran (Metroid – 1986)
Alice (American McGee’s Alice – 2000)
Aya Brea (Parasite Eve – 1998)
Jill Valentine (Resident Evil – 1996)
Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark – 2000)
Nilin (Remember Me – 2013)
Giana and Maria (The Great Giana Sisters – 1987)
Zoë Castillo (Dreamfall: The Longest Journey – 2006)
Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2 – 2004)
Blaze Fielding (Streets of Rage 1991)
Emily Hartwood (Alone in the Dark – 1992)
Faith Connors (Mirror’s Edge – 2008)
Rogue (Diablo 1996)
Chell (Portal – 2007)
Nariko (Heavenly Sword – 2007)
Zoey (Left 4 Dead – 2008)
Ellie (The Last of Us – 2013)
Bayonetta (Bayonetta – 2009)
Regina (Dino Crisis – 1999)
Jade (Beyond Good & Evi – 2003)
Kate Walker (Syberia – 2002)
Female Shepard (Mass Effect 3 – 2007)
Chun-Li (Street Fighter 2 – 1991)
Michelle Chang (Tekken 1 – 1994)
Sarah Bryant (Virtua Fighter 1 – 1993)
Sonya Blade (Mortal Kombat 1 – 1992)
Cate Archer (No One Lives Forever – 2000)
Leila (Final Fantasy II – 1988)
Lady (Devil May Cry 3 – 2005 )
Clementine (The Walking Dead – 2012)
Rochelle (Left 4 Dead 2 – 2009)
Heather Mason – (Silent Hill 3 – 2003)

So even though I have listed quite a few female game characters here and now. The list is never-ending really, and that´s a good thing. Well, it´s just about to get much better, because since Lady Bug got released back in 1981 (she was the worlds first known female protagonist in a video game), there have been female protagonists of all colors, shapes and sizes. So no wonder that people got angry about the “2015 had the most ladies yet.” Statement at E3, as it made it sound like there has been none (or very few) kick ass female game characters in the past (which is not true).

However, it´s 100% true that 2015 has had a lot of awesome female protagonists (Ciri from The Witcher 3 for example), and I noticed that there was a lot of female leads in the E3 2015 lineup as well.

Females from upcoming titles such as:
Faith Connors – Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Joule – ReCore
Rae – Beyond Eyes
Evie Frye – Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Aloy – Horizon: Zero Dawn
Emily – Dishonored 2
Jack – Dimension Drive

With that said, let´s not forget about the game ladies of the past, and let´s salute the female game protagonists of the present and the future. So which female game characters do you like the most? And why?

Credit:
Rhéa