Top Video Game Heroines
by Mark Hughes
There are many heroines in video games. Damsels in distress, fierce warriors, sneaky spies, femme fatales, and more are represented. These characters were selected based on the number of games they have been in, their popularity among gamers, and the impact their presence has had on each game's story. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all heroines in video games, and it’s purely subjective.
Two of these characters have been featured in films, Lara Croft and Jill Valentine. Lara Croft is probably the most famous heroine to move between games and films. Making a video game into a movie is a difficult job. Writers must tackle merging the many hours of a video game’s storyline into an entertaining form to fit a film’s almost standard two- hour length. Many scripts are created and rejected until one seems good enough to bring to the big screen. For instance, the first script for the Tomb Raider movies was penned in 1999. It was rejected when another story was selected for the first movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). Pieces of that 1999 script were later incorporated into the 2003 sequel, Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.
Lara Croft | Samos Aran | Zelda | Princess Peach | Jill Valentine
Lara Croft
British archeologist, adventurer in search of ancient treasures. She is the main character in the long-running Tomb Raider series. Lara Croft was played in both films by Angelina Jolie.
Video Games | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Platform |
1996 | Tomb Raider | PlayStation, Saturn, PC |
1997 | Tomb Raider 2: The Dagger of Xian | PlayStation, PC |
1998 | Tomb Raider 3: The Adventures of Lara Croft | PlayStation, PC |
1999 | Tomb Raider 4: The Last Revelation | PlayStation, PC, Dreamcast |
2000 | Tomb Raider 5: Chronicles | Dreamcast, PlayStation, PC |
2003 | Tomb Raider 6: The Angel of Darkness | PlayStation 2 |
2006 | Tomb Raider: Legend | PC, PSP, XBOX, XBOX 360, GameCube, DS, GameBoy Advance |
2007 | Tomb Raider: Anniversary | PlayStation 2, PSP, XBOX 360, Wii |
2008 | Tomb Raider: Underworld | PC, PlayStation 2 and 3, XBOX 360, DS, Wii |
Filmography | ||
Year | Title | Studio |
2001 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider | Paramount Pictures |
2003 | Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life | Paramount Pictures |
Lara Croft | Samos Aran | Zelda | Princess Peach | Jill Valentine
Samos Aran
Intergalactic bounty-hunter. She is armed with and armored by a cybernetic suit. Samos battles metroids (nasty parasitic cybernetic creatures) and space pirates in her many adventures across the universe.
Video Games | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Platform |
1987 | Metroid | NES |
1991 | Metroid 2: Return of Samos | GameBoy |
1994 | Super Metroid | Super Nintendo |
2002 | Metroid Fusion | GameBoy Advance |
2002 | Metroid Prime | GameCube |
2004 | Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | GameCube |
2004 | Metroid: Zero Mission | GameBoy Advance |
2005 | Metroid Prime Pinball | DS |
2006 | Metroid Prime Hunters | DS |
2007 | Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | Wii |
2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Wii |
Lara Croft | Samos Aran | Zelda | Princess Peach | Jill Valentine
Zelda
Princess and ruler of the world Hyrule. Zelda is also known as Sheik, in Ocarina of Time, and Tetra, a pirate in The Wind Waker. She is an ally of Link and a fierce defender of her world against the evil schemes of Ganandorf.
Video Games | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Platform |
1987 | The Legend of Zelda | NES |
1988 | Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link | NES |
1992 | The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | SNES |
1993 | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | GameBoy, GameBoy Color |
1998 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64 |
2000 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64 |
2001 | The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons | GameCube |
2002 | The Legend of Zelda: Master Quest | GameCube |
2002 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords | GameBoy Advance |
2002 | The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | GameCube |
2003 | The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | GameCube |
2004 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures | GameCube |
2004 | The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cup | GameBoy |
2006 | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | Wii, GameCube |
2007 | The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | DS |
Lara Croft | Samos Aran | Zelda | Princess Peach | Jill Valentine
Princess Peach
Princess Peach has also been known as Princess Toadstool. She rules the Mushroom Kingdom. When the evil Bowser attacks, Peach enlists the help of her allies, Mario & Luigi.
Video Games | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Platform |
1985 | Super Mario Bros. | NES |
1988 | Super Mario Bros. 2 | NES |
1990 | Super Mario Bros. 3 | NES |
1991 | Super Mario World | SNES |
1992 | Mario Kart | SNES |
1996 | Mario 64 | N64 |
1996 | Mario Kart 64 | N64 |
1999 | Mario Party | N64 |
1999 | Super Smash Bros. | N64 |
2000 | Mario Party 2 | N64 |
2001 | Super Smash Bros. Melee | GameCube |
2001 | Mario Party 3 | N64 |
2001 | Paper Mario | N64 |
2002 | Super Mario Sunshine | GameCube |
2002 | Mario Party 4 | GameCube |
2003 | Mario Party 5 | GameCube |
2004 | Mario Party 6 | GameCube |
2004 | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | GameCube |
2004 | Super Mario 64 DS | DS |
2005 | Mario Kart DS | DS |
2005 | Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time | DS |
2005 | Mario Superstar Baseball | GameCube |
2005 | Mario Party 7 | GameCube |
2006 | New Super Mario Bros. | DS |
2007 | Super Paper Mario | Wii |
2007 | Super Mario Galaxy | Wii |
2007 | Mario Party 8 | Wii |
2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Wii |
2008 | Mario Kart Wii | Wii |
Lara Croft | Samos Aran | Zelda | Princess Peach | Jill Valentine
Jill Valentine
A S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) officer in the survival horror series, Resident Evil. The character of Jill Valentine (played by Sienna Guillory) only appeared in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. It should be noted that the principal character in the films is Alice, played by Milla Jovovich. The film version of Alice has multiple characteristics of other characters from the Resident Evil video games, most notably Jill Valentine and Alexia Ashford.
Video Games | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Title | Platform |
1996 | Resident Evil | PlayStation |
1999 | Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | PlayStation |
2006 | Resident Evil: Deadly Silence | DS |
Filmography | ||
Year | Title | Studio |
2002 | Resident Evil | Constantin Film Produktion |
2004 | Resident Evil: Apocalypse | Constantin Film Produktion |
2007 | Resident Evil: Extinction | Constantin Film Produktion |
Related Links |
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