For me, there's no one right way of designing a female video game character. Some people feeling that "good" female characters exhibit strength, while others feel that intelligence is the way to go. For me, notability is what makes a good female character good, and notability generally involves a good balance of character traits that just make each character so memorable.
When you play through a game (or series of games) that you otherwise completely loathe just to interact with a specific character, you know that somebody on the game's development team knew what they were doing with respect to the character designs. Alyx has intelligence and personality to spare, so it's easy to forgive her for getting herself into trouble every five minutes.
While a lot of people won't necessarily say good things about Deadly Premonition, anyone who gave the game a proper chance can vouch for the fact that Emily is a very solid character. Having her around while playing through Deadly Premonition is kinda like having a close friend around. It all sounds very normal as compared to what you might experience in other games, but it works very well here when you consider how weird the rest of the game is.
Sure, having Lara Croft on a top ten list dedicated to video game women may come off as more than a little cliché, but it's hard to deny that Lara has an excellent balance of good looks, intelligence and personality. Plus, while she's very good at getting herself into trouble, she's even better at getting herself out of it.
For as long as I've played Street Fighter games, Ryu has been one of my favorite characters. As such, it should come as no surprise that I took to Sakura quite well when she was introduced in Street Fighter Alpha 2. She's Ryu's biggest fan, so she models her fighting style after Ryu's to a certain extent. However, she adds her own unique touch to her moves, as well as a bit of "flash" to her kicks.
While Skies of Arcadia certainly isn't a notable game in terms of game play mechanics, its characters are among the best I've ever experienced in an RPG. While Aika may come off as annoying at first, you'll quickly find yourself taking a liking to her, especially with her and Fina constantly teasing Vyse. Great chemistry.
Possibly mental instability aside, Ivy's an amazing video game character. She's simply captivating to look at, whether it's because of how she's dressed or because of how fluidly she attacks with her snake sword. She's poetry in motion.
Sure, Ulala looks like a plastic doll, but her movements and personality will eventually win you over. Besides, she combats aliens by dancing, so she obviously earns bonus points for originality.
Carla's a tough one to describe. She's not terribly notable in terms of what she accomplishes as Indigo Prophecy's storyline plays out, in my opinion, but she's such an excellent representation of what game designers can achieve when attempting to convey video game characters' humanity. She's just so...believable.
As far as storyline goes, Maria isn't exactly a heavy-hitter. What she lacks in depth, however, she makes up for in sheer power. A lot of people who've played Castlevania: Symphony of the Night may wonder how she always manages to be one step ahead of Alucard in Dracula's castle; anyone who's played the Saturn version should know why. Maria's a complete powerhouse, whether she's casting fire spells or summoning dragons. Plus, when times get tough, she can even turn herself invincible.
She's nerdy and has an insatiable appetite for heavy weaponry. What's not to love?
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