The Video Game Heroines Project

A tumblr to record and recount any and all video games with a (playable) female lead.

[vgheroines]

Game: Pu-Li-Ru-La

Heroine: Mel

System: Arcade

Year: 1991

Developer: Taito

Genre: Beat 'em up

(screenshots from JACK)

[vgheroines]

Game: Dragon Age: Origins

Heroine: (nameable)

System: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Windows

Year: 2009

Developer: BioWare

Genre: RPG

Etc: In the expansion, Dragon Age: Awakening (2010) you may choose to import your original Dragon Age protagonist, or create a new one.

(screenshots from curtmondo)

[vgheroines]

Game: SaGa Frontier

Heroine: Asellus, Emelia

System: Playstation

Year: 1998 (US)

Developer: Squaresoft

Genre: RPG

Etc: The first game in the SaGa series to be released in America with it's original title (screenshots from spoonshiro)

[vgheroines]

Game: The Final Fantasy Legend (Makai Toushi SaGa)

Heroine: (nameable)

System: Gameboy, WonderSwan Color

Year: 1990 (US), 2002

Developer: Squaresoft

Genre: RPG

Etc: While renamed to tie it to the Final Fantasy brand in America, this game was the very first game in what would become the SaGa series.

(screenshots from Vysethedetermined2)

[vgheroines]

Game: Earth Defense Force 2 ("Global Defense Force" in Europe)

Heroine: "Pale Wing"

System: Playstation 2

Year: 2005

Developer: Sandlot

Genre: Third-person Shooter

Etc: While Storm-1, the male soldier, plays fairly standard Pale Wing is equipped with a jet pack, though she cannot pilot vehicles. The jet pack returned in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon as optional equipment for soldier Lightning Alpha. Pale Wing units appeared in Earth Defense Force Tactics

(screenshots from pjdaddelgreis)

[vgheroines]

Game: Heavy Rain

Heroine: Madison Paige

System: Playstation 3

Year: 2010

Developer: Quantic Dream

Genre: Interactive Adventure

(screenshots from LordMune)

[vgheroines]

Game: SkyGunner

Heroine: Femme

System: Playstation 2

Year: 2002 (US)

Developer: PixelArts

Genre: Third-person Shooter

Etc: Femme's name is french for woman. The rest of the cast are similarly named. SkyGunner received a doujin sequel called Gunner's Heart in 2005, with the original cast returning.

(screenshots from あずお)

[vgheroines]

Game: GrimGrimoire

Heroine: Lillet Blan

System: Playstation 2

Year: 2007

Developer: Vanillaware, Nippon Ichi

Genre: RTS

Etc: GrimGrimoire shares a character with the Nippon Ichi game Soul Cradle

(screenshots from Supremejuka, MasterLL)

[vgheroines]

Game: Lollipop Chainsaw

Heroine: Juliet Starling

System: Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Year: 2012

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Genre: Hack n Slash

(screenshots from VolitileGabe)

[vgheroines]

Game: Wild Guns

Heroine: Annie

System: SNES

Year: 1995 (US)

Developer: Natsume

Genre: Shooting

[vgheroines]

Game: Burning Rangers

Heroine: Tillis

System: Sega Saturn

Year: 1998

Developer: Sonic Team

Genre: Action, Third-person Shooter

Etc: In addition to Tillis, use of the password feature allows you to play as Chris Parton, Iria Klein and the other team members others.

(screenshots from NeiCaelum)

[vgheroines]

Game: Castlevania (Akumajo Dracula: Apocalypse)

Heroine: Carrie Fernandez

System: Nintendo 64

Year: 1999

Developer: Konami

Genre: Action

Etc: Carrie along with Reinhardt returned in Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, which featured a remixed version of their original quests. Similar to Legends, Castlevania 64 (as it's most commonly called) was removed from the main timeline, and said to take place in an alternate one.

(screenshots from Evil_Tim)

[vgheroines]

Game: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Heroine: Sypha Belnades

System: NES

Year: 1990 (US)

Developer: Konami

Genre: Platformer

Etc: The game manual and certain in game text described Sypha as a man, though it is explained in later games that Sypha purposely hid her gender to become a vampire hunter. Sypha plays a large role in the Castlevania mythos, and the Belnades family, and on occasionally Sypha herself, reappear in many Castlevania games.

(screenshots from Zerataniss, ryan489, YuuGiJoou)

[vgheroines]

Game: Castlevania Legends

Heroine: Sonia Belmont

System: Gameboy

Year: 1997

Developer: Konami

Genre: Platformer

Etc: Castlevania Legends begins the story of the Belmont clan with Sonia as matriarch and mother of Trevor Belmont, making her the first Belmont to defeat Dracula. However, Castlevania series creator Koji Igarashi removed Legends from Castlevania canon, and replaced Sonia with Leon as the first Belmont to defeat Dracula.

Sonia was also set to return in the cancelled Dreamcast game Castlevania Resurrection. Poor Sonia...

(screenshot courtesy of The Castlevania Dungeon)

[vgheroines]

Game: Silent Hill: Book of Memories

Heroine: (nameable)

System: Playstation Vita

Year: 2012

Developer: Wayforward Technologies

Genre: Hack n Slash

Etc: The gameplay in this entry is quite a shift from the original Silent Hill games, nonetheless, it has seen some amount of praise.

(screenshots from Wayforward Technologies)

[vgheroines]

Game: Silent Hill 3

Heroine: Heather Mason

System: Playstation 2

Year: 2003

Developer: Konami

Genre: Survival Horror

Etc: Silent Hill 3 is actually the story sequel to Silent Hill 1, with 2 standing somewhat alone. As such, it was adapted to serve as the plot for the recently released second Silent Hill movie: Revelations.

(screenshots from MateenK)

[vgheroines]

Game: Clock Tower 3

Heroine: Alyssa Hamilton

System: Playstation 2

Year: 2002

Developer: Sunsoft, Capcom

Genre: Survival Horror

Etc: Clock Tower 3 was something of a departure from the earlier games, with no point-and-click interface and just one ending. It was also made by a different developer, as Human Entertainment had folded 3 years earlier.

(screenshots from TheGameViruss)