by Robert Stadnik

Created on: December 21, 2008   Last Updated: January 25, 2011

Video games are replete with female characters who are strong and can hold themselves up in the face of adversary. Over the course of the history of video games there have been female heroines who can dish it out just as well as their male counterparts. Below are the digital females who have made significant marks in the video game industry.

Princess Peach: What? How can she be considered a strong woman? It's simple. She's princess of an entire kingdom. She doesn't have to lift a finger to do anything because she has numerous peons around her to do her bidding. That also extends to her routine kidnappings by Bowser. She uses her feminine charm to get that horny Italian plumber to save her every single time Bowser whisks her off to his lair. As a testament to her manipulative skills she doesn't even have to put out after being rescued. She only has to bat her eyelashes and squeal, "Thank you, Mario!" This is a woman who uses her assets to get those around her to do the work for her.

Samus Aran: The ass-kicking bounty hunter of the future uses her intelligence and strength to persevere through any trials she must endure. It was a pleasant surprise that this suit enclosed fighter was revealed to be a chick at the end of the first Metroid game. No female wit is ever needed as Samus uses brute force to conquer her adversaries and emasculate any man who gets in her way.

Laura Croft: The globe-trotting adventurer is smart, sexy, and dangerous. Unfortunately, most male gamers only play Tomb Raider so they can drool over Laura's digitized hotness of a body. Regardless, Laura has both the brain and brawn to be a powerful force.

Zelda: There has been multiple incarnations of Zelda. The ones who have proven themselves independent and noteworthy are the Zeldas from Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess. I'm sorry, but the princess from the original Legend of Zelda did nothing but sit in a dungeon the entire game, the one from Zelda II slept through the entire adventure, and no one cares about the ones from the handheld titles. Zelda is a recognized name in the video game industry but it needs to be pointed out that not all the Zeldas are equal in strength and resolve.

Tifa Lockhart: This is a woman who probably invented Pilates. She kicked her way side-by-side with Cloud in Final Fantasy VII against the Shinra Corporation and, unlike that weak Aeris, at least survived to the end of the game.

Learn more about this author, Robert Stadnik.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.