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We've journeyed through the last 25 years of gaming culture and how women have been crafted, and helped carve, the landscape of the industry in that time. What do they have in common, and where do they differ?
For anyone who may have missed any in the series previously:
Commonalities
Physically Attractive:
Perhaps more a statement about our culture and the media than about games specifically, all of the females depicted throughout the series (with the exception of Ms. Pac-Man, unless that's your thing) are conventionally beautiful women. They differ in their appearance greatly, but none of them are the slightest bit overweight, have a less-than-perfect complexion, or low cheekbones. This is true for heroines in television and movies as well, of course, so this can't be pointed out as an indictment of video games themselves, but rather of the media at large.
Male-Inspired Strength:
As noted at various points throughout the series, the women were defined as "strong" heroes through very male-defined characteristics. Though we saw this trend changing slightly near the end with Lara Croft and Jade being intelligent puzzle-solvers, they still could carry themselves in a fight. The industry is dominated by males, and even a sensitive man writing about a woman generally won't be able to articulate it as well as a woman could. More than that, games are an active exercise and generally involve action, explosions, and gadgets; this perpetuates itself as a male-dominated industry.
Daddy Issues:
This was one I actually didn't notice until I started researching the stories of each of the characters for the series. Samus' parents were killed by Space Pirates, Chun-Li's by Shadoloo, Lara's were either killed in a plane crash or otherwise estranged from her. And Jade, the most recent entry, didn't even have parents.
Though many male characters in games aren't particularly close to their parents, most of them don't ever give mention of the parents; otherwise, one parent (usually the father) is the villain of the game, leading to Oedipal conclusions. So why are the parents of female heroes so destined to die? There are many possible explanations, but the conclusion I have come to while working on the series is that it extends from the society we live in (particularly in Japan, where half of the characters originated) feeling that females are in need of protection in a way more profound than men are. When the parental safety net is removed, our heroines rose up to learn their skills out of necessity rather than out of desire to fight.
Tracing the Progress
Removed from their similarities, though, our heroines have various differences that can be seen most clearly when taking a step back to look at them in completion. Not just arbitrary differences, there is a very clearly defined arc of progress that was made from character to character.
When Ms. Pac-Man broke onto the scene, it was a palette swap, not a real original character in and of herself. She was crafted to differentiate the games to onlookers.
Samus Aran was created, and shrouded in mystery, in order to surprise the viewer with the unlikelihood of a woman being the hero. Her disguise and Nintendo's clear misdirection in the game's manual gave way to the plot twist, but it was only a twist due to being unexpected.
As we moved on, Chun-Li was a fully realized woman with no disguises, but was put in place to offset the physically stronger males with her speed and agility. She was still only one selectable female among eight physically stronger counterparts.
By the time Lara moved onto the scene, we had a woman who created to explore and force the player to think, but the developers decided to up the ante of her sex appeal after a fluke caused her bust size to expand in the art developer's studio.
Finally, Jade was created as the most reasonable tool from creator Michael Ancel to deliver a thoughtful reflection on people's relation to the government,
So to make the progression clear: a stand-in for a male; a woman disguised as a male; a female who was evenly-matched, but not the equal of males; a woman who is smarter than her male counterparts; and a woman who is (plot twist aside) a normal woman put in extraordinary circumstances.
Honorable Mentions
In creating the series and narrowing it down to five women, there were plenty that occurred to me that simply didn't make as big a splash as the big ones I made part of the official series. So for those who wish to be a voyeur of my thought processes, here's a run-down of who else I had in mind, why they were important, and why they didn't quite make it.
Zelda
Game(s): Legend of Zelda series (1986-present)
Why Important?: Though not the hero, Zelda features prominently into the series. In Ocarina of Time, she even disguised herself as Sheik, a powerful survivor of the Sheikah tribe while the hero Link was away for several years. Later, in Wind Waker, she is a fearsome pirate unaware of her royal lineage.
On the Other Hand...: More often than not, Zelda is the one in need of saving, and a few moments of strength doesn't outdo the damsel in distress card.
Terra Branford
Game(s): Final Fantasy III/VI (1994)
Why Important?: In the 16-bit days where most RPGs were focussed on heroic young men fending off dragons or the embodiments of evil, Terra was our first high-profile RPG heroine, and took the focus of dramatic storytelling in a much more personal direction as she dealt with loss and hope in a scarred world.
On the Other Hand...: It pained me to leave Terra off the list, but considering Chun-Li essentially paved the way for selectable characters to include females, I simply couldn't justify putting her at the top of that era.
Joanna Dark
Game(s): Perfect Dark (2000) and Perfect Dark Zero (2005)
Why Important?: Using the popular Goldeneye engine, Joanna was a top secret agent (i.e. "Perfect") with skills to match Bond's, and a game that some say topped the popular N64 shooter.
On the Other Hand...: Though her game was popular, she was essentially a female 007 with a more sci-fi plot, and her only outing since then, Perfect Dark Zero, was universally panned.
Hana and Rain
Game(s): Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix (2001)
Why Important?: Hana and Rain mark the first openly bisexual couple in gaming, and that's got to count for something, right?
On the Other Hand...: Well, maybe not when you consider that they were the stereotypical "hot lesbians" and Eidos (makers of Tomb Raider) marketed to that notion.
Alexandra Roivas
Game(s): Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (2002)
Why Important?: Alexandra flipped not only women but game concepts on their head as she took the adventure genre in a striking new direction. The title was fitting, as Alexandra journeyed through the life and times of various others, and the game included "sanity meter" that would cause strange effects in-game if it dipped too low.
On the Other Hand...: She was a female that happened to take part in a revolutionary game, which does not necessarily make her a revolutionary female.
Alex Vance
Game(s): Half Life 2 (2004) and Half Life 2: Episode 1 (2006)
Why Important?: Standing in stark contrast to the series' main protagonist of Gordan Freeman, Alex brought life and character to the story that made Gordan seem to pale in comparison.
On the Other Hand...: Her character is a bit too young in her development to include as a sweeping change in the industry, even though she is looked upon favorably now.
Closing Up Shop
So there you have it. The ones that made it, the ones that missed, and the reasons why for all. I hope anyone faithfully following this series has enjoyed the look at some integral pieces of gaming history as much as I've enjoyed researching and writing about it. With any luck, somewhere down the line of this generation, this series will be added to as more female characters carve their own unique niche into gaming history.
