Reviews by Kyle Ellis

First appearance: Super Mario Bros. (1985)

The Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom is incredibly popular – both with her subjects and gamer audiences.

Princess Toadstool replaced Pauline as the Marioverse’s main female character after the release of Super Mario Bros.

Despite some competition from Rosalina (and occasionally Pauline herself), it doesn’t seem like she’ll let go of the position anytime soon.

Peach doesn’t seem to do much ruling. And the Mushroom Kingdom thrives with this small-government approach.

So I guess she prefers to spend her time practicing sports, like tennis or go-karting with the rest of the Mario gang.

First appearance: Portal (2007)

Chell is a woman of few words.

She may very well be mute – or it could be a side-effect of spending so much time in suspended animation after failing the test to become an Aperture Science Test Subject.

The reason?

She was too persistent, which would become a problem once GLaDOS reanimated her at the beginning of the original Portal.

It turns out putting a Portal Gun in the hands of someone you kidnapped and forced into an eternal slumber isn’t the best idea.

This highly resourceful and quick-thinking lady is a force to be reckoned with.

A silent killer, if you will.

First appearance: Overwatch (2015)

There are several strong independent women to admire in Overwatch, but D.Va is by far the most popular thanks to her relatable personality and the fact that she pilots an awesome mecha (Tokki).

D.Va is a hero for our times.

She has the e-girl aesthetic, rose to fame thanks to her mad e-sport skills, and has to struggle with the day-to-day challenges of [Link removed - login to see] – much like the members of beloved Korean bands like Blackpink and BTS.

Going on to use our FPS skills to pilot a mecha in the name of Justice is every shooter-obsessed teen’s dream, and D.Va embodies the ideal.

First appearance: The Witcher III (2015)

Rather than sitting in court and learning the intricacies of politics, Princess Cirilla spent her early adolescence in Kaer Morhen training to become a Witcher.

The place was trashed before she could finish her apprenticeship, but she’s still one of the best fighters in the world of The Witcher.

Having powers over space and time that let her teleport mid-battle definitely plays a significant role in that.

She’s mean with a sword of steel or silver. And while she’s only partially a witcher, Cirilla keeps up with the best of them.

First appearance: Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection

There are plenty of badass fighting gals to pick from the Tekken franchise.

But few are as memorable as Emilie De Rochefort – Lili, for short.

This beautiful rich girl is the heir to Rochefort Enterprises and her father’s incredible wealth. But for the most part, she prefers fighting to asset administration.

Her rebellious streak leads her to sneak away to throw some punches whenever she gets the chance.

Plus her character design is just fantastic, and she’s a pretty technical fighter – making her very popular among high-level Tekken players.

First appearance: StarCraft (1998)

Blizzard has a thing for turning good, law-abiding characters into evil monsters fueled by hate.

Sarah Kerrigan started her life as a psychic Terran conscripted into the army and turned into a Ghost – special operatives who use their psychic powers as a weapon.

But that was just the beginning.

After a series of unfortunate events, Kerrigan is infested by the worm-like Zerg and fuses with their Hivemind, becoming the Queen of Blades.

She eventually transcends even form to become a Xel’Naga – basically attaining space godhood.

Talk about making the most out of a bad situation.

First appearance: Warcraft III (2002)

But no female character is as notorious and plain cool as the Dark Lady, Sylvanas Windrunner.

The Banshee Queen is among Azeroth’s most powerful warriors, with a cunning mind and supernatural abilities 100% powered by a deep-seated hatred of everything good.

At times, it seems as if Sylvanas is called to a higher purpose. But it’s all a facade.

Even as the Horde’s leader, her only objective was to feed new souls to the Jailer of Torghast in exchange for the power that’ll allow her to stave off her own demise.

First appearance: Warcraft III (2002)

When she was first introduced, Jaina Proudmoore was a simple character.

All you needed to know was that she was a spellcaster – a damn powerful one – and that was about it.

With time, Jaina has become a more fleshed-out character who’s had a slow but realistic character development throughout WoW’s long history.

Once a pacifist, Jaina has progressively become a no-nonsense leader who turns to war and violence at the first sign of trouble.

She’s the representative of the Mage class in Hearthstone, and one of the most popular characters for WoW cosplay.

First appearance: League of Legends (2009)

Ahri is one of the original Legends from when Riot Games launched League of Legends.

Since then, she’s garnered a large following.

You’ll see her on merch, promotional material, cosplay, tattoos – and even music videos!

Other than wiping the floor with lesser warriors and consuming their life essence like it was a twinkie, this nine-tailed fox lady likes performing along with Akali, Evelynn, and Kai’Sa as a member of [Link removed - login to see].

First appearance: Horizon: Zero Dawn (2017)

Alloys are materials made by fusing metals and other elements to create a stronger, more flexible product than its parts.

This makes “Aloy” the perfect name for the main character of Horizon: Zero Dawn – a genetic clone of a 21st-century roboticist and engineer who grows up fighting for survival instead of getting a degree.

She may not be able to create a robot out of sticks and string.

But her outstanding smarts and curiosity blend with her rough-and-tough personality and survival experience to make her an incredible warrior, and a symbol of hope for her tribe.