Saturday, May 16, 2009

I Like Women. Really.

I've noticed that as of yet, there aren't too many good female mains in videogames. No, I don't mean "main" like love interest main, as is sadly the case with most games and movies nowadays; I mean lead character. Typically, your standard leading lady is a big-breasted, under-clothed strumpet who tries too hard to be sexy and badass and falls flat as a character because of it. Lara Croft, Ayumi, Nariko, Rachel, etc. All eye-candy with crap personalities and attitude.

However, there is one female character who is not only my favorite woman in videogames, she stands as one of my favorite videogame characters of all time, right up there with Zidane from Final Fantasy IX. This woman is Lenneth Valkyrie.

Lenneth is the central character in "Valkyrie Profile", an RPG developed by Tri-Ace, and published by Square-Enix. A lead in a genre dominated by males, Lenneth is a powerful character, being the Goddess and reaper of the souls of the slain. She is strong, proud and confident, possessing something of a superiority complex, but she is counter-balanced by her sealed humanity, the meek, shy and insecure girl she was during her life as a human.

As the story progresses, we see Lenneth grow emotionally and dynamically; she begins to doubt the will of the Gods, and develops a deep bond with the souls she encounters during her mission, until at last her humanity is awakened, and she faces down the threat to her world and her people.

What's really cool, aside from playing as a God, is that Lenneth doesn't have to whore herself to the player with skimpy outfits or giant tits to win any favor. Her character and story alone warmed me to her. She is badass because her personality is badass. No nonsense, a strong sense of right and wrong, and when she regains her humanity and memories, not even the Gods can stand in her way.

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