History ActionGirl / VideoGames

** Lucia, the {{Deuteragonist}} of the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry2 second game]] and first playable female character of the franchise easily qualifies. She is a [[spoiler:an artificial demon created by the villain Arius and was adopted into a warrior clan who protect their home from evil with their fighting skills and powers borrowed from the gods they worship.]] She is also the first female character to take on and defeat a final boss of her own in story.

** Trish doesn't get a lot of action scenes in the first ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' game, but even in the intro cutscene, she is clearly capable of taking on or hurting Dante. It's an amazing feat that she is one of the few beings besides Mundus and Nelo Angelo who can do that in the first game. Later installments helped this trait of hers shine even further, such as involving her in more fights, or making her [[PromotedToPlayable playable]] (in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4: Special Edition''). In the fourth game, Trish also [[spoiler:disguised herself as Gloria, yet she can still single-handedly wipe out a horde of Scarecrows with just a pair of daggers]].
** Lucia, the {{Deuteragonist}} of the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry2 second game]] and first playable female character of the franchise easily qualifies. She's a member of a clan of half-human, half-devil demon hunters and is a trained and powerful fighter, easily keeping up with Dante in the asskicking department and even killing one of the main villains after he became a demon.

** In the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'', there's Maki Sonomura, [[TheOjou Eriko Kirishima]], [[WhipItGood Yuka Ayase]], and [[TeamMom Yukino Mayuzumi]].

*** The second game has Goombella, who's always willing to bonk some enemy heads; Vivian, who can set foes on fire with ease; Ms. Mowz, the traveling thief who can steal items for you; and Madame Flurrie, the cloud spirit who can fight by squishing enemies with her GagBoobs and blowing them away with her powerful windy breath.

*** Other fighting ladies include Yunaka, Timerra, Goldmary, Chloé, Céline, Panette, Merrin, Lapis, Jade, Citrinne, Saphir, Anna, Framme, and Etie.

*** Other fighting ladies include Yunaka, Chloé, Céline, Timerra, Panette, Merrin, Goldmary, Lapis, Jade, Citrinne, Saphir, Anna, Framme, and Etie.

** The known Velvet Room attendants are mostly female, and they are among the setting's most powerful characters; Elizabeth from ''3'', Margaret from ''4'', and Justine and Caroline from ''5'' can be fought as {{Bonus Boss}}es, and they ''will'' most certainly kick your ass.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' has Ivy and Hortensia, warrior princesses who command their own armies when you first meet them before eventually [[HeelFaceTurn turning o we a new leaf]] and joining the protagonist Alear to kick ass and take names for the good guys. Both gals are powerful magic users who fly into battle on wyverns.

* Aqua from the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. [[spoiler: Kairi begins to gravitate from DistressedDamsel to this in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', where she gets a Keyblade and fights a horde of Heartless alongside Riku, even if at this point she's still a beginner ala Ven from "Birth By Sleep".]] Xion would probably be more of an intentional case of FauxActionGirl, since she can only fight when [[spoiler:unknowingly sapping strength from her friend Roxas.]] Also, [[spoiler:it's contested both in-game and outside it whether or not Xion can be considered 100% female at all...]]

** Miranda is a military general and an expert archer. She joins the party [[spoiler:and replaces the DistressedDamsel who is rendered incapable of continuing the quest]] and leads her army with an iron fist, making her a competent addition to the party despite joining late in the game.

** MJ took a massive [[TookALevelInBadass Level in Action Girl]] in this game. If you compare her potrayal in any other game, she's always a helpless DistressedDamsel or a supporting character in the cinematics. Here, her deathcount for Symbiotes is higher than any other normal person in the game (not counting those with SHIELD training), and she put fear into Luke Cage! Watch his introduction, and then remember that he was scared of a girl who's constantly wearing a see-through top in the game.

** From ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', we have Sheena Fujibayashi, Presea Combatir, and Colette Brunel. Sheena is the standout case, dishing out plenty of flashy ninja moves and using some powerful SummonMagic. Meanwhile, Presea is a LittleMissBadass who's choice of weapon is a giant ax that is literally heavier than she is and her physical strength is the highest in the game. An finally; Colette, despite her occasional DistressedDamsel tendencies, is perfectly capable of handling herself on the battlefield.

*** Leia Rolando can be added to the list as well. Sure, she may wield a staff, but she's ''not'' a [[DistressedDamsel helpless, meek little]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl healer girl]]. Instead of using her staff to heal, she uses it to kick ass!

* Alicia Winston in ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis 3''. Not only does she subvert the series' trend of [[DistressedDamsel Distressed Damsels]], which the past three games had, but she's also a ''playable character'' in the [=PS2=] port.

** Princess Peach is infamous as a DamselInDistress, but there are a few games where she really gets to shine. The levels in badass she takes in these games don't generally tend to stick in subsequent games, but it's still nice when it does happen. Games where she becomes a proactive hero include ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'', Super Mario Run and Mario Plus Rabbids: Sparks Of Hope. She is also able to participate in the torture and chaos that is Mario Kart and Mario Party, is just much of an athlete as everyone else in the various sports games (the Mario Strikers series in particular make her a sassy and confident LadyOfWar) and is also no slouch in Smash Bros. One really does wonder why she gets kidnapped so frequently and easily when she can hold her own so formidably.

** Princess Peach is infamous as a DamselInDistress, but there are a few games where she really gets to shine. The levels in badass she takes in these games don't generally tend to stick in subsequent games, but it's still nice when it does happen. Games where she becomes a proactive hero include ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', ''VideoGame/SuperPrincessPeach'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', and ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle''.

** Rebecca is an interesting case; in the original ''RE'', she was TheChick, in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', she's one of a duo of protagonists, and holds her own. It's weird to play 0, where she's quite capable, and then go to ''[=REmake=]'' (which happens in the same damn week), where she borders on DamselInDistress at times.

* Selan in ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' fits this well, despite also having elements of TheChick (although [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Tia]] is more of a Chick). She also eventually becomes an ActionMom.

* ''VideoGame/{{Guenevere}}'' has (potentially) the title character, who can develop into a very powerful swordswoman, as well as her female knight bodyguards.

* ''VideoGame/{{Phantasy Star|I}}'' has what is probably one of the earliest examples of this trope in the form of Alis (Alisa in the original Japanese version). When her brother is killed at the beginning of the game by the evil [[BigBad King Lassic's]] forces, she doesn't hesitate to go kill him. She's a strong physical attacker with plenty of HP and defense, while her magic is actually pretty poor compared to Myau and Noah/Lutz's (an inversion of early [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]] stereotyping female characters as [[SquishyWizard frail spellcasters]]).

*** In the first game, we have Bombette, the explosive Bob-omb girl; Bow, the Boo who only needs to arm herself with a her fan and with an ArmorPiercingSlap; Watt, the adorable baby light bulb who purges enemy defenses; and Sushie, the older but definitely not worn out Cheep Cheep.

** ''Etrian Odyssey'' features the blonde [[KnightInShiningArmor Protector]].
** ''Heroes of Lagaard'' uses the [[TheGunslinger Gunner]] with a [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Jack Frost]] hatclip.
** ''The Drowned City'' uses the [[TomboyishPonytail ponytailed]] Princess.
** And ''Legends of the Titan'' uses the short-haired [[HeroesPreferSwords Landsknecht]].
* Every female hunter in ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'' qualifies, given their current job is hunting and killing the monsters that have decimated the entire planetary defense system.

** There's also Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and Liara T'Soni, which are even more impressive: [[WrenchWench Tali is a mechanic]]; [[HotScientist Liara is an]] ''[[AdventurerArchaeologist archaeologist]]''.

** Sheva Alomar from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' is pretty badass cutting through the horde as easily as Chris, and even capable of fighting the LightningBruiser Wesker with her [[WeaponofChoice knife skills]].

** Chun Li's partner in dishing out leggy Chinese violence, Jam Cloudberry from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is a LethalChef [[ChefOfIron of a different variety]]. The other girls in the game aren't slouches either: May is a BadassAdorable with a huge anchor as her WeaponOfChoice, Baiken is a one-armed HandicappedBadass, A.B.A can whack the hell outta anyone with a ''[[ImprobableWeaponUser big key]]'', Millia Rage attacks skillfully with her PrehensileHair, Elphelt Valentine handles her guns rather well...

** Morrigan Aensland the [[HornyDevils succubus]] ActionGirl of ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' certainly counts. She was created by Capcom with the purpose of making a female fighter as iconic as the aforementioned Chun-Li and given Morrigan has become more iconic [[MainstreamObscurity than the series she's oringated from]] (mainly thanks to appearing in [[SirCameosALot pretty much every crossover game]]), suffice to say they succeeded. Morrigan is also technically one of the most powerful exampes listed here, being a [[PowerLevels S-Class]] PhysicalGod-level Darkstalker at full power, though she does get TheWorfEffect in crossovers courtsey of Iron Man and Chun-Li. Besides Morrigan, there's CatGirl Felicia, ChineseVampire Hisenko, [[BeePeople Bee Girl]] Q-Bee and "loli icon" Lilith Morrigan's SoulJar. There's also Baby Bonnie Hood, who's WordOfGod the most dangerous character, one of the intros has her dragging the aforementioned Lilith by the head defeated.

* Lara Croft, ''VideoGame/TombRaider''. She is practically the TropeCodifier for video game protagonists who fall under this trope. At the height of her popularity, she was probably both the best recognized, and the most popular video game character originating in the western hemisphere. And her gender has never really been a matter of suspicion (a common problem in earlier, sprite-based characters). Given that all of her adventures have involved her shooting enormous amounts of ammunition at similarly enormous enemies, she's the ActionGirl many would most readily identify.

** Savyna and Xelha in ''Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean''. The former is a ex-soldier who talks with her fists, the latter is a mage who basically kicks off the plot by chasing the BigBad and the others join ''her'' in the quest.

** Samus Aran is the ''original'' video game ActionGirl, even if that [[SamusIsAGirl wasn't always obvious.]] Nowadays, [[ItWasHisSled everybody knows]] -- and she's ''still'' one of the most badass characters in the video game world, female or no. In-universe, she's considered a living legend, and many of the {{Non Player Character}}s she meets in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' are starstruck at seeing her. Her exploits in-universe are legendary to the point of being mythical; Federation Marine logs in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' have at least one of the marines expressing doubt that Samus even exists because the things she's accomplished are so unbelievable.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrails'': If she's a female character and is playable, it's a very high chance that she is this in the series, though the stand outs would be [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Estelle Bright]] who fights with a MartialArtsStaff, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Rixia Mao]] who is an assassin and uses a {{BFS}} one-handed, and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Laura S. Arseid]] who is considered by her own classmates as the strongest in their class.

*** Leia Rolando can be added to the list as well. Sure, she may wield a MartialArtsStaff, but she's ''not'' a [[DistressedDamsel helpless, meek little]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl healer girl]]. Instead of using her staff to heal, she uses it to kick ass!