Gamers love playing video games that have not only engaging gameplay but also lovable characters. Among some of the best video game characters in gaming history are the female characters in Nintendo games. Nintendo’s ability to create good character designs and its unique way of establishing a great player and character connection is what gets players invested in the characters' personalities and story, making them eager to learn and see more of the characters in future games.
In Nintendo games, you will find a mix of beautiful, charming, and badass female characters that will certainly catch your attention no matter what their roles are in the games. At the end of the day, these awesome characters certainly deserve all the love they can get.
5 Samus Aran (Metroid Series)
Samus Aran was part of the earth colony, K-2L, that was wiped out by a group of space pirates, leaving Samus orphaned at a young age. Eventually, the Chozos, a birdlike humanoid race, adopted Samus, injected her with their DNA, and trained her for years, resulting in Samus exceeding the physical limits of any normal human being. With Samus’ incredible strength and intelligence, she became a feared bounty hunter that would go on to eliminate all evil in the galaxy.
Despite Samus Aran being that incredibly strong bounty hunter, deep down she still struggles with the traumatic events of her childhood, the reason why Samus remains a cold and emotionally distant person. Samus is often seen wearing her power suit, which used to mask her real identity, and later on shocking players when Samus Aran was revealed to be a woman.
Back then, there were only a few female characters to look up to, but Samus Aran’s reveal helped pave the way for strong female characters in gaming.
4 Lucina (Fire Emblem Awakening)
Lucina is the daughter of Chrom, prince of the halidom of Ylisse, which makes Lucina princess of Ylisse. However, Lucina isn’t your typical princess that needs saving; instead, Lucina is a strong-willed and skilled swordswoman that will risk herself just to protect her loved ones and save the world. Although Lucina is a strong fighter, she hates violence and is only forced to use them when necessary.
Despite Lucina being a serious and uptight character, her sense of responsibility and eagerness to look out for her loved ones is what made players admire her most. This is why seeing the very few moments of Lucina joking around makes Fire Emblem fans happy, since she deserves to smile after all the trouble she’s been through.
3 Pauline (Donkey Kong And Mario Series)
Nowadays, Pauline is known as the mayor of New Donk City, and the lead singer of the band behind Super Mario Odyssey’s theme song, “Jump Up, Super Star!” Pauline has then continued to appear in several other Mario games. However, not many people know about her past. Before all that, Pauline was the first and original damsel in distress of Mario before Princess Peach came along.
Pauline first appeared in the famous arcade game, Donkey Kong, way back in 1981. In the game, Donkey Kong takes Pauline captive, and as expected Mario goes after them, and does whatever it takes to save Pauline, as she was Mario’s first love interest. As much as Princess Peach makes the perfect damsel in distress for Mario, first loves will always have a special place in our hearts.
After being abandoned for several years, Pauline deserves to have the spotlight she didn’t get back then. Pauline’s kind-hearted, friendly, and graceful nature, not to mention her great fashion sense, is what caught players' attention. Let’s just hope we see more of her in future Mario games.
2 Cynthia (Pokemon Series)
Ever since Cynthia's first appearance in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon fans have not stopped talking about how much of a legend she is in the Pokemon world. Cynthia is a Pokemon archeologist and also Sinnoh region’s Pokemon champion. Cynthia’s track record and list of achievements are incomparable. Despite all the success, Cynthia still manages to remain a kind-hearted and humble Pokemon champion.
However, let’s just make sure we stay on her good side, or else we might get crushed by Cynthia and her partner Pokemon, Garchomp, who is a literal Pokemon slayer. This is probably the reason why Cynthia always wears her long black coat, to attend the funerals of the souls and dreams of the Pokemon trainers she has crushed.
To this day, Cynthia’s iconic battle theme continues to haunt players, giving them flashbacks of the struggles they faced in battle with her. Not many characters can demand the same respect Cynthia does. Cynthia has certainly raised the bar for female characters in video games.
1 Isabelle (Animal Crossing Series)
Isabelle is a yellow Shih Tzu dog that you will usually find sitting by the front desk, making sure everything is in order. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle serves as the player's secretary and assistant, while in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Isabelle serves as part of the resident services staff. This just shows how much of a hard worker Isabelle is. Isabelle is practically the backbone of the Animal Crossing world.
Despite the numerous jobs Isabelle deals with, you will always see a smile on her face, well, as long as you don’t break the rules. Isabelle's cheerful, positive, and wholesome nature is what makes her so charming – she’s like a breath of fresh air when she’s around. Isabelle is one of the few characters in video games that is adored by everyone.