Overview

Female protagonists in games were first implemented to try and get young girls into arcade gaming, as it was obvious that the majority in arcades were boys. The first game to include a female protagonist was Ms. Pac-Man, which successfully brought in a large female fanbase for the Pac-Man franchise and arcade gaming in general during the 1980s.

The major controversy with female protagonists is that they are being invented by male game developers most of the time, and are leading an impossible example for young girls, such as Lara Croft of Tomb Raider, one of the benchmark games for female protagonists.

Landmark Female Protagonists

1981

Lady Bug: Making her first appearance in October 1981, Lady Bug was the earliest known female protagonist in a video game.

1982

Ms. Pac-Man: Generally accepted as the first famous female protagonist in the video game industry, she first appeared in the arcade game of the same name in February 1982 as the titular character, launching her own sub-series of the Pac-Man franchise.

Kangaroo: A mother kangaroo searching for her kidnapped baby, she was the first mother character, or parental character in general, in a video game.

1984

Papri: The protagonist of Girl's Garden, she is one of the first human female protagonists in a video game. While she has a boyfriend, she is the one who does all the action in the game.

1985

1986

1987

Alis Landale: The protagonist of the original Phantasy Star, she was the first female protagonist in a console role-playing game. The game was created by female game designer Rieko Kodama.

1994

Angelique Limoges: The protagonist of Angelique, considered the first Otome game, a dating sim / visual novel genre targeted towards female audiences that replaces the harem concept of traditional dating sims with a reverse harem concept. The game was created by female game developer Kairi Yura.

1996