Just finished Bayonetta 2 again and started Horizon: Zero Dawn. From that I got the idea for this thread.

Who are some of your favourite female characters in gaming? They can be NPC as well.

The female main characters I created in Saints Row 2 and 3.

Marin - Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Lucca - Chrono Trigger
Terra - Final Fantasy VI

Off-hand:

Shantae
Noel Vermillion - Blazblue
Kuradoberi Jam/May - Guilty Gear
Angel - King of Fighters
Seiko - Corpse Party
Ibuki - Danganronpa
Morrigan/Lilith/Bulletta - Vampire Series
Angela - SD3
Zizou - Dark Witch
Yuffie - FFVII
Mia/Jessica/Royce - Lunar
Ulala - Space Channel 5
Catherine- Catherine
Ellie - Xenogears

Kya from Kya Dark Lineage. When I was younger my mom bought that game specifically because you played as a women. It is a slower paced platformer/beat em up with some stealth which takes heavy inspiration from Rayman 2, it's the reason I didn't like Rayman 2 as much when I played it many years later. When video game girl arguements come up, I never get involved because they end in disaster, but I always think of Kya, but she's almost too obscure to bring up anyway.

Princess Peach - SMB2
Twister - Twisted Metal 2
Archer - Gauntlet Legends

Carmen Sandiego
Lin Kurosawa from Alien vs. Predator

Samus - Metroid
Tyris Flare - Golden Axe
Peach - SMB2
Ms. Pac-Man

A man of fine taste, I see.


 

She might be the best character in the game because of the power of her magic and the effectiveness of her dash attack.

And she has a nice ass.


 

I was shocked that it took five replies for Samus to get mentioned.

 

That she does, yes. Girl clearly does her squats.
Anyway, adding to the topic girls that didn't get a mention yet, but should.
Blaze Fielding from Streets of Rage kicks serious butt.
Maki Genryusai from Final Fight 2 was a good Guy replacement, but if you are playing Final Fight without picking Haggar you are playing wrong.
King from Art of Fighting 1 & 2 is such a butch and a great kick boxer.
Tina Armstrong is the only Dead or Alive girl who has the back to carry that much property.
Lara Croft was a worthy girl, despite her back problems from having too much property.
Leila Blitz was the bomb on Rolling Thunder 2.
 

I wonder how many people skipped her because "she's too obvious." I skipped her because, while I like Metroid and Super Metroid, there's not much to her character. I got to know Marin, Lucca, and Terra, which is why I mentioned them.
 

Girl in Lollipop chainsaw.

Lala from the adventures of Lolo.

Jill Valentine

Dark Queen - Battletoads

Aloy - Horizon Zero Dawn
Jade - Beyond Good and Evil
Nel Zelpher - Star Ocean 3
Aya Brea - Parasite Eve
Trip - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

I am sure there are many more that I can't think of right at this moment. I like interesting characters that have personality and depth to them, and I just liked all of the above.

Hmm, some good names mentioned already, but here's some great characters that haven't been mentioned yet:

Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark)
Celes Chere (FF6)
Zanthia (Kyrandia 2)
Chell (Portal)
Faith (Mirror's Edge)
Elena (Uncharted)
Amaterasu (Okami)
Cate Archer (No One Lives Forever)
Konoko (Oni)
Alex Vance (Half-Life 2)
Chris (Suikoden 3)
Curly Brace (Cave Story)
Jade (Beyond Good and Evil)

beat me to Aya Brea from Parasite Eve

I thought about mentioning Celes. However, I thought I should just do one per game, and I like Terra more than Celes. Celes is great, though.
 

I pretty much skipped the obvious ones... But I missed one in my previous post who should be obvious only to me: Blazblue - Professor Kokonoe. My favorite character of all time, in just about anything, now that I think about it.

Mileena- MKII. Maybe not the greatest Storyline, but always my go-to character
Presea- Tales of Symphonia. ToS has incredibly deep and developed female characters, but the dark, mysterious, and tragic Presea is my pick for best one.
Midna- Twilight Princess. Midna is what I wish Navi was in OoT. That guardian spirit with an honest to god real personality.

Samus obviously...
I also played Layla on the Famicom the other day which is a pretty cool game with female characters.

Valeria from the Suikoden series, also Viki.
Karna from Shining Force II (thanks to a kinda busted healing experience bug, she literally can be the strongest character).
Pyra from Shining in the Darkness.
Meliadoul and Agrias, Final Fantasy Tactics.
Mai from King of the Fighters.

Undercover Contact: "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Can you cook and clean too?​"

Cate: "No, but I can put you in the hospital if you want. Maybe you can find someone to take care of you there​."

Oh, great calls on Valeria and Agrias. Both major misses on my part.
Falcon Rune? Amazing. Stasis Sword? Still an all-time favorite.