The concept of the "final girl" is a common element of horror movies. Laurie Strode from Halloween is potentially the most famous, but Friday the 13th has Alice, Texas Chainsaw Massacre has Sally, and Nightmare on Elm Street has Nancy. The final girl is the sole survivor of a horror movie who is also generally presented as "virginal" or "chaste" (at least in older horror flicks).Given the heavy influence of cinema on gaming, it's no surprise that many horror video games have their own final girl. It's not quite as prevalent as it is in horror films. However, there is a handful that is notable and sticks with the player long after the game is over.
6 Miku Hinasaki Is The Only One To Escape Himuro Mansion Alive
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Miku Hinasaki is the player character and main protagonist of the original Fatal Frame (also known as Zero or Project Zero). She goes to Himuro Mansion to find her missing older brother, Mifuyu. Both Miku and Mifuyu have the ability to see supernatural elements of the world, and this leads to her discovering that the mansion is haunted by several spirits.
In the canon ending to Fatal Frame, Miku is the only one to leave Himuro Mansion, as Mifuyu is forced to stay and keep its principal spirit, Kirie Himuro, company as she serves as the Rope Shrine Maiden for all eternity. Miku would return in Fatal Frame III and V, and her story gets a lot weirder and somewhat incestuous. However, the original Fatal Frame is an iconic horror game, and Miku deserves respect for her part in that.
5 Jill Valentine Is A Final Girl Of Sorts
Given that Resident Evil games typically have more than one playable character, all of whom survive the events of the game, Resident Evil doesn't have a "true" final girl. However, it could be argued that many of Resident Evil's women protagonists fulfill all other requirements for the final girl title.
Jill Valentine could easily qualify as a final girl in the first Resident Evil, as she has to escape Spencer Mansion largely on her own, with Chris and Barry only arriving to help near the very end. Even then, you can choose to not save Barry or free Chris. The presence of Carlos in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis makes Jill less of a final girl in that game, but she does have to kill Nemesis on her own--so it could still count. Jill also differs from most final girls in that she is a trained police officer with numerous combat and survival skills, and, generally, final girls are just normal women thrust into extraordinary situations. Despite that, Jill still earns a place here for the many ways in which she is a final girl.
4 It's Hard Not To Like Samantha Giddings From Until Dawn
Samantha Giddings is one of the main characters in Until Dawn. Until Dawn is a unique horror game, as its story is determined in countless ways by the words, actions, and even movements of its various characters as decided by the player.
Everyone can survive Until Dawn, but it can also only be Samantha Giddings, as played by Hayden Panettiere. She is easily one of the most likable characters in Until Dawn, as she is generally quite kind but still has some fight in her if she feels she or someone else is being mistreated. She is also a very motivated person, as she refuses to be left helpless even as the threats become increasingly more dangerous over the course of the game.
3 Amanda Ripley Is The Only Survivor Of The Xenomorphs On Sevastopol
Amanda Ripley is the daughter of an iconic final girl in her own right, Ellen Ripley. Amanda stars in Alien: Isolation, which takes place between the Alien and Aliens movies. Like her mother, Amanda is forced to survive the existential threat of the Xenomorphs, even as these creatures kill countless individuals around her.
Xenomorphs attacked the Sevastopol Station while Amanda was on board, and she is the only one to survive this incident. Unfortunately for her, she would never truly learn the fate of her mother, but she knew that Weyland-Yutani knew more than they were letting on.
2 Heather Mason Is A Final Girl With A Lot Of Baggage To Carry
Heather Mason is the protagonist of Silent Hill 3 and the adopted daughter of Harry Mason of the original Silent Hill. She is also the reincarnation of Alessa Gillespie and Cheryl Mason, making her a pivotal figure in the Order's attempts to summon their God.
Heather manages to survive the horrific Otherworld that exists parallel to Silent Hill, and she ultimately manages to stop the Order from summoning God. She ends up adopting the name Cheryl, and her fate seems to be somewhat happy by Silent Hill standards.
1 In Many Ways, Claire Redfield Is The Ultimate Video Game Final Girl
Claire Redfield is a recurring protagonist in the Resident Evil franchise, starring in Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. She is a journalist as well as a human rights activist. Like Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield is generally not the only survivor of her misadventures, but she does have to fight it out largely alone.
She has to look after Sherry Birkin in Resident Evil 2, and only meets up with Leon S. Kennedy at the very end of the game after destroying the mutated William Birkin. She goes it alone through much of Code: Veronica except for some help from Steve Burnside and Chris Redfield later in the game. She keeps Moira Burton alive through the events on Sejm Island orchestrated by Alex Wesker. Claire ranks higher than Jill as a final girl due to the fact that she hasn't had any official training before Resident Evil 2 and is able to keep herself alive with her self-taught skills and survival instincts. She's just a normal person who is determined and fairly lucky and managed to survive the Raccoon City Incident.