In RPGs, players have the opportunity to be someone new and see the world through that character's perspective. In some cases, choices on who players get to be aren't available, but there are plenty of times when players have more options on who their character is. Whether there's a choice on who to be or a character is already chosen for players, fans of RPGs are sure to have plenty of adventures.
For this list, we'll be ranking female RPG protagonists based on who might be the strongest. Unnamed characters won't be considered, even if they have their own voice acting, like the protagonist from Fallout 4.
10 Aurora - Child of Light
Aurora is a princess that is trying to get back home. That's the basic plot of Child of Light, but don't underestimate this princess. She's a force to be reckoned with in certain fights.
She's not the strongest character on this list, mainly because she usually just uses a sword for her fights, and the only other thing she can really do is use light magic. The light magic attacks that she uses are helpful against monsters that are considered to be "dark." In spite of not being the strongest character on this list, she is still plenty strong because of her magic and her sword.
9 Emily Kaldwin - Dishonored 2
In Dishonored 2, players can as Emily while still being able to play as Corvo from the first game. Each of them has different powers that can be used while players try to be stealthy (or not-so-stealthy) throughout the story. In Emily's case, her powers can sometimes attract attention, and the powers themselves don't really hurt enemies that much. Emily still has to do the damage part herself.
Many of her powers are supposed to help with stealth and avoiding suspicion, like making a clone of herself or using an ability that makes it harder to be seen. She's alright in combat, but compared to Corvo's powers, she's not always the strongest one in the game.
8 Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
Lara has been through quite a lot across the Tomb Raider series. She's probably escaped death more than a dozen times. In terms of physical strength, it's obvious that she's got some muscle based on all the climbing, swinging, and breaking walls that she has to do. Not to mention that she can be a pretty good shot with both a bow and a gun.
However, she isn't always the best at taking damage. Her health bar isn't always the best in tough fights, and if she gets hurt for story purposes, it usually takes up a lot of her time just to heal up somehow. Lara is a great explorer, but she might want to have some more protection every once in a while.
7 Aloy - Horizon Zero Dawn
Aloy is pretty similar to Lara in terms of what she can do with resources, crafting, and combat. She's an extremely skilled hunter, and she's great at using any resources that she gets from animals or plants to use to her advantage. Not only that, but she can gain skills that make her better with a bow and arrow.
Aloy also has the power to get different machines to fight for her, giving her allies in a battle. It's a pretty useful skill to have, even if it doesn't last forever. Her short-range combat isn't the greatest, but she excels at long-range attacks.
6 Kassandra - Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Kassandra's fighting style can be extremely versatile given which skill tree players choose to follow in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Not only is she strong and skilled with a sword in close-range combat, but she's also great at making stealth kills or making a shot with her bow and arrow.
While she does have physical strength, she is usually prepared for a fight too with whatever armor she's using. Other advantages players experience while playing this character are her talent for sneaking around and her incredible speed, which can make up for some difficulties she faces when fighting tough bosses.
5 Ciri - The Witcher 3
Ciri has a whole new, unique set of powers that players can use to take out enemies. Ciri can teleport, which is especially useful for avoiding attacks. She can also use this ability to charge up an attack that allows her to teleport around and quickly strike multiple enemies. Not to mention that she's able to summon fire from the sky thanks to Triss.
While not the strongest character in the game due to her low stamina and being slow to heal, she is still plenty strong.
4 Aqua - Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
In Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, players get to play as Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, who all have different strengths and weaknesses in combat. Even at the beginning of the game, Aqua establishes herself as a strong character, as she was chosen to get the Mark of Mastery. As the game progresses, players can see that she's skilled with magic, and she tends to be better at using magical abilities than Terra or Ventus.
Her magic abilities tend to make her a strong force against her enemies, especially since she can easily heal herself multiple times in a fight if necessary. This makes her last longer in a fight, but players wish that she could use a keyblade while in battle.
3 Commander Shepard - Mass Effect
When thinking of a strong female protagonist, many players might think of Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series. Players can choose what kind of powers she has, like whether or not the player chooses to give her biotics or not. Even if they don't give Shepard these powers, she's still a force to be reckoned with when she has a gun in her hand.
Part of what makes Shepard such a strong character too is her confidence. She has the attitude of "yes, I kill Reapers for a living" without being too arrogant about it. She knows what she's capable of, and she even has the inner strength to make the difficult decision at the end of Mass Effect 3. It's just too bad that players don't get to see her physical strength in action too much with close combat.
2 Lightning - Final Fantasy XIII
Some fans of the Final Fantasy series don't always like Lightning's personality, but that doesn't make her any less of a powerful protagonist. She's quick on her feet, which makes it easy to both attack and defend herself. Not only that, but her main weapon of choice is a gunblade. That's right. It's a sword that can also be used as a gun. This helps her show off her impressive skills at close range with her sword and at long-range with her gun, making her a tough foe at any range.
She does eventually develop some magical powers as her story goes on, but even before she was able to use those powers, she was a force to be reckoned with.
1 Ajna - Indivisible
Indivisible is an indie game that follows Ajna, a girl who is well trained in martial arts, as she tries to defend her home. Along the way, she meets people that she can befriend, which lets her "absorb" them into her mind so she can call on them in battle.
Ajna already has incredible strength on her own. She's skilled in many ranges of combat, as she can fight hand-to-hand, with an ax, a bow, and other weapons. Her power to bring other people into fights also makes her an extremely intimidating opponent. Nobody stands a chance against her, and they'd be wise to stay out of her way.