Astral Chain - Akira Howard
By: Platinum Games

Astral Chain gives you a choice of gender to play as. Can't say much about her since Astral Chain uses a silent protagonist approach, but she's badass and the game is easily my GOTY for 2019.

Brute Force - Hawk
By: "Only on @Xbox"

Me and my friends had played Halo to death by the time 2003 had rolled around and Halo 2 wasn't out yet and we wanted another co-op experience. I had the choice of two female characters, but I went with Hawk, the stealth specialist

Cannon Spike - Baby Bonnie Hood
By: Psikyo / Capcom

While originally from Darkstalkers, I think both BB Hood and Cannon Spike (Dreamcast) are kind of obscure and worth remembering.

Cannon Spike remake, when?

Drakan: Order Of The Flame - Rynn
By: Surreal Software

It was 1999. The success of Tomb Raider spurred a bunch of companies to try their hand at badass female protagonists, and we got Drakan.

Riding a dragon and fire blasting foes > dual pistols. Jus' sayin'

Ehrgeiz - Yoyo Yoko
By: DreamFactory, published by Namco, featuring the addition of a playable Tifa and Yuffie from FF7.

Yo-yo wielding police officer. Also the main character from what I recall.

Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Blackwater - Yuri Kozukata
By: Koei Tecmo

Survival horror is full of female protagonists, and Fatal Frame is my favourite of the genre. Maiden Of Blackwater is the game that I find the most playable in the series, but definitely not the best.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams - Giana
By: Black Forest Team

I admittedly haven't played a lot of this game. It's got this cool world swapping mechanic where you're kind of swapping between two alternate realities. It's like if you mashed Alice In Wonderland with Mighty Switch Force with Super Mario (which makes sense since the series started as a literal block for block Mario clone)

Hyperdimension Neptunia - Neptune
By: Compile Heart and Idea Factory

Hoo! This letter almost tripped me up. I haven't yet played Horizon, so Aloy couldn't make an appearance but at least we've got Nep-Nep to save Gamindustri.

Ion Fury - Shelly Harrison
By: Voidpoint

Fuck Duke Nukem. Shelly is my action flick power fantasy. Controversy aside, this game is badass.

Jade Empire - The Spirit Monk
By: Bioware
The game lets you pick from 6 (7 in special edition) versions of the spirit monk. Three of those are women. I didn't play too much, but it's one of those games on the top of my "get back to that" pile of games.

King Of Fighters, The - Vanessa
By: SNK

I was hoping to avoid fighting games as much as possible, but I love King Of Fighters and Vanessa (my main). She just doesn't get as much love as she deserves.

(In case you feel this fits under 'T', Rosella from King's Quest)

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Lightning
By: Square Enix
I don't care what anyone says. Final Fantasy XIII was a good series and the cast has a lot more depth of character than they get credit for. Lightning was the highlight for me and she deserved her own game.

Misadventures Of Tron Bonne, The - Tron Bonne
By: Capcom
An offshoot of Megaman Legends. I love that you get a chance to play as the villain. "Miss Trawwwn" is a fun character.
(If you feel moving the 'the' is cheating, sub out Metroid or something. 'M' is easy)

NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits - Nyx
By: Over The Top Games

I almost had to resort to Neverwinter Nights and it's custom character creation, but I'd rather highlight existing characters, so, I'm glad I remembered this fun little platformer.

Oni - Konoko
By: Bungie

This is a really interesting game. I really would love to play Oni for my channel.

The game really leans into martial arts. Sure, there's guns, but you'll be doing a lot more punching than shooting. Which is probably the reason I never finished it. When I bought it for $40 from Electronics Boutique based off nothing but the box, I was expecting a shooter. It's got a lot more melee combat than I was expecting.

Phantasy Star - Alis Landale
By: SEGA
If you know me, you knew Alis was making an appearance on this list.

1987, the lead character in (imho) the most technically impressive JRPG of the time, was a powerhouse leader who wasn't relegated to "healer". I am obsessed with this game.

Quiet, Please! - The Sister?
By: Nostatic Software
I hated to resort to Quake 3 and what are basically just skins. Fortunately I remembered these fun little adventure games where you're an older sister who just wants some peace and quiet.

River City Girls - Misako & Kyoko
By: WayForward

I'm not super happy with how their story resolves, but I kinda love how insanely aggressive these gals get. Nothing stops them. Detention? Crime syndicate? Punching is the solution to everything.