Patient Gamers

Portal!

Calling this game "older" is hurting my soul, though.

Is Mirror's Edge "older" already?

Obvious one, but the original Tomb Raider.

Beyond Good & Evil

No One Lives Forever

EDIT: Just remembered Perfect Dark

Portal

Perfect Dark

Tomb Raider

Metroid

Mirror's Edge

Ms. Pac-Man, obvs

Magical Diary: Horse Hall was fun

No One Lives Forever.

Tomb Raider

Bayonetta.

Metroid.

How did I scroll through this list and not see Samus Aran mentioned?

Tomb Raider (1996). The levels are well designed and work with the tank controls in a way that lets you master Lara Croft's acrobatic descent through haunting environments that feel far more threatening than most games I see today

Parasite Eve (never played it myself but I know it's considered a classic)

Jill of the Jungle, if you like Commander Keen era PC platformers.

Here are a couple I played back in the day:

• Oni (Bungie, 2001)
• Remember Me (Dontnod, 2013)

I remember creating a female Twi'lek Jedi in some of the old LucasArts Jedi games.

• LucasArts Jedi something something
• KOTOR
• Baldur's Gate
• Fallout Although these were more like "create-your-own protagonists" rather than "known hero protagonists" that people recognize.

Aside from the classics already mentioned in the thread, Lara, Chell, Samus, Valentine, Redfield, etc. here's a few that come to mind:

• Peach in Super Mario 2, the game that feels more like a mushroom trip, than a trip to mushroom kingdom
• Aya from Parasite Eve
• Chun Li from Street Fighter, also Cammy
• Mortal Kombat
• Tekken
• Soulcalibur
• Dead or Alive
• Sarah Kerrigan in Starcraft(s), although it's an RTS, so protagonist is a bit loose.
• Rayne from BloodRayne, the first video game character to appear in PlayBoy, eh
• Ellie from The Last Of Us, damn it's been 10 years already? Is that an old game already? Am I old? Nevermind, don't answer.
• Clem from The Walking Dead
• Joanna from Perfect Dark

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others.

Final Fantasy VI is a great one!

King’s Quest IV: The Perils of Rosella
One of my most favorite King’s Quest games. And one of the first games I remember playing with a proper female lead.

Could look into Oni - One of Bungie's first game

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni_(video_game)

Barbie: Horse Girl Adventures

Jill of the Jungle is the oldest one I know of that isn't Metroid. Fairly certain Metroid was first, but everybody knows Samus. Nobody, even people my age, ever talks about Jill of the Jungle tho.

Some of these aren't that old, but still...

Blades of Time - fun hack & slash

Crosscode - great SNES inspired action rpg

Gianna Sisters - platformer, has co-op

Icey - another hack & slash

Mirror's Edge - first person parkour simulator with a great main character and good story

Psuedoregalia - short indie metroidvania, best movement mechanics of any game in a long time

Transistor - awesome story, interesting mechanics.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni_(video_game)

Oni (2001)

Iji is a free game released in 2008. Sidescrolling shooter with a story, fun boss fights, and a great soundtrack. It's really a shame it isn't as well known in these circles, it's quite good.

Jill of the Jungle - PC

Shantae - Gameboy Color

Alone in the Dark - PC

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne - PSX

The Laura Bow adventure games Colonel’s Bequest and Dagger of Amon Ra from Sierra OnLine.

• Pocky & Rocky

• The Great Giana Sisters

• Ms. Pac-Man

I believe all Elder Scrolls (at least the mainline games: Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim) let you select your character's gender.

Also, what is "old"? Mass Effect 1 is already 15 years old.

Ulala from Space Channel 5.

Syberia, if you're into point and click adventure games. I think they made three of them.

"Jill of the Jungle" is an ancient DOS game, and honestly a bit sexploitative. But it does feature a female protag. And is old.

The ovious one: Tomb Raider

The Siberia series, King's Quest IV, Parasite Eve series, Excalibur 2555 AD, Fear Effect series

Mischief Makers

Trails in the Sky FC and SC.

Also, FemShep was a popular option in Mass Effect for good reason.

Since no one's mentioned it: Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2

Phantasy Star. Love that game.

I put together a list of games for every letter of the alphabet with playable female characters that I've personally played and a lot of them are pretty old.

https://eldritch.cafe/@Gwendolyn/109348711301572294