Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, 1996), Jill Valentine (Resident Evil, 1997), Regina (Dino Crisis, 2000) are names that resonate widely. These heroines, whose journeys began in the 1990s, are as iconic as any well-known space marines or futuristic soldiers. The transition from the late 1980s to the 1990s marked not only a shift from simplistic pixels to more aesthetically pleasing sprites and somewhat angular polygons, but also the evolution of purely arcade characters into more fully realized personas.
Another key aspect of this era was the increasing presence of female characters, not merely as secondary figures or background NPCs, nor as the perpetually distressed princesses, but as central figures in the intricate narratives of various stories. The early 2000s saw this trend become more widespread, gradually becoming a routine feature.
Today, let’s revisit some of these heroines and the games associated with them, which once flickered on our screens but have faded from memory over time.