#10 Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah Kerrigan was a Terran Ghost who was captured by the Zerg and transformed into the mighty Queen of Blades. Yes, she murdered millions of people, but who doesn't like a comeback story. In her case she was the key to destroying Amon the Xel'Naga. Without this heroine the Starcraft galaxy would have a lot less Terran and Protoss in it.
#9 Zelda
Princess Zelda plays a much larger role than damsel in distress in the The Legend Of Zelda series. Yes, she gets rescued by Link often throughout the series, but she does return the favor in her many disguises. She plays many roles througout all the different games and most of all she is smart and can outwit the enemies in front of her.
#8 Chun Li
Chun Li was the first character in a fighting game who will stop at nothing to bring her father's killers to justice. This Street Fighter heroine made her first apperance way back in 1994 and has been kicking butt since then. She is a heroine at heart and after all she is the first lady of video games.
#7 Faith Conners
Faith Conners isn't your tradition "busty" heroine. She is smart and very athletic to pull off what she does in the Mirror's Edge games. She was a thief by trade, but she channeled her inner heroine to constantly undermine the dystopian society that is in Mirror's Edge. This isn't a character anyone would like to meet in a back alley. She'd take your lunch money.
#6 Joanna Dark
Remember when it was extremely hard to find Perfect Dark on Nintendo 64? We sure do! Perfect Dark and Golden Eye 007 where the top games to get and both were made by the same company. This superspy heroine saved many lives throughout her run at the top. She is gorgeous, smart, whitty and most of all... one hell of a heroine. To bad Perfect Dark Zero wasn't the best. Joanna Dark deserved so much more.
#5 Terra Branford
Terra is probably the most recognized Final Fantasy characters out there. Her story begins with a case of amesia, but she evolves into the central focus and hard hitting esper in Final Fantasy VI. Her complex character is riviting and her supporting cast only makes her shine in throughout the game.
#4 Cortana
Where would Master Chief be without the A.I. Cortana. He'd be dead for sure. It is an understatement that Cortana played a huge role in the Human-Covenant war. This Blade Runner inspired heroine is still one of the most recognized charcters
#3 Commander Shepard
The female version Commander Shepard lets gamers play the game through a different light and not to mention the voice acting is so much better with Jennifer Hale doing the voice for her. The Mass Effect games are extremely popular and what is most important is that Commander Shepard has saved the universe on multiple occasions. Don't mess with this heroine because she will eat you alive.
#2 Samus Aran
There are still many gamers out there who might think that Samus Aran is a male hero, but it isn't the case. Samus is the least sexualized character out there and considering many think she is a male only contributes to the reason that she is so high on the list. In many ways she paved the way for more vidoe game heroines to enter the genre and become badasses in their own rights.
#1 Lara Croft
It was hard to put Lara Croft over Samus Aran, but Lara Croft is one of the most recognized characters in video games. Yes, at first she was more of a male "marketed" character, but she's evolved over the years into the best heroine out there. Tomb Raider just got finished celebrating 20 years of kicking butt. It is alsow worthy to mention she's about to have a third movie made about her starring Alicia Vikander. She was previously played by Angelina Jolie. The Tomb Raider movies are probably at the top when it comes to movies, but there isn't exactly a gold standard for video game movies to compare them too. When it is all said and done, however, she is top dog until proven otherwise.