Not Just Lara Croft - Gaming's Greatest Gals (Before 2005)
In recent years, game developers have begun to spoil fans with strong female characters, populating the worlds of both mainstream and niche productions. Lara Croft wasn't the only one, however; gaming has always had some great gals.
Table of Contents
- Not Just Lara Croft - Gaming's Greatest Gals (Before 2005)
- Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
- Sonya Blade (Mortal Kombat)
- Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy 7)
- Kate Walker (Siberia)
- April Ryan (The Longest Journey)
- Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft 3)
- Bastila Shan (Knights of the Old Republic)
- Marle (Chrono Trigger)
April Ryan (The Longest Journey)
- Debuted: 1999
- Key games: The Longest Journey, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, Dreamfall Chapters
- Distinguishing features: Sense of humor and heroic attitude
In The Longest Journey, we follow the adventures of a young girl traveling between two worlds – Stark (not Industries), which is technologically advanced and similar to ours, and the magical realm of Arcadia. April Ryan is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts, talented, brave and... Somewhat bored with the daily routine. When she has the opportunity to take part in the adventure of a lifetime, she opts in without hesitation. Doubts only come after she thinks she might leave her few friends forever, but someone has to save Arcadia in the end, right?
At the beginning, the heroine has the so-called jump ability, which letse her move between two realities. Thanks to this, she becomes one of the few people who can restore balance to both of these places. Sounds cliché? That's possible. But thanks to April's salty sense of humor and some great character design, even such a simple premise can evolve into a multi-threaded, heart-touching, and remarkable story.
The protagonist herself is a real heroine. It also shows in the game's sequel, Dreamfall. When the existence of both worlds is threatened again a decade after the events of the original, she doesn't hesitate to fight back. As the leader of the Resistance, however, she is no longer the same person as she used to be. She laughs less and isn't as trusting. Despite this, she doesn't believe that her destiny might not be to save the world and this time...
Zoe Castillo from Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is the franchise's successor to April. This time, the fate of both worlds will be her concern. Though she doesn't seem as fearless as her predecessor at first, she successfully copes with the role of Arcadia's heroine, even when she may lose her life in the process.
