So many girls of video games that I not only have my Top 10 Girls of Video Games, but I’m also spoilt for choice for my usual twenty special mentions.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first my usual note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – an iconic feature image to identify the character, either in general or in their most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), sourced from the published game cover or promotional art, or occasionally captured from gameplay or trailers.

I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I nominate my favorite artists and cosplay models depicting the character, which you can look up for yourself. For art, I award a special ranking for any art by my two favorite artists – the two freelance digital artists Sciamano and Dandonfuga. For cosplay, I award a special ranking for any cosplay by my holy trinity of models – my favorite model Yummychiyo with her insane figure in top spot, followed by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine.

As for the iconic feature image I’ve chosen for this page itself and girls of video games in general, there could only be one choice – the promotional art for the iconic 2011 Duke Nukem Forever game, featuring the Holsom twins (yes – adapted from the Olsen twins), Duke’s celebrity pop star girlfriends with a penchant for schoolgirl outfits.

 

 

 

 

(1) GIRLS OF FINAL FANTASY (1997)

 

I couldn’t resist this now iconic screenshot of Tifa and Aerith in their swimsuits at Costa de Sol in the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, revamping the original 1997 game in 2024, for special mention in my Girls of Video Games.

Tifa as my top girl of Final Fantasy is also second place in my Top 10 Girls of Video Games. Otherwise, the girls of Final Fantasy get their own top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries):

 

Top 10 Girls of Final Fantasy

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

As I said, the iconic feature image for the Girls of Final Fantasy is that now iconic screenshot of Tifa and Aerith at Costa del Sol in the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth game.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
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(2) GIRLS OF AZUR LANE (2017)

 

Ahoy!

Or ara ara!

Yes – the ‘ship girls’ of Azur Lane get their own special mention. Atago, my top girl of Azur Lane, is also third top girl in my Top 10 Girls of Video Games (where I deal with the game and its premise – essentially WW2 naval ships as anime girls – in more detail) but the girls of Azur Lane are so prolific as to get their own special mention and top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

There could only be one choice as iconic feature image – the game’s characters that feature in Race Queen ‘skins’ or game designs, depicted here in the promotional art for the “limited skins on sale in 2018”. It was through fan art and cosplay of Atago in her Race Queen skin that I was introduced to the girls of Azur Lane – and it’s never been far from my heart since! Only a select few Azur Lane girls have Race Queen designs, but all those that do automatically earn either a place in my Top 10 Girls of Azur Lane or at least special mention – and with all but one exception their Race Queen design is my favorite design.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
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(3) GIRLS OF BLUE ARCHIVE (2021)

 

“Wait – it’s all Asuna and Karin?”
“Always has been”

Well, mostly. Art and cosplay for Blue Archive – yet another game recruiting literal teams of girls for combat or similar missions – is overwhelmingly predominated by Asuna and Karin, the two signature girls of the game. As per TV Tropes, Asuna and Karin are “Blue Archive’s poster girls for it being fetish fuel best known for the fanservice”. Of course, the bunny costumes help so much.

Asuna just edges forward of Karin to claim a place in my Top 10 Girls of Video Games, although Karin comes a close second and ranks after Asuna in this special mention entry. (Quick guide – Asuna is the blond while Karin is the brunette in my feature image). Like Azur Lane however, Blue Archive keeps releasing new girls and they’re prolific enough to earn this special mention as well as their own top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Okay, it’s not quite ALL Asuna and Karin in art and cosplay but close enough – and certainly enough that there could only be one choice as iconic feature image, their bunny girl design in promotional game art.

 

RANKING: 5 STARS*****
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(5) GIRLS OF NIKKE (2022)

 

Special mention for the girls of Goddess of Victory: Nikke (or Girls of Nikke for short) – who jiggled on to the scene in a big way of 2022 and have continued to do so with new characters (or Nikkes as they are called) at prolific frequency, indeed probably the most prolific of any video game for new character releases. I feature the game in more detail with my entry for its original flagship character Rapi in my Top 10 Girls of Video Games but there’s enough girls of Nikke for their own special mention and top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For my iconic feature image, I went with this promotional game art showcasing some of their more iconic characters – of course with the game’s flagship girl Rapi front and center.

 

RATING: 5 STARS*****
S-TIER (GOD TIER)

 

 

 

 

 

(5) GIRLS OF STREET FIGHTER (1991)

 

Video games – and girls of video games – don’t get much more iconic than Street Fighter, so of course the girls of Street Fighter get their own special mention and top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

The Street Fighter franchise essentially defined the genre of fighting games – it “gave the genre depth, popularity, and, most importantly, legitimacy” and “even modern fighting games cling tightly to the features and tropes innovated by this series”. The game’s playable characters originate from different countries around the world, each with their own unique fighting style.

And from its first flagship duo of female fighters featured in 1991’s Street Fighter II gaining mainstream recognition, its female fighters have been an iconic part of that franchise – as well as a staple in art and cosplay, even three decades later, albeit with new and revamped game editions.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

My iconic feature image is the variant cover E art by artist Reiq for the Street Fighter Masters: Chun Li 1 comic published by Udon Entertainment. Yes – there are Street Fighter comics. This art has a number of iconic elements which prompted my selection as fair use to represent the girls of Street Fighter. Firstly, although it’s a toss-up between her and Cammy for the original female duo of Street Fighter, I think that Chun Li wins out as the iconic girl of Street Fighter. Secondly, it features her in her iconic original costume – she’s had a number of different costumes through versions of the game but her first costume remains as the classic one. Thirdly, the arcade game machine as background is a nod to the game’s classic arcade origin – and fourthly, the machine even has Street Fighter II consistent with the game version as her (and Cammy’s) debut. The whole design thus invokes her most classic and iconic features, while also doing so in a cute and playful way. That is characteristic of the work of Reiq as regular commissioned cover art for Udon Entertainment – Reiq deserves special mention here as the standout artist for the girls of Street Fighter in general, as does Udon Entertainment for the standout art of their comics.

 

Top 10 Girls of Street Fighter

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(6) GIRLS OF RESIDENT EVIL (1996)

 

Who knew a zombie apocalypse could be so…hot!

It may not be Street Fighter but Resident Evil and its girls are almost as iconic – as well as having the advantage of a more successful cinematic franchise.

So the girls of Resident Evil get their own special mention and their own top ten, with my favorite art and cosplay noted for individual entries.

The plot of the Resident Evil game series (and media franchise) revolves around that familiar trope of zombie apocalypse, engineered by the evil Umbrella Corporation has one of the worst business plans in fictional evil corporate history, essentially along the lines of the Underpants Gnomes in South Park:

STEP 1: MAKE ZOMBIES
STEP 2:???
STEP 3: PROFIT!

(Of course, this seems to be a recurring feature of evil fictional corporations. Weyland-Yutani in the Alien franchise is similar. STEP 1: GET ALIENS. STEP 2??? STEP 3: PROFIT!)

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their feature image, I went with the top two girls of Resident Evil – Jill Valentine and Ada Wong – as they appear in their game design.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

(7) GIRLS OF LEAGUE OF LEGENDS (2009)

 

Special mention has to go to the Girls of League of Legends.

League of Legends (or LoL – lol) is a multiplayer online fantasy role-playing game in a similar style to World of Warcraft, although it has surpassed the latter in popularity since its release in 2009. The game’s popularity has also extended into merchandise and other media. The game mechanic is essentially that players control a character or ‘champion’ with distinctive abilities in the fantasy world of Runeterra, who then battles against other champions – “the champions and setting blend a variety of elements, including high fantasy, steampunk, folklore, and Lovecraftian horror”.

This insanely popular game has an insanely massive backstory or ‘lore’ to match – it has evolved from the original titular League of Legend (a magical battle arena used used to settle disputes between the competing fantasy factions) to the aptly named Universe, an extensive encyclopedia website (as well as written stories, artwork, comics, animations and other media).

There’s a plethora of Champions, including female ones – enough  for their own special mention and top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY (MEDIA)

 

For my iconic feature image – and for my favorite media adaptation of the girls of League of Legends – I went with the promotional game art of K/Da popstars, featuring four of the game’s female Champions, including Ahri as arguably the most iconic of the game’s female Champions, as a Kpop girl group with their own animated music videos.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)

 

 

 

 

(8) GIRLS OF FATE GRAND ORDER (2015)

 

Fate Grand Order (or FGO) may have been somewhat eclipsed by games such as Genshin Impact (in turn eclipsed by games such as Nikke) but this 2015 mobile phone video game entry in the massively popular Fate franchise had prolific art and cosplay, through which it came to my attention.

It has a bewildering proliferation of characters – gameplay involves summoning the legends of great historical, mythological and fictional figures as “Servants”, which further vary by the class of character you summon them as and then by levels. And often by promotional summer (i.e. swimwear) characters – because, you know, videogames. Just to confuse things further, some of the female characters – including some of the hottest – are actually the summoned forms of male historical, mythological or fictional figures. Also because, you know, videogames.

So although the girls of Fate Grand Order may have waned these days, they still get their own special mention as well as their own top ten (in which I feature art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature image, I chose the promotional art for the game – which does feature a few of my top ten Fate Grand Order girls.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(9) GIRLS OF OVERWATCH (2016)

 

Special mention for the girls of Overwatch – one of the highest profile first-shooter games in the world although its popularity has waned since its debut – with enough girls of Overwatch for their own special mention and top ten (in which I also feature the art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature image, I chose the game cover art for the Legendary Edition, featuring Tracer, arguably the game’s most iconic character – although not my personal favorite.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(10) GIRLS OF GENSHIN IMPACT (2020)

 

Genshin Impact is a role-playing game released in 2020, set in the fantasy world of Teyvat characterized by elemental magic. Not of course the actual elements from the periodic table, nor even the four classical elements (earth, water, air and fire) popular in fantasy, but a weird combination of seven elements – although these seem to boil down to a spin on the four classical elements (fire, water, ice, electricity, crystallization and two that reinforce other elements or something, with one possibly invoking the element of air or wind). I don’t know – I don’t play these things. I’m just here for the art and cosplay.

Anyway, as a role playing game, it has a number of playable characters – enough for their own special mention and top ten in my Girls of Video Games (in which I feature art and cosplay for individual entries).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the game cover art featuring the original Genshin girl gang.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(11) GIRLS OF DEAD OR ALIVE – KASUMI, NYOTENGU & HONOKA (1996)

 

The “big, bouncy 3D fighting game franchise” iconic for its Jiggle Physics – and its beach volleyball spinoff series to give their Jiggle Physics a real workout.

Dead or Alive is similar to other tournament fighting games in my special mentions – with the same convoluted backstory as pretext for the fighting that people are there to play.

Despite the male characters outnumbering the female characters, at least in initial game versions, “it’s the women who are the real stars of the show” – so the girls of Dead or Alive get their own special mention.

And by girls, we’re talking its star – one of those ninja girls (or kunoichi) I so enjoy in games, the redhead Kasumi hailing from Japan. It is Kasumi who consistently steals the show – as well as the art and cosplay – helped no doubt by her measurements of 35-21-33 (of course) and more than a passing resemblance to Mai Shiranui.

Close runners-up are Nyotengu and Honoka, both introduced in Dead or Alive 5 and also hailing from Japan in-game.

Nyotengu – or Miyama no Nyotengu – is as her name indicates a tengu princess, hence her wings. Tengu are supernatural beings in Japanese folklore – although she looks much hotter than tengu are typically depicted.

Honoka is close runner-up because she amuses me as a literal Japanese schoolgirl thrown into a martial arts tournament where the stakes reflect the title – where you can end up dead or alive. Also just look at her game design.

There are other girls – which I might well compile into a top ten Girls of Dead or Alive – notably fellow Japanese ninja Ayane, American Tina Armstrong (played by Jaime Pressly in the film adaptation), and English Christie (played by Holly Valance in the film adaptation).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For iconic feature image, I’ve compiled a collage of screenshots of them as they appear in-game – from their character profile images in the fan wiki.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Sadly no Sciamano ranking but Kasumi and Nyotengu more than make up for it with a Dandonfuga ranking with some knockout art of them. (Dandonfuga has also done knockout art of Tina Armstrong, Christie and Nyotengu). Kittew has also done some nice Kasumi artwork.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY & HANE

 

Kasumi scores a Helly ranking for sensational cosplay of her by Helly Valentine. Katyuska Moonfox is a close runner-up for Kasumi cosplay.

Nyotengu scores a Hane Ame ranking for her cosplay of Nyotengu.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(12) GIRLS OF THE WITCHER – CIRI, TRISS & YENNEFER (2007)

 

Technically the girls of The Witcher originated as a girl of (literary) fantasy as The Witcher franchise originated in a series of fantasy novels. However, despite a cult following in their native Poland and other European nations (as well as adaptation into various media), the franchise only received widespread attention in the English-speaking world upon its adaptation into series of video games (and television adaptation on Netflix)

The protagonist of the franchise is Geralt of Rivia, who is of course a witcher, or dare I say it, the Witcher. Witchers are monster hunters, imbued with supernatural powers through alchemy and other magical modifications – all the better to hunt their supernatural adversaries, including werewolves and vampires. The franchise itself is set on the blandly named Continent, formerly inhabited by standard fantasy races (elves, dwarves, halflings and so on) which have since been largely displaced by incoming humans . The humans themselves are predominantly divided between the Nilgaard Empire and the Northern Kingdoms, warring against each other…and we’re not here for the plot but our fantasy girls for special mention!

And when it comes to the girls of the Witcher, there are the big three – Ciri, Triss and Yennefer.

Ciri – Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon – is one of the primary protagonists of the game, princess and adopted daughter of Geralt, best known as a platinum blonde badass with a sword.

Triss – Triss Merigold – is a redhead sorceress from the Lodge of Sorceresses, and one of the corners of a love triangle with Geralt and the third of our big three girls of the Witcher…

Yennefer – Yennefer of Vengerberg – is another of the primary protagonists of the game and love of Geralt’s life, as well as adoptive mother to Ciri.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature image, I’ve composed a collage of the top three girls of the Witcher as they appear in-game, excerpted from their profile images in the fan wiki.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Triss at least scores a Sciamano ranking, while all three earn a Dandonfuga ranking.

For other artists, there’s art of Ciri by Neoartcore and Kittew – the latter one of my favorite, albeit slightly naughty, depictions of her.

Triss has perhaps received the most love from my favorite artists – apart from both Sciamano and Dandonfuga, there’s art of her by Neoartcore (in a few artworks) and Logan Cure.

All three of them have also been depicted by Prywinko in one of their best artworks

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

Triss earns her Helly ranking from some standout cosplay by Helly Valentine.

Ciri and Yennefer don’t score any rankings from my top three cosplay models but at least have excellent cosplay by Kalinka Fox.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(13) GIRLS OF NIER – A-2, COMMANDER & KAINE (2017)

 

Special mention for everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic platinum blond combat androids. 2B is of course ninth place entry in my Top 10 Girls of Video Games but that leaves a few more from the Nier game franchise – most notably A2 and the Commander from Nier Automata, and Kaine from Nier Replicant.

First – A-2 is both prequel and sequel to 2B. Prequel in that she was the prototype unit used to create newer models like 2B. Sequel in that she is the successor to 2B in gameplay.

Second – the Commander is the superior officer of the combat androids, commanding them from her control bunker – and looking good while doing it.

Third –  Kaine is a swordswoman accompanying the game protagonist. Apparently she has something of a complicated backstory in the game about her gender – a little like Poison in Street Fighter – but I don’t play the games, I’m just here for the art and cosplay.

Speaking of which…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their iconic feature image, I’ve compiled a collage of their game promotional art excerpted from the game or fan wiki websites.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

A-2 and Kaine are almost as popular subjects of fan art as 2B.

A-2 scores both Sciamano and Dandonfuga rankings for their art of her – she also has art by Kiko L and Logan Cure.

Kaine scores a Dandonfuga ranking for art – she also has art by Kiko L and Neoartcore.

The Commander doesn’t fare so well but came to my attention through art by Neoartcore.

 

COSPLAY – HANE & HELLY

 

A-2 scores a Helly ranking for sizzling Helly Valentine cosplay of her. Close runners-up are Katyuska Moonfox and Lupinus Rando.

Kaine scores both Hane and Helly rankings for some standout cosplay by Hane Ame and Helly Valentine. Runners-up are By0ru and Katyuska Moonfox (again).

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(14) GIRLS OF VALORANT – VIPER (2020)

 

Valorant is a “competitive shooter multiplayer game” from League of Legends creators – following the exploits of the titular team, a team of ‘Radiants’ or people with superpowers gained from a mysterious event known as First Light and a mysterious substance known as radianite which transformed the world (or both of them, since there now seems to be Alpha Earth and its alternative Omega Earth), of which a number are female.

The standout, however, who earns this special mention, at least in terms of art and cosplay, is Viper. Real name Sabine Callas, she hails from the United States and deploys an array of poisonous chemical devices.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For the iconic feature image, what else but Viper as she appears in-game, excerpted from her profile image in the fan wiki.

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Viper scores a Dandonfuga ranking – with the art that brought her to my attention (of which there are different versions by Dandonfuga).

Close runner-up is Kiko L, not only for art of Viper but for the girls of Valorant in general.

 

COSPLAY – HANE

 

Top Viper cosplay is by Hane Ame, hence the Hane ranking.

Close runner up is cosplay by By0ru, both in standard costume and naughtier microkini set.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(15) GIRLS OF ELDEN RING – MELINA, RANNI & MARIKA (2022)

 

Special mention for the girls from the 2022 dark fantasy role-playing game Elden Ring, which seemed to be wildly popular in that year at least according to all the references I’ve seen to it. Apparently, George R.R. Martin was involved in writing it, instead of, you know, finishing A Song of Ice and Fire. I don’t know much about the story or gameplay – as usual, I don’t play the game, I’m just here for the art or cosplay.

Once again, there’s a big three – Melina, Ranni and Marika.

Melina is one of the main characters of the game – Maiden to the Tarnished (the Tarnished being you, the player character).

Ranni is probably the leading female character I’ve seen in fan art – the demigod witch Ranni. Not that I know much about her (non-player) character, except that she’s blue-skinned with four arms (although I also understand that’s not her original physical body but some weird sort of doll’s body).

Wait a minute! Blue-skinned? Four arms? Ranni is the Hindu death-goddess Kali?! (Probably not – but I suspect her design might have been influenced by Kali)

Marika – Queen Marika the Eternal – essentially drives the plot or at least the premise of the game:
“Chosen of the Erdtree and God-Queen of the Lands Between, Marika was the ruler of an empire spanning the entire continent. The shattering of the Elden Ring and her disappearance in the aftermath directly led to the Shattering, a succession crisis of her demigod children that tore the land asunder.”

Also, she’s hot – well, when she’s not stuck in a tree…

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For their feature image, I chose how they appear in-game, excerpted from the (mostly facial) profile images in the fan wiki.

 

ART – SCIAMANO & DANDONFUGA

 

Melina and Marika score hot Sciamano rankings, while Ranni and Marika sizzle with their Dandonfuga rankings (Melina too, but not as hot as Ranni and Marika). I mean, really, both artists were smoking in their depictions of the girls of Elden Ring. Sciamano had a cheeky caption for his art of Melina, wearing a lot less than she does in-game – “this was not part of our accord”. Surely it should be though – there should be some game option for it!

As for other fan art by my favorite artists, all three have art by Kiko L and Pyrwinko. Kittew has smoking art of Marika.

 

COSPLAY

 

Sadly no Yummychiyo, Helly or Hane ranking – but Marika at least has hot cosplay by Kalinka Fox.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(16) GIRLS OF HONKAI STAR RAIL – KAFKA (2023)

 

This game was released in April 2023, apparently part of the Honkai franchise and has similar gameplay to Genshin Impact, set in a science fantasy universe in which you travel by the eponymous Star Rail or, ah, space train. All aboard the space train!

As for Kafka, she’s part of a gang of interstellar criminals or “Stellaron Hunters” (named for the mysterious cosmic entities that are part of the plot of the game) – her power seems essentially to be a variant of the Jedi mind trick and she’s the Ms Fanservice of the game. And yes – she is named for the writer.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I chose her in-game appearance excerpted from her profile image in the fan wiki.

 

ART – SCIAMANO

 

Kafka scores her Sciamano ranking from one of my favorite Sciamano artworks. She also has art by Kiko L, Neoartcore, and Prywinko.

 

COSPLAY – YUMMYCHIYO & HANE

 

Aha! Kafka scores a rare Yummychiyo ranking for cosplay by my favorite model. She also earns a Hane ranking for standout cosplay by Hane Ame. Close runner-up is By0ru.

 

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(17) GIRLS OF BALDUR’S GATE III – SHADOWHEART (2023)

 

The Baldur’s Gate series of games is a fantasy role-playing game in the Forgotten Realms setting adapted from Dungeons and Dragons. Baldur’s Gate III is the latest instalment of the game, based on the current edition of Dungeons and Dragons (5th edition). The premise of the game sounds interesting – the player character is one of the unlucky individuals captured by mind flayers, that iconic monster of Dungeons and Dragons (up there with beholders) which essentially resembles a humanoid version of Cthulhu or squidy thing (for their squid like heads). The player character has escaped from captivity, having crashed the mind flayer ship they were being transported on…but had been implanted with a mind flayer ‘tadpole’ that will slowly turn them into a mind flayer unless removed. So they team up with several other survivors of the crash, all likewise implanted with tadpoles, to attempt to do just that – remove the tadpoles.

There’s a few female characters but Shadowheart is the standout, particularly in art and cosplay. She’s one of the six ‘pre-made’ origin characters that can be selected for the player character or accompany them – a half-elven cleric of Shar, the infamous goddess of darkness and loss (or is she?), who seems to switch between raven and silver hair.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Yes – I’ve simply used a screen capture of her in-game appearance as the most definitive iconic feature image for her (from the fan wiki).

 

ART – DANDONFUGA

 

Yes – she gets a Dandonfuga ranking, with Dandonfuga’s fan art easily my favorite art of Shadowheart (and much more sizzling than the screenshot of her in-game appearance).

Kikol Draws, Neoartcore and Naughty Neurals come in next in that order.

 

COSPLAY – HELLY

 

And she gets a Helly ranking, as Helly is the only one of my holy trinity of models to cosplay her.

Runner-up is Kalinka Fox.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****
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(18) GIRLS OF HADES – APHRODITE (2024)

 

The sequel to the 2020 game Hades, Hades II similarly involves a protagonist from the chthonic gods of classical mythology, aided by the Olympian gods in a dungeon-crawling “roguelike action role-playing game”.

In the 2020 game, that protagonist was Zagreus, son of Hades (consistent with some interpretations of classical mythology) and prince of the underworld. In the 2024 game, the protagonist is his sister Melinoe, princess of the underworld – and an obvious candidate in striking character design for the leading girl of the game.

All the character designs in the game are striking but of course there was always going to be one female character in design over and above the others – that of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, clad in nothing more than strategically placed long locks of pink hair (although in the sequel she at least has a big spear).

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, I’ve chosen the art from what I understand to be her character introduction profile in the game.

She made a bit of a splash (heh – birth of Aphrodite in-joke) in fan art with the release of the sequel, with my favorite as that by Serafleur.

Given she’s naked but for her pink hair, her cosplay is a little harder to pull off.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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(19) GIRLS OF FALLOUT – VAULT GIRL (2024)

 

Yes, yes – I know the Fallout game franchise dates back to the first Fallout game in 1997, but it and its pinup Vault Girl rose to new prominence with the 2024 Amazon Prime TV series.

“Fallout is a series of pulp science fiction western role-playing games…the games involve adventures in the post-apocalyptic United States of a retro-futuristic alternate history – a crapsaccharine world that never quite got over the 50s, powered by atomic energy and filled with moral myopia”.

And by post-apocalyptic, we’re talking nuclear war – the so-called Great War, that lasted all of two hours as the nukes flew between China and the United States (and presumably everyone else who had them).

“War. War never changes”.

In the former United States, that left pockets of humanity surviving in various places – most famously, given it’s the source of the protagonist in the first game, the Vaults run by Vault-Tec, massive subterranean bunker-cities.

The game franchise saw fan art of Vault Girl, the female counterpart of Vault-Tec’s Vault Boy corporate mascot. The TV series saw more fan art or cosplay, swapping out the blonde Vault Girl mascot to a brunette in the style of the TV series protagonist.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For the iconic Vault Girl feature image, I chose the promotional poster art of Ella Purnell as the Vault Girl protagonist from the TV series.

Otherwise, my favorite Vault Girl fan art is by comics artist Nathan Szerdy.

 

COSPLAY  – HELLY

 

I was surprised but the Vault Girl even earns her Helly ranking for cosplay by Helly Valentine, presumably also prompted by the newfound prominence from 2024 TV series. Close runner up for Vault Girl cosplay is Kalinka Fox.

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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(20) GIRLS OF ZENLESS ZONE ZERO – NICOLE DEMARA (2024)

 

The newest video gacha games in the hood

Not quite up there with the holy trinity of Azur Lane, Blue Archive and Goddess of Victory: Nikke – and by holy, I mean incredibly prolific in new character releases or designs – but certainly prolific as the latest trend in art and cosplay, eclipsing previous gacha games (except of course the aforementioned holy trinity).

 

“Zenless Zone Zero…otherwise known as simply ZZZ, is an urban fantasy roguelike action RPG gacha game developed by miHoYo of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail fame, first announced in May 2022 and officially launched on July 4, 2024.

In the city of New Eridu, humanity has successfully implemented technology that allows ordinary people to live safely alongside Hollows — black, abnormal spherical dimensions that appear out of thin air, swallowing everything they touch and mutating any intelligent life caught within them…they are raided by individuals known as Agents who possess both the resistance to Hollow corruption and the combat skills needed to fight, survive, and carry out various odd-job commissions in the supernatural space – ”

 

Look – I don’t play these games, I’m just here for the art and cosplay so that’s as much of the plot summary or premise as you’re going to get. Essentially as I understand it the Hallows are like dungeons in an urban fantasy Dungeons and Dragons, where the Agents are player characters.

Nicole Demara is the leader of the Cunning Hares, the Agent faction introduced with the game’s launch – the flagship girl of the game and still its most popular female character, for very obvious buxom reasons.

“She even shoves her cleavage into the camera in her character trailer…in the character select screen, she’s also very eager to twist and turn into classic pin-up poses”. I mean, seriously, just check out her character demo trailer video on Youtube.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

For her iconic feature image, what else but the character profile image from the game? I used the full length version in the fan wiki but it seemed to match up with the one in the game website

 

ART – SCIAMANO

 

And how!  Yes – she scores a Sciamano ranking, as Sciamano was ahead of the curve(s) on her soon after the game release.

Sadly no Dandonfuga art as far as I’m aware

My other favorite art of Nicole is by Kiko L

 

COSPLAY – HANE

 

And yes – she scores a Hane ranking for outstanding cosplay of her by Hane Ame. Close runners up are Uri and Byoru

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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And here are all my special mentions for my Top 10 Girls of Video Games in one list:

 

S-TIER (GOD TIER)

(1) GIRLS OF FINAL FANTASY
(2) GIRLS OF AZUR LANE
(3) GIRLS OF BLUE ARCHIVE
(4) GIRLS OF NIKKE

 

A-TIER (TOP TIER)

(5) GIRLS OF STREET FIGHTER
(6) GIRLS OF RESIDENT EVIL
(7) GIRLS OF LEAGUE OF LEGENDS
(8) GIRLS OF FATE GRAND ORDER
(9) GIRLS OF OVERWATCH
(10) GIRLS OF GENSHIN IMPACT

 

B-TIER (HIGH TIER)

(11) GIRLS OF DEAD OR ALIVE – KASUMI
(12) GIRLS OF THE WITCHER – CIRI, TRISS & YENNEFER
(13) GIRLS OF NIER – A2, COMMANDER & KAINE
(14) GIRLS OF VALORANT – VIPER
(15) GIRLS OF ELDEN RING – MELINA, RANNI & MARIKA
(16) GIRLS OF HONKAI STAR RAIL – KAFKA
(17) GIRLS OF BALDUR’S GATE III – SHADOWHEART

X-TIER (WILD TIER)

(18) GIRLS OF HADES – APHRODITE
(19) GIRLS OF FALLOUT – VAULT GIRL
(20) GIRLS OF ZENLESS ZONE ZERO – NICOLE DEMARA