9 Good Games/Series' For Gamer Girls

First off let me start off by saying I'm a straight guy.  As a result I can't really speak with any certainty for what women want in videogames.  What I can say is that videogames in general aren't aimed at females.

Obviously, that doesn't mean that women can't enjoy videogames.  Sometimes you can girl it up.  Other times, you'll have to get in touch with your masculine side.  These are just few of the MANY games hardcore females can enjoy.

9.  Heavenly Sword

The world needs more Nariko.

Hand out beatings by the truckload with smoking-hot Nariko.  The only bad thing is that a sequel remake, or remaster hasn't been churned out yet.  What the heck?

8.  Tenchu Fatal Shadows

Ayame and Rin slice through enemies one vocal chord at a time in this sequel.

Take up your sword as series mainstay Ayame or newcomer Rin, a pair of determined female protagonists, and kill from the shadows.  There are a number missions, each with three enemy layouts and three difficulty setting for added replay value.  If you can overcome a shitty camera, you'll find an underrated gem of a game.

7.  Resident Evil Revelations 2

Claire and Moira make a heck of a team.

What could be more fun than using two women to work a zombie over in tandem?  Blind them with a flashlight using Moira, then shoot them with Claire.  Or shoot them with Claire until they fall, then use Moira to bash their heads in with a crowbar before they can get up.  You can also blast heads indiscriminately in Raid Mode with legendary characters such as Jill Valentine.  Lots fun to be had here.

6.  Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

You'll find a diverse collection of women when you play Radiant Dawn.

One of the greatest SRPG's of all time has a lot of good (and bad) women in it.  Titania, the horse-riding badass.  Nephenee, the spear-wielding hick.  Lucia, the brave and powerful swordswoman.  Lethe, the hairy catgirl.  The eternally hungry Ilyana.  Heck they even have a fat, ugly woman in Meg.  There's no need to feel underrepresented here.

5.  The Atelier Series

Girly yet challenging defines the Atelier series.

If you want a game that feels "girly" but is as tough as balls, the Atelier series fills the bill.  You get to play as a cute little girl, travel around a cute little world with cute little allies, and kill cute little monsters, all while listening to cute little music.  Don't let all the cuteness fool you, though.  Underestimate these games and you'll suffer a terrible ass-whuppin' or at least not bad able to get the best endings.  You'll work for everything you get.

4.  Dead Or Alive Series

For better or worse, DOA has always been about hot women beating ass.

Yep.  You read right.  DOA is known for it's sexy women, sexy outfits, and fast action.  As such, it appeals heavily to males.  But just because these women are sexy, that doesn't mean they are weak.  They hit just as hard as the guys and outnumber them in the most recent games.  Who doesn't want to kick butt and STILL be sexy?  And there are some attractive guys to drool over if that's what you're into (which I'm assuming the majority of women are).

3.  The Street Fighter Series

From Chun Li on down, Street Fighter features perhaps the most recognizable collection of game girls.

Chun Li.  Cammy White.  Sakura Kasugano.  Juri Han.  The series is filled to the brim with iconic females who kick ass.  And of course the games are fun to play.

2.  Valkyria Chronicles

Jane Turner is just one of the many cool and powerful women in this game.

Valkyria Chronicles is a tactical RPG with a large number of characters.  As such, there are a lot of cool and powerful women floating around.  Alicia Melchiott, Wendy Cheslock, and (my fave) Jane Turner, among others are just waiting to be plopped into your party and blast heads alongside the guys.  And the first time you fight female badass Selvaria (stay out of her sight and DON'T attack her), it's a pant-pissing experience.

1.  The Tomb Raider Series

While the quality of some games is questionable, Lara's badassery isn't.

Honestly, can there be any better game for the hardcore gamer girl than Tomb Raider?  You get to play as one of the most iconic (if not the most iconic) game girl of all time, Lara Croft.  You'll blast heads, solve puzzles, and do acrobatics that would make Batman hesitate.  A kick ass series, starring a kick ass heroine.  What more could a female gamer want?

So, ladies (guys, too) are these good suggestions or is this straight male off the mark here?  Obviously, these are just a few good games centered around capable females.  What games would you add or take off the list?  Comment and make your voice heard.

Stardew Valley Review (PS4)

Growing a farm.  Aiding a town.  Killing monsters.  No, it's NOT Rune Factory.  It's Stardew Valley.

Stardew Valley is similar to the Harvest Moon series and its spinoff, Rune Factory.  Like in Harvest Moon, you live daily life as a farmer in a small town.  You start off creating your protagonist and choosing the plot you want to farm on.  Each of these plots has advantages and disadvantages so they are all worth trying.  Once that's done, it's off to the farm.

You have more than enough options for your character and your farm.

The passage of timeline is also like Harvest Moon.  Each season is a month long and has its own unique crops you can grow.  Festivals dot the calendar and you'll have the chance to go or not.  Days don't drag, each able be played through in mere minutes.  The game saves automatically after each day, so you won't have to worry about losing too much progress in case there's a power outage or something like that.

You won't just be growing crops and tilling soil, though.  You'll fish, butter up a soulmate, mine ores, go questing, and fight monsters, among other things.  Everything is simple, including combat.  You'll never feel like you're in over your head when you run into an enemy while mining for ores.  And the monsters aren't overly tough.  Simply don't get hit.  You won't be ruing the day you decided to go into the mines instead of going to the festival.

The citizens of this town and even the town itself is quirky.  You have the mayor, a maniacal store manager, a trailer park whore, wizard, and a homeless man, among others.  Quite the diverse cast. Their interactions are just as diverse.  Some are assholes, while others aren't.  The people aren't particularly talkative, either.  Most people will only talk to you once or twice a day, then say nothing.  There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not par for the course.

The characters aren't always happy-go-lucky, unlike Harvest Moon.

Yeah...we've all been there, sister.

Some people will be straight-up assholes until you become their friend.

There's also some grown up humor here.  For example, you'll catch somebody digging through someone's garbage.  He then promises to not dig through that person's garbage anymore, only to turn around and dig through someone else's garbage.  Stuff like that would never happen in a Harvest Moon game.

You won't see jokes like this in Harvest Moon.

On to the little stuff.  The graphics are good...at least that's what I want to say.  If this were a Gameboy Advance they would be great.  At night, you won't be able to see anything, but not because it's dark.  It's a good thing graphics don't make the game.

The game looks terrible when night falls.

The music is forgettable.  The town theme will make you feel like a yokel.  It'll make you want to rustle up some trouble.  It's a knee-slapping good time.  Sadly, it's the only song I can remember.  There are short stretches where you'll go without music, but it's not like the whole game is without it.  It's not even particularly bad.  Other than the city theme, though, none of it stuck with me.

If there's one glaring flaw, it's the inability to load another save or reload your current day without shutting the game down entirely.  For instance, let's say you're tired of playing your first farm, so you want to switch over to another farm that you've already started or maybe you screwed something up and want to do the day over.  The only way to do so is go out to the PlayStation menu, "close application", and reboot the game.  There's no way (that I've figured out, at least) to simply go back to the title screen or load from the file you're currently playing.  This is weird and clunky.  There's no reason it should be that way.  Maybe the other versions of the game aren't like this or maybe there's something I haven't figured out yet.  It's not game-breaking, but it is a little confusing.

It may seem unfair to say that Stardew Valley is Harvest Moon for adults, but that's what it is.  It plays, looks, and even sounds like a Harvest Moon game.  Anyone who's ever played a Harvest Moon game will know that's not a bad thing.  The game does has a good sense of humor and a set of characters that separates it, though.  Play it, especially if you're a Harvest Moon or Rune Factory fan.

Cool Characters: Fie Claussell

She's a cute little girl, with a cute little voice, who kills enemies with cute little weapons.  No, it's not an Atelier protagonist.  It's Fie Claussell From Trails Of Cold Steel.

Fie Claussell is a character with a deceptive appearance.  She looks like an innocent little girl who just wants to find a corner, open a book, and be invisible.  In reality, though, she is a highly-skilled killing machine who would make Mikasa Ackerman piss her pants.

She is also compared to a cat, because she has a tendency to sleep a lot and in weird places.

Falling asleep on the train is asking for trouble.  At least she's in the company of classmates.

She's notoriously stupid in the classroom, but...

At least she's not the stupidest kid.

…she's on her A-game in the field.

She's like Batman in a miniskirt.

And this is coming from a student who attends a military academy.

She can be lazy...

Rean won't be roped into during her dirty work.

And short.

Fie is short in stature and in speaking.

She always speaks her mind.

Tell them how you really feel, Fie.

She so cute, grown men can't help but faint upon seeing her.

She will either bless their dreams or haunt their nightmares.

And the ladies like her, too.

Fie's appeal works on both genders.

She can cook her ass off...

Look how serious she looks.

...which is good when you eat a lot.

But you just ate a big ass sandwich on the train.

Compliments from her don't come easy.

Careful, Fie.  The chef may kill you.

She seems dull, but she does, in fact, have a personality.

She's such a weeb.

She comes off as a loner, but teamwork isn't beneath her.

Machias doesn't know what to think.

And her Sylphid Dance is just the cutest.  She's like a tornado of knee socks and bullets.

And that's Fie Claussell.  She small but deadly.  Book dumb but street smart.  Cute but edgy.  Quiet but speaks with no filter.  Check her out in Trails Of Cold Steel.

Super Neptunia RPG Review (PS4)

Cute, anime-style waifus.  Videogame references.  Constantly breaking the fourth wall.  This is Super Neptunia RPG.

Super Neptunia is another game in the Neptunia series, wherein you play as Neptune, a cute little girl who's content to walk around wearing no bottoms.  In this particular game, she is suffering from amnesia and hence she must regain her memory.

Neptune knows her role.

A big stick and no pants is a winning combination.

You can't regain your memories on an empty stomach.

Right of the bat, I must admit Neptune is cute.  From the D-pads in her hair to her singing the Final Fantasy victory fanfare after winning a battle, she's overflowing with cuteness.  She belts out lines in combat such as "I got a crit," and it's all pretty cute.  I wish didn't have to say something EVERY time she jumps, but it's not too annoying.

Neptune does cute stuff throughout the game.

Neptune is not alone in her quest, as she's joined by numerous badass waifus.  Each girl brings her own brand of cuteness to the table as well as their own niche.  You can have up to four girls kicking ass and taking names, which I like.  Heck, there are even a couple of cuties, Manu and Al, who pop-up throughout your journey to give you tutorials.  There's a good chance otakus will want these girls on their next pillowcase.

Some waifus will join you to regain their own memories.

Manu and Al are fixtures in every guild.

Manu is very devoted to keeping you informed on the game's mechanics.

The gameplay is a combination of RPG and platformer.  There are elements from several RPGs mixed in.  For example, they implemented the skill system from Final Fantasy 9, where each weapon has skills you can learn by using them enough.  Also, as is the case in many modern RPGs, random battles are a thing of the past.  You can see the enemies and choose to avoid or fight them.  If you do chose to fight, what you see walking around on the map is not always indicative of what you'll be fighting, so be prepared for anything.  You could very well be walking into an ass-whuppin'.

What you see isn't always what you get with enemies.

The combat is similar to Valkyrie Profile, with each button assigned to a character.  Simply press a button and the assigned character will do an assigned action.  Things feel a little less smooth than in Valkyrie Profile because of the way those number wheels work.  In fact, combat feels quite clunky, but it's functional.  You can string together some serious thrashings once you learn how things work.

Combat can be clunky, but there's still tiny bit of flow to it.

Your battle formation is also something to consider going into battle.  You can change which cutie leads the party, which changes how they all fight as well as providing some passive benefits that are only active when that girl is the leader.  You can also change each character's skills manually to determine how they fight at every point in the formation.  You WILL want to fiddle with this, unless you like taking ass-whuppins and burning through resources.

Preparation is the key to avoiding a vicious beating.

That leads me to the next thing.  This game is pretty hard for what it is.  Enemies seem to always land criticals, already hit pretty hard when normally, and take quite a bit of damage.  Regular battles require a degree of strategy and knowing what works on what monster.  If you don't, battles we drag on.  This is made worse by the fact that you can't change formations mid-battle.  Adding insult to injury, if your party leader gets hit with the Stop status, nobody in the party can act, aside from using items.  WTF?

The platforming works well enough, but is also kind of shitty.  For starters, Neptune moves at one speed and that's lightning speed.  That really sucks when you're trying to avoid enemies or to land those symbol attacks, because they'll pop up faster than you can react.  It doesn't help that enemies are sometimes obscured by the foreground.

Combined with Neptune's break-neck pack, the foreground can make monsters difficult to see and/or avoid.

Then, you have impossible jumps, which goes hand-and-hand with falling into pits.  The pits don't kill you (at least not instantly), but you will take a good hit to your HP and respawn where you jumped from.  Heck, there's one jump early on that you can't make and the game realizes this, so it places you on the next platform.  While it is nice that you don't have to keep making that jump, it's still shitty design.  Other jumps are extremely lucky.  You may or may not make the jump, depending on how the game feels at that point.  And sometimes your button presses don't register, which will have you running right back into the pit.  If patience is something you lack, game controllers will fly.  There's is an ability to help out later, but it doesn't come soon enough.

Trust me, this part is shitty.

Navigating the world is made simple.  All you have to do is find a save crystal, select the World Map, option, and select your destination.  When selecting a town, you will travel from crystal to crystal and when selecting a dungeon, you can choose to warp to the entrance or one of the crystals hidden within.  It's a good way go from quest to quest and avoid fighting pissants.

Another big part of the game is questing.  There are a number of quests you can embark on by going to the guild hall or talking to characters with numbers over their heads.  The quests are usually worth doing, but some will just drain your resources and/or time.  Still, some others will take a bit of time to finish or even get started, so don't give up.

You can receive quests from guilds...

...as well as the random nobodies you'll run into.

On to the little stuff.  The graphics are all over the place.  They are always bright and colorful, but sometimes things are too small.  Bright and small is not a good recipe for long-term eyesight.  They probably do this to cover up the marionette effect going on with the characters legs when they walk.  Neptune's legs are fine because she always runs, but you'll definitely notice something off during story segment when character are walking and big enough to actually see.

The music isn't bad, but it's not very memorable.  I literally forgot the music seconds after turning off the game.  Don't get me wrong, there is some good stuff.  It just doesn't stick with you.

The voices on the other hand are cute.  Not necessarily good, just cute.  The main characters aren't bad and speech is clear and in English, which is always a plus.  The NPCs might make you laugh though, saying little nothings or just chuckling for no good reason.

Also, there's performance issues.  I don't usually talk about performance in my reviews, but it can get really bad here sometimes.  There are times where you'll try to swing your sword to do a symbol attack only for the sword to vanish mid-swing.  Also, there are times where you'll hit the jump button, only for Neptune to not jump.  The press is being recognized because she'll say one of her jumping phrases, but she simply won't jump.  This sucks because you might be trying to avoid an enemy only to jump right into them.  The music stutters every time you enter a different area, an embarrassing flaw to say the least.  To top it all off, sometimes the takes it's sweet time to the point where I think it's frozen.  Seriously, there were times when I thought the game wouldn't even load because it just got...stuck.

What we have with Super Neptunia RPG is a cute little game with a sense of humor and some glaring flaws.  The combat system is kind of rugged, but it works well enough.  The exploration/platform parts could have used some more work, as there are some truly confounding jumps early on that you MUST do.  The performance issues are weird, because this game can't possibly be that taxing on your system.  The game is fun and the girls are cute if you like these types, but it's held back BS that simply shouldn't be there.  Either check it out or buy with caution.

Fun For Cheap

Got twenty bucks?  Wanna have some fun?  You could try hiring the cheapest hooker you can find.  Or you could fire up the console for some good old-fashion video games.  These are ten games (in no particular order) whose fun factor is far greater than their price.

1.  Ultra Street Fighter 4

A great game with the characters you know and the gameplay you love, this is the version of Street Fighter 4 to get.  It has all the characters and costumes readily available.  Can be found for $17 bucks or less in most places.

2.  Super Swing Golf Season 2

A cute little golf game for the Wii.  You play as a number of cute characters, accompanied by cute caddies, play golf on cute courses, and listen to cute music the whole time.  The motion controls seem to want to always make the ball hook left, but you can play without them.  There are an assortment of clubs and balls to shake things up and make things fun.  Can be had for about $5, maybe less.

3.  Shiren The Wanderer

Play as a traveling samurai and his friend in this dungeon-crawler.  You kill enemies, dodge traps, pick up loot, and travel through time.  A great value at $15.

4.  Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection

It may not have the number of games as its clunkier current-gen brother on the PS4/XBOne, but its got all the games it should have and an all-around better feel to it.  The Ecco series, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles are all present and accounted for.  It also has one heck of a hidden gem in Golden Axe Warrior.  If you're stuck with a PS3 or XB360, don't let this one pass you by.  Goes for under $10 these days.

5.  Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

An insanely fun fighting game that pits characters from Persona 3 and Persona 4 against each other in mortal combat.  The Xbox 360 version seems to be cheaper, coming in at under $10.  The PlayStation 3 version cost more, but can still be had for $15.

6.  SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

In my opinion, SimCity 4 is the king of all city simulators.  It has more stuff to do than previous entries in the series and more challenge than Cities Skylines.  It can be hard to get skyscrapers to appear, but when you do get them, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment.  You can find it on Steam for $20 or, if you catch it on sale, $5-$10.  If you're lucky enough to find a hardcopy of the game, it comes with SimCity SnapCity, a fun little puzzle/city-building game.

7.  Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

The definitive version of the third Samurai/Dynasty Warriors crossover game.  Turn off your brain as you kill brainless drones who do little to stop you from achieving your goals.  The cast is huge, with a staggering 145 characters to choose from.  They aren't just from the two Warriors franchises, as characters from Dead Or Alive and other franchises show up.  It can be had for under $15 in most places.

8.  Metal Slug Anthology

Metal Slug is a series of games with a super-arcady feel.  You can think of it as a flashier version of Contra.  By picking up this collection, you can shoot your way through six games and it never gets tiresome.  If you have a Wii or PS2, you can grab it for $20.

9.  Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster

Pick this up and you'll get to enjoy four games, including one of the greatest RPGs of all time.  The PS4 version can be had for $15.  If you're stuck with a PS3, that version is even cheaper, coming in at $10 or less.

10.  Harvest Moon: Animal Parade

My favorite Harvest Moon game of all time is high on cuteness.  It's up to you to save a village by finding fairies and restoring the elements.  Of course you also do the usual stuff, such as managing a farm.  $20 is usually good enough to snag it.

And those are just ten games that can be had for cheap.  Obviously, there are more then that, if I listed them all, this post would never end.  So, do you know any games that are both fun and cheap.  Comment and have your voice heard.