Curated playlist
Female characters in video games
- Ibuki (Street Fighter)Ibuki made her first appearance in Street Fighter III: New Generation in 1997, and the very ponytail she was given nearly broke the animation team. That single design choice ballooned her character data to between 1.2 and 1.3 times the…
- Makoto (Street Fighter)Makoto is a Street Fighter character who made her debut in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in 1999, and she arrived not with fanfare but with a simple mission: save her father's crumbling dojo. She punches through a crowded roster of…
- Sakura KasuganoSakura Kasugano almost never made it into Street Fighter Alpha 2. Designer Akira "Akiman" Yasuda submitted a concept for a high school girl fighter during development, and the team cut it. He returned to his desk, the idea seemingly…
- Juri (Street Fighter)Juri Han arrived in Street Fighter in 2010, and she did not arrive quietly. The development team at Capcom cycled through 400 to 500 ideas before settling on her final design. Among the rejected concepts: an old woman, an ice skater, a…
- Laura MatsudaLaura Matsuda made her debut in Street Fighter V, the 2016 entry in Capcom's long-running fighting game series. She was revealed at the Brasil Game Show on the 8th of October 2015, four months before the game itself reached shelves. From…
- Kimberly JacksonKimberly Jackson made history in 2023 as the first female African American playable character in the Street Fighter franchise. The question her arrival posed was not just who she was, but how Capcom had built her. What would it take for a…
- Heather MasonHeather Mason was seventeen years old when a private investigator named Douglas Cartland first approached her in a shopping mall. She tried to escape from him. Within hours, she was surrounded by monsters. Silent Hill 3, released in 2003…
- Elena (Street Fighter)In 1997, Capcom released Street Fighter III: New Generation with a new character named Elena. Akira Yasuda and Hiromi Kotobuki created her to be the first fighter from Africa in the series. The team wanted a female character because they…
- R. MikaRainbow Mika, the blue-masked professional wrestler of Street Fighter Alpha 3, made her debut in 1998 wearing a leotard with heart cutouts and pigtail hair, fighting her way through a male-dominated roster. She was not built to be subtle.…
- CammyNoritaka Funamizu, Capcom's research and development head, felt the game needed another female character besides Chun-Li. He commissioned Akira Yasuda to create this new fighter for Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers in 1993.…
- Chun-LiChun-Li walked into arcades in 1991 inside Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. She became the first playable female character in a fighting game to gain mainstream recognition. Capcom designer Akira Nishitani later summed up the thinking…