Well, it’s that time of year again when people go goo-goo and make a big deal about love. So, looking back at last year, I wrote a piece about my animated female crushes. This year, I’ve decided to tackle another list with the same idea in mind. But, this time, I decided to focus on my crushes from video games. This was a lot harder than I expected because, in retrospect, I don’t have a staggering list of crushes in the realm of video games. I can’t really explain why this is.

Maybe it’s because, in a lot of video games, their personalities grow based on your interaction with them and you never see them “grow” on their own accord. Or maybe it’s just that the animated female figure just looks more appealing than a bunch of polygons formed together to look like a girl. I just cant explain why there’s significantly more “hot” animated characters than “hot” video game characters, in my opinion, of course.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t have some, though.

So, without further ado, here are my personal choice on who’s the hottest female characters in the realm of video games.

Catherine (from Cathertine)

Oh, it’s fine. She’s much older than she looks. Much, much older.

Catherine, the video game, is a rather strange game, to say the least. The real meat is based on pushing blocks in and out of a wall so you can climb it to get to the exit. However, one of the biggest draw is the weird pseudo dating sim wherein your choices determine which girl you end up with, Katherine, the game’s protagonist’s straight laced and no-nonsense girlfriend, or Catherine, a free-spirited and playful girl. While in real life, I do prefer to date Katherine types… but that doesn’t mean I can’t have crushes on the Catherines of the world.

Catherine is supposed to be Vincent’s (the game’s hero) image of what the perfect woman should be. And I do tend to agree with his tastes! Not only is she sexy in all the right ways, there’s a perkiness to her personality that I find alluring. It’s not too bubbly that I find annoying and a part of me does admire her free spirited ways. She’s pretty much great for a wild fling with no strings attached. Who wouldn’t want that?

Hitomi (Dead or Alive series)

While the Dead of Alive has a bevy of beauties, none has hit my heart as hard as the karate trained Hitomi.

There’s a certain level of infamy leveled on the Dead or Alive series as it’s the game that kind of popularized “jiggle” physics on all the female combatants. This did make it seem like an excuse to ogle bouncing breasts to a lot of people. However, Dead or Alive has a very deep “rock-paper-scissors” fighting system where no one character seems overpowered. The game is stunningly deeper than you would think.

Still, my mind does drift back to Hitomi as she’s drop dead gorgeous from my point of view!

While I did *ahem* admire the physiques of the female characters of Dead or Alive, I never really liked their faces as they looked like plastic dolls with their dead eye stares. Hitomi didn’t fall into the uncanny valley, at least not as deep as the other characters that came before her. There was also her casual sense of style as her default costume was just her wearing a denim jacket and jeans to the fight, which was totally different from the more revealing outfits the other female characters had. I also liked her rather positive outlook in life and, while she did become a little more ditzy in later entries, Hitomi made it work.

Aerith Gainsborough (from Final Fantasy VII)

Sorry to all the Tifa fans out there.

I’ve been infatuated with Aerith ever since I played the original Final Fantasy VII on the first PlayStation. There were a lot of factors that made me fall for her. I initially found Aerith annoying as she started out as a damsel in distress but, as the game went on, her quirky personality won me over. She was practically in my party for the duration of her existence because she was the strongest magic user and I relied on her strong healing and attack spells for the tougher monsters. Her usually cheerful personality would belie her tragic upbringing. The more I knew about her past, the more it made me want to try to protect her. And this was all before Final Fantasy VII Remake! I love her even more because of Remake!

They really fleshed out Aerith’s personality in Final Fantasy VII Remake. A lot of fans put Aerith up on a pedestal because of the perceived image of how naive and angelic she seemed outside of the original game. Remake made her more down to earth as she would use profanity and her sadness would peek out from time to time, giving players an idea of what’s going beneath the surface. Add to this the perfect casting of Brianna White to give Aerith her distinct energetic voice and, man! They really reignited my feelings for this polygonal girl-next-door!

Cammy White (from Street Fighter series)

What gamer hasn’t fallen for this British secret agent in a swimsuit?

The biggest reason why I think Cammy is one of the hottest video game characters is because of the timing. She made her debut in Super Street Fighter II during my teenage years and, well, look at her! Her original pixelated design was focused on making her ooze sex appeal with her skintight outfit, her petite frame and curvaceous figure. The thing that clinched it for me was her cheeky win pose where she would take off her beret, look into the distance, displaying her sexy silhouette before turning around and giving this uncharacteristically joyful smile. When I saw that, I was in love! And so many other gamers fell for Cammy as well!

As the Street Fighter series evolved, so did Cammy’s model. She’s kept her basic of having a strong dislike for pants and, most of the time, would prefer to wear her iconic spandex one-piece leotard and beret combo that enamored teens in the ’90s. She’s also grown up a little and she doesn’t look like a teenager like she did in her earlier days. But even after all these years, Cammy is still one of the hottest video game females ever created.

Triss Merigold (from The Witcher series)

I just had to have at least one redhead here, And who better than one of the hottest sorceresses in all of video games, Triss Merigold.

Now, I know I’m late to the entire Witcher party as the first and only game I’ve played in the series is the third game. Maybe if I played the other two games, I wouldn’t be all that infatuated with Triss as I’ve looked at what she looked like in them and, well, she looked fine in the second. But the first? Woof! I also know that, in the books, it’s debated what Triss’ hair color is supposed to be, which is why there’s a big difference with what she looks like in the games and in the Netflix series. I prefer the video game version because, well, I have a thing for red hair!

I will admit that Yennifer does seem to be a better looker than Triss. However, I do like Triss’ personality a whole lot better, at least based on the third game, anyway. She pretty but never weaponized her beauty like her other sorceress peers. She’s still kind and motherly, even risking her life to help others under the threat of capture and executed. She just seems so nice but not too nice that she can’t kick ass when she needs to. Triss is still has incredibly strong magical abilities as shown during the siege on Kaer Morhen. She seems to be just as strong as Yennifer when it comes to magic but Triss is just a kinder version, which made her much more appealing to me.

Who else do you think I should’ve included? Let me know in the comments section below!