Hello all! I am doing a little science to figure out about how good female PCs are relative to the average. I was initially wondering if women PCs tend to be better than they 'should' be because magic is often underrated by game designers and that's what gave me the idea to do a list about different casts. Obviously you are free to quibble with anything and I'd love for people with knowledge of games I haven't played or are uninterested in to help out!
I am generally including temps if they are around for a notable period of the game. So not, say, Lunar 1 Ghaleon, but yes to Alonso. This might be applied semi-inconsistently and I am interested in anything noting that.
Please keep in mind that these are averages. Particularly in large-cast games, a couple of great characters of one gender, especially the dominant one, will not necessarily mean a victory.
The biggest thing that I noticed when doing this is that a lot of game worst PCs tend to be male and screw up the averages even with the best character being male.
And obviously, YMMV.
Games disqualified for different reasons which seem obvious enough:
Final Fantasy 1/2/3/5/12/X-2/13-2/Dimensions
Pokemon in general
Mario and Luigi games
XCOM
Blue Dragon
Cthulhu’s Angels
Notable missing things:
WRPGs
N1 games
Tales of ____
Lufias
Skies of Arcadia
Dragon Quest not 8
Arc the Lads
Chrono Cross
Suikoden Tierkreis
Suikoden IV
Phantasy Star not 4
Grandia 1
Breath of Fire II
Persona 3/4
Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon
Paper Mario(for the mcs)
–
Breath of Fire
Cast distribution: 2 women, 6 men
Best PC: Male?
Higher average: Female
The gender without Mogu and Gobi wins.
Breath of Fire III
Cast distribution: 2 women, 3 men, 1 onion
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Ryu is one of the best PCs in RPG history. Momo can't compete with that; she has some trouble beating Garr and Rei. Nina meanwhile has trouble beating an onion.
Breath of Fire IV
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher Average: Female
Nina and Ursula is a lethal combo in this game. No one talks about the lethal Cray + anyone combo.
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Cast distribution: 2 women, 1 man
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Sure, D-gauge, ez mode
Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena
Cast distribution: 26 women, 63 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Most all of the best knights are dudes. Cai, Dinadin, Paternus, Dryst, Vaynard, Gereint, ZEMECKIS, etc. Not sure if there are any countries that have two women in their top 4!
Chrono Trigger
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Fe..male?
Higher average: Female/push
Everyone is about the same, except Frog who is worse. Done!
Cthulhu Saves the World
Cast distribution: 2 women, 5 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
I'm inclined to think that October is in the top half of PCs at least, and Umi is quite good.
Digital Devil Saga
Cast distribution: 1 woman, 4 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
Heat and Cielo dragging the average down. Argilla is a respectable PC and that's all she needs to be.
Digital Devil Saga 2
Cast distribution: 2 women, 4 men
Best PC: It's complicated.
Higher average: Female
The best male PC and the best female PC are the same and they FUSE INTO A FEMALE PC. So... best PC is female?
As for the average, Argilla is better than Gale, Cielo, and Roland due to Magic being the god stat in DDS.
Dragon Quest 8
Cast distribution: 1 woman, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female by definition
Twin Dragon Lash > your face. Guv has an argument for being the best PC but that doesn't change the outcome of this.
Final Fantasy 4
Cast distribution: 3 women, 9 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
Edward and Cid and Kain and Edge and Yang all kinda suck. Cecil is good but not quite good enough to make up for the general badness of the other dude PCs. Even Porom, who is quite weak, can't bring Rydia and Rosa down enough.
Final Fantasy 4: The After Years
Cast distribution: 9 women, 13 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
I want to say the dudes have a small edge. The worst character is female and I don't think they have any big victories in individual comparisons.
Final Fantasy 6
Cast distribution: 3 women, 10 men, 1 unknown
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Minerva users win the day. Having a good Magic stat means you are good in this game, and the women all have the best magic stats in the game.
Final Fantasy 7
Cast distribution: 3 women, 6 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
um lol cloud
Final Fantasy 8
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Squall.
Final Fantasy 9
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men, 1 unknown
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Summon is good like in all FFs! Vivi is just not as good.
Final Fantasy 10
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
1/2/6 is my kneejerk for the female PC worth in this game. Yuna is more absurdly good than anyone is absurdly bad.
Final Fantasy 13
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Saboteur is more game-changing than Synergist, and those classes work along the male/female split. I think that's the biggest difference. Fang and Lightning also have the most damage. Hope is the main argument for the male cast but he's not enough.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Cast distribution: 4 women, 6 men, 2 neither
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Pretty obvious. The top two PCs are both male, and even with Cloud and Malak I think the average should still be higher due to terribleness in the lady cast.
Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seals
Cast distribution: 18 women, 32 men (counting Lalum, Echidna, and Sacae)
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Rutgar/Alan/Lance are probably top three, Sofiya poos on the average by being the rare 0.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword
Cast distribution: 11 women, 28 men (including the splitpath PCs only once and not Farina or Karla)
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female?
A lot of the males are the dregs of the cast even though Raven/Lucius/Oswin/Hector are pretty awesome. If you are looking at the best, say, 12 PCs, a higher percentage of women are part of that. The cast is 28% women so if you think 4 women are in the top 12, women are better. Lyndis/Florina/Fiora/Priscilla/Ninian/Louise are all decent candidates. Not counting Karla helps the women, granted.
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Cast distribution: 12 women, 21 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
Ephraim, Tana, Vanessa, Eirika, and Seth is my tentative top five for the game. Lute is probably sixth! Don't think the male PCs make up for this anywhere else.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Cast distribution: 29 men, 14 women(only one royal, and no Nasir)
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female/push
This one is really close! But a lot of the female PCs hover around the top 15.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Cast distribution: 43 men, 25 women
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
The three PCs who compete for the crown of best character in this game are all male and the worst three PCs are all female. I think there isn't a huge swing to make up for this in the female direction.
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Cast distribution: 17 women, 56 men, 1 neither(not counting the four female PCs on the last map)
Best PC: Either
Higher average: Female
Catria + Caeda + Palla raid the skies!
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Cast distribution: 15 women, 14 men, 1 either(21 women, 21 men if you count kids)
Best PC: Either is probably the answer ;)
Higher average: Female
Female Robin is better than male Robin by a hair(Dark Flier shenanigans) and the top 15 has 3 men and 11 women otherwise! Lulz, blowout. I will also note than most of the bad kid PCs are male as well.
Grandia 2
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Sweep up the place ya'll.
Grandia 3
Cast distribution: 4 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Women have higher magic stats, are better PCs. RPG rinse and repeat.
Legaia 2: Duel Saga
Cast distribution: 2 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Sharon is the best, Ayne is the worst.
Legend of Dragoon
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Surely female, regardless.
Higher average: Female
Rose and Sharanda are the two best characters from many views, and Meru isn't BAD.
Lost Odyssey
Cast distribution: 4 women, 5 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
3/4 of the women are immortals, 1/5 of the men are. Done and done!
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Alex is the best PC and, while Jessica is a decent second, I don't think Mia is all that great at all. Luna is okay but clearly worse than Alex when she is around.
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Lemina is meh and Lucia is weird and kinda bad. Hiro takes the cake.
Mana Khemia: The Alchemists of Al-Revis
Cast distribution: 4 women, 4 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Pretty balanced cast, but Vayne has Scan and Roxis has time card shenanigans.
Mana Khemia: The Fall of Alchemy
Cast distribution: 5 women, 5 men
Best PC: Female on both paths!
Higher average: Female?
Ulrika and Lily are both pretty good.
Megaman X: Command Mission
Cast distribution: 2 women, 5 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Male
1/6 is the distribution, but Marino/X/Axl/Zero are all decent and Massimo and Cin kinda suck? So 3 vs. 1 and 1 vs. 1. Or something.
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen
Cast distribution: 11 men, 5 women, 1 either
Best PC: The elusive 'either'
Higher average: Male
Fenril and Rauny are good, but Fogel/Slust/Saradin/Deb/Tris are all around the same as them. Lans is also a good PC in the earlygame. I didn't rate the classes for me own sanity.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Cast distribution: 3 men, 2 women
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Maya is better than the rest.
Phantasy Star IV
Cast distribution: 4 women, 6 men (counting Alys)
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Hahn and Gryz decide this handily for the female side. Thx bros.
Radiant Historia
Cast distribution: 4 men, 3 women
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Best PC in the game is male, another male PC is burp copy best PC. Eruca is worse than Rosch in a scrub-off, Raynie, Aht, and Gafka all fight over that third slot.
SaGa Frontier
Cast distribution: 13 men, 10 women, 15 neither
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female/push
I think the game is pretty balanced, but out of the six bad PCs, four are male. I think the men overall win at the top but my kneejerk is that it's not enough to make up for the loss in the lower ranks.
Seiken Densetsu 3
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male/push
Kevin is pretty good. Duran is pretty bad. Shit's hard, man!
Shadow Hearts
Cast distribution: 2 women, 4 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Yuri dominates and the rest of the PC cast is very bland.
Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Cast distribution: 5 men, 3 women
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Blah, I dunno.
Yuri is better than everyone, but the female PCs might be 2/3/4, depending on how much you like Kurando. Gepetto and Blanca are both pretty bad, though.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Shania is a Harmonixer, Hilda has some awesome skills as Skinny Hilda, and Mao's magic is higher than the remaining characters. I personally would call this a sweeeep. Gets a misandry gold star.
Shining Force 2
Cast distribution: 6 women, 24 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Peter and Bowie, yeah yeah.
Soul Nomad and the World Eaters
Cast distribution: 7 male, 4 female, 1 either
Best PC: Either
Higher average: Female/push
Courtesy of Djinn:
<LoveBachelorDjinn> SN, if you ignore generics and Revya... Odie is probably the best, Danette and Trish are up there for spd/range, Vitali has utility, Levin/Juno/Grunzford are middle of the pack, Layna's good but not around long, Galahad and the angels kinda suck... works out to skew more Female slightly.
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Cast distribution: 5 women, 7 men
Best PC: Female? Not an SO2 expert.
Higher average: Female?
Leon and Ernest and Noel kinda suck.
Star Ocean: Til the End of Time
Cast distribution: 5 women, 5 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female/push
Mariaaaa~ Nel~
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Cast distribution: 5 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
I think the male cast holds up a bit better toward the bottom but otherwise it is balanced.
Suikoden
Cast distribution: 17 women, 58 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female?
Ronnie and Cleo and Valeria and Eileen and a lot of the bad PCs are male so eh. Makes up for Tir I think, I could be argued if anyone gave a damn.
Suikoden II
Cast distribution: 20/21 women, 50/51 men, 1 neither (The 50/51 is for the monsters, 20/21 is for Kasumi and Valeria).
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
Out of the ~18 strongest PCs, 8 are female. Mostly just an informal poll done by yours truly. Suikoden is a bitch to quantify.
Suikoden III
Cast distribution: 22 women, 46 men, 1 neither
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Going through a list of characters, the women seem to win almost every victory.
Chris is better than the other Zexen Knights
Aila and Queen are better than Jacques, Ace, and Joker(although worse than Geddoe)
Elaine is better than the other Duke folks
Lilly is better than her manbitches
Emily is better than other plotless folks
Alma Kinan > lizards
Nei >>> Toppo
Sharon > Futch
Estella is better than the other pure mages
Lucia acquits herself reasonably well against her son(although is probably worse)
there are no duck women, who has their babies anyway
Juan is better than Cecile, but she kicks the ass of the other Budahec folks
Ayame is better than Watari
Geddoe and Hugo are the two big arguments on the male side, but don't think it's enough.
Suikoden V
Cast distribution: 30 women, 40 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female, I think.
Miakis + Lyon + Bernadette + ZERASE + Jeane + Cathari is better than Georg and Kyle and Prince and Belcoot, I feel. (Zerase being MVP due to MT death rained upon all that live. You could argue Georg, but he is just around for so much less blowing up time~)
Suikoden Tactics
Cast distribution:
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Archers + Kika + I don't count Lazlo.
Super Mario RPG
Cast distribution: 1 woman, 4 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
Cheating averages is fun. Peach is above average.
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier
Cast distribution: 5 women, 2 men(!)
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Male
Both Reiji and Haken are solid PCs, and I feel like two of the weaker PCs are women.
Valkyrie Profile
Cast distribution: 10 women, 12 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
I think the average is actually more female due to including multiple mages.
Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria
Cast distribution: Depends on how you count them
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Rufus tries, but the other girl archers and Alicia and things.
Vandal Hearts
Cast distribution: 3 women, 9 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Female
I am inclined to say that because Dolan/Grog/Clint are all in the atrocious Swordsman class, that would skew an average toward the women. Eleni and Zohar are both great but Eleni counts more in her average and has no crappy sworddudes to bring her down.
Wild Arms 1
Cast distribution: 1 woman, 2 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Cecilia's diversity is just too much.
Wild Arms 2
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male/push
Brad is the best?
Wild Arms 3
Cast distribution: 1 woman, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Mystic and speed makes Ginny gooood.
Wild Arms 4
Cast distribution: 2 women, 2 men
Best PC: Debatable, I lean female
Higher average: Female
I think Raquel is more potent in randoms than Arnaud and his tricks vs. bosses don't make up for that, and Yulie has some tricks which elevate her about Jude. Close, though!
Wild Arms 5
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
Avril is pretty cool. Otherwise, uh, see FF7.
Wild Arms XF
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female/push
Clarissa > Levin | Ragnar > Labby | Alexia > Felius is my general feeling for PC balance, and I don't think the gaps between any of those sets is very large.
Xenogears
Cast distribution: 4 women, 5 men
Best PC: Male
Higher average: Male
Citan is god.
Xenosaga 1
Cast distribution: 3 women, 3 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
KOS-MOS + MT heal bot Shion = sure, whatever. chaos is probably the worst PC.
Xenosaga 2
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
KOS and MOMO are probably the top two, and Shion isn't bad enough to bring that average down.
Xenosaga 3
Cast distribution: 3 women, 4 men
Best PC: Female
Higher average: Female
MOMO and KOS-MOS get that dumb damage buff.
