I complain enough about videogames. (I’m finally spelling that word without the space.) I think it’s about time I talk more about those characters who are done right: from heroes I really want to be to little nuggets of delight that jump out of a game I’d never expect to find them in.

The first subject of my praise is Midna from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Midna, servant of Zelda and later revealed to be the ruler of the banished Twilight Realm, meets Link when she rescues him after he’s been transformed into a wolf. Midna becomes Link’s guide and friend, and he ends up serving her through much of the game (while he’s also helping other powerful women like Zelda, the Zora queen, Telma the Barkeep, and the goddess).

Midna is an example of how a princess-in-peril can work as a plotline while that princess is the biggest player, the most active agent, of all parties involved. She’s not an invisible force in a tower somewhere, she’s with Link on her entire journey and the player utilizes her own powers as much as she uses Link’s.

Twilight Princess overall has really stepped up characterization from the old Zelda games, so I found Link rather likable in this title, but I easily saw the story through Midna’s eyes. I felt like I was her, on the back of her trusty wolf-Link mount. Midna is feminine but not sexualized, petite and imp-like but still a woman. She’s smart, cheeky, and initially is ambiguously motivated.

Midna is so important that she’s the game’s namesake, the Twilight Princess; the game is about her, and she’s definitely worthy of the spotlight. I predict that Midna is going to become the descendent of Beyond Good and Evil’s protagonist Jade as an iconic feminist videogame hero. When folks as me for game recommendations with strong women, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is going to be the first out of my mouth.

This post originally appeared at New Game Plus.

Ariel is a graduate student in English Studies at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Her academic interests include feminist science fiction, posthuman literature, and game narratives. She currently is a staff writer at AS Review, a weekly periodical on her campus. She is involved in antiracist community organizing and enjoys road biking. Ariel blogs on feminism and video games at New Game Plus, and is a contributor at the Official Shrub.com Blog and Feminist SF – The Blog!

The player’s body is next to the computer screen or television monitor, but her avatar, the “I” or vision that was part of the body, is traveling through and in the virtual space of the game opening behind the monitor.The monitor guides us into (a perceptual and corporeal) interaction with the computer and, as a technologized form of vision, it becomes a component and extension of the body; it replaces our body, or rather extends its capacities, and becomes both a representation and source of bodily experience…

–Martti Lahti “As We Become Machines: Corporealized Pleasures in Video Games”

We’re tired of stereotypical representations of characters. We want to see characters beyond gender, race and sexual orientation. The princess in peril? Overweight characters consigned to be a NPC? Not for us. We want three dimensional, complicated, and compelling characters in our video games.

While it is helpful to critique video games, it is also beneficial to the creators of games to point out the good that they have done, that there are existing blue prints for future loved characters.

Just as our society is deeply flawed, we realize that most characters here will be complicated and even controversial. The avatars featured will only be as diverse as our writers and each week we hope to feature someone new. As part of the Iris Gaming Network, we urge community members and readers to submit essays on characters who shatter stereotypes. Please note that Limit Breakers is not only dedicated to video games or characters that have been constructed by writers in the gaming industry–we’re also interested in reading about avartars in table top games, LARPing, and other characters you’ve created that push the boundaries of cultural norms in terms of gender, race and sexuality. More submission guidelines can be found here.

To submit, or for questions or comments regarding Limit Breakers, please click through to the contact form.