Posted Nov 26, 2007 at 08:45AM by Nicolo S. Listed in: Opinions & Analysis Tags: Hideo Kojima, Disney, Giants, Kingdom Hearts, vampires, Will Wright
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So you thought girl gamers only indulged themselves in Cooking Mama and Nintendogs? Without being a frag doll for Ubisoft or other companies that use sex appeal to sell, contrary to popular male belief, the ladies actually play games most guys drool about. In fact, many of them female gamers can be competitive and leave us (I proudly admit defeat) in the dust.

And don't deny it - most of us male gamers have the hots for members of the opposite gender who can beat Devil May Cry 3 in Dante Must Die mode or do other feats that even the self-proclaimed "hardcore" can only achieve through intense practice. Miniskirts and cute hair clips are nice, but the types who can beat Kingdom Hearts' version of Sephiroth in five minutes are super. Right?

Ahem. Enough of that. Here's our list of top non-girly games girls enjoy. Some casual titles made the cut, but we handpicked the ones that are more likely to be seen in the hands of male core gamers.

Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 


Halo 3
They may get hit on a lot on Xbox Live, but there are still girls who sink time into Halo 3 online to rise up in rank or simply sweep the floor with dead bodies for bragging rights. "E-bullies" and heartthrob wannabes with cheesy pick-up lines are not enough to scare them away.

Even if non-gamers aren't impressed by your superior skills as Master Chief, a slight showing of being the better player might earn you a Spartan vixen. Keep that finger on the trigger, soldier! Someday, your dream of having a 5-star general girlfriend will come true!

World of Warcraft
Aside from raids and epic mounts, the great thing about World of Warcraft is how you can find practically all kinds of people in its realms. What sets Blizzard's masterpiece apart from other MMORPGs is its strong appeal to female gamers, casual and hardcore alike. A perfect mix of depth and pick-up-and play has turned WoW into a hospitable place for both newbies and experienced players. In layman terms, you never know when that annoying gnome is actually the sweet girl at school who dumped you twice because of "studies."

Harvest Moon
Ladies playing a game in which your goal is to make money from farming to score a wife? Not exactly surprising. Yours truly has experienced too many painful moments when someone is hogging the PlayStation 2 because of that darn Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. As much as guys love to plant crops hardcore, the gals seem to enjoy building an empire of farm animals and watch them grow in numbers.

Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 Non-girly games girls love - Image 1  


The Sims
We all know Will Wright successfully lured millions of PC users into life simulation games. It doesn't matter if you're a lad or lass, young or young at heart - there's no denying The Sims, its sequel, and countless expansions are pure guilty pleasure. It just so happens that many female gamers who got into gaming a few years back would know about The Sims, and most have stories of how they thoroughly enjoyed it. Or how they tortured the virtual avatars by leaving them stuck in a swimming pool with no ladders to climb.

Resident Evil 4
No, not all girls find mass massacre of Las Plagas infected farmers as offensive. Without a doubt, if Leon Kennedy was a real guy, he'd get plenty of invitations for overtime. What more can you ask for from a game with a handsome dude who works directly for the president, fights ugly giants, and calls people "small time"? Not to mention he's not romantically involved to anyone, leaving space for fangirls to write fanfics about themselves being married to the former Racoon City police officer.

Metal Gear Solid 2
Hideo Kojima's bisexual vampires and incestual closet geeks are apparently not enough to turn girls off. A good number of female gamers are intrigued by Metal Gear Solid 2's often convoluted plot, and some genuinely enjoy the stealth action. We can't avoid the types who are playing to see Raiden do cartwheels while naked, but nasty boys also grabbed a copy of MGS2 to see sizzling poster models too, so it evens out.

Non-girly games girls love - Image 1  Non-girly games girls love - Image 1 Non-girly games girls love - Image 1  


Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
No objections here. Phoenix Wright games are loved by girls beyond reasonable doubt, and they're found guilty of raving over how funny Phoenix can be or how Edgeworth can be too intimate with his rival lawyer. It also helps that the cases in Phoenix Wright are not exactly lighthearted, yet still easy for anyone to embrace. If you haven't decided on a birthday gift and your girlfriend is getting bored of generic Japanese RPGs you previously gave her, bagging this pseudo-visual novel puzzler should be a no-brainer.

Final Fantasy X
Almost every Final Fantasy title receives affection from female gamers thanks to the persistent themes of romance, melodrama, and angsty teens. Remember when you giggled after Cloud cross-dressed or when Squall carried Rinoa on his back? Girls did, too. However, we'll leave this spot to Final Fantasy X thanks to sheer number of online FFX fan communities we've seen that put other FF games to shame. Tidus has the looks that make ladies sigh, while some prefer that big pile of manly known only as Auron.

Kingdom Hearts 2
Everyone loves whacking the Heartless and Nobodies with giant keys. Kingdom Hearts 2 is definitely one of the best bets if you're a dude who can't think of the perfect present for your girl. The charm of Disney characters combined with a fun adventure of good against evil will surely win her over.

Of course, some girls enjoy Kingdom Hearts not only because of Goofy and Donald Duck, but also the RPG elements and action-packed combat. Yep, just like guys. The sequel should work wonders due to its revamped gameplay and more spectacular visuals. It's also a plus that Sora and Riku don't appear to be 10-year olds anymore, and there are strong overtones for fans of boy love to feast on.

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Devil May Cry 3
Not everyone can pull off crazy combos or endure prolonged boss fights, but girls can do what guys can. Ask any girl gamer who frowns at casual titles and "girl-oriented" games, and she'll probably be experienced with at least one DMC title and can hit SS-rank combos before you can say "holy devil!" We picked the third instalment in the series because there's double the pretty boys. When you've got a badass, demon-slaying protagonist who's got an equally good looking twin brother, expect hordes of fangirls trailing close behind.


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19 Comments


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   by hush404 - 2007-11-26
 » erm hit and miss

I think your list is hit and miss with some titles. I dunno, also, you should get back to reporting news, I couldn't believe coming to QJ today and a full page is nothing but random crap, not a single news story.

Anyways, just going on what my sis/other family and female friends play, here's a collection of games I've noticed they were hooked on:

Shadow of the Colossus
Metal Gear Solid 2
Guitar Hero
Cooking Mama
Tetris // Warios woods
Mario
GTA - My sis loved and beat both 3 and VC and played the hell out of my file in SA.
Animal Crossing
Luigi's Mansion

As for RPGs, it takes a special kind of person (male or female) to love those :P


   Re: CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS - 2007-11-26
 » It Depends On The Person

My girlfriend likes Burnout, Mario and Sonic games. She also likes classic games like Outrun and Paperboy. I think it just depends on who you talk to. A lot of girls I know are overwhelmed with the controls on the next gen consoles and prefer to play games on the original systems like the NES and Genesis.

   Re: soopergooman - 2007-11-26
 » AGREED

Yeah I totally agree, like why post about games that are not PS3 in a PS3 blog. To me that just insulting. Where is the news thats pertinent to the blog? I come here to find it and I get opinion and reviews. stuff about other systems and what chicks like. Chicks like games. Thats cool. It's not news though.

   Re: ~~ - 2007-11-26
 » @soopergooman

These articles are posted on the QJ Game sections because they address that topic: games

What's wrong with a little 'freestyle' article ? keep you busy, I'd say...
   by Nicko01 - 2007-11-26
 » yeah

I know a few girls who play Halo, which when I found out I was WTFing because I never would expect that.

Yeah, pretty funny though.

And I see a lot of girls of WoW, but some might just be faking it as they can do.

   by NeroMaverick - 2007-11-26
 » I dunno...

Some of those titles don't really fit, meaning they're unisex games, perfect example is RPGs. I cant count how many girls I've had go on and on and on about Kingdom Hearts 2, I haven't heard any guys talk about it at all... Which makes me think, what exactly makes a girly game?? Cooking Mama IS a girly game, thats true, its blatantly obvious. But when you get games with romance in them, with some good action (mostly rpgs im mentioning here), the line gets blurred.

Oh and btw, games my girlfriend plays:
Halo3
Cooking Mama
Any Mario game
GTA games
Chrono Trigger
Final Fantasy 6 (and a few other FF games)
Shadow of T C
Animal Crossing
Phoenix Wright (all of them)
Dozens of other current games
Craploads of NES games

and were both 21, so were not old farts who only appreciate NES games...

Oh ya, as a side note... has news here has been slow or something? If you don't have much news to post in a day... don't fill a whole page of news up with filler articles. Personally it doesn't bother me much, but it really ticks some people off, especially since QJ has been kinda buggy lately

   by sentence - 2007-11-26
 » wut the hell...

ill post what my gf likes to (games)

Ico & Galaga (its a tie for favorite game)
Parasite eve
shadow of the colossus
Burnount
Zone of the enders
Metal Gear (all of them)
Rainbow six vegas
Tetris
Gunbound
Ragnarok


   Re: ackeejag - 2007-11-27
 » woot ragnarok

my favorite MMO but anyways. ive noticed girls usually like kingdom hears and other light hearted rpg games. also Mario kart and the original Mario games.
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   by stingray_shrey - 2007-11-26
 » te problem with "girls who area awesome at video games"

is that they are usually gothic fat-ass ugly b****s who can't get a guy.

I mean, just look at Nicolo S.'s mom!! :P

   by FearEvil19 - 2007-11-26
 » About KH2

I think that KS2 is to dark to girls.Its not about Mickey or Goofy, you know?


   Re: Staibdude - 2007-11-26
 » KH2

Ya, it can be dark, but you have to "read between the lines". Don't just go for the storyline. Yes, Xemnas has no feelings for anything and wants to destroy everyone. But the fact of summoning and fighting Disney characters can win a girl over any day. That, plus a love story and 2 good-looking guys can hook some girl looking for the perfect game. Heck, I have a friend that plays the game, and she loves it!
   by Just_a_guy - 2007-11-26
 » um...

if it's a good game than people are going to play it if they are a gamer. Those games include: Halo 3, SMG, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, DDR, Guitar Hero 3, Kingdomg Hearts, Final Fantasy, Tetris, Goldeneye 64, The Legend of Zelda Series, GTA, and others (just a short list off the top of my head)


   Re: soopergooman - 2007-11-26
 » don't forget

What about Warhawk, Assassin's Creed, GRAW2 and COD4(

   Re: Just_a_guy - 2007-11-26
 » just off the top of my head (again)

Prince of Persia Gears of War, Tiger Woods, .hack, Tails of.... series (can't remember the series name), Bioshock, Animal Crossing, Super Mario World, Sonic 1-3, Wii Sports, Grand Theft Auto, Katamari.....

   Re: Staibdude - 2007-11-26
 » Nice.

Very good list, I probably would have named the same things. But are these games that would attract a female audience? No offense, but some of these do sound like the kind of girl Stingray_Shrey was talking about. I'm not saying you are that girl if you are a girl that likes those games, but you don't see too many playing those games. If you do, good for you. WHY SHOULDN'T A GIRL COME ON HERE AND GIVE US HER OPINION!?!? XD
   by OSpazX - 2007-11-26
 » Unisex...

My wife and I both enjoy playing UNO. (36)

Too bad there isn't a split screen option...for say.. Partner Mode.

Oh well, we take turns. (sarcasim) Of course, being male, I am so much better at it than she is! (/sarcasim)


   Re: stingray_shrey - 2007-11-26
 » .

ur wife is fat and ugly!!

   Re: Advertising -


   Re: Staibdude - 2007-11-26
 » UNO?

UNO.... the card game for a handheld? Or is it an abbreviation? Sorry, don't know too many abbreviations XD
   by GiveMeABreak - 2007-11-26
 » Many of my friends and friends sisters loves.....

Silent hill, not sure why I'm the only guy i know who like silent hill series. I also played all of them from silent hill one, when it was first came out (opm version of the demo got me hooked), to origin. And plan to get silent hill 5 either ps3 or 360.



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