Every time a new game releases with a leading lady, it sort of makes me squeal inside.

So perhaps you can understand my unbounded glee with Final Fantasy XIII. And this isn’t purely based on the main character’s gender, though that has something to do with it.

First off, for those of you who have never played Final Fantasy, this is a nice place to start. Since the stories are non-linear, there is no need to worry about the previous twelve installments. I can sum them up as “you’re good, defeat evil, save the world”. The battle system is easy to learn, exploration areas are pretty straightforward and the story seems to move along smoothly. Thus far anyway, there’s only so much you can do in two days, especially while chasing around the kiddo.

Lightning as a protagonist is everything you’d expect from a JRPG – conflicted, strong, and determined. But she’s something very similar to the sort of leader we found in another major release this year – Mass Effect 2. When choosing to play as a female Shepard, players were granted a woman with focus on a survival beyond her own. As Lightning sets forth with a soldier’s efficiency, she sees no possible deviation from fulfilling her goal.

But what makes her separate from every other badass female on the scene? Because besides all that bravado and sword fighting, there is a human element – something that occasionally has a hard time sneaking in between cheeky one-liners. Lightning doesn’t start barroom brawls or cause trouble for the sake of it. Her mission is clear and her objectives obvious. But who commands this able soldier? Does she heed to a great government power, a wise king, or a jealous prince?

Lightning heeds her own orders, and her own demands. She must save her sister, regardless of the risk or futility. However, she maintains a severe sense of duty when things become more difficult. This solitary element is what makes Lightning so attractive as a role model.

When people infuriate her, does she stomp her feet, shout, cry, or behave in other inexplicable ways? Most of her conflicts are resolved with a series of severe slugs to the face. But does she spout emotions at every turn and work for your sympathy?

Instead, Square-Enix is portraying a strong woman in an impossible circumstance battling with the loss of both her family and entire way of life. She hides her insecurities in her strength. And manages to remain decently covered for a gender otherwise known for their lack as such.

Not only am I pleased with the game as a whole - the visuals are obviously amazing in their own. But I’m more impressed with the depth of a protagonist I can relate to, a woman barely into her adulthood and struggling to hold herself together despite all else. While others run or hide, she keeps forging one foot ahead of the next, concerned with stopping evil not out of ego but rationality. The fear of the enemy isn’t due to an overarching evil nature, but more of an irrational fear of that which is different.

Though I respect the countless other female figures in gaming who have spawned hours of debate over the years such as Lara Croft, Bayonetta and Samus Aran to name a few headliners, there’s an element to Lightning that feels more familiar and less contrived, despite the Fantasy tag. She reacts as I would expect any soldier without method to and protects herself as most actual girls do – through denial.

I think Final Fantasy raises some interesting elements worth discussing about society and culture, especially in the choice of Lightning to lead the way. In a series dominated with embattled male protagonists all these years it’s fun to see another perspective.

And all things considered, she’s still pretty badass!