In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we thought it would be a fitting time to honor the leading ladies throughout the course of gaming history.

Before we get to the list, consider giving to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, or another charity of your choice. It's money well-given.  

Early on, female characters usually took on the "damsel in distress" role, dating back to Donkey Kong and earlier.  One of the most iconic lines in video game lore is centered around this; "Thank you Mario! But..." Eh, I don't need to finish it.

The heroines on this list need no saving. In fact, for the most part, they're doing all of the rescuing and bad guy butt-kicking.

Here's the criteria we used to compile this list: 1) As always, the games are ranked by overall pwnRank. 2) We're only featuring each leading lady once, so if they were featured in additional games on the list, those are not shown (e.g. In the case of Samus Aran, "Super Metroid" is the highest ranked and only game shown from the franchise). 3) The character must be playable in the game that she appears in, and she must also be intregal to the game or storyline. 4) If multiple playable characters are available throughout the course of the game, there must four or fewer for the female character to quality (in most cases). 5) Perfect Dark.

With all that being said, here is a look at the "Top 20 Games Featuring Lead Heroines", according to pwnRank. Enjoy!