ONCE UPON A TIME, video games were seen as a ?boys only? thing. The prevailing thought was that there was something deeply unfeminine with pounding buttons and cursing in frustration at pixels on a screen. If you still believe in all that, then press the ?reset? button in your brain, because female video game players are no longer rarities, but staples of the industry.

Still doubting? Meet six girls then, with varying tastes in games, all of whom are probably unafraid to take you up if you challenge them to a deathmatch.

Alodia Gosiengfiao

What was the first video game you remember playing?
Super Mario Brothers, my mother introduced me to it.

And what was the first video- game you finished by yourself?
It was either Pokemon or Final Fantasy Tactics, but whichever game it was, the feeling was overwhelming.

Did you ever receive flak for being a girl and liking video games?
Classmates used to tell me that video games weren?t a girl?s thing, but I didn?t care since playing video games makes me happy.

Do you like using female characters in video games?
Yes, because I am hoping to relate to her, or see myself in that character.

What are your five all-time favorite video games?
?Final Fantasy 7,? because it has a great story. ?Devil May Cry,? because of its great gameplay. ?Kingdom Hearts,? because of the way it combined the action and role-playing game (RPG) genres. ?World of Warcraft? because it has such a great set-up and feel. ?Lineage II,? because I love their elves.

What are you playing right now?

?DJmax? on the PSP and ?World of Warcraft? on the Mac/PC.

Denise Yap

What was the first video game you finished by yourself?
Tomb Raider 2 on the Playstation. I felt very proud and accomplished because I died so many times!

What was the first video game you fell in love with?
Tekken 2, on the Playstation. There were so many characters to unlock and I was so impressed by the graphics.

Do you feel compelled to use the female characters in video games?
No, I use the character that I feel I can control the best or the one I feel has the most interesting design and personality.

Do you find yourself wishing there were more well-rounded female characters in video games?
Yes, I do wish they put more thought when coming up with female game characters because they?re often used as fanservice for guys with their skimpy clothing and cutesy poses. Kickass girl characters are out there, but they?re often overshadowed by guy characters.

What are your five all-time favorite games?
?Shadow of the Colossus,? it had a simple plot and objective, but the way the game was put together is simply amazing. ?Final Fantasy X? is an unforgettable epic. It?s not the newest in the series, but the RPG experience really changed when voices and facial expressions were added to the mix. ?Soul Calibur II? had interesting character designs, the graphics were amazing and the characters moved very fluidly. ?Suikoden II? had a good story, interesting characters and very nice classic 2D graphics. ?Tenchu Stealth Assassins? was my first Mature-rated game! I liked the concept and also the unique tools that the player can use in the game like poisoned rice balls.

What are you playing right now?
Burnout Dominator and Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core on the PSP.

Keena Chua

What was the first video game you remember playing? ?Duck Hunt? on the Family Computer!

In video games with female characters, do you feel compelled to use the female characters?
Yes because they?re usually cooler than the boys.

What are your five all-time favorite games?
?Suikoden II,? I loved collecting all the characters and expanding my castle. ?Final Fantasy IX,? I liked the battle and ability systems. ?The Phoenix Wright Series.? ?Bust a Groove? because it was fun singing along and pressing the buttons to a beat. ?Tetris,? it?s highly addicting!

Do you prefer playing video games with other girls or with a mixed group?
A mixed group, because it?s more fun that way. Especially when the girls beat the boys.

What are you playing right now?
World of Warcraft, Cooking Mama, Guitar Hero, Rhythm Tengoku Gold, Final Fantasy IV.

Meggy Kawsek

What was the first video game you remember playing?
Harvest Moon. I watched my brother play it as a kid and so I took to it easily.

Did you ever receive flak for being a girl and liking video games?
I mostly get positive stuff. It makes it much easier for me to relate with boys. No one has a problem with it really, although one summer my parents told me to stop playing because I wasn?t eating properly anymore.

Do you think there are a lot of female video gamers in the Philippines?
There are, but they?re not very vocal about what they like. Females are not meant to like games in the Philippines.

In video games with female characters, do you feel compelled to use the female characters?
Sometimes, when they?re really good characters. The gender doesn?t matter, it?s their stats that count. I used some characters because they were just balanced.

What are your five all-time favorite games?
?Dance Dance Revolution,? my exercise. ?Breath of Fire III? because it?s classic, and the best of the series. ?Final Fantasy 7,? which had very, very good graphics for its time, an incomparable storyline, and unforgettable characters. ?Spore,? my new favorite game, because it?s very creative. ?Metal Gear Solid,? which is just plain awesome.

What are you playing right now?
I?m playing Spore and I plan on replaying Kingdom Hearts 2 sometime soon.

Lizzette Zamora

What was the first video game you remember playing?
Either Pacman, Space Invaders or Galaga, one of the classics.

What was the first video game that you became addicted to?
?Auto Destruct? for the Playstation. I?d even repeat the whole game on the same day.

Do you find yourself wishing there were more well-rounded female characters in video games?
I wish there were more female characters like Lara Croft (?Tomb Raider?) and Jill Valentine (?Resident Evil?). I think that there will be more female video gamers if that happened. If there were more female characters, I hope that they are as interesting as the two I?ve mentioned because even if some women don?t see having strong female characters in video games as a factor that helps boost women?s morale, personally, it does have a small psychological boost on me.

Do you think there are a lot of female video gamers in the Philippines?
Well, I think there are many, but maybe they are just not as showy or obvious as the guys are. I also think that some of them play video games, but don?t play as often as male gamers.

What are you playing right now?
Resident Evil 4 (again) and I stopped a couple of months ago, but now I?m back to Silent Hill: Origins and Metal Gear Solid 3 sometimes.

Christa Uymatiao

What was the first video game you remember playing?
?Duck Hunter [sic]? on the Family Computer

What was the first video game that you became so addicted to that you?d play it over and over?
Age of Empires. My cousins from Australia introduced it to me when I was around seven, and I couldn?t stop playing the various levels over and over again. I probably repeated it more than five times.

Did you ever receive flak for being a girl and liking video- games?
Yes, I?ve actually been told that countless times. Guys find it hard to believe that a lot of girls love playing video games.

In video games with female characters, do you feel compelled to use the female characters?
If the game permits. I like seeing my female lead character stronger than the rest of the character?s allies. Also, having a female lead for me, gives the game more spice as compared to the usual games with male lead characters.

Do you find yourself wishing there were more well rounded female characters in video games?
Yes. The tendency in video games is that game designers make the male characters stronger and better, as compared to female characters.

What are your five all-time favorite games?
?Sims? and ?Sims 2,? because there?s always something new to keep you interested in the game, especially with all the expansion packs. ?Harvest Moon,? though it can get tiresome, finding yourself earning more money and getting closer to marriage/upgrading your farm proved addicting for me. ?Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?? I loved the game?s plot, chasing after someone while being able to go around the world. For a kid, it?s a great experience to be able to do that. ?Age of Empires? series. ?Rhapsody,? because it had a lot of great in-game songs where the character would suddenly burst into song.

What are you playing right now?
I am currently playing ?Spore,? ?Loco Roco,? ?Jeanne D?Arc,? ?Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology? and ?Harvest Moon.?