We all have our favorite characters… It's time to show you mine.
Top 10 Best Videogame Characters:
You are probably going to disagree with this list but, ehi that's ok, anyone should have his / her own ideas about certain things… Anyway, for this one I'm going to choose only one character per franchise (as I always do) and only from games I've personally played (therefore don't freak out when you won't see any Cloud or Dante in it), and ultimately, the choices will be influenced not only by personal liking but also by the characters' personalities, uniqueness and the overall impact they had on the fans… Let's get started:
10) Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil series)
Whether trying to survive a zombie infested city on his first day as a police agent or saving the president's daughter from a deranged cult, there's no denial that Mr. Leon "FREEZE! I said, FREEZE!!" Kennedy has earned his undeniable spot in videogames' history. In my opinion he is the best kickass hero in the whole RE franchise… And there are clear proves of it: not only RE 4 was all the way better than RE 5, but his direct rival in popularity, Chris Redfield needed the help of a partner in order to survive the final showdown with Albert Wesker… Leon was on his freaking own against more enemies of every shape and size and with cooler weapons! Sorry Chris… Wesker is mad at you, go hide behind your partner.
9) Lucario (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
To this very day, I have enormous difficulties in accepting the fact that this super powerful blue jackal is… A bloody pokèmon! Lucario's debut in the SSB series was the apotheosis of Ass kicking-ness, with his cool kung fu moves, his cool energy beams and his superior being-like attitude… Not to mention his unique ability of becoming stronger the more he's beaten by his opponents; but truly stated the quality difference from the other brawlers was his Final Smash: a uber pawning Kamehameha-like super energy beam that automatically guarantees victory with the highest level of pawnage ever! Oh, and it could be redirect at his pleasure, which is something that even Goku couldn't do! Ehi Fox, what does the scouter say about Lucario's power level? IT'S OVER 9000!!! Overused but still LoL.
8) Guybrush Threepwood (Monkey Island series)
The original lad who wanted to become a pirate… It all started with him. The Monkey Island series defined not only how "point & click" adventure games should have been, but also the way pirates would have be seen, and I'm talking about Jack Sparrow and the whole bloody "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy. Accompanied by genuine random forth wall breaking humor, memorable gags and sentences, the most famous would be pirate in gaming history always ended up fighting his arch nemesis, the ghost / zombie / demon pirate LèChuck and pursuing the love of his life, governor Elaine Marley (which happened to be also LèChuck's love interest), in the magnificent scenario of the Caribbean, populated with deranged stereotypical buccaneers, average cursed islands, three-headed monkeys and dancing skeletons! If you love the classics, then be sure to gift yourself with this great series… And its unforgettable main character, who's tongue will always be sharper than his (missing) sword.
7) Sam & Max (Sam & Max Hit the Road / Sam & Max Season series)
Some random phones is ringing somewhere… A dog-like detective answers it after an epic struggle with his rabbity thing-like friend. The Commisioner is on the other end of the line, commissioning to the two self-proclaimed freelance police officers yet another baffling case, which Sam would immediately accept after one of his random exclamations, the likes of: "Holy crazed Mormons eating human flesh on a barbecue stick!" And then, armed with Sam's ever so logical approach over seemingly illogical concepts and Max's thirst for human blood, they would always prevail over the forces of Evil and save the day… With just a few unimportant casualties. Originally born as underground comic book characters, their original, Steve Purcell, which also happened to be a videogame designer for the Lucasarts, managed to give them a surprisingly rich fandom thanks to their videogames and their "kids adapted" animated series… And could possibly be cooler than a crazed rabbity-thing with maniacal issues as U.S. president? Oh yes… You read it right. DEATH FROM ABOVE!!!
6) Max Payne (Max Payne series)
Never a name has been more appropriated than the one of the most suffering videogame character ever conceived. Since his family has been decimated by a bunch of junky thugs, the life of this NYC detective has been the 5th essence of Living Hell… Through tormented memories and disfiguring dream sequences, we learn of his inner sorrow with the same precision of a hard boiled / noir graphic novel… And it exactly looks like it in the memorable hand drawn cut-scenes. There is only one thing left that keeps him alive… His revenge! His chosen path will be filled with rivers of blood and decaying corpses as he would relentlessly kill all the responsible of his pain… All New York's criminals and politics, apparently. Bottom line is: Max Payne is awesome… But the movie sucked big dinosaur's balls, so avoid that bullet, if you can.
5) Klonoa (Klonoa series)
The first time I laid my eyes on this curious kid, I was baffled and surprised… He reminded me of a Sonic characters, among other things. Now that I have had the chance to play one of his games, I found him to be one of the coolest and cutest characters in gaming history! First of all, let's analyze his appearance: he is a curious mix between a cat and rabbit (which made me think of the legendary Cabbit of the American folklore), I could also see the entire Japanese tradition of anthropomorphic animals behind his aspect, among that, he wears a Pac-Man hat! A Pac-Man hat, for crying out loud! That's the coolest hat any videogame character could ever wear! Now, for his abilities… He is depicted as a "dream traveler", whether dreams are entire worlds made of other dreams (which happened to be near part of what I usually write in my stories), but what really makes the difference from other side-scrolling platforms games (aside the peculiar 2.5D rendering) is the fact that his entire game play is based on using enemies as items… Not only he had to catch and inflate them with his wind bullets as if they were balloons, but he had to use them as weapons against other enemies, devices to solve genuine puzzles or impromptu power-ups that made him jump higher and reach otherwise unreachable places… And that's something I don't see other characters doing, which made him even more unique. Plus… He is dreadfully adorable (which makes me shake in fear) and stands in my mind as the undeniable icon of gaming fandom… Remember the Pac-Man hat?
4) Ocelot (Metal Gear series)
Yes I know… Ocelot is not Solid Snake but that's just how great of a character he is… Because until the very end of MGS 4, we can never truly know or understand him and his intentions. He is the most complicated and fascinating villain ever imagined, with his Russian cowboy-like style, his Custer-like mustache, his revolvers always spinning through his fingers like wheels and his variable moods… He debuted as a sparring villain is the first MGS, only to slowly increase his undeniable importance in the second and third episode and finally revealing himself to be the main villain of the entire series… Only to understand that he was not. His best hobbies are: backstabbing, free demonstrations of his abilities with his guns, continuously changing style and, most of all, being a double (or should I say, triple) agent in every single game. Try to find another character like him… Oh wait, you can't! He would make the Joker cry like a little baby! The regular Joker not the Heath Ledger's, naturally.
3) Kratos (God of War series)
What could possibly be cooler then playing the role of a cursed, vengeful fallen God who's ultimate goal is the demise of ALL of the Olympian Gods? With his herculean strength, his agility, his hack 'n' slack badass weapons, his rented Godlike powers and his tragic past (which only makes him angrier), Kratos is the total package of ultimate gaming pawnage, not to mention Zeus's worst nightmare! The End begins…
2) Link (The Legend of Zelda series)
Aaaah, yes… I guess there is no need for me to talk about the sheer awesomeness of this silent hero and his legendary gaming performances, since I've already praised him in the "Best Videogames" section, so let's just skip to number one… Which won't really be a surprise.
1) Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic the Hedgehog series)
He might always have been the number two in Sonic's games, but on this list he is the number one! Why, you may ask? Yes, he is my favorite character and yes, he has inspired me in ways I couldn't even imagine… But so did to all of his millions of fans around the globe. This is maybe the first time that a character made to be just a sidekick for the main hero, turns out to be so important for the collective imagination. Over the years, we have had so many different version of the two-tailed fox boy, through legendary 90's animated series, old school games, comics and anime, and they all managed to inspire people in so many different ways I can't count… If you don't believe me, check out all the Tails's fictions on this site, it will give you the basic idea. The best part is that, no matter the awful floundering of the Sonic franchise, or the lame way SEGA has treating his credibility, his true personality will always be what his fans single handedly would want it to be. Aside from this fanboyish rant, there are also other (more reliable reasons) for him to be the number one on this list… He is one of the most original characters ever designed, clearly inspired from Japanese folklore's legendary Kitsune, and he had two tails which made him fly! Yes, we have several foxes or fox-like people nowadays (am I right, Naruto?) but tell me, how many Kitsune did you see in manga and anime before his first appearance? Not too many, isn't it? He also redefined how a real sidekick should have been: a fighter with his own abilities who could keep up with the hero and not just a whiner version of him (am I right, Luigi?), and plus, he was also cuter… How many cute sidekicks do you see nowadays? Too many, perhaps… For all these reasons, our favorite 8-years old, two-tailed foxy boy genius, is the rightful number one of this list and if you're not down with that… Then prepare yourself for the Tornado, egg-butts!
Hope you enjoyed… What are your favorite characters, anyway? Would you like to share that thought? Then contact me and send me your personal list complete with descriptions and motivations… It will be shown on this very collab for everyone else to know.
See you in there.
Madhog thy Master 3:16.