Video game characters are no longer that jumble of pixels without personality that they once were . With the industry booming, a good game must exceed a series of expectations, such as proposing a good story and giving life to a main character who is up to the task.
If the stories of these digital men and women have come to move us, it is because most of them have their lights and shadows , their own background with which we can feel identified. Others are simply part of history.
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The 20 most iconic video game
characters The characters that we present below are part of our history as players, and they have been able to conquer us with their personality and charisma. What is your favorite?
6 female video game characters
First we review the heroines we have accompanied in countless adventures. Because behind a great deed there is not always a man of action.
1. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
There are plenty of introductions for the most influential tomb raider of all time. Little did its creators know that the 1996 game would have such a brutal impact on the industry, in part because she was one of the first playable female characters. Proof of success is that Lara Croft has already starred in several adventures on the big screen. For when a series
However, Lara has not always been the killing machine and tomb raider that we all know. The reboot of the saga with Tomb Raider (2013) and the two subsequent installments presents us with a younger and inexperienced Lara, who will have to face her own demons and deal with the consequences of her actions (Shadow of the Tomb Raider , 2018).
2. Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
Of all the female characters in video games, she has had the worst time. Not only has she faced waves of zombies in various titles, but she has made the leap to the big screen being played by Sienna Guillory. The Silent Hill saga took note of Jill’s bravery and she did the same in Silent Hill 3 introducing Heather Mason, although the latter has a very different personality.
3. Samus Aran (Metroid)
Lara Croft is not the oldest woman on this list. Nintendo is always one step ahead and in 1986 she introduced Metroid, an action-adventure video game starring Samus Aran, the first female video game lead . In this sense, the GameDaily medium considered her “the first dominant woman, a fatal force that did not rely on a man to save her.”
Unfortunately, after the successful Metroid Prime saga for Wii, we haven’t heard from developer Retro Studios. Is this the end of the interstellar bounty hunter?
4. Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
Little is known about Chun-Li’s personality beyond the irregular 1994 film adaptation, but her way of destroying any rival with kicks forms part of the collective culture of a generation. She first appeared in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, and has since become the most iconic fighter in video games . A curious fact about her: her name is Mandarin and means “beautiful spring”.
5. Ellie (The Last of Us)
If there is a game that stands out for its narrative, that is undoubtedly The Last of Us, a revolutionary title whose second installment will be released in 2019. We know that Ellie is a mature girl despite her youth , a survivor who has had to face the prejudices of society due to their sexuality, an issue that has rarely been exploited in the world of video games. She suffers from monophobia (fear of loneliness) and that adds deep nuances to her personality.
6. Kassandra (Assassin’s Creed)
Her strong and determined character has made us fall in lovefrom the first gameplay. This mercenary of Spartan origin is not fooled by anyone and she proves it as she sails the seas of Ancient Greece as she searches for her own odyssey. However, the saga is taking the habit of introducing us to a new character in each new installment, so we will have to say goodbye after Assassin’s Creed Odissey (2018).
If something has become clear to us by preparing this list, it is that the world of video games needs more female characters. Kassandra is the perfect example that something is changing in an industry that understands that women are also in charge. Although we understand that the Spartan’s journey in the saga will be rather scarce , she could be the forerunner of change.
14 male video game characters
We now review the male characters that have marked an era. Some will remain for the memory and others still have great adventures ahead.
7. Mario (Super Mario)
On September 13, 1985, Shigeru Miyamoto presented for the NES the platform game that would forever change the history of video games . Super Mario Bros starred Mario, a plumber with the difficult task of rescuing Princess Peach and saving the world from the Koopa invasion mushrooms. Since then, he has starred in a total of 19 video games, the last Super Mario Odyssey (2017) for Nintendo Switch.
Beyond video games, Mario has become a symbol of the entertainment industry. In 2006, the Japanese government placed Super Mario Bros. among the 100 most representative artistic media in Japan. Regardless, the only time we’ve seen Mario in the movies was in an infamous live-action production, released in 1993 and with the same name as the original game.
8. Link (Zelda)
Many (especially those who are not regular videogames) believe that the Zelda saga owes its name to its protagonist. It’s time to break the false myth: that blond elf dressed in green is called Link and is one of the most famous characters of all time.
Like many of the characters on this list, Link’s personality has been shaped over the years as game developers have focused on things like storytelling. He is the typical loner and friendly adventurer who is incapable of making anyone dislike him , a cliche that we love anyway.
9. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
It’s easy to be one of the most influential male characters when your creators are Naughty Dog, a company that puts quality into everything they do. He would be Lara’s equivalent as a scout if it wasn’t for his very different personality. Nathan is a cheerful and funny guy, able to make us smile even when he is in the worst of trouble. Also, he is a magnet for women.
10. Ezio Auditore (Assassin’s Creed)
Some fans will doubt that Ezio is the best protagonist of the saga, and Altair has a legion of followers. We are left with the Florentine nobleman, protagonist of Assassin’s Creed II (2009), Assassin’s Creed: The Brotherhood (2010) and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (2011). For many, the best titles that the saga has given.
Ezio is an ambitious and charismatic young man, with certain Don Juan airs, who must fight against the tyranny of the Borgias in Italy. Since Ubisoft decided to remove the limelight, no other assassin has managed to arouse so much interest . We miss you, “amici”.
11. Kratos (God of War)
God of War is the quintessential tragedy, the story of a powerful man who perpetuates his bloody revenge against the gods. Such an epic story could only have a protagonist like Kratos, which in ancient Greek means “strength” or “power”. Despite his leading role, he is a reckless and destructive being who will take the lives of innocent people if it leads to his target. It is that duality between good and evil that makes Kratos such an interesting character.
12. Master Chief (Halo)
Known in Spanish as Master Chief, the protagonist of the Halo saga is a commander with a stern and cold character, who lives by and for the space battle. We do not know her appearance, and it is that the reflective helmet prevents us from seeing her face, but we would allow ourselves to be guided by it throughout the galaxy. He never utters anything unless it is strictly necessary, a strong character fruit of a hard recruitment that he began at the age of 14.
Master Chief became the most representative image of the Xbox console a few years ago and Halo fans eagerly await each new installment. Will the master chief have a worthy successor
? We’ll soon see.
13. Geralt de Rivia (The Witcher)
The witcher of Rivia is rather sparing in words, but that’s just what fascinates us about him. CD Projekt Red, always impeccable in its productions, has given life toone of the roundest characters in the history of video games . However, much of the credit must be attributed to Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the novels that serve as inspiration for video games.
14. Solid Snake (Metal Gear)
Solid Snake is not more likeable than Geralt of Rivia, but his story is just as memorable. He represents the typical troubled war veteran who is drawn into a life of constant service. He has been named by several specialized media as the most popular character in the world of video games, especially in Japan, the native country of its creator Hideo Kojima.
15.Ryu (Street Fighter)
Ryu is not a character with too much background, but for a reason he is listed in the Guiness Book as one of the most influential video game protagonists. His designer gave him an easily identifiable image, thus becoming the archetypal character in any fighting game . We will always have his fighting skills, which combine karate and judo, and his way of pronouncing “Hadouken!”.
16. Carl “CJ” Johnson (Grand Theft Auto)
Of the few African-American characters that we have had the privilege of playing, although in the case of Rockstar, we are not talking about any hero. The protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) is the typical gang member who always ends up in trouble. Although CJ is considerably less violent than other characters in the series, he has no qualms about taking down rival gang members. Groove Street for life!
17. Dante (Devil May Cry)
In a clear allusion to the Divine Comedy, Dante faces the worst spawns of hell with equally demonic combat skills. It is true that the Japanese tend to create overly stereotyped characters, but Dante has earned our admiration for his “cool” aesthetic and his arrogant and immature character .
18. Sonic (Sonic)
The most famous hedgehog of all time is another of the video game characters most recognized by the general public. Following in the footsteps of Donkey Kong (1981) and Super Mario Bros (1985), Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) marked a before and after in platform games thanks to the quality of its levels and graphic advances. Just as famous are his companions Knuckles and Tails, without whom he could not defeat the evil Dr. Egg.
There have been several attempts to breathe new life into the character on Dreamcast and Wii, but our favorite hedgehog fares better on 8-bit and 16-bit. The living example that a character does not need to speak a word to be remembered for the rest of time.
19. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong)
Donkey Kong completes, along with Mario and Sonic, the triplet of most representative characters of all time in gamer culture. Miyamoto’s ape is a complicated and stubborn character, butIt has become an emblem of Nintendo . His appearance has hardly changed over the years, and he is still proudly wearing that red tie that suits him so well.
20. Pac-man (Pac-man)
There are few people on the face of the earth who have not once seen this insatiable gobbler on the run from a gang of ghosts. His name comes from the Japanese expression “paku”, which resembles the noise he makes when opening and closing his mouth. Despite his simplicity and lack of personality due to the limitations of the game, he is one of the most recognizable icons in popular culture . In fact he had the appearance of him in the presentation of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, during the closing ceremony in Rio.
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