Favorite Video Game Characters

[gunswordfist]

Very few stand out so I don't expect to see any lengthy lists. Mine:

Alys (Phantasy Star IV)- Favorite female character and favorite RPG character of all time. This is a female video game character gone right. Every else has FAILED.

Ken Masters- Best fighting video game ever. MVC3 fell apart because it was short one blonde.

Then there's of course Solid Snake, Dante, Proto and Mega Man, Scorpion, Kung Lao and Sonic The Hedgehog

[Rynnec]

Off the top my head:

Ragna the Bloodedge (Blazblue) - Sure he's a generic RPG(even though he's in a fighting game) bishounen anti-hero protaganist. But he's an AWESOME generic RPG (even though he's in a fighting game) bishounen anti-hero protaganist.

Yoshi - Easily the most badass Mario character ever. The fact that his games rock help out.

Dante - 'Nuff said.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

In terms of personality I would have to say Dante, but only from DMC3 and 4. No disrespect to Kamiya intended, but in DMC1 he was played a bit more seriously and kind of felt more like a generic anime character. In DMC2 he was played TOO seriously and felt even more boring than a generic anime character. In DMC3 and 4 they let his humorous side loose and he was legitimately funny and fun to watch, with maybe a few serious moments in-between that actually worked surprisingly better because of how odd it was to see him actually act serious in those games. To me, though, he was just a really fun character, and most video game characters from this generation just plain lack that element. I even have to admit that Ryu is pretty boring (even in the NES NG games), in that he has almost no personality. I wouldn't mind TN giving him a personality but I'd rather have one that kind of acknowledges the hammy-ness of the game and the crazy world of NG rather than trying to make him a generic "Japanese Dark Hero" with even less personality than before (from what I can tell) as Hayashi seems to be obsessed with. The only benefit to having Ryu have no personality, though, is that its impossible for me to dislike him since he doesn't have any attitude problems for me to love or hate.

I will say that he had a surprisingly good moment in NG2, though, where after he defeats Genshin for the final time Genshin gives him his sword out of respect, and then Elizabet kicks his dead body and disgraces him for losing and conceding his defeat to Ryu, and then Ryu gets pissed and says that even in death she could never understand him and gets ready to fight her in order to defend Genshin's honor (and to basically kill her in general because she's evil). Its a cool moment to actually see the hero of the game stand up for his main enemy's honor after his defeat. I don't think I've ever seen another game do that. Its a very cool, shonen-esque sort of moment that I wish more games had some element of.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Ragna the Bloodedge (Blazblue) - Sure he's a generic RPG(even though he's in a fighting game) bishounen anti-hero protaganist. But he's an AWESOME generic RPG (even though he's in a fighting game) bishounen anti-hero protaganist.

He's the only character in that game I could play as because every other one drove me up a fucking wall. So, I agree with you.

Honestly, my list would be full of platforming mascots, but outside of the genre I'd choose:

Musashi (Brave Fencer Musashi) - Smart ass, rude, and cocky as hell. He beats the shit out of everything because he can. He doesn't whine, he gets shit done. He's a good guy, and is just a fun character. You'll warm up to him when the first boss fight has you throwing a giant robot through walls and houses, then off a cliff. Nobody fucks with Musashi.

Rock Howard (Garou: Mark Of The Wolves) - He's a mix of Terry Bogard's excessive positivity and energy and Geese Howard's badass, cool, and cunning killer. Honestly, I think he's SNK's best character.

Francis York Morgan (Deadly Premonition) - Hell, I'll throw in Zach, too. Francis Morgan has got to be one of the most developed main characters I've ever played as in a game. Is he crazy? Probably. Is he cool? Possibly. Is he a bad ass? Depends on your perspective.  He's just so full of mysteries, and every one of them is worth exploring.

Duke Nukem - Because he's everything wrong with pop culture packed into one character. But that's the point, and he works perfectly for it.

Nick (Left 4 Dead 2) - The guy is a massive asshole (naturally he's my main) who has a very shady past, but is actually a pretty interesting character despite how these types of characters normally go. His dialogue frequently drifts between sarcasm and grim reality, and while he bitches a lot, he's not a coward or a flake, and would save pretty much anyone. All this and the dude carries a sniper rifle. My man!

[Foggle]

My list is kind of long, sorry.

Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) - More badassery in the beta alone than in most full games. Awesome voice and sunglasses, too.

Caleb (Blood series) - The funniest of the one-liner-spouting old-school FPS protagonists, IMO.

Dante (Devil May Cry 1-4) - Hilarious, even in the first game. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO FILL YOUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIIIGHT!" Dante in DmC is a disgrace, though.

Deke (Fear Effect) - This guy is fucking awesome in the first game. Funny psychopath with a great accent. He was too much of a dick in the sequel, though, and his new VA was nowhere near as good.

Detective Isaac Washington (House of the Dead: Overkill) - Just... just play the game.

Duke Nukem - Of course.

Elvis (God Hand) - Oh man, I think I laughed at every single line of his dialogue.

Francis York Morgan (Deadly Premonition) - Definitely one of the greatest video game heroes of all time, wouldn't you agree, Zach?

Johnson (Shadows of the Damned) - His banter with Garcia is amazing. Totally steals the show every time he speaks.

Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza series) - Absolute badass and honorable, to boot.

Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil 4) - Fuck you, his horrible one-liners are hilarious. He's boring as hell in everything but the fourth game, though.

Max Payne - Do I even need to elaborate?

Shun Akiyama (Yakuza 4) - Possibly the biggest bro in gaming -- and he has great fashion sense!

Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes series) - Funny and cool in a not-so-cool way. I want a jacket like his.

[gunswordfist]

Good thing I downloaded that Garou demo yesterday. Surprising post by EK

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

Halo guy, Crysis man, and glorious Nikolai from Black Ops .

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, if there's any character that I like from Halo and actually has enough personality and backstory to actually be called a character in the first place, I'd have to say its the Arbiter for me, even if only because he's voiced by Keith David. I mean, Its Keith-fucking-David, the guy who played Goliath in Gargoyles; that has to count for something.

[gunswordfist]

My list is kind of long, sorry.

Adam Jensen (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) - More badassery in the beta alone than in most full games. Awesome voice and sunglasses, too.

Caleb (Blood series) - The funniest of the one-liner-spouting old-school FPS protagonists, IMO.

Dante (Devil May Cry 1-4) - Hilarious, even in the first game. "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE TO FILL YOUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIIIGHT!" Dante in DmC is a disgrace, though.

Deke (Fear Effect) - This guy is fucking awesome in the first game. Funny psychopath with a great accent. He was too much of a dick in the sequel, though, and his new VA was nowhere near as good.

Detective Isaac Washington (House of the Dead: Overkill) - Just... just play the game.

Duke Nukem - Of course.

Elvis (God Hand) - Oh man, I think I laughed at every single line of his dialogue.

Francis York Morgan (Deadly Premonition) - Definitely one of the greatest video game heroes of all time, wouldn't you agree, Zach?

Johnson (Shadows of the Damned) - His banter with Garcia is amazing. Totally steals the show every time he speaks.

Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza series) - Absolute badass and honorable, to boot.

Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil 4) - Fuck you, his horrible one-liners are hilarious. He's boring as hell in everything but the fourth game, though.

Max Payne - Do I even need to elaborate?

Shun Akiyama (Yakuza 4) - Possibly the biggest bro in gaming -- and he has great fashion sense!

Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes series) - Funny and cool in a not-so-cool way. I want a jacket like his.

[Foggle]

Blank post.

[talonmalon333]

You know, I could list some obvious ones. But I'll pick a less obvious, but still somewhat obvious, one instead.

Let's talk about Ganon.



Arguable the best character in the series. At first, Ganon kind of had that "Sauron" atmosphere. Where you hear about him, but never see him. This just added to the fear of him. Then OoT came around, where he truly became a character. Ganon was a typical evil overlord here, but he was effective just the same. In every game after he's had a great appearance, but the one in particular I'd like to praise is TWW. Here, you learn he's not just some evil guy. He had to endure a life in a desert that carried nothing but death. But when he first looked to Hyrule, he saw it's beauty. Ganon didn't just wanna rule or destroy the world. He coveted Hyrule. And the emotions that are drawn from this scene where you learn this... truly touching. I've heard some people argue that Ganon is stale? Well, I think he's welcome anytime if he can bring such emotion again.

[gunswordfist]

Blank post.

I said elaborate on Max Payne

[Foggle]

It has recently come to my attention that not enough people understand how great Max Payne has been to our lives. Each day we wake up and likely have one or more Max Payne lying at the foot of our beds. It is wonderful to be able to wake up and smile each morning because of this.

Social & Cultural Factors

Max Payne has a large role in American Culture. Many people can often be seen taking part in activities associated with Max Payne. This is partly because people of most ages can be involved and families are brought together by this. Generally a person who displays their dislike for Max Payne may be considered an outcast.

Economic Factors

It is not common practice to associate economics with Max Payne. Generally, Max Payne would be thought to have no effect on our economic situation, but there are in fact some effects. The sales industry associated with Max Payne is actually a 2.3 billion dollar a year industry and growing each year. The industry employs nearly 150,000 people in the United States alone. It would be safe to say that Max Payne play an important role in American economics and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Environmental Factors

After a three month long research project, I've been able to conclude that Max Payne doesn't negatively effect the environment at all. A Max Payne did not seem to result in waste products and couldn't be found in forests, jungles, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc... In fact, Max Payne produced some positive effects on our sweet little nature.

Political Factors

Oh does Max Payne ever influence politics. Last year 5 candidates running for some sort of position used Max Payne as the primary topic of their campaign. A person might think Max Payne would be a bad topic to lead a campaign with, but in fact with the social and environmental impact is has, this topic was able to gain a great number of followers. These 5 candidates went 4 for 5 on winning their positions.

Conclusion

Max Payne seem to be a much more important idea that most give credit for. Next time you see or think of Max Payne, think about what you just read and realize what is really going on. It is likely you under valued Max Payne before, but will now start to give the credited needed and deserved.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

We're talking about last gen Max Payne and not that fat, bald, has-been that's going to be in something titled Max Payne 3 right?

[Foggle]

We're talking about last gen Max Payne and not that fat, bald, has-been that's going to be in something titled Max Payne 3 right?

Oh, good lord, yes.