Popular game characters

Before Sony and Microsoft entered the arena, video gaming was a war fought between Nintendo and Sega. Since his debut in , his games have sold 80 million copies, created a TV show spinoff and released various kinds of merchandise.

The tension between Nintendo and Sega has cooled since Sega stopped making consoles, and Sonic was even a playable character alongside Mario in Super Smash Bros. Brawl , fulfilling the dreams of every early 90s gamers. The silent, mysterious protagonist of the Half-Life series — indisputably the greatest single-player first-person shooters ever made — has been blasting and crowbar smashing his way into our hearts since Online gaming, consoles, the upcoming virtual reality future of gaming; forget about all that.

That hungry little yellow circle was the first real icon of arcade gaming. The first Pac-Man machine was produced in , and its mascot went on to become a cultural icon of that decade. Realistically, could it be anyone else? Mario and all of his friends — his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi — have all gone on to be household names thanks to multiple generation of gamers who grew up playing the games. Games starring Mario have sold million copies — making it the most successful video game franchise in history.

By Chris Harty Published Jun 14, Share Share Tweet Email Comment. Via wallgood. Via legendsofthemultiuniverse. Via smashbros. Well, okay, some accounting. Write to Matt Peckham at matt. A dimensionally flat character in, to be fair, overall dimensionally flat stories , her dialogue consists mostly of cries for help. Few characters have undergone transformations as dramatic as Tomb Raider series lead Lara Croft. When she was introduced in , she was an obnoxiously busty, pistol-wielding daredevil clad in short-shorts and skintight top — a bizarre amalgam of female objectification and empowerment.

His first arcade appearance in said nothing about the character, save an implicit, voracious need to gobble things. For most of these games he plays the taciturn chosen one, his presence established by his willingness to embark on dangerous quests to save those important to him most notably Princess Zelda. Sonic was fast, rebellious and full of attitude, a punk rock blue-and-white missile hurtling through vibrant levels at breakneck velocities.

Rocking a cheap sweatsuit more effectively than any other character in gaming history, Niko is a far more complex individual than any of the one-dimensional leads that appeared in the original Grand Theft Auto trilogy.

Unable to shake his shifty past and overwhelmed by the excess of modern American life, Bellic steamrolls through Liberty City like a perpetually downbeat bull in an incredibly violent china shop. Played with a smile and a wink, this Spartan mercenary is as charming as she is homicidal. Whether rubbing shoulders with iconic historical figures like Socrates or slicing and dicing enemy soldiers like a Terminator in a toga, Kassandra is both a furious warrior and a slightly murder-y maker of mirth.

First appearance in a game: Notable appearance: Parappa the Rapper. As far as mascots go for the original PlayStation, Parappa is definitely a left-field choice. This skinny cartoon pooch is obsessed with rap… and wearing blindingly bright beanies. The cuddly hound is also one of the most relentlessly upbeat characters on the PS1.

First appearance in a game: Notable appearance: Silent Hill 2. Brandishing a knife roughly as long as a school bus, the relentless butcher sinisterly scrapes his sword-like weapon across many a surface in pursuit of James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2. To this day it remains a triangular act of gaming treachery. His forename comes from the Deluxe Paint tool used to create his sprite, and his surname is lifted directly from P. First appearance in a game: Notable appearance: Red Dead Redemption 2.

One of the hardest things to do in a game that lets you go anywhere, do anything and hogtie innocent strangers is providing some sense of depth and realism to your protagonist, no matter how they behave. But somehow, Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2 manages to bring a nourishing sense of humanity to almost everything he does. Those layered subtleties are just part of what makes Arthur Morgan stand out as a stoic, amusing, often tragic character.

First appearance in a game: Notable appearance: Max Payne. A different kind of trauma altogether. Fisher is a big enough deal that a film adaptation of Splinter Cell has been in pre-production since , with Bourne director Doug Liman briefly attached, and Netflix is currently producing an anime series adaptation with John Wick writer Derek Kolstad serving as executive producer.

First appearance in a game: Notable appearance: BioShock. And that shocking eruption of violence serves to frame your treatment of the Little Sisters: Do you rescue them and make the game more difficult for yourself?

Or harvest them for improved magic bee hands? You rescue them, obviously, you monster. Keep reading to find out which icons made it into the top 25, and who gets the trophy for being the most iconic video game character in Current page: Page 1. Get the best gaming deals, reviews, product advice, competitions, unmissable gaming news and more! Page 1 of 2: Page 1 Page 1 Page 2. Rachel Weber. See comments. Gaming deals, prizes and latest news. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands.

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