Video game characters. There are THOUSANDS of them. Some are funny, some are annoying, some are great, and others… not so much (Makarov) But, then comes along those video game characters. The ones that are so well written, and so perfectly executed, that you want to see more of these characters. And so, today, I am going to list my top ten- no- Top Fifteen of my favorite video game characters. Now, a few rules before we begin. Only one game per franchise, and only from games that I have played. Lastly, I will be spoiling all of these games (Persona 4, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Trauma Team, Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Red Dead Redemption, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater) Now, with all that said, lets start the list.

#15: Luigi from Super Mario Bros.



You know, ever since 1985, Mario has been the most popular video game character ever. There is not a single person who has no idea who Mario is. But, what about his brother, Luigi. In every single game, Luigi has been pushed to the side while his brother takes all the glory. And that’s not a joke. In Super Mario 64 for the DS, when playing as Luigi, all of the Toads will say that Luigi is always in Mario’s shadow, and some won’t even know his name. But why? Luigi can be an amazing plumber too. Unlike Mario, Luigi has the ability to run faster and jump higher, but Luigi has also been known to be a Ghostbuster and catch ghosts inside a haunted mansion, which I think was pretty awesome. Of course, the only reason Luigi ever goes with Mario on his adventures is so he can try to be like Mario. He looks up to his older brother, like most younger brothers do, and wants to be just like Mario someday. Who knows, maybe he will. But, until them, Luigi will remain as the simple cowardly younger brother of a popular plumber that is still loved by gamers everywhere..

#14: Tohru Adachi from Persona 4



Now, for those who have played Persona 4, you all are probably wondering why I am putting a character such as Adachi on this list. What he does in the game is just awful. While I agree, it’s how he is executed that makes him a great character in my eyes. At the start of the game, Adachi is nothing more than a cheerful and possibly dimwitted detective who is the partner of Dojima, the protagonists uncle. Throughout the game, Adachi is seen as the comic relief throughout the entire game, joking about how he is like a slave, to accidently giving away police information to civilians, which usually results in him getting punched in the back of the head by Dojima. But, throughout the game, the protagonists and his friends are searching for the killer who drags people into the TV and kills them. And, once you find out who it is, it turns out that the killer….. was Adachi. After this, he then shows that he is a sadistic, manipulative psychopath who kills people for fun. He used the TV to kill people as he found it to be entertaining, as he was bored with the real world. What makes this great is how unexpected it is. Adachi was meant to be the comic relief, and finding out that he is the killer is just shocking… or at least it WOULD be if the internet wouldn’t have spoiled it for everyone.

#13: Niko Bellic from Grand Theft Auto IV



Niko is nothing like the other characters in the series…. Okay, he gets involved with the criminal underworld, robs a bank, and goes around killing people when the player feels like it, but he is nothing like other characters in the series. After he was blamed for sinking a ship while he was involved in human trafficking, Niko hid on the Platypus, a large ship, for months until he arrived at Liberty City, where his cousin was waiting for him. Niko is one of the more sympathetic characters, as his main reason for coming to America was to find two men, Florian Cravic (Now named Bernie Crane), and Darko Brevic, for selling him and other soldiers out during the Bosnian War to the other army, and Niko not only forgives Bernie, but even helps him with his life, and he does not kill Darko, the one who did sell out Niko during the war, when he learns of his heroine addiction… Of course, you can kill him, but I never did, so…… Niko didn’t kill him. And after the main story is complete, Niko tries to live a normal life and give up his life of crime, and if Roman happens to be killed, Niko would help raise his son, as it has said on the Wiki… Yes, I get information from Wiki. Shut up!

#12: Tetra from Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker



As much as I love the Zelda series, Zelda herself doesn’t really seem to do much. Sure, she gives Link the light arrows and teaches him the Song of Time, but other than that… not much. Thankfully, Wind Waker said “Screw that” and they changed Zelda COMPLETELY! And by Zelda, I mean Tetra. Tetra is the leader of a group of pirates, and is seen to be selfish and distrustful of anyone who isn’t a part of her crew. However, she is actually caring towards others, as when she plans to head to Outset Island to get the treasure, she warns her crew to not do anything to the people on the island. The reason for her being so caring is because she is actually the descendent of Zelda, and has a piece of the Triforce with her, obviously making her a target for Ganondorf. What makes Tetra different from other versions of Zelda, you know, besides not being named Zelda, is that she is able to protect herself and doesn’t get kidnapped often like other Zelda’s. But, trust me, she still gets kidnapped plenty of times in the series. Just not as much. Sure, you can say that Zelda was able to protect herself in Ocarina of Time as Sheik, but, Sheik doesn’t do much other than teach Link music and have a slashy way of entering and exiting. Tetra, however, is easily able to take care of herself. I mean, if she can scare grown men that are ten times her size, she must be well respected.

#11: Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night



In every Castlevania game, you play as a member of the Belmont family, who are trying to rid Transylvania of the curse of Dracula… NOT IN SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT! Well, okay, at the beginning, you play as a Belmont, but afterwards, you play as the son of Dracula, Alucard (Fun fact: Alucard is Dracula backwards, but you all know that, so I’m wasting your time). Alucard was born with Dracula as his father and a human named Lisa as his mother, making him stronger than any human, but not as strong as Dracula. Some time later, Lisa was killed by other humans for being accused as a witch. However, Alucard did not get angry at the humans, and instead, he aided the humans in defeating his father's army, alongside Trevor Belmont in Castlevania 3. That alone would put Alucard on this list, but there is more in Symphony of the Night. Here, he finds that Richter Belmont has been controlled by the evil sorcerer, Shaft, who wanted to bring Dracula back to life, and after Alucard defeated Dracula, he had no other choice but to return from where he was, even though Maria wanted to do her best to let him stay. Why are all vampires named Alucard so awesome.

#10: Palutena from Kid Icarus: Uprising



Okay, now, I am just going to point out how this character reminds me so much of Celestia from My Little Pony. And trust me, the similarities is incredible. Palutena is the goddess of light (Like Celestia), and is the ruler of Angel Land (Like Celestia). She is seen as a kind and benevolent ruler (Like Celestia), and she always seeks the help of others like Pit (Like Celestia). And even though she is a kind ruler, she is also very playful and mischievous (Like Celestia). See what I mean? But seriously though, Palutena is always there making jokes to Pit, and even sometimes putting him in danger for the good of people. Maybe she’s doing it because she knows that he will survive… Or maybe she’s just that much of a troll, I don’t know. Now, as much as I wanted to put Hades, the biggest troll in video game history on this list, I didn’t because that would have been WAY too obvious. Besides, I like Palutena just a bit more. I know, you’re all shocked, but, it’s just my opinion.

#9: Dante from Devil May Cry



Now, when I say Dante from Devil May Cry, I don’t mean that little emo prick from DMC! No, I mean the original Dante. The better Dante. From the first two games, Dante is kind of a prick, though not the kind that gets annoying after a while, more of the kind that you can laugh along with. Dante would always mouth off to everyone to the point where he would annoy the hell out of them. However, after many events occurred in the first two games, he matured for the later installments. And let me tell you, he gets even better from here. In the games after Devil May Cry 2, Dante has matured, but he keeps that humorous and laid-back side of him, always making jokes about enemies. And in Devil May Cry 4, OH DEAR LORD, he gets even funnier. From the point where he kicks rocks at a giant serpent like it’s a soccer ball, to trying to be more dramatic than an over-dramatic villain as if it’s some kind of contest. Dante is just a hilarious douchebag, and that is why we all love him.

#8: GLaDOS from Portal



I’m just going to tell you right now, this isn’t the last intelligent AI that will be on the list. GLaDOS was created back in 1998, but after she had gained the ability to control herself, she began to fill the lab with neurotoxin, killing almost everyone inside, and since everyone was busy with the alien invasion started by Black Mesa, they ignored what GLaDOS did and tried to solve Black Mesa’s problem (It’s a long story). As you play through the game, GLaDOS keeps giving you comments about your actions, which are honestly some of the funniest I have heard in games. Of course, what she really plans to do is kill you by dropping you into a furnace. But, honestly, you can’t help but laugh at what she does. All she does throughout the game is mock you, and even threaten you, but how she does it leaves me in stitches, and I just love it. Oh, and in Portal 2, she gets turned into a potato… Game of the Year, right there.

#7: Cortana from Halo



I told you there would be another intelligent AI, and here she is. Cortana was one of the two surviving flash cloned brains. She chose John-117, or Master Chief as most know him, for his “luck”. As they were together, she gained a strong loyalty towards him, which grew stronger and stronger with the time they spent. While Cortana is indeed intelligent, she does know how to make a few jokes here and there while she and Master Chief are in battle. However, even though she is, she always does her best to help Master Chief, and he does the same for her, making these two some of the best partners in video games. And then there’s the ending to Halo 4…. Oh boy…. While Master Chief was planning to stop the Didact, he was surrounded by a shield. This lead to Cortana entering the shield’s terminals, which ended up disintegrating her data chip. But with the fragments of the chip, she held down the Didact enough for Master Chief to kill him. And with her last energy, she kept Master Chief safe from the blast, which soon lead to her death. And people say FPS games can’t have good characters

#6: Tifa Lockheart from Final Fantasy VII



Let's face it, most women in video games are seen to need help all the time. In Final Fantasy VII, Aerith gets kidnapped a lot more times then one would like. Not Tifa, oh no. Unlike Aerith, she is able to fend for herself, and not only that, but she can beat the crap out of anyone with nothing but her bare fists. Unlike most characters, she fights unarmed, and uses a series of punches and kicks to attack her enemies. Tifa is seen as being strong, but a bit shy around some people, but very motherly and wanting to help others. She is always there to offer emotional support for those on her team, but, unlike most of the other characters, she doesn’t have much of a backstory, and only shares one with Cloud, since they were both from the same town, which I think is a real shame, as she definitely needs to have her own backstory. I want to see more of this character. I want more Tifa, not more bland as hell Lightning.

#5: CR-SO1 from Trauma Team



Out of all the characters I could of chosen, it was hard for me to choose one. I could have chosen Naomi for how she tries to help others before the disease she has kills her. I could have chosen Gabriel for his humorous personality. But, I eventually went with CR-SO1. The thing is, he has no real name. He is named this because he has no idea who he is. CR-SO1 happens to have what all gamers love in a character. Amnesia (Just kidding. We all hate this). However, this doesn’t at all get annoying. Throughout the game, CR-SO1 is seen as a bioterrorist and is sentenced to 265 years in prison. However, he is given a chance to reduce his sentence by a few years by working as a doctor as Resurgam Hospital. Here, he begins to realize that he wants to help people, and does his best to do so. He also soon finds out that he once worked with his adoptive father and mentor at a university, but his mentor released a deadly disease known as Rosalia, which killed everyone except CR-SO1, which caused him to be framed for the disease. What makes CR-SO1 so great is how, even though he has no reason to help others, he still does help them, even if he is risking his own life. And that is what makes him so great.

#4: Alice Twilight from No More Heroes 2



Throughout the game, Travis has been questioning if what he is doing is right. He questions this with both Margarite and Vladimir. But nowhere is it more proven than with the fight with Alice Twilight. Travis meets her on top of a roof at sundown, where she is seen burning pictures of herself. She is throwing away all of the information of her that she had, because she knows that, with Travis here, she will die, and so, she has nothing to leave on the world. The only thing she and all assassins like her live for is to fight, and thus, have no other purpose in the world. She also has the best fight in the game, where she uses a set of five robotic arms that all wield beam katanas to fight. The music in the background really sets the mood as you fight. And of course, after her death, Travis is enraged with how the UAA uses assassins for fighting, and not letting them have any purpose to live other than fighting, vowing to destroy the UAA. It really shows how a game where you play as a nerd who uses a beam katana and has tons of penis innuendos can have such a serious character in it.

#3: Godot from Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations



Throughout the first part of the second case of the game, you are told of this really genius prosecutor named Godot. And, once let me say, when I first saw this guy, I knew he was going to be awesome. For starters, he is always talking about coffee like it is some kind of religion, and every time he talks about it in some sort of wise way, it just cracks me up. Not to mention, he throws coffee at Phoenix’s face whenever he is angry. It is just hilarious. He also has a strong hatred towards Phoenix, and, for reasons that I need to spoil the entire game to explain. Godot was once a defense attorney instead of a prosecutor, named Diego Armando, who was working alongside Mia Fey, Phoenix’s mentor. However, Godot was then poisoned, but instead of dying, he went into a five year coma. When he woke up due to the smell of coffee in a doctor’s mug, he found out that Mia was killed, and he blamed Phoenix for not saving her, and became a prosecutor to test his worthiness. Godot was also responsible for killing the victim in Case 5 to save Maya Fey, Mia’s younger sister, in order to make up for not saving Mia. This here shows how you can even justify an act such as killing, and Godot does that, making him easily mine and even the fans most favorite character in the franchise.

#2: Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid



Yeah, you all saw this guy coming. He was bound to be on the list sooner or later, and, well, here he is. Solid Snake has been trying for years to try and keep the world safe from a new kind of warfare that would send the world into a deadly war, and each time, he gets more and more physically and mentally damaged. However, as the games continue, it is shown that Snake is aging quickly, and losing health, as his cells degenerate due to just being a clone. But, in Metal Gear Solid 4 is what truly makes Snake one of my favorite characters. After defeating Liquid Ocelot and destroying the Patriots, everyone is able to live happily… Everyone except Snake that is. Not only is he slowly dying, but he is unable to have kids, and is unable to marry. And of course, he is also there when his father dies, who he regrets seeing as an enemy the whole time. Seeing Snake go through all of these in the entire series is just wonderful. And let me just say that I think that Metal Gear Solid 4 was a perfect conclusion to the Metal Gear Solid seri- Oh wait, there’s a fifth one out. Nevermind.

#1: John Marston from Red Dead Redemption



Oh man, you all know how much I respect John Marston, so I will try as best as I can to make this quick. John was once a part of Dutch’s gang, but after being nearly killed and left for dead, he left his gang and tried to live a normal life with his wife and son. However, the government soon came and took his family into custody, ordering John to find and kill his past gang. This is already making him a great character, as he has to kill the people he was once a part of in order to save his family, but it gets more developed from there. Soon, after Dutch kills himself, who warns John that he is just as doomed as he is before he does, the government lets John go back home to his family and everything looks like it will be just fine… Until the government comes back. Here, John is forced to fight off the U.S. Army to try and save his family. Of course, he knows he can’t, because he knows the U.S. Army will just come for him again. So, John is left with no other choice but to send his family away as he walks out to the U.S. Army and tries to fight them off himself. Sadly, it doesn’t work, and he is shot down and killed right there. This moment is what easily made John Marston be my favorite video game character. His dedication to trying to keep his loved ones safe is just amazing, and that is why John Marston is my favorite video game character ever.

So, there you have it. Did you enjoy the list? Tell me what you thought of it. With that said, I will see you all next time.