Top 10: Greatest video game characters of all-time

The characters of a video game possess a great importance to the player’s connection to the story and plot that unfolds. The success of many video games is often arguably down to the iconic status of some characters.

Keeping with the top 10 theme following is a countdown of the top 10: greatest video game characters of all-time, taking into account their critical, commercial and revolutionary success.

[PoSTedUP]

toejam and earl.
bowser
knuckels
samus
turok
lara croft
king
crash bandicoot
sack boy
earth worm jim

[Darkstorn]

Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, Big Boss, Big Mama, The Boss, etc.

[PoSTedUP]

ah i forgot about snake (funny because i just started playing MGS4 again and i JUST played the peace walker demo) lol.

[brazilianbumpincher]

somewhere along with guile or ken

[Davoh]

The Tetris line piece should be in every top list of characters, never in any game does a gamer feel so much joy and relief than when they see a line piece is next. Best inanimate character in the world.

Saying that, the companion cube should also be on that list - every great character is an inanimate character.

[pipster17]

@Davoh

Inanimate objects are awesome, don't forget the BFG 9000 from Doom and exploding barrels in any game that allows you to destroy them and kill 5+ enemies at once.

[Spenok]

Yea i would have to say Snake is easily one of the best.

[Nugundam0079]

Just the Boss and Big Boss

[Commander_TK]

U guys remember Alex Kidd? Awesome kid.

[Brewski007]

Ahhhh toejam & earl !! So amazing. (well the first game...dont know where they were going with the second "planet funkatron") Someday i hope that games resurrected properly.

[WildArmed]

Mario..
It was the first character to be a CHARACTER..
w/o Mario we wouldn't have games with characters in them, we'd still be playing Tetris-like games ^^
I'm not a fan of mario (I'm sure my comment history says so), But I do respect the franchise.. (even though it's out of control!)

And I'd put Link from Zelda.. one of the best characters from the N64 gen and before.

And ofcourse, the MGS cast.. namely the Snakes :D

[PoSTedUP]

DK came before mario and im very much sure he was a character.

glad to see fans of the game brewskii! it was the first game i ever played when i was like 4 yrs old. i loved it it was so much fun and remember most of it till this day. man i need to buy an old used sega for that game.

[WildArmed]

Actually, DK and Mario were in the same Game.. but Mario was the playable character.
I remember watching a video game docmentary that said just that.
and with a min worth of searching, here some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[PoSTedUP]

jumpman was later known as mario, yes. but mario wasn't the first character, not even the first to become popular actually, pac man came out before DK and jumpman and im sure there were other characters invented b4 that that just werent popular. i respect mario though he has done a lot.

[otherZinc]

However:
no Master Chief is foolish & hilarious at the same time.

Foolish because its obvious the author is trying to avoid him.

& hilarious because The Master Chief is the 2nd most recognizable character on that list to Mario & the only video game character in the Famed Madam Tussuads Wax Museum in Las Vegas, one of only 7 in the world.

[WildArmed]

Actually, if you look at iconic characters, most of them were developed a few gens ago.
Master Chief, Sackboy, Nathan Drake, imo are too 'fresh' to be Great.
It's when their time passes.. and you STILL remember them..
That's when they become great.

It's not a big deal say.. we are talking about President Obama or Bush.. but it is a big deal to be still talking about Alexander The Great. For he is remembered waay past his time.
Same goes for the characters like toejam & earl.
but this is just my opinion.
It's easy to call Kratos or Eathan Mars (really now?) to be the greatest video game character when the games came out not even 6 months ago.

But say a character from Contra (c'mon! I know most of you know about this game), Terra (Final Fantasy 6 anyone?) or Streets Of Rage (HELL YES) is still in your mind, that makes it great.. IMO.
Something more memorable than console generations.. so what these were 16-bit games and characters. Most of them were more 'alive' than most of the gaming characters this gen.

[Shepherd 214]

Id say that after nine years of existence, the Master Chief deserves a place on the list.

But i dont like this list save for a few exceptions. I liked how they put a twist in and included the Arbiter instead of Master Chief. Keith David is an amazing voice actor and the Arbiter was a great character.

Solid Snake also deserves a high spot on the list, but where the hell is Gordon Freeman?

[deanobi]

I would like more revolutionary characters with deep stories :]

[00]

.

[wissam]

My Kratos Deserves to be at 6 IMO. old snake and cloud are also my favorite.

[Eazy-Eman]

Stop putting FFVII characters in whatever top 10 lists you make...seriously though that game is overrated to the max.

[Bobbykotickrulesz]

Any game that's amazing is overrated apparently.

There's always going to be haters a long time down the road. I've heard people say Super Mario 64 was overrated. I've heard people say MGS was overrated. I've heard people say Uncharted 2 was overrated.

You know what I think? I think your useless opinion is overrated.

[Eazy-Eman]

I think your useless opinion is overrated too. It seems to me that we are at an impasse.

[WildArmed]

I actually don't think Cloud's character was the best out of all in FF7.
But that's just my opinion.

But, MajorJackhoff.. FF7 has a cult-like following.. which overrated the game a lot.
Any game with cult-like following soon become over rated.

Which is why most 'awesome' games become over rated. IMO, when a franchise goes Big.. that's when it gets the 'overrated' treatment.
Batman:Arkaham Asylum.. lovely game.
with a few more great sequels, it'll become 'overrated'..
I honestly don't understand the label system as clearly as I'd like to.
But this is the gist I've gathered over the years about gaming and the overrated label

[Darrius Cole]

If a game that released two generations ago still has a cult-like following, then that is proof that he game is great.

[twostep18]

my fav ff7 character is
reno
idc what yall think lol

[dorron]

Kratos should be in the top 5.

What the hell are doing Ethan Mars,Glados and The Arbiter in that list????

[Hellsvacancy]

I know, Ethan Mars? wtf, Mr 47 should of been on the list

[inception123]

glados is definitely in the top 3 with drake and snake. ethan and the arbiter i can see why they wouldn't be on the list though.

[Nike]

Is [insert favorite character] on the list?

If not, then fail.

[George Sears]

Heh

[Tripl3seis]

im going with kratos and sack boy

[EditorAtGNG]

Max Payne...

Oh, OH! Gordon Freeman! Wait, wait... G-Man. I meant the G-Man.

[anonymouse111335]

These are all just like your opinions men.

[coolbeans]

I don't understand the Ethan Mars and Arbitar choices at all.

[Cajun Chicken]

Another wonderfully generic list.

[fatalred alarm]

And i guess adding commander shepard from mass effect is a pretty good idea, just because he has a great personality ( somewhat controlled by yourself...but meh ) and he just saved the entire galaxy, twice.

[HurstDarkStar]

those things have put fear into every gamer since the dawn of time! The way they blow up is just a tradmark of gaming.they have also bring joy for all the treasure hunters among us

when have you seen a create and not thought DAMMIT!/OH JOY!. come tell me

[telekineticmantis]

Mario has like what 2 catch phrases. why is he number one. Must nostalgia rule us all...

[GreenMachin3]

The list is incomplete without Mega Man...

[Baka-akaB]

Grahf has to be among them imo .

[inception123]

they're all good except mario and sonic nostalgia is not a good enough reason for me to be considered one of the greatest characters of all time you need a personality.

[BannedForNineYears]

Absolutely great list.
Besides the absence of Sackboy. :(
Poor lil' things don't get the attention they deserve.

[kingjoker34]

Sackboy, Solid Snake, and Nathan = PS3 mascots
I love them all lol

[ChickeyCantor]

Sackboy has no personality, you have to give him one. I think thats his problem.

[kingjoker34]

i disagree, that is what makes him great, you can make sackboy into anything you like, so you have to lick him regardless

[ChickeyCantor]

And therefor he holds no personality like other game characters.
Therefor lots of people just dont see it.

Btw some in these list are terribly chosen

[OutgoingSquall]

Mario number one made me not take this list seriously okay he was the first big video game character how the f does Mario beat snake lmao.

[pipster17]

Why should snake beat Mario?

[OutgoingSquall]

Why should Mario beat snake? Ummmmm let's see snake is the hero who was the one to deserve a happy ending with all the hell he went through losing close freinds only to find out the worst thing to possibly happen to a clone and still fought.
Lmao anyone want to have there say plz tell me why Mario should be ranked higher then solid snake lmao.

[SpaceFox]

Auron from FFX is pretty badass. Not enough to make the top 10 but I could definitely see him in the top 20.

[Capt-FuzzyPants]

Zack Fair deserves to be on any list with Cloud on it.

[George Sears]

Top [insert number here] is usually about popularity and nothing else.

[Da One]

one of the most well done characters ever

[pipster17]

I think that Samus, Mega Man, and Master Chief should be on the list. Get rid of Arbiter, Ethan Mars and one of the FF characters. If it's a GOAT list, then two from the same franchise is slightly contradictory. The rest I like and think Kratos should be higher, simply due to his popularity.

[w00sta]

2 FF7 characters...no - just no

[gumgum99]

I kinda wish they would switch up the #1 spot for once, so it doesn't get redundant. Yes, Mario has done great things for the industry, and his games are great, but come on! give other characters a chance. k?

[Nugundam0079]

Till other characters have reached the star power that he has had "no pun intended" then no-he deserves his place.

[MTROB]

Should of included Lara Croft - Pansy!!!