Favorite VG characters

M76

[H]F Junkie
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Usually we speak about the best rpg, the best this the best that type of game, but to me personally one of the most important selling points of a game is the story. But to be able to tell a good story first you need good characters.
This is the part where bethesda rpgs have failed miserably over and over again, with their cookie cutter one in a dozen characters That's one of the reasons why I never could really immerse myself into any of their games. They were very good games, but I feel if they paid more attention on characters they could've been legendary.

So without further ado, who are your most liked video game characters? It doesn't have to be a main character, or even a playable character, anyone goes as long as they're part of a video game. Who resonated with you the most? I know I was very fond of quite a few characters in certain games. So here goes without any particular order.

Oh, and be consider yourself warned, the forecast says a light breeze of spoilers ahead!



Captain David Anderson (Mass Effect Trilogy)

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When it comes to Mass Effect it's always Garrus this Garrus that. But my favorite non playable character from the series has to be Anderson. Sure he doesn't have a too large part in the games, but his role is vital. He's the anchor for Shepard. The ally you can always trust, when you doubt everyone else. Also he's a mentor and I'd even go so far as a father figure. And the voice of Keith David makes it even better. Reading the novels by Drew Karpyshin also gave the character further depth, where he's the main protagonist.

Mona Sax (Max Payne 2)

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The first female character from any videogame who stood out to me. I know the character was already present in the first game, but I wouldn't have gave her a second thought based on that. It's the second game where she was truly fleshed out. And she played a pivotal role in shaping the character of Max as well. If I wanted to make an ordered list I'm pretty sure I'd make her no1. A female badass, but not the hollywood type glamour girl, but one who you truly see as capable of kicking ass.

Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect 2-3)

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By far the best LI in the Mass Effect series for male Shepard and quite possibly overall as well. Her romance story is the most satisfying and most interesting, the romance scenes are the best, going all the way from ME2, trough ME3, and finally in the Citadel dlc. The character goes trough enormous development, from being the "Cerberus cheerleader". The way she turns on the Illusive Man at the end of ME2. But of course it's not just that. The character is probably one of the most complex in the series. Including but not limited to her inner conflict with being a child of eugenics. The way she attributes her achievements to genes only.

And even her side story in ME3 was interesting. I secretly hoped, that Bioware would release a single player DLC, where you get to play out her part of the events that you only hear about in ME3. I'd have paid any kind of money to get that.

Madison Paige (Heavy Rain)

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There is nothing out of the ordinary, with this character. And perhaps that's what made me love her so much. It was all sealed in the night club scene. And her general selflessness in helping Ethan without a second thought. Actually it was her character that prompted me creating this thread, when I was posting my review for Heavy Rain.

Anna Grimsdottír (Splinter Cell series)

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This is a case where the character doesn't even needs to be in the game for being brilliant. Well at least not until Conviction, but it's better not even to speak about that how they did a complete one-eighty on the character there. They changed both the looks and the personality. And I didn't like it, one bit. I came to like the original character from the previous games, based on nothing else but the banter between her and Sam Fisher. She truly took the piss out of good old Sam at times.

Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3)

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Probably the most unhinged character ever, but this time not in a bad way. You know what I mean. I think this character goes one step beyond Batman's Joker. Michael Mando did an epic job. A psychopath trough and trough, but not in a creepy way, but in a way that you cannot stop grinning any time he's on screen.



And finally a shootout to all DeusEx games that have many great characters that make them work, but none who would stand out so much to get a separate mention.
 
Calypso: Twisted Metal 2

I liked his sense of humor. The best version of him IMO.

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Orchid: Killer Instinct 1, 2, 3

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Usually we speak about the best rpg, the best this the best that type of game, but to me personally one of the most important selling points of a game is the story. But to be able to tell a good story first you need good characters.
This is the part where bethesda rpgs have failed miserably over and over again, with their cookie cutter one in a dozen characters That's one of the reasons why I never could really immerse myself into any of their games. They were very good games, but I feel if they paid more attention on characters they could've been legendary.

So without further ado, who are your most liked video game characters? It doesn't have to be a main character, or even a playable character, anyone goes as long as they're part of a video game. Who resonated with you the most? I know I was very fond of quite a few characters in certain games. So here goes without any particular order.

Oh, and be consider yourself warned, the forecast says a light breeze of spoilers ahead!



Captain David Anderson (Mass Effect Trilogy)



When it comes to Mass Effect it's always Garrus this Garrus that. But my favorite non playable character from the series has to be Anderson. Sure he doesn't have a too large part in the games, but his role is vital. He's the anchor for Shepard. The ally you can always trust, when you doubt everyone else. Also he's a mentor and I'd even go so far as a father figure. And the voice of Keith David makes it even better. Reading the novels by Drew Karpyshin also gave the character further depth, where he's the main protagonist.

Mona Sax (Max Payne 2)



The first female character from any videogame who stood out to me. I know the character was already present in the first game, but I wouldn't have gave her a second thought based on that. It's the second game where she was truly fleshed out. And she played a pivotal role in shaping the character of Max as well. If I wanted to make an ordered list I'm pretty sure I'd make her no1. A female badass, but not the hollywood type glamour girl, but one who you truly see as capable of kicking ass.

Miranda Lawson (Mass Effect 2-3)



By far the best LI in the Mass Effect series for male Shepard and quite possibly overall as well. Her romance story is the most satisfying and most interesting, the romance scenes are the best, going all the way from ME2, trough ME3, and finally in the Citadel dlc. The character goes trough enormous development, from being the "Cerberus cheerleader". The way she turns on the Illusive Man at the end of ME2. But of course it's not just that. The character is probably one of the most complex in the series. Including but not limited to her inner conflict with being a child of eugenics. The way she attributes her achievements to genes only.

And even her side story in ME3 was interesting. I secretly hoped, that Bioware would release a single player DLC, where you get to play out her part of the events that you only hear about in ME3. I'd have paid any kind of money to get that.

Madison Paige (Heavy Rain)



There is nothing out of the ordinary, with this character. And perhaps that's what made me love her so much. It was all sealed in the night club scene. And her general selflessness in helping Ethan without a second thought. Actually it was her character that prompted me creating this thread, when I was posting my review for Heavy Rain.

Anna Grimsdottír (Splinter Cell series)



This is a case where the character doesn't even needs to be in the game for being brilliant. Well at least not until Conviction, but it's better not even to speak about that how they did a complete one-eighty on the character there. They changed both the looks and the personality. And I didn't like it, one bit. I came to like the original character from the previous games, based on nothing else but the banter between her and Sam Fisher. She truly took the piss out of good old Sam at times.

Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3)



Probably the most unhinged character ever, but this time not in a bad way. You know what I mean. I think this character goes one step beyond Batman's Joker. Michael Mando did an epic job. A psychopath trough and trough, but not in a creepy way, but in a way that you cannot stop grinning any time he's on screen.



And finally a shootout to all DeusEx games that have many great characters that make them work, but none who would stand out so much to get a separate mention.
Agree with Miranda. She went from my most hated character at the start of ME2 to my favorite by the end of ME3. Amazing character development and a very satisfying emotional experience throughout. Just like Garrus, Tali seems to at least be the most spoken about female character. I really liked Tali in the first game, but unlike Miranda her character didn't really develop at all through the rest of the trilogy. I also didn't find Tali's romance endearing; more like silly and ridiculous.
 
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I tend to like the brutes. Bowser, Wario, Zangief, King (from Tekken), and Havel (Dark Souls).
 
I liked King as well always loved his combo

King is top tier in Tekken 7 (coming out in 2 weeks). He hasn't been an elite character in a while. I'm looking forward to giant swinging fools left and right.
 
King is top tier in Tekken 7 (coming out in 2 weeks). He hasn't been an elite character in a while. I'm looking forward to giant swinging fools left and right.

He is a top tier but not an elite? how sad he deserve to be!!
 
Well let's revive this old thread then. I hope the original poster doesn't mind :D

Juno Eclipse - About the only good thing in that mess that was Force Unleashed 2.
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Sylens - Horizon Zero Dawn
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Kane - Command & Conquer and Red Alert. I always felt sorry that they never expanded on that crossover. It would've been great if we found out that Red Alert's alternative universe was actually created by Kane's manipulations. But they separated the two games completely after that, and driven them into the ground hard.
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Paulie - Mafia
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Gabriel Logan from Syphon Filter is and will always be my hero.

 
JC denton
solid snake

Probably a few other obscure ones I can't think of at the moment.
 
I really like creepy games, So these are going to be horror characters or from horror games. One of my favorites is The Suffering. The backstory on the creatures is fascinating, and of them, my favorite would be:
The Creeper from The Suffering: Ties that Bind
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Throughout the game in various places he'll show up and say the creepiest things. Of the whole game he was probably the most unsettling which makes him one of my favorite villains.

Eddie Gluskin Outlast Whistleblower

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When I played Outlast, it was a thrilling ride and had a couple of creepy moments. But holy shit, playing Whistleblower and running from a guy who wants to make you his wife, cut a slit in you for a nice soft place for his seed? fuck that. That gets under your skin.

Simon Jarrett: Soma
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When SOMA was announced I paid very little to the promo material and just bought & played the game. I had no idea what the game was even about until I played it.
Playing as Simon, who in the beginning of the game you find out is going to die, so he is a guinea pig for some experiment, then all of a sudden wakes up who knows how long after, and finds out he's a robot. Throughout the game the do a good job of giving you the ability to ask yourself, does a meat suit mean you're a human? Or is a copy of a being human? Playing as Simon and going through those choices really made the game worth it.


Can't forget
Lamarr from HL2!
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SOMA was great. Simon was ok, but some of the things he was so upset over, or conflicted on, I just wanted to smack him for. Not all of it, and there are some truly thoughtful conflicts and questions that were cool. However, since my own opinions on much of it were so different than the character's, I was sometimes like "shut up Simon, shut up!" :D Overall though, I agree. Good character, excellent game. I liked Catherine a lot. Some of her points of view aligned with my opinions more. (though not all) The last chunk of the game was especially good.

I'm also a big fan of "The Hacker" and "Goggles" from the System Shock games. Not because they're real characters, but because the games pulled me into their roles so thoroughly, that I haven't experienced anything even close since. For a real character though (non playable) SHODAN is tip top.

The Orz from Star Control 2. Multi-dimensional hive mind thing that controls weird fish-bird creatures that is likely responsible for a complete race (Androsynth) disappearing due to their own curiosity. (one of the running theories out there anyway...)

Lilith from Borderlands is cool in the badass sense, and then I'm a big fan of Moxxi and Scooter for the funny stuff.

The Trapezohedron from Sundered is pretty good.

The drifter in Hyper Light Drifter is an interesting character.

Riddick makes an excellent game character. Probably even better than a movie character, but since he's both, it definitely brings a bit of the cinematic side to the game character.

All of the characters in Psychonauts are great.

The Ghostbusters in "Ghostbusters: The Video Game" of course are about as tip-top as they come, because they're the REAL Ghostbusters. (cartoon pun slightly intended after-the-fact :D )

Blade Kitten is a fun character.

Shovel Knight (really all of the knights in the game) are excellent characters. I'm a big fan of Spectre Knight.

I'm a fan of Akuma from Street Fighter. A demon walking as a human in order to fight humans on the street is never a bad thing. :D

Cuphead is good.

BJ and Friends from The New Order are all pretty good characters.

Alucard from Symphony of the night is pretty cool.

Isaac from Dead Space is an interesting character. Maintenance worker gone sci-fi action hero.

Paxton Fettel from F.E.A.R.

Main character in Transistor is pretty cool. Can't remember her name.

Tommy from Prey.

Elexis Sinclaire from Sin.

How about Julie from Heavy Metal FAKK 2.

Roq from Songbringer and his pal Jib.


That ought to do it for now. :D
 
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Diablo 2's story and narration were masterpieces. Marius, Tyrael, and Baal were great. Not to mention Mephisto's speech when they opened the gate to hell.
 
Diablo 2's story and narration were masterpieces. Marius, Tyrael, and Baal were great. Not to mention Mephisto's speech when they opened the gate to hell.

Sit a while, and listen!
 
Rikimaru from Tenchu.

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"Respect the rice."

(for those that don't remember, enemies in Tenchu ran to poisoned rice like a pig to truffles..)
 
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can't hit pause to show show you the exact frame, but it was my favorite for a long stretch
 
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