Our Top 9 Favorite Game Characters!
If you follow us on Tumblr (which we recommend you do!), you might have seen us posting a countdown of our top 9 game characters, but in case you missed it, here they all are! We only allowed one character per game universe to keep it fair. Let us know in the comments below who your favorite characters are and why!
In order from number 9 to our all time favorite:
9 - Roxas (Kingdom Hearts series)
Kingdom Hearts has a complicated story, but it’s held together by deep, intriguing characters, both original and from Disney franchises. Roxas is our favorite, his character arc dealing with some pretty mature stuff in what started out as a fairly child friendly game series. The hardships this kid has faced, and the way he handles it in the end has earned him an eternal place in our hearts.
8 - Midna (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
The Legend of Zelda series focuses on the conflict of good vs evil, the hero vs the villain. There are definitely some grey characters, but not a lot of anti-heroes. That was until Midna entered the scene. She’s not just mischievous, she’s at times outright mean, but ultimately she is fighting for her people, and in the end she is a hero on equal footing with Link himself. Her impish nature, and sassy demeanor makes this princess our number 8.
7 - Sheogorath (The Elder Scrolls series)
Ah the Prince of Madness. Or was it Order? Who knows? I certainly don’t. Oh well, cheese for everyone! Sheogorath is one of the Deadric Princes in the world of Tamriel, and his domain is literally madness. He sends the players on some of the craziest missions in the game, yet there is always more to it than meets the eye. The Mad God is deceptively cunning, besting the other Daedric Princes often with little effort, and he is attributed with the downfall of many a powerful King or Queen.
6 - Max Caulfield (Life is Strange)
Life is Strange is one of those games that sneak up on you and changes how you view games forever. It’s a brilliantly written character drama, with a time twisting twist. Literally. Driving the piece is Max Caulfield, a perfectly normal teenage girl. Who can reverse time with the flick of a wrist. Normal. Despite being a semi-blank slate DontNod has managed to make Max full of personality through the choices you as a player make. It’s a rare accomplishment to make a character that feels so relatable to such wide variety of people, but then again, when you can reverse time until you say the right thing I guess you’re cheating anyways.
5 - Flemeth (Dragon Age series)
Well, well… what have we here? Our 5th spot pick is the Witch of the Wilds; Asha'bellanar (or Flemeth if you prefer). The mysterious old crone from Dragon Age: Origins was already funny and interesting enough to be a top contender, but her role later in the series fully solidifies her as one of the greatest characters ever. Beside the badass hair-horns (apparently that’s actually a thing), her ubiquitous role in the game adds so many layers to the story. Also she’s just a crazy powerful crazy person, and that’s always great. She's always feels in control of the situation, always calculating, always manipulating those around her. Is she a villain? No? Not really?
4 - Revan (Knights of the Old Republic)
Another character that is hard to write about while avoiding spoilers. Revan is one of the main characters of Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic, and makes some appearances in related stories. Revan is an enigmatic character who goes through one of the most interesting character arcs we know of, and is responsible for bringing to life one of the best Star Wars games ever. It’s also interesting to note that his mask has some similarities to the upcoming (ed. at the time of the Tumblr post) Episode 7′s Kylo Ren… Hmmm, theories I have.
3 - Rosalind & Robert Lutece (BioShock Infinite)
It’s no small feat to stand out among as large a gallery of amazing characters as BioShock Infinite has, yet the enigmatic Lutece ‘twins’ sure did it. In every play through (read: universe) they are your guides, yet also something more. Are they manipulating you for their own ends, or simply aiding you for the sake of doing good? Their wit and intelligence is unmatched, and they add a “wait, what?” element to the game where you never quite understand what their role is, but whatever it is it’s clearly important. There is always a lighthouse, always a man, always a girl, always a city. Apparently there is also always a scientist, and we hope the next incarnation is just as great as the wonderful Lutece ‘twins’.
2 - Jace Beleren (Magic the Gathering)
There was a time when a lot of folks either hated or loved this mind mage. With some of the recent stories I think Wizards of the Coast has moved most of us into the love group. Jace Bae(leren) is the awkward nerd who quite literally fights using his brain. He’s scrawny and short, but he is more than capable, having, among other things, defeated an opponent by making them forget how to breathe. Now that’s cool. He also solved an ancient puzzle made by an even more ancient dragon, and in doing so became the living embodiment of the law, and is effectively the supreme court of MtG’s biggest city state plane. Thus Jace resolves onto the second spot for our favorite game characters.
1 - GLaDOS (Portal series)
Finally it’s our number 1, everyone’s (including our’s) favorite science nerd; GLaDOS. The original Portal came as part of a bundle, but was quickly upgraded to a standalone version due to popularity. While the mechanics were obviously a large part of this, GLaDOS is responsible for making it feel like a game and not just a puzzle simulator. Obsessed with experiments, GLaDOS puts the player character, Chell, through a series of difficult and eventually deadly tests, all in the name of science. Poor GLaDOS can’t help it, she’s just programmed this way. That being said, we can’t help but feel like she gets some joy out of what she does… We won’t spoil anything here, but please play Portal 2 as well, for a bit more backstory on this amazing AI, as well as a great follow-up to one of the best games ever made!
