The 20 Greatest Video Game Characters of All Time

Some are mascots, some are mercenaries, some are barely more than a voice. These are the characters that carried whole franchises and stayed recognisable decades later. Vote on which one belongs at the top.

1

Link

The silent green-clad hero of The Legend of Zelda, reincarnated across every era of Hyrule.

1000pts

2

Geralt of Rivia

The Witcher's monster hunter, carried from novels into one of the most acclaimed RPG series.

1000pts

3

Ellie

The survivor at the centre of The Last of Us, carried across two games and a decade.

835pts

4

Bowser

The Koopa King, the antagonist Mario has been chasing for four decades.

800pts

5

Donkey Kong

The barrel-throwing ape of the 1981 arcade original who became a hero in his own series.

734pts

6

Cloud Strife

The buster-sword mercenary of Final Fantasy VII and the face of the JRPG boom.

734pts

7

Ryu

Street Fighter's wandering martial artist and the reference point for every fighting-game roster.

659pts

8

Lara Croft

The archaeologist of Tomb Raider and the first widely recognised female lead in games.

659pts

9

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sega's blue mascot, built in 1991 as the fast, attitude-heavy answer to Mario.

571pts

10

Solid Snake

Metal Gear's infiltrator, the centre of the series that made stealth a genre.

467pts

11

Princess Zelda

The ruler of Hyrule who gave the series its name and finally its own playable game in 2024.

467pts

12

Samus Aran

The bounty hunter of Metroid, whose 1986 reveal reframed who a video game hero could be.

467pts

13

Mario

Nintendo's plumber, the most recognisable character in the medium since 1981.

343pts

14

Pac-Man

The 1980 arcade circle whose simple design made him gaming's first mascot.

343pts

15

GLaDOS

Portal's passive-aggressive test-chamber AI, a villain who is mostly a voice.

343pts

16

Master Chief

The armoured Spartan of Halo, whose face has stayed hidden for a quarter of a century.

190pts

17

Sephiroth

Final Fantasy VII's one-winged antagonist, routinely named the medium's best villain.

190pts

18

Pikachu

The electric mouse who became the face of Pokemon and one of the world's best-known fictional characters.

190pts

19

Kratos

The Spartan of God of War, rewritten from vengeful demigod into a reluctant father.

190pts

20

Arthur Morgan

The outlaw of Red Dead Redemption 2, held up as one of the best-written characters in games.

190pts