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.
1Geralt of RiviaThe Witcher's monster hunter, carried from novels into one of the most acclaimed RPG series.1000pts
2MarioNintendo's plumber, the most recognisable character in the medium since 1981.877pts
3EllieThe survivor at the centre of The Last of Us, carried across two games and a decade.877pts
4Sonic the HedgehogSega's blue mascot, built in 1991 as the fast, attitude-heavy answer to Mario.840pts
5Cloud StrifeThe buster-sword mercenary of Final Fantasy VII and the face of the JRPG boom.840pts
6LinkThe silent green-clad hero of The Legend of Zelda, reincarnated across every era of Hyrule.771pts
7Lara CroftThe archaeologist of Tomb Raider and the first widely recognised female lead in games.771pts
8RyuStreet Fighter's wandering martial artist and the reference point for every fighting-game roster.692pts
9BowserThe Koopa King, the antagonist Mario has been chasing for four decades.692pts
10Solid SnakeMetal Gear's infiltrator, the centre of the series that made stealth a genre.491pts
11Princess ZeldaThe ruler of Hyrule who gave the series its name and finally its own playable game in 2024.491pts
12Donkey KongThe barrel-throwing ape of the 1981 arcade original who became a hero in his own series.491pts
13SephirothFinal Fantasy VII's one-winged antagonist, routinely named the medium's best villain.360pts
14KratosThe Spartan of God of War, rewritten from vengeful demigod into a reluctant father.360pts
15Pac-ManThe 1980 arcade circle whose simple design made him gaming's first mascot.360pts
16GLaDOSPortal's passive-aggressive test-chamber AI, a villain who is mostly a voice.360pts
17Master ChiefThe armoured Spartan of Halo, whose face has stayed hidden for a quarter of a century.0pts
18Samus AranThe bounty hunter of Metroid, whose 1986 reveal reframed who a video game hero could be.0pts
19PikachuThe electric mouse who became the face of Pokemon and one of the world's best-known fictional characters.0pts
20Arthur MorganThe outlaw of Red Dead Redemption 2, held up as one of the best-written characters in games.0pts
Comments 1
Jumpman in a 1981 arcade cabinet became one of these twenty; the rival beside him is silent and renamed by whoever plays: https://youpick.best/articles/super-mario-vs-legend-of-zelda https://youpick.best/articles/sonic-the-hedgehog-ranked-many-ways
YP
ypb-teamAug 21
