Top Video Game Characters

Counting down from eleven.

11.
Holly from Monster Rancher
http://i.imgur.com/6M4ty5F.jpg

Holly acts as your assistant in the original Monster Rancher from taking care of the ranch; interacting with other characters in the game; gauging how your monster is feeling, and letting you know about important events. If you're being an asshole at any point in the game she isn't afraid to scold you, and glare at you in that way that only women know how to to make you fall to your knees and beg forgiveness. Despite only being represented by an animated avatar she shows a lot of personality in the game, and you can see how much she cares for the monsters you're breeding. She was so popular that she made a cameo appearance in the second game and played an important role in the anime. I love her. I want to marry her and have her little monsters.

Oh man, now I want to sing the anime's theme song lol I did love that show

Millie (Suikoden II):
Attachment 61469

In game use: Millie uses a boomerang and a bonaparte (some weird mole creature who eats things), and has decent stats. She's good with a lot of runes, but her main affinity is Fire or Lightning.

http://lparchive.org/Suikoden-II/Upd..._2_-_6_026.gif

Why I like her: I like Millie because she's just... adorable. Everything about her from the outfit to the personality just makes me go :omgomg:. She's not the best character in the game, but you do get her early on, allowing you to build and customize her a good bit and get her to fit well in to your party. Her long range is also helpful

Totooria Helmold (Totori) (Atelier Totori/Atelier Meruru):
Attachment 61470

In game use: Totori is the protagonist of Atelier Totori and the teacher of the protagonist in Atelier Meruru. She's very weak physically, kind of slow, but because she's an alchemist, she is one of the few characters who can use items in battle. This makes her useful because she can heal with items, or use items like bombs to deal good area damage. In Atelier Totori, she's obviously crucial to finishing the game and can synthesize many useful items.

Attachment 61471

Why I like her: Totori is just an incredibly sweet girl. She's nowhere near perfect (although she's got a lot more going for her than the game would have you believe) but she still goes after what she wants. I find her incredibly relatable as a protagonist because she doesn't have everything figured out, she doesn't always know what to do, she makes mistakes and gets confused, but she still does her best and pushes forward. She's also very kind and caring (and cute) and it was great seeing how she matured in Meruru and gained more confidence in herself.

Xiao (Dark Cloud):
Attachment 61472

In game use: Xiao uses slingshots. She is very weak physically, but is one of the fastest characters. She's also essential to jumping over some holes in the floor in dungeons. She can get more powerful with the right weapons.

http://lparchive.org/Dark-Cloud/Upda...3840ddc188.jpg

Why I like her: Because she is just precious. She doesn't get much in game development and she doesn't speak much (no one does in this game), but she is fun to use. Actually my favourite to use. And she gets a talking, wise-cracking slingshot named Steve who makes dungeons 100x more fun.

Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (Tales of the Abyss):
Attachment 61473

(She makes up for all the characters that don't have last names)
In game use: Natalia is pretty much an archer/healer, or that's how I used her at least. As such she has good magic, and being an archer, is a good distance character to use.

Attachment 61474

Why I like her: When I fist saw Natalia, after a few scenes, I thought she was kind of a... not very nice person let's say. And I was sad because I love using archers. But she actually turned things around and became my favourite in the game. Despite being royalty she stood up for the people when they needed help, she takes matters in to her own hands when she thinks something needs to be done, and she cares deeply about others. And her love story is just awww inducing.

Alice (Record of Agarest War Zero):
Attachment 61475

In game use: Alice is basically a very powerful mage. She has some healing, making her very useful before you get your second healer. Her INT is incredible, although she is very weak physically

Attachment 61476

Why I like her: Looking at the little game booklet, Alice actually had me the least interested in her character. Well she ended up being my favourite! She's just a nice, smart, well balanced woman. Seriously. She makes some jokes, teases her friends, comes up with some good observation, helps with whatever the party is doing, raises her friend's son, and also has a beastly crabish man as her servant. Who she is nothing but kind to. She's just a great, well rounded person. Oh, and she has an adorable battle shuffle

Xiao looks familiar, and yet I'm fairly certain I never played Dark Cloud.

10.
Kakurine from Evil Zone
http://i.imgur.com/WbGDwKy.jpg

I'm going into obscure territory here. Kakurine was a character in the fighting game Evil Zone for the PlayStation. She appeared as a child, but was actually 10,000 years old and possessed mystical powers that made her one of the hardest characters to fight in the game, and her voice could drop faster than a boy's testicles. Kakurine had a connection with the main villain Ihadurca who was her friend before turning evil, so she sets off to defeat her in order to get her friend back. Their chemistry on screen together rivals that of Raiden and Shao Kahn in my mind.

Evil Zone was a good game that showed that fighting games can have a good story and characters, so I'd recommend it for any fighting/anime fans out there.

Holy crap, I had forgotten all about that game. I had to look it up, and seeing pictures didn't really jog my memory much, but seeing it in action, I'm pretty sure I rented it, and there was something about it that I really enjoyed. It was in the early awkward days of the 3D fighter genre with the original Tekken, Virtua Fighter, DoA, and Toh Shin Den. Though Toh Shin Den ended up becoming kinda garbage by the third game, I enjoyed the first one on the Sega Saturn. And Evil Zone, now that I recognize and remember it. Thanks for the blast from the past. I might have to look into rekindling that flame

Natalia's my second favorite character behind Jade and she's who I use in battle too. And when I first saw Totori, the fancy lettering made me think it said Satori and I almost bought it right there. I kind of want to go it now.

Anyway, I want to add Beryl to my list.

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k2...psa31d45be.png

In game she's the mage, in case it isn't obvious from her outfit. And she hit hard, really, really hard. She out damages everyone else in the party for awhile and even when the others start catching up to her damage wise she's still laying waste to everything and unlike a certain other leggy character she doesn't kick them two miles into the air where no one else can do anything. Goddammit Kohaku.

I liked her from the start. Her introduction was her kidnapping Kohaku and holding her ransom by threatening to write on her face with ink that won't wash off for weeks! Yup, her role in combat may the mage, but outside of combat she's a painter with the dream of becoming a court painter. And outside of combat she is the least threatening person. And sadly she gets picked on a lot. But she doesn't take it laying down. She's the snarkiest character in the game.

When she joins, she thinks her role is the strange one. But not in this group and over the course of the game she becomes the straight man and only sane guy of the party.

There's this one scene after the arena that really stands out to me with her. She just won a trout ton of money, but GASP Kohaku got sick and the only room available is a stupidly expensive one. And everyone else is just expecting her to shell out her money and she barely gets a thank you for it cause everyone is so worried about Kohaku getting better. And she flips out and storms out of the room. And I think the game wanted you to not be on her side for that, but I was. Everyone in the whole smurfing world loves Kohaku and bends over backswards for her. Character development kicks in for the both of them and they become besties by the end of the game.

And speaking of character development, she has no real stake in the final battle like the rest of the party. Well apart from the end of the world, but that's not why she's there. She's there because she became so close to everyone.

And remember how I said she became the straighman of the group, well there's a few scenes at the end of the game where goes in a routine with Corundam as the wise guy and Beryl plays the straight man.

9.
Jill Valentine from Resident Evil
http://i.imgur.com/UJxkeM2.jpg

I'm a sucker for a woman in uniform. Jill may not have been as relevant to the plot as Chris, but damn if she wasn't fun to play. Her scenario was a godsend after running through Chris' in the first one. I love her broness (is that a word?) with Barry, and her banter with Carlos in the third game. She was the first female character in the series to get her own game and quickly became one of the first names you think of when writing down famous female characters in gaming. I would have preferred her default costume stayed as the RCPD uniform, but you can unlock that so it isn't too big of a deal. The woman took on what many considered to be the greatest tyrant of all time in Nemesis and lived to tell the tale. Girl got balls!

Did 4, here's 2 more

Ludwig Von Koopa

The Koopaling w/ the pimp hair. He's generally seen as the top dog of that crew; he's the boss of World 7 in Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, as well as the Wii games. He's also a badass on the cart track in Super Mario Kart 8. But the hair...

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thum...udwigNSMBU.png

Penelo

When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are... you need a conscience. Penelo perfectly fits that role to the eyes in the sky Vaan in Final Fantasy XII. She makes sure he keeps his feet on the ground as well as his head kept on his neck. Not only that, but she's a more than capable adventurer herself. Her high MP makes her an excellent choice for team mage.

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...o_and_vaan.jpg

Reimi Saionji (Star Ocean The Last Hope):
Attachment 61487

In game use: Reimi is the archer character, making her good for distance attacks and combos. Being long distance, it's also pretty easy to blindside the enemies when using her, which helps build up the bonus board for critical hits.

Attachment 61488

Why I like her: Well, I find her to be absurdly pretty. But really, first of all, she's an archer character, which I very much enjoy playing. I actually think she may be my favourite archer to use from any game. Second of all, I just find her to be a really nice girl. She steps up to command when Edge is out of commission and she does a surprisingly good job. It was unexpected because she doesn't emit an air of leadership, but she still did what she had to do. She always tries her best for others, despite her own fears and insecurities, and she's a really nice person

Fran (Final Fantasy XII):
Attachment 61489

In game use: Because of the way FFXII is played, Fran can be pretty much whoever you want her to be in battle. She does start out as an archer with some black magic. I personally made her in to a Black Mage Archer (my favourite Final Fantasy job combo) and also gave her some ninja swords.

Attachment 61490

Why I like her: As much as I like upbeat and sweet characters, Fran provided a refreshing change from that. She's not quick to open up, but she is still very loyal to the people she trusts. We don't learn much about her until later in the game, but seeing her scenes with the other viera was truly touching, because we got to see a side of her we normally didn't. Also, I like her voice

March (Eternal Sonata):
Attachment 61491

In game use: March is a very well rounded character. She has low HP, but the rest of her stats are good. She's also one of the best characters at building combos, and has some of the more useful special attacks. She attacks with giant moon rings

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/...20110622003200

Why I like her: March provides a good contrast to her sister, Salsa. I like how calm and polite she is. I preferred using her in battle as well. She's very easy going, quiet, and takes her responsibility seriously. It's a shame she comes in later in the game.

Miakis (Suikoden V):
Attachment 61492

In game use: Miakis has pretty well rounded stats and good rune affinity, meaning you can make her fit almost any role in the game. She as good damage output, and her magic attack is good as well if you'd prefer to use her as a mage.

http://lparchive.org/Suikoden-V/Upda...-s5-04-164.jpg

Why I like her: Because she's spunky and silly, acting as kind of a comic relief, but she'll still kick your ass, and her more touching and serious moments are very sad and give me the feels. Her relationship with the princess is just precious, and she acts more like a big sister to her than anything.

Kimahri (Final Fantasy X):
Attachment 61493

In game use: Kimahri is pretty well balanced, and having the smallest sphere grid means you're free to pursue pretty much anyone else's sphere grid to make him whatever you want to make him. I usually follow Tidus' path, so for me, Kimahri usually ends up being a more effective and stronger Tidus. He's also a blue mage, and unlike most FF Blue Mages, he can restore HP while learning abilities, instead of the other way around

Attachment 61494

Why I like him: Because I'm shallow, he was the character that originally interested me the least. Like a giant blue lion man thing? No. I like pretty sweet girl characters! But Kimahri won my respect. He is fiercly loyal to Yuna, he cares about his friends, he's useful in battle, he's strong willed, calm, level headed, wise, and when he finally gets his moments, they are awesome. Him finally gaining the respect of the other Ronso was great, and while I would normally hate 2 against 1 battles, this one had me excited because I wanted to win for Kimahri

Reimi's bow looks cool. Yay Fran and Kimahri!

8.
Ellie from The Last of Us
http://i57.:bou::bou::bou::bou::bou:...ou:/rkwkue.jpg

This kid won herself a place into gamers' hearts everywhere just a couple of years ago with the release of Naughty Dog's "The Last of Us," and props to Naughty Dog for fighting to keep her on the cover. Ellie is a child who grew up in a post-apocalyptic world, and sadly that all she knows. She forges a father-daughter relationship with Joel and sees a lot of things for the first time ever on your travels. She's also a handy NPC to have around. Finding ammo to give to you, and fighting actual enemies you come across is just a couple of examples I can think of off the top of my head. And with the latest development in the DLC she broke the internet! Ellie laughs in the face of dicks. No, really.

Ellie: *holds up dirty magazine* How do you walk with those things?

You have to have a perfect balance structure to align with your-- It's very complicated you wouldn't understand the process.

There are so many new posts! :'D

I remember Kakurine and Evil Zone; she used to run me over with an energy Hula-Hoop all the time. >_< I never did get the control scheme in that game down.

I remember Reimi, too. She became my main character once I figured out how useless Edge was. Sonic Thorn! Sonic Thorn! Sonic Thorn!
Attachment 61497

I still haven't played The Last of Us. I should probably get it, since my PS3 just sits around unused all day now. Everyone tells me it's good, and a lot of people like Ellie a lot. :(

Annnd now . . . fun with strategy (and one tactics) games!

---

The Darloks (Master of Orion)

---

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1369/osg22m1ov9.jpg

While I love playing the Silicoids as well, and I think them being so repulsive no one will deal with them diplomatically amusing to no end, ultimately the Darloks are the race I come back to when I went to enjoy the game.

As a race, they are easily among the weakest in the game, and NONE of the AIs - humans excluded - remotely appreciate their existence on the map. One wrong breath and everyone collapses on them. Additionally, the Darloks don't have an always present/useful bonus like most other races -- no bonus production, no ability to ignore pollution, no breeding bonuses, no science perks. Instead, their bonus only opens up with diplomacy. So, what's that bonus? Spying. And what's fun about using that bonus? Being a complete sneaky asshat and watching the Galaxy fall to pieces all around you. Played properly, and with some luck, you can bait other races into costly wars with each other, while you silently pick their technology from them, sabotage their planetary defenses from the inside, and mass your forces for the right moment to strike. Small wonder everyone in the galaxy hates them. Except for me, of course. ;)

---

The Inca (Civilization V)

---

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130209193945

I remember when the Inca DLC came out for Civ V. I remember playing them in a few test games and pushing them aside as completely mediocre. I also remember being new to the game and thinking Japan had the straight out best ability.

Then 655 hours of Civ happened.

The Incans have one of the most amazing sets of passives in the game, potentially THE most amazing if not for Poland: they almost always start on or near hills and mountains, guaranteeing a strong production base; they have the ability to build farms on ANY hills, giving both food and production in cases where either may be scarce; they have the ability to traverse ANY hill as though it were plains, giving nigh unimpeded movement across almost every map; they have free roads on hills and half price roads elsewhere, often granting lossless city connections; and they have a UU that comes super early and often withdraws from melee attacks, allowing them to fight barbarians with less down time.

It gets better, though: with every clear perk of theirs, there also comes a sometimes less clear secondary one. The hills and mountains make them more difficult to attack, and those same mountains are required for observatories, Machu Picchu, and the Neuschwanstein, three of the best buildings in the game. Their ability to traverse hills stacks with Altitude Training, which cuts hill movement costs in half, effectively doubling your already doubled hill movement. And those roads? One of the most valuable assets you can have against a competent human player in times of war is a good roadway, and where those roads tear up everyone else's wallet, the Inca shrug off the insignificant costs and just keep building. About the only down to their special traits is that their slingers make terrible bodyguards for settlers. That's it.

But as nice as all of that is, it's not even what I truly appreciate about the Civ, at least not directly -- it's just icing on the delicious Incan cake. No, what I appreciate almost beyond expression about Pachacuti is his ability to salvage almost any start, no matter how hopeless it seems. In a game that loves to stick me in barren tundra with Egypt more often than not, being able to force a decent game from even the stupidest crap the world generation can throw at me is priceless.

---

Adder (Advance Wars)

---

http://advance-wars-net.com/articles.../pic/adder.jpg

Advance Wars is a bit of a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I think it is a solid strategy endeavor, with a good balance between units and a nice flavor being added by CO passive abilities. That said, the other hand drops and most CO powers flat out ruin the game. There comes a point when my strategy is no longer concern, because no matter what you do the enemy has the ability to dump units all over the map and only pay half price for the damn things, AND they get an offense bonus to boot. Good thing most people quickly realized that and just started playing nothing but Hachi, Sensei, and Colin. Out of a cast of 25 or so characters.

God I hate Hachi.

Unfortunately, nothing Adder has is a counter to Hachi, nor is he a counter to anyone else really, but I always found him the most interesting of the 'non-specialized' characters, and certainly the most fun to use in the game. Most characters have some form of passive bonus to them, either bonuses for fighting in a certain terrain type or for certain unit classes, but Adder actually doesn't have ANY passive bonuses. Instead, he has the shortest CO meter in the game, allowing him access to his bonus power almost annoyingly often. When activated, all of his units receive a small attack boost and gain +1 movement. His second tier skill grants the same bonus and +2 movement.

Though sounding unimpressive, this short charge time and bonus movement is what defines the character, as it means you always have an ace when you need it and both vulnerable enemy units and escape are almost never out of reach. Additionally, he is the only (that I recall) CO who can use his CO power twice in a row, assuming his bar was full when you used the first CO power, allowing you two turns of boosted movement and combat power. Because of this little edge, his playstyle is all about nifty counterattacks and first strike strategies, and that's what I love about him. I find it's a lot of fun working around the enemy's advantages and locating best place to apply yours, pressing here, irritating there. About the only thing I don't like about him is that they made Adder 2.0 with Koal, who is an all around better character.

Still, that doesn't change anything for me. Adder is a solid pick, and much like Wiseduck, the Darloks, and Dr. Karbunkle, he's all about finding that way to make your abilities work for you and surprising people when you come out ahead.

(Also, shocker, I like his design quite a bit too, though I do admit he doesn't quite match up to Snifit Sturm.)

http://advancewars.neoseeker.com/w/i...1/18/Sturm.png

---

Chryssalids (X-Com: UFO Defense)

---

http://michaelgmunz.com/wp-content/u...02/Bravery.jpg

I love X-Com, and Enemy Unknown was so much more than I ever expected it would be. I like how it looks, I like the new two-TU system it uses, I like the skill trees, I like the specialization, I like the satellite mechanic, and the new Snakemen/Tallmen and Sectopods were just amazing. But, that said, I still enjoy the original more. Maybe it's how much darker the game feels, maybe it's the extra freedom I felt I had in almost everything I did, mayb -- nah, it's the old Chryssalids.

If you aren't familiar with these happy, smiling lobstermen (not to be confused with the ACTUAL lobstermen from the second title -- those are neither happy nor smiling), they are basically hyper fast one-hit kills that multiply when they kill something, and they like to busy themselves killing people offscreen and multiplying before you have the misfortune of bumping into them. That's exactly how the new ones work too, minus the 100% instagib thing -- they'll probably still kill you in one hit, but that's just because they do craptons of damage now instead.

So, what is it that makes them my favorite characters in the series? It's that rush when you first see them and you know trout has hit the fan. The game can be a little rough up to the point you first see these, Cyberdiscs in particular being a VERY nasty surprise when first encountered, but it is beyond possible for your game to just END when these things pop up. There have been times where I've carelessly pushed one of my units ahead too far to scout, ended in a safe looking spot, then had a Chryssalid burst out of a door, run across the street, kill me, run to ANOTHER of my units, kill IT too, then stare at the rest of my troops in all its lobstery glory.

Whut!

In all honesty, I should be completely happy with the new Chryssalids, since they embody all of the old qualities of the mob with substantially more balance to them, but it's just not the same. The way enemy reveals work in the new game means I'll never have one burst from nowhere and kill me off without warning. The two TU system means they'll never kill off more than one person a turn. The new Zombification rules mean they aren't the terror to my units they used to be. And the new design means I'll never find myself giggling at something I supposed to be terrified of. Everything about the new game is, as I said before, well done, especially when it comes to general game balance, but it's the complete lack of game balance that these guys represent that makes me love them so. Firaxis, you done good. MicroProse, you done amazing. And happy lobstermonster? You done the best of all. :salute:

http://lparchive.org/X-COM-UFO-Defen...53-xcom333.png

Lots of fantastic characters here. Just want to add one:

Yuri Lowell
Tales of Vesperia

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...Yurilowell.png

Do you want a protagonist who is witty, compassionate, yet still ruthless enough to make the hard decisions? Yuri Lowell is your guy. A former knight of the Empire, he quit because their form of 'justice' didn't ally with his own. Yuri has a strict set of his own ideals that he follows, but he is also a realist who understands that the reality of the world, and behaves accordingly. He can't fix the world by himself, so he relies on his friend Flynn to be the poster boy for goodness and justice within the Imperial Knights.

He is also given fantastic voice by a certain Troy Baker, in what was arguably one of his real breakout roles.

Yuri has many fantastic OP abilities, most notably "Destruction Field" which can be used about a billion times in a row during Over Limit and kills pretty much everything except the last few bosses.

Haytham Kenway
Attachment 61505
Sadly I am not as intuitive as most here, I'm superficial, so forgive my lack of postmodernist literary critique of his character.

The Skinny: Haytham is an awesome character. Nuff said...

Nuff said.

7.
Jodie Holmes from Beyond: Two Souls
http://i.imgur.com/CFfK5Mn.jpg

This is a game I only played fairly recently, but it quickly became one of my favorites. Jodie is a girl bound to an entity from another world named Aiden that interacts with this one granting Jodie paranormal abilities. I love her relationship with Aiden and other characters she comes across during the course of the story. This one is hard to gauge since her character traits can be decided by the player, but my Jodie was awesome. Couldn't make her crack. Look at all these boys trying to get a piece of this. REJECTED!

This morning I am going to do a special mans edition of shion's favourite characters. A large chunk of my favourite characters are female, so I'll post up 4 of the men on my list for this update (and save the others for whenever I pull their name out of the hat)


Balthier (Final Fantasy XII):
Attachment 61507

In game use: Because it's Final Fantasy XII, Balthier can be customized however you want him to be customized. I had him focus on guns, hand-bombs, and poles, and time magic.

http://i.imgur.com/bJeeD6z.gif

Why I like him: No one is surprised he's made someone's top character list (he's already been posted by someone else), but here he is. I like him because there's something about a confident, suave man. Looking at him, I don't even think he looks very good (personal taste) but his personality is what makes him attractive. He takes charge, he takes care of his friends, and he manages to be confident without being arrogant. Well.. most of the time. And he's not like many other FF characters. I think they did a fresh take with a new personality instead of always using the same tropes and it worked well here

Gau (Final Fantasy VI):
Attachment 61508

In game use: Gau is kind of a berserker/blue mage thing. He can imitate certain enemies after some conditions are met, and then he fights like the enemy, gaining some of their move set

Attachment 61509

Why I like him: His father went crazy and LEFT HIM in a monster infested area to raise himself. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? And he's still the nicest, sweetest young man. His story just tugs on my heartstrings so much.

Viktor (Suikoden I&II):
Attachment 61510

In game use: Viktor, in both games, is basically pure strength. He's great at dealing damage, has a lot of HP, but sucks at magic. He's a mandatory party member quite often, but he's actually a really useful character

http://lparchive.org/Suikoden-II/Upd..._2_-_9_024.png

Why I like him: Viktor is kind of like the stereotype of the giant bear like man with the heart of gold. He's constantly helping the practically child heroes with the stuff they have going on, and he always fights on the side he believes is right. He's a good friend, and a good fighter. He also comes up with the worst disguise names ever

Jr. (SPOILER)Rubedo (Xenosaga series):
Attachment 61511

In game use: Jr. has pretty good stats, not many are subpar, but not many are great either. He fights with handguns, and does have some of my favourite tech attacks

Attachment 61512

Why I like him: Jr. was one of my favourite characters to use in battle, which probably boosted his popularity with me. I also enjoy his story and how he interacts with and what his relationship is with one of the antagonists. Those were always my favourite scenes in the series