Plus XP

Today, me and Garvaos have decided to do something a little different than usual – a joint article. Together, we have compiled our own “Top Ten Game Characters” list, and will be taking it in turns to tell you why we have chosen each of the ones that we did. These characters aren’t listed in any real order – whittling down the numbers to ten characters was hard enough! So, I’ll get the ball rolling.

KAIN

I’ve always been a fan of vampire stories for as long as I can remember – so naturally a vampire game would be  something I’d enjoy. Over a decade ago, a game called Blood Omen was released in March of 1997 – and on an impluse rental I gave it a whirl – and was instantly captivated. Kain was perhaps my first encounter with a type of character seen much less at that time – the anti-hero. Killed within five minutes of the game’s start, Kain became a vampire with nothing but vengeance on his mind. Years later, I happened to stumble upon a copy of the game of my own – having almost forgotten it’s dark delights. I fell in love with the game once more.

As if by fate, I later stumbled upon a game called Soul Reaver – something that was, as far as I was aware – a completely new game I’d never heard of before. As I played the game, it was one of those moments where I was again enthralled by a dark fantasy, and I cannot remember when I actually discovered that it was connected to the Legacy of Kain that I had played so long ago, but then I found myself at the start of a grand adventure with Kain as its master, the amazing voice acting of Simon Templeman bringing Kain to life as he had done so once before. The Soul Reaver, once a powerful weapon obtained in Blood Omen, became a relic of Kain’s, an ultimate, soul devouring sword that acted as a critical plot point to countless twists and turns as I was immersed in the world of Nosgoth.

Although Kain started as quite a simple creature of bloody murder, he evolved over time into something quite different a ruler, a manipulator of time and fate – casting Raziel into the abyss, creating a character to rival even himself in sheer depth and character. Together, the pair became entangled in one of the cleverest, most complicated plots that I had ever seen, all starting from the first days I heard Kain scream the words “Vae Victus.” -Leon

SONIC

Most gamers of our generation can be slpit into two groups when it comes to what console you grew up with – the Sega gamers and the Nintendo gamers. So the war against a blue hedgehog that can run as fast as hell and a weird sounding Italian plumber who can throw fireballs has been going on for quite a while.

Personally I see Sonic as more to my taste. Not just becuase I was one of the Sega generation, and not becuase I just happen to think he looks cooler. Its because the sheer game play you got out of him. You didn’t just get a platforming game, you got a running and dodging game amonsgst others. Up until the later games, Sonic to me is the one of the best gaming characters out there, becuase he lets nothing get in his way. In the earlier games he really didn’t seem to care if ther was a strange two tailed fox following him around and dying every 5 seconds. And he has attitude. None of this ‘oh mamma miiaaa’ rubbish. Make Sonic wait and he will frown and tap his foot. He takes no crap.  -Garvaos

SQUALL

Over my years of gaming, as well as many other gamers I found myself enjoying Final Fantasy as the most enjoyable RPG series of them all – trying a number of other RPG’s I never really found anything that could match it’s brilliance. It was one of the few RPGs that managed to deliver on all aspects – story, gameplay, depth, length – it had balance. The first one I played was actually VII – another rental. I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay style and it was the first time I’d played a game with such a detailed plot. Now, I’m sure many people would choose Cloud over Squall, but I personally disagree.

After taking my rental of FFVII back (still on Disc 1), I soon purchased my very own copy of Final Fantasy VIII. Instantly I was impressed with the graphical overhaul from VII, opting for a more realistic approach. I was instantly hooked and couldnt put the game down for weeks.

I believe everyone who plays games with a real passion has found at least one character they felt they could really relate to – well Squall was mine. Whether his personality suited my mood at the time, or he was simply well written, I found myself feeling what Squall felt, caring about what Squall cared about and hating who Squall hated. Wielding possibly one of the coolest weapons in gaming, the gunblade, Squall, an apparently strong character, turned out to secretly have a lot more depth to him than on the surface. Along the way, he kicks ass whilst discovering his true self and finally fighting for what he believes in – and for the girl, of course.

When Kingdom Hearts came around, I was incredibly happy to see Squall make a return, with a new longer haircut and going by the alias Leon (where I got my own alias I’m using right now). Voiced brilliantly by David Boreanaz (KH1 only), Squall fought once again as one of the main ‘Final Fantasy’ characters of the game, and was part of one of the coolest scenes in the game alongside Cloud in Kingdom Hearts II.

SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMW6QYcPVBY]
-Leon

GANON

The only bad guy to be in this top 10 (well ish, to be honest I don’t know what alignment Kain is anymore) Ganondorf is your typical baddie. His main aim is to destroy the realm with great power and strength, while at the same time steal a beautiful princess and get hunted down by a guy in a green suit. What I really like about Ganondorf is that he laughs at anything, anything trying to get in his way and the first thing he does is just laugh at it. Second, he is one of those typical badguys who likes to just sit down and let everyone else do his bidding until his obstacle is physically in front of him.

He walks with purpose and does nothing half heartedly. Hell he can even turn into huge boar and still be awesome. If anyone of these heroes in this top 10 should have a worthy opponent, Ganondorf is their man. -Garvaos

LARA CROFT

Perhaps one of the more well known characters in the list (aside from Sonic, of course) Lara Croft is the ultimate videogame heroine – articulate yet kick-ass, beautiful yet headstrong, shes the kind of lady that every guy wants and every girl wants to be. And I’m sure that Lara is the main reason the Tomb Raider series did so well. Think of it – with a male lead, would the original Tomb Raider looked interesting or unique at all? Probably not.

Over time, Lara is another character that has evolved. Originally a overly-busty woman (due to a mistake the creators made, then decided to keep), Lara gained respect through the gaming community over the years, and changed into a more realistic female, yet managing to retain all of the beauty and kick-assery as much as ever – with Angelina Jolie taking the role of Lara in the live action movie based on the same character.

The games have seen some amazing landscapes, Lara scaling gigantic cliffs in countries such as India, battling tigers one minute, then fighting guards in London or Nevada the next. Always in the search for the next relic, Lara is always on the move ready to face the next challenge, whilst constantly showing off her wide intellect and occasionally dealing with her own personal demons. So really, whats not to like about Lara?

DUKE NUKEM

Hopefully all you FPS fans out there already agree with me that Duke Nukem has a rightful place in any top 10. If not, I suggest you turn on Duke Nukem 3D, find an RPG and retrospectfully blow yourself up with it. Doing that will just give you an insight of what attitude this guy has. He blows himself up and the first thing that comes to his mind, (regardless if his mind is in sevral tiny peices splattered across the pavement) is “This sucks” Or “Daamn”.

He has not just been an icon to us FPS fans, he started off in a side scrolling platformer in the 1991 game Duke Nukem. He didn’t say much back then, only kill aliens. Then in 1996 he became the Duke we know and love today, he also had 3rd person action games after Duke 3D, which granted weren’t his best games, but still retained that awesome attitude of  saving women, blowing up alien scum and dropping the classic one liners.

I believe Duke will have a welcome comeback eventually. Duke Nukem Forever may have died but something tells me he will come back, kick ass and chew bubble gum! Reguardless if he’s out of bubble gum or not. -Garvaos

RIKU

As I mentioned before, I rather enjoyed the game Kingdom Hearts. Sceptical as I was originally, the melding of Disney and Final Fantasy worked fantastically well, resulting in one of my favourite games of all time. In the end, you’d think a game with an all-star cast of two such huge franchises would struggle to create characters that would shine amongst the rest of them.

But they managed it – three kids, Sora, Riku and Kairi found themselves hurled into a grand adventure, where the worlds had begun to slowly vanish, and Sora became the Keyblade Master that would take the role of the games protagonist – battling with the most fierce creatures Square and Disney had to offer – noone else has ever defeated both Sephiroth *and* Jafar, thats for sure.

But I’m here to talk about Riku. Sora is a great character in himself, but his best friend had a story just as interesting. Being the one who wants more from his life, Riku falls into the wrong crowds and, jealous of Sora’s newfound powers, begins to fall into darkness as he tries to manipulate it to his own wishes. Riku fights a desperate struggle for himself, Kairi and Sora, having to fight his own darkness to eventually shine through and fulfil his own destiny. -Leon

RYU HAYABUSA

So we have covered my love for FPS, now its time to cover my love for 3rd person action. Next to Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden has to be just short of the best 3rd person hack and slash out there. Having only played NG2 personally, I can say that this game has all the weapons, combos and level detail you need to keep plenty happy.

Now for a minute look past the skin tight lycra body suit and look at Ryu himself. For starters he is a ninja, we all know for a fact ninja’s are awesome. (Pirates may beat them but I personally dont see a pirate in this top 10) He has a grudge that is built on anger, but he is not th kinda guy who will let it out in a rage. He seems calm but at the same time he is ripping his enemies to shreds with an oversized scythe. Now if that isn’t cool im not sure what is, really. He can walk on water, take down enemies 200 times the size of him pretty much bare handed. And he never shows his face. Thats either cool, or maybe he has bad teeth. -Garvaos

KRATOS

God of War was released on the PS2 a few years back, one of the late titles in the console’s life cycle. Going against the trends, God of War II was also released on PS2, when most series’ were developing for the next generation – regardless, Sony managed to create something incredible, maximizing the consoles potential. And if you enjoy God of War, don’t miss out on Chains of Olympus on the PSP – I enjoyed it as much as the other two, albeit a bit shorter.

As much as I enjoy being the good guy, saving the girl and having happy endings, sometimes you can crave something a bit more primal. Kratos is a beast of a man, uncaged and brutal, and noone will stand in his way. Kratos is perhaps the most bloodthirsty character even seen in the gaming world, and its one of those guilty pleasures to just dive in and indulge.

At a first glace, Kratos may seem like a nasty piece of work – a loud, arrogant spartan with nothing but killing on his mind. This may be enough for some people, but Kratos offers more than that. Beneath the outward rage, Kratos has a dark and haunted past, twisted to desperation, almost madness as he is continually manipulated and tortured, constantly seeking redemption but never finding it.

Its hard to explain all of the reasons that Kratos has reached such a high place in my love of gaming characters, without spoiling the plot points and twists of the series. He is perhaps the ultimate anti hero – his methods are bloody and violent, yet he still regains enough humanity so that in the end, you can almost do nothing but feel sorry for him, as he trudges on trying to salvage whatever he can of his cruel existence. -Leon

DANTE

The regular readers of Plus XP will probably not be blown away by his one. The last character we would like to mension is none other than the white haired, stylish, half demon that is Dante!

With a legendary dark knight for a dad, a twin brother who is in a different realm, enough weapons and swords to possibly cover the Isle of Wight and still have some spare to paddle back with and two lovely ladies (one looking like his mum) Dante is one level headed and witty character. I first came across him in Devil May Cry 3. Just starting out his new business slaying demons, he was summoned by his brother to a large tower which is pretty much the door to hell. Now I say summoned by his brother more provoked. He was a cocky, fearless and just damn right awesome guy and as I played through DMC 1, 4, and a touch of 2, none of that cockyness and attitude seemd to have died down, which is great. He is one of these guys who always wants the last word. He knows he can’t die and knows he is talented at what he does. If any of these characters in this top 10 deserve to some how be put in a machine and actually physically come to life, Dante should be the one. -Garvaos