Guinness Reveal Top 50 Videogame Characters Ever

Who doesn’t like lists?  Okay, get out.  Right, settle down at the back because the Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer’s Edition has the ‘top 50 game characters of all time’ list in its pages.  Over 13,000 fans voted on characters from over 30 years of videogame history to make up the list of some of gaming’s best, brightest, and baddest characters.  How anyone could ever pick a top one is beyond us, however, with any list there will always be controversy as people question the sanity of those who voted and how on earth the winner actually won.  In true award ceremony style, just as when Tom Hanks walks into the Oscars to the sinking hearts of everyone else in his category, you know full well who will walk away with the prize.  Yep, anyone who guessed Mario – spoiler alert, sorry – would be right.  Yawn?  Yes, we did.  However, Link and Master Chief are also jostling for pole position, along with faces like Sonic, Gordon Freeman and, oddly enough, PAC-Man, so that’s something.

Any list like this will cause a stir with who is excluded as much as who is actually included.  Apparently, Scorpion was left out in the cold, smoking in the alley outside the special occasion, with Bioshock’s Big Daddy for company.  Outrageous?  More so is the fact that Ash ‘Catch ‘em all’ Ketchum rated higher than our favourite useless pirate, Guybrush Threepwood.  Still, with the sea of great charaters out there, this sort of thing had to happen and Gaz Deaves, Guinness World Records Gaming Editor acknowledges this:

“The world has seen so many pivotal characters throughout the history of gaming that asking our readers to narrow it down to just 50 was a challenge in itself,” says Gaz Deaves, Guinness World Records Gaming Editor. “Some of the choices on the list are obvious, some less so, but it’s sure to get gamers talking about their faves.”

Here is the list in full – if you don’t want to see it, look away now:

1.    Mario (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
2.    Link (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
3.    Master Chief (Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft, 2001)
4.    Solid Snake (Metal Gear, Konami, 1987)
5.    Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
6.    PAC-Man (PAC-Man, Namco, 1980)
7.    Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, Eidos 1996)
8.    Gordon Freeman (Half-Life, Valve, 1998)
9.    Kratos (God of War, Sony, 2005)
10.  Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega, 1990)
11.  Crash (Crash Bandicoot, Sony, 1996)
12.  “Soap” MacTavish (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
13.  Nico Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar, 2008)
14.  Samus Aran (Metroid, Nintendo 1986)
15.  Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank, Sony, 2002)
16.  Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony, 2007)
17.  Captain Price (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
18.  Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land, Nintendo, 1992)
19.  Marcus Fenix (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
20.  Pikachu (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo 1996)
21.  Yoshi (Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1990)
22.  “CJ” Johnson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar, 2004)
23.  Mega Man (Mega Man, Capcom, 1987)
24.  Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubisoft, 2002)
25.  Shadow (Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, 2001)
26.  Jak (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Sony, 2001)
27.  Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem, Apogee, 1991)
28.  Dante (Devil May Cry, Bandai, 2003)
29.  Naruto (Naruto: Konoha Ninpoch, Bandai, 2003)
30.  Altair (Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, 2007)
31.  Zelda (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
32.  Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
33.  Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
34.  The Prince (Prince of Persia, Broderbund, 1989)
35.  Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009)
36.  Leon S (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
37.  Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)
38.  Guybrush Threepwood (The Secret of Monkey Island, LucasArts, 1990)
39.  Spyro (Spyro the Dragon, Universal, 1998)
40.  “Ghost” Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Activision, 2009)
41.  Goku (Dragon Daihikyoe, Epoch, 1987)
42.  Max Payne (Max Payne, Rockstar, 2001)
43.  Jill Valentine (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
44.  Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
45.  Larry Laffer (Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Sierra, 1987)
46.  Augustus Cole (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
47.  Bowser (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
48.  Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend, EA, 2009)
49.  Ryu (Street Fighter, Capcom, 1987)
50.  Sackboy (LIttleBigPlanet, Sony, 2008)

Don’t agree?  Probably.  Then buy the book and cross out the ones you don’t like.  We’ll see you in WHSmiths with our Scorpion shaped Biro.




Last five articles by GL News

  

There are no comments, yet.

Why don’t you be the first? Come on, you know you want to!

Leave a Comment