main characters you like in video games and why. -

[Dave.]

He starts out as a crestfallen zealot who works as a lackey to a higher power who want him dead and by the end of the story he's a crestfallen soldier whos own personal motivations are brought into question when he finds out the massive space artifact he's trying to activate is nothing more than a weapon that his gods invented to stop a galactic infection.

I like that better than generic soldier you as the player pilot.

 

[Vixenstar17]

View attachment 1906095
This handsome man, because is too pure for the world he live.

Was going to post a pic of him for best vg mans but you beat me to it lmao

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Was going to post a pic of him for best vg mans but you beat me to it lmao

Taiga, Akiyama & Majima are still available, you know?

 

[Vixenstar17]

2b is best vg girl tho

 

[albert chan]

I’d go with these two because I can’t figure out why I always question everything and trust no one.

Spoiler

Shenmue III wasn’t as good as II, and J.C. is used unironically by people that think it’s fashionable to be a conspiracy theorist over ridiculous things that are not even conspiracy ridden

 

[Dom Cruise]

2b is best vg girl tho
View attachment 1906539

I like 2B because she has a nice butt.

View attachment 1906559

I like JC Denton because he said "a booooomb"

 

[Lurkio]

Crud, I can't think right now...uh.

I guess as far as (mostly) silent protagonists go, I liked Artyom from the Metro series, particularly Metro 2033.

I've played games where you're a relatively average joe and not the "neigh unkillable super soldier" before, but nothing I've played has ever captured the feeling of playing as "someguy in over his head" before as well as Artyom in Metro 2033, with both the gameplay and the story feeding into that feeling, especially in a post apocalyptic game. The controls in the game service the game well enough, but there's a few elements here and there that seem odd for a shooter to have, not bad per say, just odd. Like not being able to lock down the sights of a double barrel (instead each trigger fires the left and right barrel respectively), needing to manually recharge your light every couple minutes because it's the apocalypse and Artyom can't afford one of the few good ones, the watch used to measure your air doesn't explain how much time you have left very well, ect.. Plus, there's a noticeable lack of polish on the HUD menu screen, enough so that it can make you take a few seconds to bring up a particular weapon or piece of equipment, like your the inexperienced Artyom himself scrambling around to grab the right gun or to reach for his knife because he just ran out of ammo and you're trying to keep yourself from panicking.

The game also rewards you for trying to sneak past enemies, which is rare to see, a game having a decent stealth mode AND making it feel rewarding for doing that stealth mode. In addition to saving on ammo, which is fairly scarce in the game, you get interesting dialogue from the enemy soldiers, plus I like the idea of Artyom being a scared ass kid who'd rather just silently move past everyone instead of gun down everyone he comes across, you know, like most early twenty year olds thrust into a warzone would want to do. Sure, you can play Metro 2033 as Rambo if you want, but the game seems to encourage you to play as a scared ass early twenty year old who left home for the first time and has limited resources. I know I'm probably projecting here a bit, but that's really what I felt playing the game.

I also like how Artyom isn't completely "swept up" in the chaos or "just rolling with the punches" in the game. His station is attack by mutants, things aren't looking good, sure, but destruction isn't completely assured just yet and fate hasn't chosen him to be the savor or anything. He could have listen to his dad and stayed home, but Artyom actively chooses to listen to a monster hunting Ranger and travel the dangerous, mutant and anomaly filled Moscow to get a message to the Ranger base, the only people who could help. It's a small thing, but it's nice to see a protagonist who doesn't feel like things are completely out of his control and he's just along for the ride.

So yeah, that was me spurging about Metro. While I enjoyed the other two, 2033 just has such a unique feeling that I never got from another post-apocalypse game, it wasn't just a "we nuked the world and now everything sucks but we gotta try and survive" kinda game, it was a "we nuked the world, humanity has literally almost wiped themselves out and we are living in tunnels like rats, we'll probably be extinct in a generation or two, and it's gonna be shit all the way to the end", yet still somehow managed not to be totally crippling depressing. Everyone was just putting how screwed they were to the back of their minds and just trying to making it to tomorrow. Which is something Last Light and Exodus didn't quiet have, they were still very bleak games of course, but there were a few more hope spots sprinkled through out, like humanity had a very real chance to get back on their feet, plus they we're also a bit more "actionized" then Metro 2033 was, and while that's not bad-in-and-of-itself, the heavy down to earthness really helped sell 2033's tone.

 

[The Valeyard]

I like JC Denton because he said "a booooomb"

There's also this classic.

 

[Intelligent Calcium]

Old school Samus Aran.



Because the game were light on story up until the GBA ones, she was almost completely characterized by gameplay and visuals and it made her seem like a complete badass. She didn't give two fucks who she had to go through to complete her mission. Giant green space monster appears in front of her? Guess somebody ordered super missiles for dinner. It felt great playing as her as a kid because the games had a horror atmosphere and the player might get creeped out, but Samus always came off as supremely confident. She was basically a female version of 80s action heroes without coming across like the tryhard "strong" female characters we keep seeing in other media.

Other M ruined all that, of course. PTSD when Ridley shows up, complete subservience to Adam, "the baby the baby the baby" and all that shit. I'm not gonna turn this into a rant, but sometimes less is more.

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

The Doom Slayer is possibly the most badass protagonist in recent memory. He's fueled on nothing but pure rage against demons and is so single-minded in his quest that he'll fuck over anyone even slightly in his way just so he can kill more hellspawn. I especially like how he's characterized not through dialog but entirely through his actions and his subtle gestures during cutscenes.

 

[Meat Target]

Old school Samus Aran.

View attachment 1907267

Because the game were light on story up until the GBA ones, she was almost completely characterized by gameplay and visuals and it made her seem like a complete badass. She didn't give two fucks who she had to go through to complete her mission. Giant green space monster appears in front of her? Guess somebody ordered super missiles for dinner. It felt great playing as her as a kid because the games had a horror atmosphere and the player might get creeped out, but Samus always came off as supremely confident. She was basically a female version of 80s action heroes without coming across like the tryhard "strong" female characters we keep seeing in other media.

Other M ruined all that, of course. PTSD when Ridley shows up, complete subservience to Adam, "the baby the baby the baby" and all that shit. I'm not gonna turn this into a rant, but sometimes less is more.

The Best Girl of best girls.

 

[elzaw]

Aya Brea
My ideal woman

 

[Dom Cruise]

Old school Samus Aran.

View attachment 1907267

Because the game were light on story up until the GBA ones, she was almost completely characterized by gameplay and visuals and it made her seem like a complete badass. She didn't give two fucks who she had to go through to complete her mission. Giant green space monster appears in front of her? Guess somebody ordered super missiles for dinner. It felt great playing as her as a kid because the games had a horror atmosphere and the player might get creeped out, but Samus always came off as supremely confident. She was basically a female version of 80s action heroes without coming across like the tryhard "strong" female characters we keep seeing in other media.

Other M ruined all that, of course. PTSD when Ridley shows up, complete subservience to Adam, "the baby the baby the baby" and all that shit. I'm not gonna turn this into a rant, but sometimes less is more.

Samus is great because while her sexuality isn't the focus, the series has never been ashamed of showing her as a sexual being either ala the Justin Bailey suit or the Zero Suit.

SJWs hold her up as one of the great female game characters ignoring the fact that you can be a "strong character" and and a little sexy sometimes too, it's not an either/or thing.

 

[Massively Strong Greed]

Sonic, for obvious brain-related reasons.
Oh, you want a more complicated answer? Alright.
Marth, while pretty generic, is very pure and innocent in spite of his courage. I can’t imagine actively disliking him. He kinda reminds me of Simba. Also, he tends to kick ass in Smash Bros.
@albert chan Ryo is a pretty cool autist, I’d try to be his friend if he were a real person.

 

[Titos]

Easily the most likeable protag in any game I've ever played.
-Positive and proactive
-Loyal to the same degree as Hachiko
-Total bro

 

[horrorfan89]

Isabelle from AC even though it's kinda a stretch to call her a main character. Helpful, Cheery attitude, a loyal worker and assistant, and just so darn cute.

chuck Greene he's a positive portrayal of a single father in media you almost never see that. The only other time i can remember seeing that was will smith in the pursuit of happiness.

duke nukem. "I am duke i am all that is man." Behold the apex of masculinity...one that may never be seen again in video games unfortunatley if things dont change for the better

 

[Drag-on Knight 91873]

2b is best vg girl tho

I'll admit that I bought the game because of her look, but should she count as a main character? Her section of the game always feels more like the extended prologue and the drama of the story places her as more of a supporting love interest. Like Ayanami Rei, her chief character trait is "Muted."

EDIT: Oh right, supposed to name a main character I like. It's a very unpopular opinion, but Shion Uzuki. She's not a heroic figure, and if anything, she's better known for being weak, confused, and easily mislead, but it's her weaknesses as a (mostly) baseline human that grounds the setting of the series. When you really break down Xenosaga down to its elements, it really is a hodgepodge of science fiction and religious tropes haphazardly thrown together, which is probably why I found it interesting in my youth.

 

[Cool Spot]

Cool Spot

Also Donkey Kong is cool idk.

 

[Grand Wizard Wakka]

I tend to like edgy angsty badass protags like Velvet from Tales of Berseria and Adam Jensen from Deus Ex.

A protag I went in ready to hate, but ended up liking a lot was Rex in Xenoblade 2. He looks so dumb in his shorts and metal chaps, and he's a little boy, but I respect the fuck out of him after playing through the game.

Another protag I expected to hate was Cal Kestis from Jedi Fallen Order. I was expecting a bland Jedi, and he looks like a dorky ginger little boy, but he was a cool guy.

 

[R.A.E.L.]

Glad to see Samus and Aya in this thread. Anyway:

They're both powerful badasses who have a balanced share of goofy and serious moments, and will take risks for those they care about in a heartbeat.

A few other mentions that I won't elaborate on but also think are badass in their own ways: Leon Kennedy, Commander Shepard, Lightning/Claire Farron, James Sunderland, Heather Mason, Alexandra Roivas and Lee Everett.