Board 8 > zfs's top 15 best game characters [list] [top15] [blanka]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Im gonna guess 3 of the top 5 are from Mass Effect

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

each of the last five characters are from a different series!

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peace comes from within

I'm not seeing where this is a bad thing.

Oh Han is awesome, but its more of a principle of the thing.
Being a Bootleg isnt exactly a good thing.

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

Shepard
Drake
Ryu

Some other people

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"So cold. I am always by your side."
"There ain't no gettin' off of this train we on!"

there are a lot of really good timesplitters characters I'm not seeing on this list

rawr?

So either Shepard or Garrus are missing out then!
(Even thought Wrex is better than both winkwink)

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

Ryu > Ken with HM? Don't see that happening

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

It's funny that Balthier was next because you could put Wander in FFXII as a major NPC and he'd fit right in. That being said Balthier is one of the few high points of FFXII.

A. I still don't like him that much though and am inclined to think he shines so much because his supporting cast is such ass. He's entertaining though and he interacts well with most of the cast as you said, which is rare in that game!

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

He's said Ryu > Ken for a while now

Which means "I win again."

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Support Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII) for Character Battle IX!
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/3834/banner1barret.jpg

muh?

When did this switch hiahh who am I kidding, it's HM.

Now I am curious to see this top 5

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

Lopen posted...
It's funny that Balthier was next because you could put Wander in FFXII as a major NPC and he'd fit right in..

haters gonna hate

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peace comes from within

A silent character would be preferable to half of FFXII's cast.

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Support Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII) for Character Battle IX!
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/3834/banner1barret.jpg

Wonder if you ever played any of the Dune games.
Just Curious because of the acting being hilarious in them at times.

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

A. Balthier was the best part of FFXII, and made the story sequences bearable at least.

I might start the game over again soon! hmm...

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My Japanese alter-ego.
Hey all this is Bartz btw.

I didn't mind FFXII's cast. I liked Balthier, Ashe, and Basch a good bit. Fran wasn't bad. Vaan and Penelo 'no.' Vayne, Cid, and Gabranth excellence.

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peace comes from within

You damn right haters gonna hate

And with Nathan Drake undoubtedly in the top 5 this party's just gettin started !!

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

Haha. There will be much for you to hate in the top 5, guaranteed! Leon should like it, though!

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peace comes from within

top 5 timesplitters 3 characters

1 Jo Beth Casey
2 Duckman Drake
3 The Deerhaunter
4 Mr Underwood
5 Mr Fleshcage

honorable mentions: tin legs tommy

(play timesplitters 3)

From: ZFS | #215
Vayne, Cid, and Gabranth excellence.

Well, two outta three ain't bad. Cid and Gabranth are good.

Vayne, not so much.

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"Why must we always choose between certain death and probable death?"
"I'm in an epic battle to the death, FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF!"

ha ha how have i missed this for so long?

i wonder if i still have the list of your, uh, previous lists.

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"Oh God, maplejet's trying to be cool again. I'll call the ambulance." - Wylvane

I've played Timesplitters. Wasn't impressed!

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peace comes from within

oh yikes

zfs messin up alert

literally the best FPS! which one did you play? I can see not being impressed with 1 but 2 is good and 3 is wonderful.

It has been many years, but it was either 2 or 3. My friend liked it, but Halo was a better time!

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peace comes from within

let's see here

shepard (maybe garrus)
drake
yuri
ryu
big boss? probably needs some metal gear somewhere

or

norstein bekkler

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i'm dumb as hell holy crap -ExThaNemesis

Oh right, forgot about Yuri and Big Boss.

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"But you have been given freedom. Freedom to be...outside."
"I am lightning...the rain transformed."

bekkler-kun an a++ predix

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peace comes from within

alright i realized i have one extra character on the list so i'm going to do some hax to get this to work out

5a) Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)
Debut: Mass Effect (2007)


The Bald Space Marine.

Mass Effect was my first, and so far only, experience with WRPGs. I may have played one or two others that I'm forgetting about, but as far as this gen is concerned, it has been Mass Effect only affair. Actually, now that I think about it, I did play Ultima Online back in the day, if that counts. It was such an awful experience that it ruined all form of online RPGs for me, though! Never again. Anyway, I didn't have any expectations for ME, knew pretty much nothing about it, and I didn't think someone like Shepard was even a real character. WRPGs always seemed to me, and maybe it's misinformed, but they always seemed to put characters on the backburner, especially main characters who tend to be nothing more than user-created avatars. I figured that was the case here.

Even though you still get to do that create-a-character stuff, I was surprised that Shepard still retained a real personality of his own. You have a choice over whether he's "good" or "evil" (more like douche), and that changes how he acts and responds to the world around him, but there are basic qualities that he has that transcend the moral choice stuff. Some of the best moments in Mass Effect are when Shepard is giving a big speech to rally his crew before going through one of many universe-saving missions. I don't think he has too much in the way of actual development, but he's a damn good leader, and that comes across constantly. He makes the decisions, and everyone else around him just feels compelled to go along with it. He even manages to get mortal enemies to come together, set aside differences, and work together for the greater good.

It is hard to talk about specifics with Shepard, though, because you have just enough control over his personality that my Shepard may not be the same as your Shepard. Mine was a Paragon, others can make him a Renegade; mine was male, others go female! There is a commonality that Shepard has regardless of what the player does: his accomplishments. Even though he doesn't start out being positioned as any kind of SAVIOR, that's exactly what he ends up becoming. He is "The One." If it's unprecedented, Shepard will do it before the end of ME1 and ME2. First human Spectre? Check. Somehow survive being unintentionally overloaded with knowledge from an ancient, long extinct civilization? Check. Stare down an enormously powerful race of sentient machines, and win? Check. [Spoiler] and then get [spoiler]? Yep! I fully expect by the end of Mass Effect 3 he will have completed his transformation as regular human being into Space Jesus.



Do you like Shepard?
A: Yes - insert why
B: No - insert why
C: Don't care
D: Haven't played Mass Effect (do this)

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peace comes from within

the dance

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i'm dumb as hell holy crap -ExThaNemesis

best there ever was

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peace comes from within

By the way you also played Jade Empire.

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i'm dumb as hell holy crap -ExThaNemesis

Oh, yeah, Jade Empire. I knew there was something I was forgetting. That was pretty good.

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peace comes from within

How sexist. Male over Female Shepard, Nier over Kaine which is a disgrace to everything rational.

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You beat yourself up with your past. Don't blame yourself, blame the world. Blame God. Blame me.

male shep 4 life

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peace comes from within

WRPGs always seemed to me, and maybe it's misinformed, but they always seemed to put characters on the backburner

What

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

D.

If Bioware would put ME1 on the PS3, I'd consider it!

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http://i848.photobucket.com/albums/ab48/Leonhart4/Squall.jpg

Also, A, Shepard is pretty cool.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

A, Shepard is swell

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

You forgot to mention on his potential to get space nookie

--
Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

d, d, d

Just doesn't seem like people talk about the characters in Oblivion or Morrowind or Fallout. It might have something to do with never hearing about WRPG characters outside of specific discussions about the game.


ME2 PS3 has an interactive comic of ME1 to get you caught up! Not the same as playing it, though.

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peace comes from within

Yeah, I've heard the ME1 comic thing is pretty bad, especially as far as decisions go.

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http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8718/leonflowchart.png

interactive comic?

thats totally gay

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

I can believe it. I can't imagine getting everything condensed down into a little overview.

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peace comes from within

Oblivion and Morrowind and Fallout are sandbox games as much as they are WRPGs. Mass Effect, KOTOR, Dragon Age, Planescape, Baldur's Gate - all of them have more focus on characters than most JRPGs.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

New Vegas has some good characters. Yes Man, Mr. House, Caesar

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You beat yourself up with your past. Don't blame yourself, blame the world. Blame God. Blame me.

Only played the first Mass Effect, but I enjoyed being douche Shepard. Gotta get around to the second game-- only real reason I haven't is because I wanna finish some character sidequests in ME1 before proceeding (since the data carries over) but don't wanna do the last bit of the game again.

Strangely I never liked his default look. The character creator is pretty good though so I was able to create a design for both genders I liked. Went with male Shepard to actually finish the game with though.

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No problem!
This is a cute and pop genocide of love!

waiting for ME 2 to go on sale in steam again

--
Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

5b) Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid)
Debut: Metal Gear (1987)


Big Boss is Metal Gear's central character. Everything revolves around him, every single character has been touched by him, the best rank you can get in a MGS game is "Big Boss," decades of in-game story were spent fighting over him, his ideals inspired an entire generation of people, even the mighty Patriots feared him. Without Big Boss, there is no Metal Gear Solid. He's more than just an important character, though. There are a lot of colorful personalities in MGS, but none of them measure up to Big Boss. Part of that is the profound effect he had on every character, part of it is his fall from grace -- from the world's greatest hero to its worst villain, from a founder of the world's most controlling shadow organization to its greatest existential threat, all at once a source of inspiration and eternal fear. Big Boss's story is without equal in the world of gaming.

It's undeniable that Big Boss lost sight of his goal, of what he was really fighting for, but as a person he never became the twisted villain that his story might suggest. For a hardened soldier, he was compassionate, he was tolerant and understanding, and while he created a place dedicated to fighting, he hated the idea of killing. His ideals -- freedom from control; a place where soldiers weren't considered expendable by their governments -- were admirable, and his tenacity to stick to those ideals no matter the opposition inspired everyone that crossed paths with him, and even those who would only hear about him ("Outer Heaven" is consistently used as a rally cry for opposing the Patriots). His war with the Patriots wasn't a traditional one, but a one of ideologies -- total freedom vs. total control, and the good and bad that come with both. He admits at the end of his life that he became misguided, that the war with Zero he fought was a foolish one, and that he was happy to see that it was finally over. In MGS3, he's portrayed as being a bit dumb, like a naive version of Solid Snake, but by the end of the series, I'd argue that no one was wiser. He was never truly a hero but neither was he a villain.

I think it's hard not to like Big Boss. He's far from a perfect character, he may not even be entirely right in his approach, but it's hard not to find his constant struggle admirable. Some people have a hard time separating Big Boss from Solid Snake, but I've always believed that was purely because of their look (and more specifically, BB's look in MGS3), because as individual characters they're about as different from each other as Liquid and Snake are. I haven't played Peace Walker yet (damn you busted PSP), so I feel like I'm missing out on a whole important chapter in the story, but there you go. Also, Big Boss's radio conversations in MGS3 are the stuff of legend. Those are reason enough to like him separate of the seriousness of the overall MGS narrative. Hopefully this writeup reads well enough and gets what I'm trying to say across!

Do you like Big Boss?
A: Yes - insert why
B: No - insert why
C: Don't care
D: Haven't played Metal Gear Solid

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peace comes from within

4) Kaim Argonar (Lost Odyssey)
Debut: Lost Odyssey (2008)


Lost Odyssey -- the real RPG of the generation. Top 10 game. Xenoblade no chance.

Kaim has been one of my favorite characters from the moment I played Lost Odyssey. Most people don't think he's all that interesting, or find him "too boring," but he's in contention for "best character ever" ever in my book. Part of that is precisely because he's so down to earth ("boring"), part of it is the circumstances surrounding his story. If you aren't familiar, Odyssey has a "character has lost his memories, doesn't remember who he is or where he came from" sort of thing going on. It's not unique, and it's pretty much a cliche for JRPGs at this point, but the way it's handled elevates it above the usual amnesia story.

One way Tha Gooch accomplished this is by making Kaim over 1,000 years old -- he's immortal, unable to age or die. It's one of the most interesting things about him, because of how it's shaped his world view and his approach to situations. He has lived through generations and generations, constantly moving around the world from place to place meeting new people (sometimes as children, and then later as old men and women), visiting countries that start out friends only hundreds of years later becoming bitter enemies, fighting in wars as a mercenary for hire, never stopping. He has been married, had kids, and he's witnessed all of them grow old and pass on, while he continues on. His manual profile actually does a good job of explaining him in a nutshell: "Lust, jealously, decadence, and spite. Kaim has witnessed every flaw of the human psyche. No longer moved by the swells of human drama, Kaim sees beauty where others cannot: in the most ordinary of trifles, in the subtle grace woven throughout a lifetime, in the unexpected kindness of a passerby." In the game, he can appear detached from the world around him, but I think that just reinforces that he's led a long, long life life, and has witnessed everything there is to see. You could say it's sort of pacified him.

I absolutely adored recovering his memories in the game. This is another way the whole "amnesia" thing is made interesting: instead of having a huge climatic moment in the game, where there is a grand revelation that brings everything back, Kaim's memories are slowly recovered as you play. These memories are in the form of short stories told through his perspective, often of completely normal everyday situations. One of them involves nothing more than meeting a guy at a bar, and listening to him tell stories of being at war; another involves Kaim being tasked with protecting cicadas in a forest, and his eventual understanding to the importance of his seemingly mundane task; another has him helping an old woman tend to her crops. None of them are "exciting," rarely do they affect the overall narrative, but they give him history and characterization that no other RPG character has. I know some people don't really care for these, or didn't become invested in them enough for it to change their perception of his character, but I think they're vital. With them, Kaim is one of the most interesting characters, without them he's a standard RPG lead. Everything about him -- his personality, his attitude toward life, what he considers to be most important -- is brought out through these short stories.

I always, always link to this as way for people who haven't played Lost Odyssey to understand what I'm talking about, but here it is again --

He should probably be higher on this list. Awesome character.

Do you like Kaim?
A: Yes - insert why
B: No - insert why
C: Don't care
D: Haven't played Lost Odyssey

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peace comes from within