Board 8 > Time to count down my Top 50 Video Game Characters

(+) Yeah! (+)

XIII_rocks posted...

Props too to Nolan North for his great performance

Ah yes, I really should have mentioned this, especially since I gave props to Ashly Burch for her performance of Chloe Price. Easily two of the greatest voiceover performances in gaming.
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Guess for no. 2 - SMAUS
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Before we get to the top 2, here are the honorable mentions. The characters that had I made the 31-50 or so portion of the list on any given day might have snuck in.

Axel (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories)
Chrom (Fire Emblem Awakening)
Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark)
Ike (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance)
Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie)
Kratos Aurion (Tales of Symphonia)
Lee Everett (The Walking Dead)
Link (The Legend of Zelda)
Lucina (Fire Emblem Awakening)
Matt Engarde (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All)
Max Caulfield (Life Is Strange)
Mega Man (Mega Man)
Proto Man (Mega Man 3)
Raymond "T-Bone" Kenney (Watch_Dogs)
Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Adventure 2)
Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Tetra (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)
Vyse (Skies of Arcadia)
Wario (Super Mario Land 2)
Zero (Mega Man X)
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Matt Engarde? I hope Dahlia is top 2.
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2. Kirby (Kirby's Dreamland)
When it comes to Nintendo characters, one has ALWAYS been my favorite. A little pink ball of fluff who is one of the most unlikely heroes ever. With all these characters of significant substance in my top 10 and especially top 5, it's hard to explain exactly what it is that draws me to Kirby so much that he can sustain a spot almost at the top, but I'll give it a try.

Kirby first came to the U.S. when I was just two or three years old, and wasn't playing video games, but I saw the commercials and thought he looked cute and funny, sucking up the big muscly guys and spitting them back out in little balls. I was 8 or 9 before we were allowed to have video games, so it was a long time before I actually got to experience any of his games. As a matter of fact I actually played him in the original Super Smash Bros. first... and without Ness around for a while, he quickly became my best and favorite character. I thought the copy ability was so cool, I loved maneuvering around the stage by floating, and most of all he was just so damn cute!

It wasn't long before I started buying and playing many of his games. Even though they were short and relatively easy, they were fun as hell. And I was very happy that his Smash Bros. character (whom today I consider the original "gimmick" character) stayed very true to his character in the games. Of course now I know that this is because Sakurai was the brains behind both. I began to wonder what a full 3D Kirby game would be like, and though I haven't gotten that in platformer form (and no longer want it), I DID get my wish a bit in Kirby Air Ride. Regardless, I continued playing and enjoying these games, and even watched a bit of the anime that was hilariously bad.

Now here's one of the best things about Kirby games - they are so easy to just pick-up-and-play. Most of them are really easy to just play one or two levels when you have five or ten minutes and still beat the game in a relatively short period of time. Even as the team behind the series adds in new gimmicks like in Planet Robobot or Star Allies, it doesn't take away from this aspect, and the new gimmicks are never hard to figure out. They are pretty easy and fun for gamers of any experience level.

And after all these years, Kirby STILL brings a smile to my face whenever I see him. Triple Deluxe might just be THE cutest game I have ever played, even by Kirby standards. The games all have such fitting music and scenery to make it just an overall happy, feel-good experience. Sometimes if I am having a bad day, I pick up a Kirby game because it's just impossible to be upset playing one of those (yeah, even when you're at the final boss and JUST WANT IT TO DIE ALREADY!!!). I'll always love my awesome pink ball.
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I get having the series that high, but the character itself?
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Pokalicious posted...

I get having the series that high, but the character itself?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIKb01oHDLo" data-time="

YOU GON LEARN TODAY
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Does that include stuff from Star Allies?
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I mean, with the title it's kinda obvious, but still.
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yea it has spoilers for every game released so far I believe, there's a warning in the beginning
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dum pink ball
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azuarc posted...

dum pink ball

smart blue cube
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average intelligence orange Q-bert
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omniscient achromatic form
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1. Kate Marsh (Life Is Strange)
Every now and then, maybe once every few years, whether I am playing a video game, reading a book, watching a TV show, enjoying a movie, or any other form of fiction, a character just speaks directly to me, and I have found another such character in Kate Marsh. You know how I said that I didn't want to put Chloe in my top 10 because I had just played Life is Strange and wasn't sure if my strong feelings for her were recency bias, and that Max may have been cost her spot on the list for some of the same reason? I don't feel that way at all about Kate. I don't think I'm being preemptive by putting her at the top right away, and that's really saying something. Very few fictional characters have ever evoked the level of empathy and love that Kate did for me.

WARNING: From here on out there will be in-depth discussion of sensitive, potentially trigger-inducing topics, particularly depression and suicide, as well as major, in-depth spoilers for the game.

From just minutes into the game I knew I was going to like Kate. One of the first things I did was read her profile and saw that she was a sweet, innocent, quiet Christian girl who was depressed over a recent bout of bullying. Come to find out it was over a lewd viral video taken when she was drugged. I looked at the scene to see her at her desk with her head in her hands, almost completely unresponsive to another student pelting her in the head with a ball of paper. My heart felt for her and early in the game I decided to try and be nice to her when I could. I know what it's like to be bullied badly and the power of having just one person be nice to you. In the first episode I erased the nasty message on the board outside her dorm room (though I didn't do it right away because I didn't realize it was her room; I may have been too late because the game stats said I didn't do it), and intervened when David was harassing her, but I didn't go too far out of my way for her.

Then the second episode started, and when she was being harassed in the bathroom and sullenly told Victoria, "You're going to be sorry someday," I immediately picked up on the warning sign. I knew that there would come a point in the game where I would have to talk her out of killing herself, and from there on I was absolutely determined to be as nice to her as possible. Every conversation I had from there on out, she looked so incredibly sad and depressed my heart just sank every time. She seemed like such a sweet person completely undeserving of this, and I wanted to make sure she was going to be okay. I went with the answer she reacted better to in the conversation in her room, and picked up her phone call without hesitation, screw Chloe. But I made the mistake of NOT being a nosy bastard and snooping through the stuff in her room. Not only would I have discovered some incredible details, that really represent someone going through a deep depression, like her dark drawings and the fact that she has stopped playing the violin that she loves so much, but the decision almost cost me dearly.

When I saw her being brushed off by Mr. Jefferson, I wanted so badly to intervene. Instead I had to go into class and see Kate's empty desk and I knew the moment was coming. When we heard that "crazy shit was going down at the girls dorm," my heart started racing, I knew this was it. Kate was on the roof and I actually saw her jump to her death. Even though Max rewound time, I had no idea the intensity of what was about to go down. When I got on top of the roof and realized that Max's power was used up and I was going to get just one shot at this, I have never been more afraid of making a mistake in a game in my life.
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Now here's something very personal about me - I am myself a survivor of a suicide attempt, and have friends who are as well. I have spent time talking my friends off the figurative ledge. I knew exactly what Kate Marsh was feeling at this moment - the feeling like the whole world is ending and it's time to just check yourself out. I knew exactly what this lost soul needed to hear, and gave the answers that I knew would inch her further and further away from the ledge. But then my lack of deductive skills almost came back to haunt me. When faced with picking someone that would be so upset to lose her, had I gone through her stuff I would have known that she had a close relationship with her father and her sisters. Unfortunately I went with what I thought was the obvious choice, her mother, who I would have known sent her a nasty email in response to her viral video. This got her really upset, but thankfully my good relationship with her gave me one last Hail Mary attempt - quoting a Bible verse. Again, if I had snooped around, I would have known which one to pick, but I didn't. So I picked the Matthew verse simply because that's my name. And it was about giving rest to the weary and burdened, and I thought, oh no, that's a terrible thing to say... and it turned out to be her favorite verse, and she collapsed into Max's comforting arms. At that point I knew I was meant to absolutely love this character.

I'm pretty sure I would have been absolutely devastated if I had failed to save Kate, for a few reasons. First, obviously, I love this character and wanted her to be around in the game as long as possible. Second, I would have felt like I failed. Third, having seen the result on Youtube, especially in the episode epilogue where they show that beautiful memorial to her, I think I just would have been totally crushed.

The sweet message that Kate and her father sent to Max in episode 3 reassured me that she was regaining her faith, and I was so touched that I was able to get to that point, but it was her appearance in episode 4 that absolutely solidified her spot at the top here. When Max visited her in the hospital, she was drawing and smiling. Not an amazingly cheery smile, but enough of a smile to indicate how well she was doing. That's real. That's real emotion from someone who just got a small sliver of hope that things were going to get better after being pushed to the edge. But the most amazing thing was how well we got to know the real Kate at this point by how she was coping. I always knew she was probably the sweetest person in the world under the sadness, and I was right. She gave all of the flowers that were sent to her to other patients because "they needed them more (I'm keeping the balloons though!)" What a thoughtful person who knows how to be just selfless enough without completely neglecting themselves. She was willing to accept the apology from Victoria, the worst of her bullies, and while affirming that what she did was wrong, believing in the power of forgiveness. I WISH I were strong enough to be that forgiving of someone who pushed me to the brink of destruction. And to top it all off, she was beginning to write a children's book on bullying; what a wonderful way to cope with a traumatic situation and try to help prevent others from having to deal with it. This scene just solidified Kate as an amazing person and wonderful character, and I'm so glad I was able to rescue her to see it.
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Finally, at the end of the game, with everything back to the way it should have been, with a little help from Max she was able to overcome the bullying without being pushed to the brink of destruction despite being capable of wanting to end it all. She stood tall beside Max as Mr. Jefferson was arrested, and then seeing her up at the front with the rest of the leads at Chloe's funeral, all of these things are just further testament to how strong and kind she really is. That she could face her captor and abuser without fear like that is incredible, and comforting the parents of someone she barely knew and in fact was looked down upon by (her suicide attempt having been undone) is wonderful and just left me feeling like Kate was ultimately a very bright light in a very dark story.

Oh, and just because I couldn't fit it anywhere else in this write-up, here's a shoutout to Kate's voice actress, Dayeanne Hutton, who did the most fantastic job. She really became this character. Not only was her voice perfect, but the emotions that she was able to portray in each scene, whether Kate was depressed, angry, or happy, was incredible. She's also dedicated to the character and has cosplayed as her, and keeps in touch with fans of both herself and Kate, which is really cool.

But subjective stuff aside, I think Kate is objectively a wonderful character as well. Like I said, I've been through this. I've been in her shoes. I saw myself in her. I can speak from experience that everything about her was totally real. The writers absolutely did their research in creating this character and the dialogue options with her. Why? Part of it is that I think they knew many players were going to connect with her. I've watched some Let's Plays of some of my favorite scenes in the game and one common thread is love for Kate. The intensity when trying to save her on the roof is always there. The genuine love for her in the hospital is always there. The despair in the people who were unable to save her is there. I've heard of people restarting the game from the beginning after episode 2 to make sure they save Kate. I've seen articles written breaking down Kate and how she represents depression and suicide awareness, and that leads to the other reason I think they put so much time and thought into this character. In every video game I have ever played, I've never seen the subject of suicide prevention explored in this depth. Kate represents something so unique in the gaming community. She can be relatable to people who have gone through something traumatizing, and she can be a lesson to others about the importance of recognizing the warning signs in a suicidal person, how vital suicide prevention is, and just the simple everyday lesson of the power of being nice. She represents suicide awareness in a medium that very rarely goes to the subject, and can be seen as a symbol of hope for people who need one.

Kate is just an absolutely beautiful, wonderful character in every sense. She is realistic, she is relatable, she evokes emotions, her scenes run the gambit from intense to touching, she is a kind soul, she is unique, and she represents something that means a lot to me. She touched me in a way that so few characters in any work ever have, and I will always praise her for it. Kate Marsh is the best video game character I have ever encountered.
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Kate Marsh is definitely one of the best (hell, probably the best) portrayals of depression in a game and a totally worthy #1
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Kate is precious and must be protected at all costs.

At all costs.

The fact that I saved her in my blind playthrough is what gave me the fuel to make tough decisions later on. I knew that, no matter what, I'd done the right thing when there was no other option.
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Also, props on LiS making Kate be a very devout Christian girl and actually be a sweet, wonderful person instead of a prejudiced hatemonger like we see of often in fiction (and real life).
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I'm interested to read all of this but I haven't played that game yet.
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I played Life is Strange, deal with depression and have occasionally been suicidal, and I really didn't have that profound a connection to Kate at all. I'm kinda surprised she's that beloved. Like, she has some stuff happen to her, and then there's the potential suicide scene, and then she's just gone from the game.

Then again, I failed to save her, and although I'm not sure what I did wrong, I assumed from the way the plot had been written that this was something you were supposed to be unable to prevent considering Max can't rewind time there. It wasn't until I got to the end of the episode that I realized it could be a thing. Umm...at least Max took care of her rabbit?

Maybe I should replay the game and see what changes, because a number of the details darkx highlights are from what she does during recovery. That would require replaying the whole game, though, and I dunno if I'm up for that. The game just won't be the same on a second pass.
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azuarc posted...

I played Life is Strange, deal with depression and have occasionally been suicidal, and I really didn't have that profound a connection to Kate at all. I'm kinda surprised she's that beloved. Like, she has some stuff happen to her, and then there's the potential suicide scene, and then she's just gone from the game.

Then again, I failed to save her, and although I'm not sure what I did wrong, I assumed from the way the plot had been written that this was something you were supposed to be unable to prevent considering Max can't rewind time there. It wasn't until I got to the end of the episode that I realized it could be a thing. Umm...at least Max took care of her rabbit?

Maybe I should replay the game and see what changes, because a number of the details darkx highlights are from what she does during recovery. That would require replaying the whole game, though, and I dunno if I'm up for that. The game just won't be the same on a second pass.

Yeah there's no way playing through the game again could ever replicate the first time, which is why I took to Youtube to see alternate scenes. From what I can tell it doesn't break the story if Kate dies in episode 2, but she has some scenes later in the game that you miss.
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Well, it doesn't "break the story" in any other meaningful way, no, but it does maybe affect my perception of Kate.

Then again, it's also worth noting that I write novels and mine are always very heavily plot-driven rather than character-driven. Kate is very much a character-driven construct, given that so much of what you're talking about doesn't involve very much actively happening. There's the bullying, and then her exit from the story, and that's about it. OTOH, the conversations you can have with Kate do allow you to get to know her on a very deep level, and if that's the kind of experience you enjoy from a character, then it's absolutely justifiable to put her high on the list...it just didn't feel to me like this was that kind of list, when you've got Kirby, Luigi, and Squirtle in your top 10.
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Yeah you're not the first one to think very highly of Kate

She died in my playthrough, so

The representation of her depression is great for games, but she probably wouldn't be in my top 50 characters. LiS just didn't make enough of an impact on me, though I did like the game.
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Oh, LIS made an impression. I loved Chloe. Even if you like nothing else from the game, it's hard not to like Chloe.
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azuarc posted...

Oh, LIS made an impression. I loved Chloe. Even if you like nothing else from the game, it's hard not to like Chloe.

Most of the lead characters are pretty damn good. The game has its flaws, but the characters are not among them.
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Chloe > Max by a ton, though. Max was just...I dunno, everything about her was kinda milquetoast. Even when you chose to make her take a strong stance on something, she was still wishy-washy. I remember an encounter between Chloe and David where you have to choose sides, and I was surprised by how, seemingly out of nowhere, she was really forceful with David if you take Chloe's side. That was what made me realize that she really hadn't been very strong with anything else up to (or thru) that point. Part of that is the dialogue and part of it is the VA.
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Yeah I think Max's VA made some poor choices sometimes, not necessarily that she was bad for the role.

But strengths and weaknesses of the game aside, I was very glad to see that there were people who felt very strongly about Kate like I did.
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So I guess this is as good a place as any to ask.

What actually is the draw to Life is Strange anyway, without getting into spoilers. Is entirely story driven with minimal gameplay cause that's the vibe I get from it when people talk about it. Is it similar to Heavy Rain?
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It's sort of like a Telltale game without the action sequences, but very plot/character driven, and definitely hits some heavy/touchy subjects.
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For me, I always found myself liking Max the most because I relate to her the most.
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Lopen posted...

Is entirely story driven with minimal gameplay

Basically. It's like playing an old point-and-click adventure, except that the focus is far more on the story and especially the characters than on the puzzle-solving aspects of the game. Max also has limited time rewind ability, which lets you redo conversations and see different results.
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azuarc posted...

Max also has limited time rewind ability, which lets you redo conversations and see different results.

It factors into gameplay and story as well, but yeah that's the biggest difference it has from other such games - you can redo conversations to get more desirable results without it being "cheating."
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it also gives decisions more impact. Since you have the option of changing your response, there's never the worry of "oh, that's not what I actually wanted to say," so whatever decision you make is ultimately on you
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Good point. A lot of times in a Telltale game I have selected an option and the actual dialogue was totally different than what I thought it would be and I'm like wtf I didn't want to say that!
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Not ready to let this die.
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Fun list, just finished reading it. A little Nintendo heavy, but you only can rate what you know, and I know you primarily played Nintendo.
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Yeah, I grew up with Nintendo and really just started branching out about 5 years ago, hence why most of the non-Nintendo characters are high up and from fairly recent games.
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Save
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Feel like keeping this open a little bit longer.
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A couple more HMs (none of then would probably be top 50 but at this point I'm trying to see if I can round out a top 100):

Daxter
Franzisca von Karma
Copen (Azure Striker Gunvolt)
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Harry Flynn (Uncharted 2)
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