The fame game

August 25, 2010 - 12:00 pm

Some gaming characters are more memorable than others with cooler superpowers or a perfect personality.  We pick our favourites – see if you agree.

For speed and style it has to be Sonic the hedgehog.  Since 1991, Sonic’s been speeding along and collecting rings doing loop-the-loops in the strangest garden landscape we’ve ever seen.  We love his bad-ass attitude and shocked face when he lands on devilish spikes.

Pacman is iconic.  Despite being an eye-less indecisive piechart, Pacman embodies videogames for a generation.  His insatiable appetite for ‘om-nom-nom’ dots and cute multicolour ghosts still adorn t-shirts today.

Muscle machine Donkey Kong is still the strongest character since 1981 and we adore his barrel-hurling action.  Amusingly his creator named him Donkey Kong as ‘Kong’ is Japanese slang for gorilla and erm the bloke thought ‘donkey’ meant ‘stubborn’ in English.

Tell us your gaming crush

If you like your characters sinister, try Mr X for size.  First menacing gamers in Resident Evil 2, the gargantuan mac-clad tyrant crashed onto our screens in 1998, pursuing heroes and striking more terror into players than all the mutants and zombies put together. 

 But Street Fighter’s Ryu takes the top spot in the fighting stakes. Synonymous with the franchise, the toga-touting mean machine rules the roost.

Lara Croft is the hottest head honcho in gaming.  Reckless, strong and beautiful she brought intelligence to an almost shoot-em-up game and was so popular Angelina Jolie donned some hot pants to play her real-life counterpart in the Tomb Raider films.

Back to the old-school, how about Lemmings?  These oft overlooked, ill-fated 90s pixels made death-defying ingenious bids for freedom in an addictive puzzle game which had people coming back for more despite dodgy graphics and ill-fitting blue t-shirts.  There was just something compelling about saving the doomed critters and guiding them through perilous levels…or sadistic revelry at finishing them off…you decide.

More green heroes- link has to be the best medieval-inspired character.  Since the Legend of Zelda in 1986 this mute character has embarked on hundreds of adventures and shifted 50m games for Nintendo across numerous consoles.

It’s a-me, Mario, our most beloved character of all time and only a plucky plumber.  With dapper dress sense, a killer accent and all the best superpowers he’s had more reincarnations than Madonna.  And his friends Luigi, Bowser and Princess Peach are pretty memorable too.

Don’t agree?  Tell us your favourite!