So what are we counting down today? Spencer's Top Ten Favorite Heroes in Gaming ever (as of this moment). Before we begin, let me explain a few self imposed rules.
- When I say "Hero" I mean the main protagonist(s) of the story.
- Only one character per game unless it's a tie.
- We are ranking these characters on how much I like their personality and powers (if they have any), in case you were wondering.
- Only characters that originated from a video game (i.e. no Comic Book Super Heroes or characters that first appeared in a movie/TV show).
- This list is in no order at all, unlike my Top Ten Boss Fights in Gaming post.
- Only characters from games that I have played.
- There WILL be spoilers. Just a forewarn.
With all that said, let's get started.
#10!
Oliver from Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3). Oliver is from a RPG game from the early 2010's and has both a tragic back story and awesome magic skills. Why is his back story tragic? His mother DIED OF A HEART ATTACK at the very beginning of the game. However, A fairy named Mr. Drippy told Oliver that through the power of messing with alternate dimensions, Oliver can bring his mother back from the dead by saving her counterpart from a evil wizard called Shadar. And you know what the worst part is? Drippy lied. Not even magic can bring back the souls of the dead. And there is a relatively well known theory about this game that the ENTIRE GAME is just a product of Oliver's imagination. Starting off on a surprisingly dark note, aren't we?
But why do I like Oliver? Because he is surprisingly nice! Seriously, his mother passed away before his very eyes and although he did spend three days mourning her, Oliver quickly had a change of heart when Drippy showed up. And once he learned that death is permanent no matter what, he finally accepted that fact and continued the adventure anyway, not because of some meek hope of bringing his mother back, but because it was the right thing to do. Oliver is a champion people! A CHAMPION!!!! Oh, and being a powerful magic user is a bonus.
#9!
The Number Nine spot is taken by a game I bought not too long ago at all. Hailing from what might be my new favorite RPG game since Xenoblade Chronicles X, we have Welkin Gunther and Alicia Melchiott from Valkyria Chronicles (PS3, PS4). The reason it's a tie? You can't have one without the other. Let's start with Welkin first. Welkin Gunther is a journalist and scientist, specifically natural science. He possesses a strong love for plants, animals, insects and just about anything about nature. In the game, he enlisted for the Gallian militia and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. In actual gameplay, he is kind of average on foot, but his forte is vehicular combat. His vehicle of choice? An old but serviceable tank called the Edelweiss (pronounced Eh-DOLL-vice) that he inherited from his father, a war hero named Belgen Gunther. In case you could not tell, this game has a very obvious war theme going on. Something I like about Welkin is that he already knows what he is going to do with his life once the war is over (he wants to become a teacher).
Now for Alicia. Alicia Melchiott is from the same town that Welkin is from and prior to the events of the game, was captain of the town watch. She enlisted into the Gallian militia much like Welkin, and became a Sergeant (and Welkin's second in command). Similar to Welkin, Alicia also has plans for the future (opening up her own bakery). Alicia also gets bonus points for being the most overpowered party member ever. You can probably beat the entire game using JUST Alicia, if you tried hard enough. That's how good she is in combat. Welkin is nowhere near as overpowered as Alicia, but he mostly spends of his time in a tank so he still packs a punch. I like both of these characters because of their personality and I myself am guilty of abusing the infamous "Alicia/Scout Rush" strategy to power level my team. Speaking of the game, I'll review Valkyria Chronicles once I beat the main story
#8!
Wander from Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, PS3). Not to be confused with this guy...
Good job Disney. You named a character in your cartoon that you cancelled one day before I even heard of said cartoon the word Wander, which ironically is the name of the main hero of Shadow of the Colossus. When the said characters are nothing alike. Wander over Yonder Wander (the orange one) is best described as a hippie wookie riding what looks like a Tyrannosaurus Rex/Horse hybrid. S.o.t.C. Wander is a archer/swordsman who (going back to the dark note) made a deal with a demigod to bring back the life of the woman he presumably loves (I say presumably because almost the entire story of S.o.t.C. is left to personal interpretation). As such, Wander's status as a "hero" is really vague. On the plus side, Wander has a nice detail going for him since the more Colossi that Wander defeats, the more "corrupted" he gets. His clothes get bloodstains, his skin pales, his eyes fog up, and the most notable thing is that he starts growing horns on his head. Maybe that deal wasn't worth it after all...
#7!
Link from pretty much ANY Legend of Zelda game. Even though there are actually multiple Links. Anyway, Link is a adventurer who winds up saving the day from a big bad villain. A tried and true formula! Link, in addition to being a swordsman, has skills with *deep breath* slingshots, bows, ball-and-chains, boomerangs, bombs, grappling hooks, hammers, whips, magic masks, magic rods, horse riding, a thing called the Gust Bellows, a robotic beetle, potions, transforming into a Goron/Zora/Deku Scrub/Wolf. a giant spinning top, and a bubble gun. Also...
Am I the only one that likes the new blue outfit from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Surely not. Surely someone else likes the blue outfit. #BlueLink!
#6!
You probably saw this coming, considering that it's own of my childhood favorites, but it's Spyro and Cynder from the Spyro series. More specifically, pre-Skylanders. I always loved dragons, and the Spyro games were the first game I actually beat as a kid. Also, I opted to use pictures of their Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon designs, since Spyro and Cynder's designs in that game made them look young but powerful, which is how I always imagined teenage dragons would look. Also, purple is my favorite color. However, Skylanders ruined Spyro for me. Speaking of which, Activision announced the SIXTH Skylanders game! The SIXTH!!! Stop making Skylanders and make some regular old Spyro games!! In case you could not tell, I do not like the Skylanders games
Also, How come when Cynder made her playable debut her powers were infinitely cooler than Spyro? Oh sure, Spyro has fire breath, ice breath, thunder magic and earth magic, but what does Cynder get? She gets Poisonous acid, the power to turn into a shadow, tornado magic, and a death scream so loud and so terrifying it can give Freddy Fazbear a run for his money. Speaking of F.n.@.F., I got to admit. Although I avoid horror games like the plague, I respect Scott Cawthon for being able to make 5 whole games in the span of 1 year (F.n.@.F.'s 1 and 2 came out in 2014, F.n.@.F.'s 3, 4, and World came out in 2015, in case you were curious). Oh, and as far as I know, Spyro and Cynder are the only characters on this list that are sweethearts/lovebirds (love-dragons?), but I think that Welkin and Alicia (Valkyria Chronicles) might become a thing. I don't know, I haven't beaten the game yet. I'll let you know in my review.
#5!
Ratchet and Clank from... well, the Ratchet & Clank series. Ratchet is an alien known as a Lombax, which are very obviously inspired by wildcats, with lynxes being the most obvious comparison. Clank is a robot. Also, forget Batman and Robin, Ratchet and Clank will ALWAYS be the true Dynamic Duo in my eyes. NOTE: I ACTUALLY LIKE BATMAN AND HE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS. DON'T TAKE THIS JOKE SERIOUSLY.
On another note, Ratchet and Clank have saved the galaxy more times than you can count. Something I like about Ratchet and Clank as a team is that although they are friends they sometimes argue with each other. I kind of like it like that because it makes them more believable as characters.
#4!
Wonder-Red from The Wonderful 101 (Wii U). Also known as Will Wedgewood, Wonder-Red is a teacher-turned-superhero. As the leader of the Wonderful 100, Wonder-Red is definitely the most heroic out of the bunch. While Wonder-Yellow is somewhat cowardly, and Wonder-Pink worries way too much on her appearance, and Wonder-Blue caring about nothing but being a big show off, Wonder-Red is brave, focuses solely on the mission at hand, and encourages the rest of the team to work together. Bonus points for being a genius since he got a perfect 100 score on the written test when he joined the Wonderful 100 (he only got a 98 on the field test due to his over-reliance on standard protocol).
#3!
Elma from Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U). Elma is the main hero of a game that lets you create your own character. But your own character is not the main hero, Elma is. But anyway, Elma is a member of BLADE, a private military organization designed to guarantee that the human race survives everything, including the destruction of Earth. Elma gets bonus points for having instant cool points. She literally shot a boss in the face to interrupt said boss's evil boast, and chews said boss out on being a wimp. Also, although the exact quote was "Shut up, you Samaarian witch!" the way she said that line makes it sound an awful lot like a certain curse word. Or maybe that's just me looking way too deep into that one quote.
#2!
Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. Random fun fact! "Sora" means sky in Japanese. Oddly fitting since he has the power of flight. Anyway, Sora is a kid from the Destiny Islands, a small obscure world in the middle of nowhere. When his home gets destroyed by the evil creatures known as the Heartless, Sora goes on a mission to track down his friends Kairi and Riku. Oh, and he meets Disney characters along the way. Why? Because everything is better with Disney! Anyway, he runs into two major problems when rescuing his friends. Riku turned evil, for starters. And Kairi was almost sacrificed to open the door to the very realm the games are named after. Sora has skills in swordsmanship (he's a RPG protagonist, of course he knows how to use a sword) and magic, and the only character I can think of that has both is Robin from Fire Emblem, but I never played any of the Fire Emblem games because I do not own a 3DS. Something interesting is that his weapon of choice is the Key-blade, a sword that looks like a key. And it actually works as a key, since it can un/lock doors, treasure chests, and even entire worlds. Also, what size shoe does this kid wear!? Those shoes are massive!
NUMBER ONE!!!
Jesse from Minecraft Story Mode (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U). You know what's better than a hero? A hero whose entire personality is up to the player. Jesse's behavior during cutscenes is entirely up to you. You can be a complete jerk, a Mr. Nice Guy, and everywhere in between. Furthermore, when you create a save file, you can pick which version of Jesse to play as (the one pictured is the default). Six versions, three male and three female.
All six versions of Jesse in one place!
And in the fourth episode you can customize Jesse even further with various armor sets (10 sets total, two of which are hand-me-downs from either Ellegaard the Engineer or Magnus the Rogue, based on your choices). Also, Jesse had a pet pig named Reuben. Not to give spoilers or anything, but the key word here is "had".
So what do you think of my Top Ten Heroes in Gaming list? Leave your thoughts in the comments down below.
P.S. I bet you were expecting an Undertale character on this list! The reason why I didn't put one on here is because none of the characters are outright heroic. In fact, the morality of almost everybody in Undertale is so in the middle that it does not even have a hero or a villain, with the most evil character being Flowey. And once you learn Flowey's backstory, his actions make a lot more sense in hindsight.
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