Throughout the years, video games have introduced hundreds of characters with different background and personalities. But only a few stands out and has the right traits and elements to become an icon in the video game industry. Here are some of our favorite iconic video game characters:
Super Mario
Created by Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario has appeared in over 200 games. He was first introduced to the 1981 arcade video game Donkey Kong as the character named Jumpman. His character became so popular that it spawned his own game series, the Super Mario Bros. In this series, he’s an Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. Together with his brother Luigi, he travels the land to stop Bowser from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom and save Princess Peach. Due to his immense popularity, he is considered as the most famous character in the video game history, and has been coined as “The Face of Video Games.”
Link
Link is the protagonist of the popular game series The Legend of Zelda. His character appears in several incarnations in the series, making him one of the popular characters in video game history. He is also created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Throughout The Link of Legend Series, Link is either depicted as a child, teenager, or a Hylian young adult, who lives in the fictional land of Hyrule. He travels through Hyrule, defeating evil forces to save Princess Zelda and Hyrule against the primary antagonist, Ganon.
Lara Croft
Lara Croft is the lead character in the popular Tomb Raider franchise. She appeared in multiple universes since her debut in 1996. She is presented as a beautiful, athletic, and intelligent British archaeologist who travels around the world, venturing ancient tombs and ruins, seeking treasures. Due to her strong feminine character, many has seen as gaming’s first female superstar. Time Magazine even named her as the first sex symbol of video games. But aside from that, we all knew we love her due to her kick-ass attitude. And she hasn’t lost this even in the latest reboot. Have you tried playing it on your gaming PC?
PacMan
Pac-Man also was known as Pac is the protagonist of the Pac-Man series, and created by Toru Iwatani. Since he first appeared in 1980, he became Namco’s famed mascot and later on became a legendary video game icon. In fact, he happens to be one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world. His game is actually one of the highest-grossing video games of all time, which generated more than $2.5 billion dollars. The game was even regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time.
Ryu
Ryu is a character who first appeared in Capcom’s 1987 Street Fighter. He is the lead character of the game and was depicted as an experienced martial artist who aims to become stronger. He wanders the world along with his childhood friend, Ken, and trains to become an accomplished warrior. Out of all the characters in the Street Fighter series, Ryu has received the most loved due to his positive and humble outlook, a trait common to popular shonen main characters like Son Goku, Naruto, and Luffy.
How about you? Who’s your favorite video game icon?