The Guinness Book of World Records recently released their 2011 Gamer’s Edition, and with it came a list that I thought you guys might find interesting. You see, the kind folks at the Guinness Book of World Records asked for video game fans to participate in a bit of a survey. Over 13,000 gamers voted for what they consider to be the greatest video game characters of all time, and now the results are in for the top 50.
Here’s a tip: Mario was number one, if you couldn’t tell from the image posted above. As much as I wanted to be surprised by the characters that rounded out the top 10, lists like this typically turn out the same. People really love their Nintendo staples, I suppose. And silent protagonists.
Hit the jump to catch the full list of names and games!
1. Mario (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
2. Link (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
3. Master Chief (Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft, 2001)
4. Solid Snake (Metal Gear, Konami, 1987)
5. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
6. PAC-Man (PAC-Man, Namco, 1980)
7. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, Eidos 1996)
8. Gordon Freeman (Half-Life, Valve, 1998)
9. Kratos (God of War, Sony, 2005)
10. Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega, 1990)
11. Crash (Crash Bandicoot, Sony, 1996)
12. “Soap” MacTavish (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
13. Nico Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar, 2008)
14. Samus Aran (Metroid, Nintendo 1986)
15. Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank, Sony, 2002)
16. Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony, 2007)
17. Captain Price (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
18. Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land, Nintendo, 1992)
19. Marcus Fenix (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
20. Pikachu (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo 1996)
21. Yoshi (Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1990)
22. “CJ” Johnson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar, 2004)
23. Mega Man (Mega Man, Capcom, 1987)
24. Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubisoft, 2002)
25. Shadow (Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, 2001)
26. Jak (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Sony, 2001)
27. Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem, Apogee, 1991)
28. Dante (Devil May Cry, Bandai, 2003)
29. Naruto (Naruto: Konoha Ninpoch, Bandai, 2003)
30. Altair (Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, 2007)
31. Zelda (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
32. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
33. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
34. The Prince (Prince of Persia, Broderbund, 1989)
35. Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009)
36. Leon S (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
37. Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)
38. Guybrush Threepwood (The Secret of Monkey Island, LucasArts, 1990)
39. Spyro (Spyro the Dragon, Universal, 1998)
40. “Ghost” Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Activision, 2009)
41. Goku (Dragon Daihikyoe, Epoch, 1987)
42. Max Payne (Max Payne, Rockstar, 2001)
43. Jill Valentine (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
44. Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
45. Larry Laffer (Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Sierra, 1987)
46. Augustus Cole (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
47. Bowser (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
48. Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend, EA, 2009)
49. Ryu (Street Fighter, Capcom, 1987)
50. Sackboy (LIttleBigPlanet, Sony, 2008)
So what do you guys think of this list? Who would you have voted for the top 10 greatest video game characters of all time? Go!
Source – GameInsider
Altair above Ezio?
Ghost from MW2? He had a mask! That was his thing!
No John Marston?
Ash wasn’t even in Pokemon Red/Green!
Haaaaaate.
No Commander Shepard??
No Darth Revan?
And did I not see Fox McCloud?
If Sackboy was there, I was at least hoping to see Gabriel Angelos 😛
Damn, Soap? Price? Ryu at 49??? Spyro???
Captain Price that far down?
Altiair > Ezio?
Agent 47?
Logain?
Shepard? (Wrex.) Garrus?
Scholar Visari? (His speeches are awesome)
Also, why was Cloud there? He sucks! Grrrr! : )
Also, Mitch is right. Marston needs a mention.
this is a pretty standard list I think… the only character I draw issue with is Leasure Suit Larry. Really?
I would of liked both darth revan and commander shepard. But since the player had a massive role in what their character actually was I think that those could not really be on the list. I liked Revan’s backstory and all, but their is no one Revan, he was just what the individual player wanted him to be.
How is Soap higher than Price? I would like to see Nathan Drake higher, just because hes believable and likable.
Very, very surprised at no GLaDOS. Or Companion Cube.
In other news, I am very happy Link got the #2 spot. But would have liked to see Shepherd in the top 5, as well as Marston.
Well, yeah, I guess the Nintendo characters are just there because, you know, would there even be any lists dedicated to gaming if they hadn’t come along?
I’m surprised Master Chief’s in the single digits. Or even on the list. Don’t get me wrong, Halo’s fun and all, but the characters ain’t exactly too high in terms of memorability.
I too am also rather bothered by the absence of John Marston.
Other surprises are:
CJ from San Andreas being on the list at all and not Tommy Vercetti, Nathan Drake scoring so high,
Duke Nukem ranking so low,
Niko Bellic scoring that low. I figured he’d be single digits, and definitely higher than Master Chief.
Eddie Riggs on the list(I loved Brutal Legend, and found him hilarious, but come on, unless there’s a bonafide sequel wherein their forces take on the invading evils of ’90s and 21st century rock, I ain’t gonna remember him)
Spyro, like CJ, feels like an artifact of an embarrassing time, platformers dominated the consoles and so did “animals with attitude”
Do Goku and Naruto even deserve to be on the list? Aren’t they like…manga/anime characters? I mean, yeah, Mario’s been in every other form of media from board games to toilet paper(you know, probably), but he originated in gaming. By their logic, James Bond should be on there somewhere on account of how awesome GoldenEye is.
Augustus Cole. I adore Gears of War, but…come on, the comic relief?
Also disappointing: absence of “Cannon thing from Space Invaders”, “Pong Paddle” and “Cats from Zero Wing”