The Guinness Book of World Records is starting to take a keen interest in video games – even released what I think is a pretty spiffing annual focusing on video games. Now they’ve released a fan voted top 50 video game characters of all time list. And you may be surprised at who made it in.
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)
I have some major complaints. First of all – Cloud Strife. What’s he doing in the top ten? Above Samus? ABOVE SAMUS?! And Ghost from Modern Warfare 2? Shadow from Sonic the Hedgehog?
Well, at least the right man won – Mario. And Solid Snake made the top five.
What do you guys think of the list?
dzc12
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:06 AMMaster Chief above Pac Man? SHAMEFUL!!!
Fistbeard McTavish
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:09 AMTop 50 Videogame characters of all time: Teeneger Edition.
Mark Serrels
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:12 AMPro-tip: adding a skull to your character design will make the most pointless vanilla characters eligible for the top 50.
Adam
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:04 PMSure is determined by underage.
sharmona
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 4:53 PMI think that’s being a bit harsh.
AussieGecko
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:56 PMDoes no-one else see the irony of this?
sharmona
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 4:55 PMHis name being McTavish?
Ndroste
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:15 AMEzio should be higher than Altair, for sure.
WTF is Cole Train doing in there?
And finally, what about Marston?!!!
Johnnoz
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:17 AM37. Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)
There is… a slight problem I have with this choice. Granted you could name yourself whatever you wanted so if you REALLY wanted you could name yourself after ash in the anime.
But uhh, the gen 1 main character’s official name is Red. You fight him in Gold/Silver, remember guys?
Oh and seriosuly Naruto?
HindenLagen
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:31 AM“There is… a slight problem I have with this choice. Granted you could name yourself whatever you wanted so if you REALLY wanted you could name yourself after ash in the anime.
But uhh, the gen 1 main character’s official name is Red. You fight him in Gold/Silver, remember guys?”
This argument can somewhat extend to Link, but there is no way I’d go there.
Damn it I just did! Don’t take me seriously!
Nick
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:26 AMPsh, no Andrew Ryan? No Shepard?! Disappoint.
Alex Cullinan
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:42 AMI agree, Adrian Shephard definitely should have made the list!
Nick
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:59 AMI meant Commander Shepard (Mass Effect). :P
Sir_Sam
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 9:33 AMHis name is Sam Shepard….. I dunno what version of Mass Effect you guys are playing?
:p
MrBS
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:27 AMWell most aren’t surprises but its a bit much having multiple entries from the same game isn’t it? Can’t the fanboys decide between Cloud & Sephiroth?
jaypee
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:31 AMLike all fan-voted “All Time” lists, it is largely reflective of those who played videogames in the last decade. The first of these lists are always “All Time”; hopefully in 2021 GBR will have the insight to run “Of The Decade”.
Naruto and Goku being in there are ridiculous. While iconic characters of a generation, they’re not video game characters. Fan-voted or not, the list could have used a degree of moderation.
Ross Moir
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:41 AMI’m just glad most of the important characters were on there, although a little dissapointed Alex Vance didn’t make the cut.
I am happy Larry Laffer, Eddie Riggs and Guybrush “I want to be a pirate” Threepwood made it on there.
Hieronimus Kava
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:42 AMBoycotting the list until Captain Falcon gets in there. Also these anime characters (Naruto, Goku) need to GTFO
Hieronimus Kava
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 3:51 PMLack of Kyle Katarn also crushes my soul into a singularity =’(
Definitely one of the greatest Star Wars characters in my opinion, and a very deep video game character at that.
Jacques Bodourian
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 10:57 AMAll the CoD characters aren’t special except maybe Capt. Price. Gears of War characters are horrible, they shouldn’t be their at all. I haven’t played much AC but even I could tell Ezio as a character surpassed Altair. Marston should replace both GTA characters. Mass Effect and Kotor aren’t represented, and I know they both have some great characters (Shepard and Kotors main characters shouldn’t be counted as a lot of the character is well you). Scholar Visari and Andrew Ryan are absent…why?
The Little robot from Machinarium, Glaydos. Arthas? Thrall?
I could be here all day. Generally speaking though, the list isn’t too bad.
Sleak
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:13 AMCTRL + F
“JC Denton”
No results.
oggob
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:41 AMCOD characters? really?!?!
I find the low result of Sackboy really quite sad… given the amount of merch available for the LPB series, Sackboy is really in the big leagues now.
Dr Nic
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:56 AMWhere’s Sheppard? And does anyone else feel sorry for poor old Desmond? Altair and Ezio get a look in, but not the bastard actually strapped into the magic chaise lounge!
jarrard
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:56 AMlol
why is mario listed as being a character in donkey kong?
The Cracks
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:18 PMBecause the original Donkey Kong was Mario’s first appearance (albeit he was known as ‘jumpman’ at the time).
Dominic Davies
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:23 PMBecause the list just displays their first appearance. I hope you knew Mario was in the original Donky Kong game.
VGP
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:46 PMTrolllll!
Ian Uniacke
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:49 PMer…because he debuted in donkey kong?
Zen Marx
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:19 PMHmmm… I actually agree with Cloud.
But where is Shepard? John Marston? Reven? Bastila Shan? Darth Malik? Squall? Tidus?
Man, I could keep going. All of the above are better than the whole of the COD cast, and Eddie Riggs, and Dante, and…
Ah whatever. I guess it all comes down to what you like and personal opinion.
Michael Winters
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:31 PMCrash? Serious? At 11? Above a heap of true classics?
oggob
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:38 PMLack of Abe is also disappointing…
David Lowther
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:41 PMWhere the HELL is Kane?
Ian Uniacke
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 12:50 PMFinally I can come out of the closet and declare my love for Shadow! :D
Justin Robson
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 1:20 PMThere’s a disturbing lack of the Doom Marine in the list and in the thread… though I guess they had Gordon Freeman and Max Payne, etc… and Captain Price!
plmko
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 2:32 PM” Ghost from Modern Warfare 2?”
Yes such a memorable character I mean he had great moments such as…ummm….ermmm….you know that bit where he shot some terrorists.
popcultured
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 3:09 PMGoku & Naruto ARE NOT VG characters, they started out as ANIME, the games came later.
Yes, a few FACEPALM entries on this list.
5footassasin
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 3:17 PM17 Captain Price (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
Seriously, the people who decided this list believe that some generic throwaway “character” from COD is a better game character than Yoshi, Zelda, CJ, Duke Nukem, Dante, Sephiroth, Donkey Kong, Leon, or Guybrush Threepwood. Riiight.
Sughly
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 3:49 PMI wouldve had Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton in there somewhere, but I’m biased. I never play COD. That being said, my two suggestions still seem more well known than a lot of others there…
deathtoll
Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 4:09 PMRyu at #49! WTF! Should at least be in the 30′s.