The main thing that makes video games special is interactivity. There is virtually no other medium that better transforms the audience from passive observers into active participants who can directly shape the story, rules, outcomes, and experience of a game. Of course, something that almost all video games need is a player character, the eyes through which one will experience the story—regardless of how complex or how thin it is.
From Arthur Morgan to Joel Miller, many of the best characters in the history of video games have been antiheroes; and on certain occasions, players have even gotten to experience a game through the eyes of an all-out villain. However, there’s nothing quite like a good video game hero. The best of all time are as badass as they are iconic, as well-written as they are entertaining, and as emotionally compelling as they are fun to play as.
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Cloud Strife — ‘Final Fantasy’ Franchise
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Image via SQUARE ENIX</figure>
The Final Fantasy series wasn’t a massive global phenomenon from the get-go. The first few entries in the franchise started steadily building critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base, but it wasn’t until the arrival of Final Fantasy VII in 1997 that the series really exploded in popularity. That success was largely thanks to the game’s protagonist, Cloud Strife, a broadword-wielding mercenary fighting the megacorporation Shinra and the villain Sephiroth.
With Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (one of the most essential PS5 games to date) further expanding the character’s iconicity, Cloud still stands as a masterful subversion of the standard fantasy hero archetype. Far more than just an awesome action hero, Cloud is a complex young man with a traumatic backstory that makes him all the more compelling to play as.
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Leon S. Kennedy — ‘Resident Evil’ Franchise
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Image via Capcom</figure>
The original Resident Evil game was a massive commercial and critical hit that helped popularize the survival horror genre, but Resident Evil 2 was even more successful. That’s due to a wide variety of reasons, not least of which is the introduction of Leon S. Kennedy, who has since become the franchise’s poster boy. After the Raccoon City zombie outbreak, he turns into a high-ranking secret agent fighting global bioterrorism.
He is, all in all, one of the best video game characters of all time. His journey in Resident Evil 2 doesn’t see him start out as a seasoned badass, but rather as a rookie cop having a terrible first day. As such, watching him fight his way into becoming a cool (yet deeply human) action hero, oozing dry wit and campy one-liners in Resident Evil 4 and beyond, has always been an endlessly replayable experience.
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Nathan Drake — ‘Uncharted’ Franchise
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Image via Sony Computer Entertainment</figure>
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was a solid hit for the PS3, proving that Naughty Dog were more than ready to make highly cinematic and serious adventure games. It was the tremendous success of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, however, that really pushed Uncharted into the pop-cultural stratosphere. Regardless of how one ranks the Uncharted games, one thing remains certain: Nathan Drake, the series’ treasure-hunting protagonist, is the heart of the entire franchise.
Inspired by action heroes like Indiana Jones and John McClane, Nate is your quintessential charismatic everyman, a relatable pulp hero that feels surprisingly human and emotionally nuanced for such a badass protagonist. Further boosted by an enrapturing four-game arc and Nolan North‘s legendary voice and mo-cap performance, he really is the face of the modern action-adventure genre.
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Sonic the Hedgehog — ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Franchise
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Image via Sega</figure>
The anthropomorphic blue hedgehog Sonic is Sega’s mascot for a reason. The hero of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, easily one of the most diverse video game series in history, this superfast hero has stood the test of time as one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable characters in the history of video games.
Whether one is playing as Sonic in one of the best side-scrolling games of all time, a groundbreaking 3D game, or even outside of the Sonic franchise, one thing remains unchangeable: It’s always a blast to control this video game hero. With his unforgettable design, his awesome powers, his colorful personality, and the many memorable voice performances that have brought him to life over the years, it’s no wonder why his cross-media longevity has remained steadfast as the decades have passed.
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Solid Snake — ‘Metal Gear’ Franchise
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Image via Konami</figure>
Hideo Kojima‘s original Metal Gear was absolutely revolutionary, making the stealth action genre mainstream and proving just how well auteur-driven cinematic storytelling could work through the medium of video games. Solid Snake, whose real name is David, is a genetically engineered clone of the soldier Big Boss and the weary protagonist of the whole Metal Gear series, which consists of several of the most intelligent video games ever made.
He’s Kojima’s masterpiece protagonist, the face of the entire stealth genre and one of the most iconic action heroes in the history of video games. What makes him so compelling is that, far from being your typical hyper-patriotic and enthusiastic soldier, he’s a reluctant and complex hero always prepared to do the right thing, no matter the cost.
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Samus Aran — ‘Metroid’ Franchise
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Image via NintendoSilent video game protagonists have always been a frequent phenomenon, but rarely has any silent hero been even remotely as cool or iconic as the Metroid series’ Samus Aran. This intergalactic bounty hunter has always been the face of these games, a franchise so foundational that the entire Metroidvania genre is named after it and the Castlevania series. From the iconic original to Metroid Dread, these are among those sci-fi game masterpieces that became genre blueprints.
Proof that video game protagonists don’t need to be ultra complex in order to be among the medium’s best characters.
Since storytelling has never been the main focus of the Metroid series, Samus isn’t a particularly fleshed-out hero—which means that she stands as proof that video game protagonists don’t need to be ultra complex in order to be among the medium’s best characters. Her iconic Varia Suit, her badass stoic personality, and her many fun abilities all make Samus an absolute blast to play as every single time.
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Lara Croft — ‘Tomb Raider’ Franchise
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Image via Crystal Dynamics</figure>
There’s a strong argument to be made that never has the video gaming medium seen a female hero more iconic or unforgettable than the Tomb Raider franchise’s Lara Croft, an English archaeologist and treasure hunter who travels the world exploring ancient ruins and dangerous tombs. Regardless of how one ranks the Tomb Raider games, one thing that never varies is how fun it is to guide Lara Croft’s exploration.
As soon as the original Tomb Raider debuted in 1996, Croft shattered gender tropes in a medium dominated by male protagonists, proving that a heroine was more than capable of anchoring a massive blockbuster game franchise. Whether we’re talking about her iconic look, her awesome platforming abilities, or her presence across media outside of gaming, there’s no denying Croft’s pop-cultural presence.
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Link — ‘The Legend of Zelda’ Franchise
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Image via Nintendo</figure>
Since the release of the original Legend of Zelda game on the NES back in 1986, the franchise has remained one of Nintendo’s flagship IPs. Every time a new Zelda game is announced, it becomes a global pop culture event, since it’s always an absolute blast to follow Link, the silent hero destined across generations to wield the Master Sword and save Hyrule from evil.
Technically, since the series spans thousands of years and the Spirit of the Hero means that Link practically reincarnates every time the realm needs him, there are multiple physical versions of him throughout the franchise; but they’re virtually all the same character. If so many Zelda games are among those adventure games without a single flaw, it’s largely because Link is such a perfect embodiment of the classic fantasy hero archetype.
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Master Chief — ‘Halo’ Franchise
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Image via Xbox</figure>
Halo: Combat Evolved proved to be an instant critical and commercial hit, immediately making Halo the Xbox’s flagship franchise. The face of the series is the Master Chief, a genetically-augmented supersoldier who’s dedicated to defending humanity against alien coalitions and cosmic threats. He is, without a doubt, one of the most defining and towering figures in the entire history of gaming.
The presence of Petty Officer John-117 is a big reason why so many Halo games are among the best FPS games of the last 25 years. The mere silhouette of the Master Chief is instantly recognizable—typically a clear-cut sign of a legendary character—, which is without mentioning his stoic personality, his deeply human emotional depth, his badass accomplishments throughout the series, and Steve Downes‘ iconic voice performance.
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Mario — ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Franchise
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Image via Nintendo</figure>
It’s really not much of a competition. Mario is to video games what Mickey Mouse is to animation, the undeniable face of the entire medium. From classic platformers to party games to sports titles, the Super Mario Bros. franchise has offered not only several of the most fun Nintendo games of all time, but also many of the most diverse and unique. And throughout it all, this turtle-stomping Italian plumber has only kept further enshrining himself as the mascot of not only Nintendo, but gaming as a whole.
For one, Mario is the hero of the video game industry itself, the success of his hyper-iconic 1985 NES game having revitalized the gaming console industry at a time when video games were a dying fad. Add to that the iconicity of his many appearances, his cross-generational appeal, his unmatched mechanical perfection, his unforgettable voice and visual design, and his practically ubiquitous presence throughout pop culture, and there should be no room for discussion left on who the best video game hero of all time is.
Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely
different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you
would be having within a week.
You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts
works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war
so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting
you.
- You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within
about five minutes and has never stopped. - This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every
single person in your life would be. - The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you
do with things you love. - The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the
arguments are about to start all over again.
You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where
somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth
rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.
- You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something
enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it. - This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly
alarming, and it has good reasons for that. - Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all,
which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes. - Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make
that argument.
You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one
where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of
it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.
- You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a
grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that. - Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly
1980 with no sign of resolution. - The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score
and the look of a used and dented galaxy. - You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good
time.
You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the
argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in
space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.
- You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major
franchise still willing to say the future might be better. - The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that
makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else. - Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is
appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar. - You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you
will always find somebody willing to have it.
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