50 Video Game Characters: 37

"Ah, there's nothing like the hot winds of Hell blowing in your face"



37. LeChuck (The Secret of Monkey Island)

The best villain is a recurring one. One who is so evil, he can come back over and over despite permanent banishment or even death. Few of them can come back before the first game even begins. Enter LeChuck, the ghost pirate.

Intelligent and ruthless, he found Governor Elaine Marley to be his ideal mate. After multiple failed attempts to win her heart, he tries to impress her once more by sailing off to find the secret of Monkey Island. LeChuck and his crew ultimately perishes in his pursuit for the secret. Enraged and now without a corporeal body, he sets about a plan to kidnap Elaine and force her to be his undead bride.

Despite his cruel nature, he is also very gullible which may lend to how he is defeated by a clumsy(but clever) pirate like Guybrush Threepwood in every game. Since his defeat by voodoo-induced root beer in the first game, he has returned in every Monkey Island game since in a multitude of forms. He's been a ghost, a zombie, a demon, a human and then back to undead. Dude is pretty adaptable.

Best moment: At the end of Monkey Island 2, when he confesses to Guybrush that he is his creepy brother, Chuckie Threepwood.

50 Video Game Characters: 38

Hey guys this one contains a shit load of spoilers re: Shadow of the Colossus, so if you care about that stuff, DON'T READ THIS

"Raise thy sword by the light, and head to the place where the sword's light gathers"



38. Dormin (Shadow of the Colossus)

The temptor is quite a classic archetype in literature, even moreso biblically. A snake convinces Eve to take an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, forcng her and Adam's expulsion from Paradise. Then of course there's Satan, the fallen angel who is known to tempt others into sin, including his multiple temptations of Jesus Christ in the desert. A character who serves as temptation is very rare in video games, but Dormin is able to trump anyone who tries to challenge his throne in this aspect.

Dormin is an ancient evil whose power is sealed inside the bodies of 16 giants, known as Colossi, who themselves are wandering in the forbidden land. Acting as the aide to a young man looking to revive his beloved, Dormin convinces him to destroy the Colossi as a means to bring the girl back to life. As Wander, the hero, sets about destroying the(semi-docile) beasts, his appearance becomes more and more corrupted with each Colossus slain. A life formerly untarnished, being overwrought with evil. By the end, of course, Dormin now free of his shackles, invades the body of Wander and begins causing chaos until he is sent away in a whirlwind of light.

Like most temptors, however, he does keep his end of the bargain, despite his wholly evil intentions. The young girl finally awakens, traveling to the temple pond where Dormin/Wander was banished, finding a baby with horns on his head in the same manner as Wander near the conclusion of the game.

Best moment: When he possesses Wander and you are able to control them both as one.

50 Video Game Characters: 39

39. Vault Boy (Fallout)

Always on hand with a happy-go-lucky attitude and chipper grin, Vault Boy is ready to help you through your adventure in a hellish, post-apocalyptic wasteland that used to be America.

Vault Boy isn't really a character, per se. He's a mascot for the Vault-tec system and, in Fallout 3, the handy helper of your PipBoy3000 personal information processor. However, there is probably no character as distinctly representative to the Fallout series as he is.

That clean optimistic style of Madison Avenue in the 1950's is a very sterile character of post-war America and that's what Vault Boy is eyeing to represent: post-war America. An America almost stuck in time with its use of big band music and clean-cut advertising mascots. The irony of it all, of course, is that it's nothing like the world we know. It's a hellscape full of futuristic technology and evil mutated humans. Luckily ol' Vault Boy is there to lend you a hand and a smiling face. And that smile is the last one you're going to see for a while.

Best moment: The various ways Vault Boy dresses and acts to reflect what goes on in the world. All with a happy smile.

50 Video Game Characters: 40

"That is rather...disturbing..."


40. Clank (Ratchet and Clank)

Of all the Playstation 2 mascots, Ratchet and Clank undeniably have had the most staying power. I don't really see Naughty Dog giving up Nathan Drake to do another adventure game starring a chatty ottsel voiced by Doogie Howser's friend. Also Sucker Punch is too busy with shooting lightning out of your hands(or are they????) to give us another Sly Cooper game(or Rocket: Robot on Wheels, although the chances of that is slim. Unfortunately.). Meanwhile, the Lombax and robot have successfully crossed over thanks to pretty good gameplay, humor and characters.

Other PS2 mascots tend to be saddled with a sassy compatriot and Clank is certainly no exception. Despite being a very proper robot, he is always able to provide a quip during any situation. Also look at him, he is so cute! He is so little and adorable and charming that it's impossible to believe he is part of an assembly line of robots programmed to be evil!

Clank's charm is so successful, in fact, that it landed him his own TV show, Secret Agent Clank. Can you think of any other sideick you really want to see have his own TV show? Daxter? Get outta here, no you don't.

Best moment: The opening of Up Your Arsenal, which shows an action packed episode of Secret Agent Clank.

50 Video Game Characters: 41

"Oh dear...you wanna fight me?! This is just dreadful!"



41. Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy VI)

A lot of people are scared of clowns and for good reason, they just seem like they're insane. The face paint, the antics, it all just culminates into looking like a big fucking bag of crazy. Kefka is all your fears of clowns and also so much more.
In this scenario, "much more" means "magic and the ability to DESTROY REALITY"

See, Kefka is basically an evil magic clown Deadpool. Originally the Emperor's court mage, he took part in a secret experiment which gave him enhanced powers in the magic department and at the same time diminished his powers in the sanity department. While that doesn't sound like the worst thing, keep in mind he already knew magic and was a Nihilist before the experiment.

By the end of the game, his powers are so great that he has successfully destroyed the world and attained godhood, something many anime villains strive for but fail in completing. Kefka, on the other hand, lacks a fully functioning brain and is able to get his shit together long enough to destroy everything everywhere.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Kefka is fucking nuts. Completely and wonderfully fucking nuts.

Best moment: Becoming a god and fulfilling the Final Fantasy stereotype of having to fight and kill God.

50 Video Game Characters: 42

"I am the Great Mighty Poo/and I'm going to throw my shit at you"



42. The Great Mighty Poo (Conker's Bad Fur Day)

Say what you will about the Poo and you can say a lot. He's a disgusting, immature and stupid as hell character in game all about crudeness(crudity? crudité?). But you cannot deny that he is indeed one of the most original bosses to ever appear.

As you can see, the Poo is, well, a poo. He is quite literally a giant anthropomorphic piece of stool. I'm not even going to try and be faux-intellectual and break down the character of a giant shit. Okay well maybe a little.

The Poo is, despite his smell, texture and overall look, an incredibly vain creature. Not only is he proud of his feculent lifestyle, he is also quite enamored by the sound of his own voice, judging by the boss fight revolving around him hitting enough operatic notes to crack the glass above him.

By the end of the fight, you're either laughing or tired of this joke. Either way, you know you just went through something thoroughly original. And also something fucking stupid.

Best moment: As he is being flushed, he laments his defeat in a manner similar to the Wicked Witch.

"Ah! You cursed squirrel! Look what you've done! I'm flushing! I'm flushing! Oh, what a world, what a world! Who'd have thought a good little squirrel like you could destroy my beautiful clagginess! Ah! I'm going! Oh! Ahh! No! Aaaaaaah!"

50 Video Game Characters: 43

"Y'know, people are always telling me how lucky I am. But the truth is, everything I touch turns to shit"



43. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)

Nathan Drake is the smuggest being you'll ever meet. He is smug as smug can be. Smugger than you or I. The definition of smug. But the dude has every reason to be.

The descendant of famed explorer Sir Francis Drake, Nathan Drake is an explorer/treasure hunter of Indiana Jones-ish proportions. And by that I mean he is a(fairly handsome) human being who fucks up sometimes, has a quip for every problem and deals with a shitload of mystical artifacts. And by "fucks up sometimes," I mean seriously. Like 90% of the time he has no control over his shit. But somehow he finds his way out of the crappiest situations by sheer willpower(gunpower) and his smarts.

Nathan Drake is the smuggest being you will ever meet, but he is humble as hell and a pretty nice guy. He deserves the sassy smugness.

Best moment: His hand puppetry in Uncharted 2, after being incarcerated for three months.