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Top 50 Video Game Characters Nomination Thread: Your Favorite Game Boys and Girls

Issun

(He/Him)
We've covered a lot of aspects of video games in these lists. We've hit so many different eras, we've listed soundtracks, boss battles, enemies, even Marios and Zeldas and fighters. But now, we're looking at all the characters that have made video games so appealing ever since that little yellow guy started chompin' his way across screens seven centuries ago.

So what defines a character in a video game? Well the most important thing is they have to be defined as such. Random mooks are off the table and no, the L block from Tetris does not count either. They would naturally have a name, though I don't know that I'd count random NPCs from Skyrim, say, as actual characters for our purposes. They don't really have to have dialogue or a well defined personality as long as they stand apart from the gaggle of mooks and weirdos that populate most game worlds. They do not have to be playable, and they can be heroes, villains, or anything in between. They also must be an original character for the game. No Ninja Turtles, Batmen, or the like. I think that pretty much sums it up, but if you have any more questions please do not hesitate to ask.

For anyone who hasn't done this before: You PM me a ranked (yes, it has to be ranked in order for me to be able to tabulate the list) list of up to 25 characters. I will award 35 points to your #1 and go down the list with 11 points going to your #25. Then I spreadsheet it and produce our official Top 50. If you want to write anything about any of your characters in your PM feel free. If they rank, I will put your blurb in the post.

The soft deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM PST on February 7th, though there will probably be room to negotiate sneaking one in after that, depending.

Finally: Have fun!
 
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RT-55J

space hero for hire
(He/Him + RT/artee)
Well, there goes my chances for nominating Arnold Palmer from Arnold Palmer's Tournament Golf for the Sega Genesis family of systems v_v;
 

Baudshaw

Unfortunate doesn't begin to describe...
(he/him)
I'm interested in doing one character per game/series, but I think that'd be a disservice to games like Fire Emblem.

Also, I wonder if the max amount of characters should be increased, because it's such a broad list. There won't be too many repeat choices
 

Torzelbaum

????? LV 13 HP 292/ 292
(he, him, his)
pac-man-kill-screen.png

abandon all hope ye who enter here
 
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Issun

(He/Him)
If you're talking about someone like, say, Link, then yes, but all votes for such characters will be lumped together under the overarching character so don't vote for more than one version.
 

RT-55J

space hero for hire
(He/Him + RT/artee)
internally debating how gauche it would be if i were to vote for myself
 

Issun

(He/Him)
I mean characters who aren't a single distinct character in the same game.
So to answer the question here after PM discussion, a random mook who got to star in their own game is an edge case where if you feel dedicated enough to it then democracy can decide.
 
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Mogri

Round and round I go
(he)
Staff member
Moderator
So to answer the question here after PM discussion, a random mook who got to star in their own game is an edge case where if you feel dedicated enough to it then democracy can decide.
Sounds like the answer is Prinny, moogle, or chocobo?
 

Aurelia

duff mcwhalen megafan
(she/her)
I've nominated one. I also feel like one of my all time favorite picks (which i did not nominate!) would be kind of hard to talk about how he's one of the best characters of all time without Spoiling The Game.
 

Torzelbaum

????? LV 13 HP 292/ 292
(he, him, his)
Also, I wonder if the max amount of characters should be increased, because it's such a broad list. There won't be too many repeat choices
That's up to Issun. But maybe this Top 50 could use an approach like the one used for the Numbers list.
 

Kirin

Summon for hire
(he/him)
Ehh, the two-stage voting worked for numbers which was such an abstract subject, but I feel like for something like this it'd be too much like spoiling the whole list in advance.

I wouldn't say no to a more-than-50 approach, but that's jsut a lot more work for Issun! Maybe just some really brief runner-up entries or something. But obviously whatever Issun wants to do!
 

Torzelbaum

????? LV 13 HP 292/ 292
(he, him, his)
Ehh, the two-stage voting worked for numbers which was such an abstract subject, but I feel like for something like this it'd be too much like spoiling the whole list in advance.
True. I guess for something like this a possiblr approach could be to post all of the characters that only showed up on one list (but maybe don't post who had that character on their list). People could then adjust their lists as they see fit. That notification could also be sent privately. But that does sound like a lot of work for whoever came up with this crazy idea.
 

Issun

(He/Him)
Probably don't need to if you're voting for, say, Mario, but for characters that aren't super well known it'd be helpful just in case.
 

RT-55J

space hero for hire
(He/Him + RT/artee)
As a rule, always err on the side of making identification/tabulation easier for the showrunner.
 

LBD_Nytetrayn

..and his little cat, too
(He/him)
Ooh, I need to remember to get in on this later.

Spoiler: There will probably be no fewer than three Mega Men on my list.
 
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