Heroic Mario's Top 10 Characters (March 2008 Edition)

Heroic Mario and another one of his oh-so-ever-changing favorite lists. This one was compiled in March of 2008.

10) Dante (Devil May Cry)
''First I whip it out, then I thrust it with great force! Every angle it penetrates, until with great strength I ram it in! In the end, we’re all satisfied.''

That quote may just sum up everything good and bad about Dante, depending on who you are. There are numerous stupid, corny, over-the-top characters in videogames, but none of them take it to the level that Dante does. You have to love a dude who can take a bullet in the forehead in stride like nothing happened. It’s absolutely ridiculous – and the entire appeal of Dante’s character.

To go into detail about his background would be missing the point with Dante. He works on a cutscene by cutscene basis – it’s not his story that’s important but whatever he’s doing at that particular moment. He’s never been crazier than in DMC4 either.

In one of the cutscenes, Dante runs into this giant serpent who tries to attack him with these ball-sized egg looking things. Instead of just avoiding them, the dude decides to kick them around like they’re soccer balls. You get to see this spectacle for about a minute before he manages to bounce six of them off of trees and back in the things face, which prompts the snake to respond with “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?” You see this sort of thing all throughout DMC4, and really throughout the entire series.

Dante has always been a cocky, arrogant, loudmouthed jackass of a character. That never changes, but the level of cool and competence he’s reached in DMC4 is what bumps him up for me. He’s gotten so powerful that the creators of the series have had to replace him with someone else. And for all that it sounds like an excuse, when you play DMC4 you can tell that Dante’s risen so far above everything in his series that it’s not even fair, be it playing as him or watching a cutscene.

wins some points in my book

9) Auron (Final Fantasy 10)
Your pain shall be two-fold!

Auron is a very cool character. In a cast full of teenagers and characters in their early twenties, he’s the much needed old man (though I think he’s like 30-something years old, so uh…woo Japanese rpgs) that brings the grounded, logical approach to a given situation. Unlike most other characters who have taken on that role before, Auron’s got some solid motivations and a nice back story to explain what made him who he is.

In Spira, he’s something of a legend – a guardian who managed to protect his summoner on his pilgrimage, defeat Sin, and come back alive (sorta), although he hardly embraces his status as a “legend.” When he finds out the truth behind the entire pilgrimage process, what faith he had in the system is destroyed, and his view on the world becomes much more cynical -- a stark contrast to the optimistic, somewhat upbeat character he’s portrayed as in the flashbacks.

Given the circumstances, it’s easy to see how he could have that transition. Everything he believed to be true was shattered, and he lost two of his good friends in the process. It’s not a particularly new concept, but without that bit of back story, Auron would be nothing but the shallow ‘badass’ of an RPG party (and in some ways he still fills that role). With it, he’s something a bit more. It gives his character some meaning, and his motivations makes themselves apparent when it’s revealed that he made a promise to his two good friends to look after their children.

Where this gets weird is when you find out that Auron’s actually dead, and has been dead since the end of that first pilgrimage he went on. FF10’s explanation behind that whole bit is that someone with an attachment to the world will continue to linger around; in Auron’s case, his fierce dedication to his friends’ wishes kept him around long enough to do good on them.

It’s that kind of loyalty and dedication that make up Auron’s character and is a big part of why I like him. Even if the foundation in which he had built his life around – his religious beliefs – were shattered, he was able to keep going on, if only for the dudes who he had gone on that trip with. And not even death was going to stop him. hail best character ever

(Man, FF10’s a lot more goofy than I realized!)

8) Albert Simon (Shadow Hearts)
''Well, there’s no sense in my lingering here. I believe I’ll return to London and have myself a spot of tea.''

Albert’s probably the weirdest character on the list. As a villain, he’s completely conventional in that he’s looking to reshape the world in a new image and is calling down a god to get the cleaning rolling. Where he’s distinctly different is that he’s a guy dressed in a suit and top hat and frequently talks about having a spot o’ tea back in London, even going as far as to invite his opposition there if they’re up to it.

But for all that his appearance is seemingly unthreatening -- and his constant desire for tea even less so -- he’s a very competent, powerful villain. In Shadow Hearts, he goes around the world looking for Alice after Yuri takes her away from his grasp at the beginning of the game. Cleverly disguising his identity as a famous alchemist, Roger Bacon, he uses and deceives many of the game’s would-be villains and characters to further his plan.

Given his display of power in the beginning and in one of the game’s cutscenes, running into him throughout the game rarely makes for a fun experience, be it in the streets of Rouen (I think) or a broken down old hospital where he’s keeping a woman. Simon, if nothing else, captures perfectly that feeling that he could do anything at anytime. You never know what you’re going to get when you see him on screen.

Another rather nice aspect is the rivalry he has with Yuri. At the end of the game, right after you’ve beaten him in the near final battle, there’s not a cry for his return or that you’re too late to do whatever and you’re sure to fail; instead, there’s a mutual respect between him and Yuri, and even him saying that they’ve got the power to stop the god he’s called down. It’s a different sort of relationship between protagonist and villain, but a good one.

He ended up having a small role in SH2, too – but we’re going to ignore that.

7) Delita Heiral (Final Fantasy Tactics)
''All of them swept up in a mighty current, a current they cannot see or feel… I simply swim against it. Nothing more.''

If there were ever a character that could be called “self-made,” it’s Delita. Despite being born into a common family, he manages to rise above it all and not only work his way into royalty but actually become the King of Ivalice, and it’s all by his own design that he manages to accomplish this. It’s both impressive and admirable, though how he goes about achieving this is not without some questionable acts.

What begins Delita’s large scale manipulation is his sister’s death at the hands of the best friend’s family. Caught in the crossfire, she’s killed in order to take out a member from the Corpse Brigade. Her being thrown to the side like an expendable pawn absolutely devastates Delita. It’s at this moment that he vows to bring down the corrupt nobility and see that he himself is able to bring in a new rule in Ivalice.

While there are many characters that tend to boast manipulating others to further their own plans, none have ever been on par with Delita. He forms alliances with both sides in the war and even the Church – all with the intent to extend his influence, before double crossing them in the end. He kidnaps Princess Ovelia, accuses high-ranking members in his alliances of treason, and pledges complete loyalty to more than one leader. All of this puts himself into good standing with one or more parties, and with it comes the benefit of being put into positions of power.

When you see everything from all of the different perspectives, what Delita is doing certainly is not wrong. The nations and Church in Ivalice are all shown to be corrupt in some form or another. In some ways, he’s similar to another character on here who, while seeming to be a villain, is going against the greater evil, even if it doesn’t seem to be that way on the surface. But what separates him from someone like Ramza with a similar goal is his willingness to do whatever it takes – the ends justify the means.

He has the right intentions, but the way in which he goes about it is casts that feeling of wrongdoing on him. But given his sister’s wrongful death, given what we’re seen from nobles and the Church, it makes his plight understandable. It also puts him a step above characters like Ramza who are so ‘good’ that it can be a bit grating at times, although there’s probably plenty who would disagree!

Ultimately, his intense desire to accomplish his goals, and the fact that he actually does accomplish everything he set out to do, cements him as one of my favorites. He rose above his status and his upbringing and did what he had to do. Gotta have a certain amount of respect for that!

6) Kaim Argonar (Lost Odyssey)
''Let him hear us. Let him see us. Let him shudder as we close in on him.''

Kaim is an interesting character. He’s a 1000 year old immortal who starts the game with a case of amnesia – both somewhat refreshing and augh-worthy at the same time. Kaim managed to get a spot on here less because of what you see from him in-game and more for what is provided in pure text flashbacks from his past. Most people probably haven’t played Lost Odyssey yet, but in the game there are these ‘dreams,’ which are written by a Japanese novelist that detail the 1000 years that Kaim has lived.

What makes these particularly special is the amount of fleshing out and development they give to Kaim that is otherwise missing from the main game. They do an excellent job of showing how living for 1000 years has taken its toll on Kaim as he’s experienced loss of multiple wives and children, friends, war buddies, acquaintances, all while he keeps going on, unable to pass on or grow old.

Moreso than just about any other videogame, these stories really help make the connection to Kaim. Reading about him having lost his wife and child to an enormous earthquake while they were sleeping, only for him to walk away unscathed, can tug at the heartstrings a bit. Not all of them have that kind of tragic end to them, but they serve to highlight the actual pains he’s experienced over his life, which in turn help explain as to why he’s very withdrawn and cynical in the actual game – he’s gone through actual loss, not some adolescent drama that many RPG heroes seem to have as an excuse.

Those aside, Kaim in the game is often reserved, calm and collected. He usually doesn’t have a whole lot to say, but when he does talk it’s usually worth listening to. As his memories start coming back not too long into the game he does become a more open character, but his personality doesn’t see much of a shift. Compared to most of the other cast, he’s probably not the most exciting character in the world, which is why those stories play such a large role in giving him that extra umph. He almost kinda reminds me of Snake, Cloud and Squall wrapped into one (whoa leonhart where are you).

Very cool character.

5) The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3)
There’s only room for one Boss… and one Snake…

Females in videogames run the gamut from damsel-in-distress to obnoxious, hyperactive teenager. It’s no surprise that I’m not a fan of many of them, but The Boss is a particularly special case. She’s not only a strong woman – she’s a plain strong character. Most others absolutely pale in comparison to her loyalty, dedication, and the inspiration that she invokes. Very few other characters can claim to be as well-written and get the same kind of emotion that The Boss does from the player at the end of Snake Eater.

Her life is one without breaks – she has felt loss since she was a child, losing her father after he had told her about the Philosophers, her child was taken away from her in the middle of battle, she was a nuclear test subject, sent into space as an experiment because of her radiation exposure, and, ultimately, was sacrificed by the country that she had given the utmost of dedication to.

When you learn the truth behind her mission, that she wasn’t a traitor of the U.S. but instead it’s most loyal soldier, it can hit a chord. For the bulk of Snake Eater, you are to believe that she defected to the Soviet Union and took her Cobra Unit with her. When, in fact, her defection was a part of her mission to obtain the Philosopher’s Legacy for the United States.

When Volgin fires the Davy Crockett on the Research Facility, her mission is greatly expanded upon. No longer allowed to come back to U.S. soil alive, she has to die – and by the hands of the person she cherishes the most, Naked Snake. The entire story is about as tragic as it comes, but perhaps worst of all is that she couldn’t tell Snake anything; she was to die along with the truth.

Her character’s personal strength is probably the strongest in the entire series. Her resolve is unshakable, her will indomitable, and the profound affect she had on Big Boss -- who later would learn about the entire thing -- would set many of the series’ future events into motion. A great character by any standard.

(suck it down porn games)

4) Zack Fair (Final Fantasy 7)
''For the…both of us…you’re gonna…live. You’ll be my living legacy.''

Zack has gone from an insignificant, scarcely mentioned, role in FF7 to not only one of its most important, but also its best – sounds like another character on this list who could it be spoilers. Though similar in looks, he might as well be the complete opposite of Cloud. In a world full of absolute nonsense, Zack stands as the game’s only normal character. His vibrant and genuine personality go a long way.

He owes the entirety of his high placing here to Crisis Core – a remarkable game in a compilation full of unremarkable games! In it, the story follows Zack’s life from eager kid straight from his hometown to a strong, experienced, and grounded man. Despite the craziness that goes on around him, he’s able to keep on trucking. It’s no surprise that Cloud had looked up to him as much as he did.

Over the course of Crisis Core, Zack works his way up through the ranks of SOLDIER to 1st Class (a group with only three members, one of which was Sephiroth), deals with the defection of two other 1st Class members, Shinra growing ever more corrupt, trying to hold on to his honor, and his relationship with Aerith.

That interaction with Aerith might mark the first time that Square has managed to not make a character relationship seem hokey, too. Out of all the dialogue in the game, theirs feels the least forced. And the build up of that relationship comes to a climax at the end of the game when Zack is staring down hundreds and hundreds of Shinra SOLDIERS, grunts and helicopters.

As he fights on, the memories he’s experienced and the people he’s met in his life begin to fade from his mind. But Aerith is the one who, up until he dies, he manages to keep a hold of. He’s taking bullets to the chest, he dodging air fire, killing soldiers, and all while concentrating on her. It’s handled really well (a marked improvement over anything Square’s done in the past) and a great conclusion to his story.

His character isn’t as over-the-top as some of the others, and his background isn’t a convoluted mess that Cloud’s is, but his personality, struggles, growth and ultimate end triumph over the bizarre cast that make up FF7.

3) Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
''I’m no hero. Never was. Never will be.''

If there were ever a character that brought together all of the traits that you look for in a good, solid character Snake is it. His origins, background and story are one of the most interesting in gaming. Having been born as a product of the Les Enfants Terrible project – cloned from the legendary Big Boss – his life from the outset has been one full of war, death and killing.

What really makes Snake such an appealing character is not only his strength, but the will to complete whatever task is set before him and his own personal motivation for fighting. Despite the troubled early life, where he would sell his skills in killing to the highest bidder, he manages to rise above his past, put that part of his life behind him, and look to the future.

Over the course of the entire series, his progression as a character has been near constant. From his first mission as a part of FOXHOUND, to his work in the underground as a mercenary, through the traumatic experience of having to kill his own father, the near constant betrayal he faced at Shadow Moses and ultimately to him finding his reason for fighting, not for himself or as a part of a mission but for the people around him – because he’s the only one who can.

It’s this dramatic yet intelligent and believable development in his character over the course of the series that make him. There are certain quirks and humorous moments strewn throughout that make him a more memorable character, but it’s the struggles, defeats, redemptions and strong will that define who he is.

With MGS4 right around the corner, seeing the conclusion of his story will be nice. The fact that even as a tired -- mentally and physically -- old man he continues to fight on, even going so far as to contemplate ending his life for the betterment of the world by bringing an end to his bloodline. If there were ever something you could point to that sums up what Snake is all about that may yet be it.

With the exception of one other character, he’s without equal in Metal Gear.

2) Yuri Hyuga (Shadow Hearts)
You can’t be serious… Not in such a pure, clean, mega-hit RPG as this!

Yuri is probably the most laid back character ever -- at least in Covenant. Save for hearing about ghosts, there’s almost nothing that phases this guy. He takes disaster in stride and makes fun of his enemies more often than getting angry at them. And, unlike a lot of RPG heroes, he’s neither idealistic nor a depressed mess. He’s had his share of issues in his life, but he handles them on his own and doesn’t bother looking for sympathy from people about them.

With Shadow Hearts being the All Yuri Show, there’s a lot of time that’s spent on fleshing out his character. His background is given full treatment; his life is explored in bits and pieces throughout the two games; and he’s got plenty of depth. But what really sells Yuri is his personality; he comes off as the kind of dude you could go have drinks with.

There are a lot of cool things about Yuri. The whole bit with Alice is great, breaking a guy’s face not five minutes into the game is classic, destroying an airship like it’s nothing is always a way to win some points, his reasons for fighting often being more for his own concerns rather than the world’s, and so forth. Yuri’s got a lot to like about him, both on the superficial level and beyond.

He’s probably the only character who gets near universal love from the people who play his game, too. Gotta be good to do that!

1) Big Boss (Metal Gear Solid)
''The country you’re building is no heaven for soldiers. The place they’re looking for is “outside” your heaven.''

Of all the characters in Metal Gear, there is but one in which the entire series revolves. Big Boss is the centerpiece – he is at the root of every significant event or idea. Outer Heaven, FOXHOUND, Solid / Liquid / Solidus Snake, the creation of CQC, the affect he had on every single character. His influence on the world of Metal Gear is without equal, and without him the series couldn’t function as it currently does.

The rise and fall of Big Boss is the single most interesting story within Metal Gear – and even beyond. From his start as a member of the FOX unit sent in to rescue the Russian researcher Sokolov, to having to destroy the SHAGOHOD and assassinate The Boss, to inspiring an entire army of soldiers to fight for him; there’s so much to Big Boss’s story that very few other characters can begin to compare, and if you ask me there’s none who do.

His life prior to the Virtuous Mission isn’t too detailed, but we know he was a nuclear test subject at Bikini Atoll, similar to The Boss, and he was a part of the Green Berets. MGS3 picks up around 1964 on his first real mission as a member of FOX. Despite his expertise being in urban infiltration, he’s sent deep into the Russian jungle to recover a scientist. If he’s caught, there’s no backup; he must procure his weapons on-site and leave no trace of his being there.

But what begins as a simple rescue mission shortly turns into something much more. Big Boss successfully reaches Sokolov, and single-handedly takes out Ocelot and his unit with surprising ease in the process – a testament to his skill. Shortly after, though, he’s faced with a horrifying fact: his mentor has defected to the Soviet Union. What’s interesting about the encounter on the bridge with The Boss is the exchange that they have. Throughout the course of the game, Big Boss would run into her and have these fights, and each time he would prove more worthy each time, up until he finally defeats her in battle.

It’s not long after he’s brought back to the States to recover from his injuries (of which includes a broken arm…that he puts back into place after falling into a river and nearly drowning suck it down snake) that he’s once again sent back to Russia with new objectives – destroy the Shagohod, kill Volgin, and assassinate The Boss. A tall order for anyone.

Over the course of Operation Snake Eater, he sneaks through the jungle, feeds on the wildlife for food, tends to his own injuries, endures a rigorous torture and even loses an eye. But what may be most impressive of all is his handling of The Boss’s legendary Cobra Unit. Fighting each in areas that clearly favored them, he dispatched each one with next to no problems.

Everything culminates with Big Boss (more appropriately, Naked Snaked, for this bit) facing off against The Boss in a field of flowers. Metal Gear Solid 3 is rife with symbolism, but probably more so during this final battle than anywhere else. After a hard fight, Naked Snake defeats The Boss in hand-to-hand combat, crossing that threshold to obtain the title of Boss – but only after overcoming Pain, Fear, End, Fury, Sorrow, and, most importantly, Joy.

By the end, he’s learned the truth behind The Boss’ mission, he’s learned that it was the government he had fought tooth and nail for that had given her a death sentence to clear its own name. The unwavering loyalty that he once had was clearly shaken by the revelation. It’s clear in his resistance to shake the President’s hand, the complete shunning of the DCI Director, and his ignoring of the support team that had helped him during his mission. The final, rather menacing, look on his face as he stood at The Boss’s grave foreshadowed nicely what he would ultimately do -- attempt to bring down the country he had served.

The growth of his character from the Virtuous Mission to this point is profound. His triumphs over the Cobra Unit and his coming to terms with what he must do before he can complete his mission are great to watch. The encounters with The Boss are probably the single biggest indicators of his growth, too. He was called a child by her in the beginning, she doubted his status as a soldier, but before the last battle, she has EVA tell him that she’s never seen someone with such clear eyes. A stark contrast to how he was in the beginning.

Six years later -- and after retiring from FOX -- Big Boss was called back into action…but for entirely different reasons than before. As it turned out, FOX had staged a rebellion on the San Heironymo Peninsula in an abandoned Russian nuclear site. Because of his previous connection, and now legendary status, the U.S. had blamed him for the rebellion. In order to clear his name, he had to put an end to an end to FOX. He, along with a Green Beret, Roy Campbell, established the FOXHOUND unit.

What occurs in Portable Ops mostly serves to set up future events, as such there’s a lot explained as to how Big Boss would amasses the funds necessary to build Outer Heaven, how he was able to have hundreds of soldiers fighting for his cause, and how he found his reason for fighting, refusing to live his life the same way The Boss did.

One particular point of note from MPO is his interaction with the soldiers versus Gene’s (leader of the whole FOX rebellion). Gene was created to be the ultimate battlefield commander, someone who could command inspire an entire army. As such, his voice was given certain powers of persuasion, and he uses it to exert control over the rebels he commands.

In contrast, Big Boss converts these very soldiers under Gene’s command over to his side. Not all of them, but a significant portion through his actions and beliefs alone. One of the things he’s reminded of throughout is that he holds the lives of the soldiers that follow him in his hands. A common occurrence throughout the entire series is the inspiration and idolization that many characters – both significant and insignificant – have felt when they’ve encountered Big Boss. Seeing this taken to that next step here, with soldiers stepping in front of fire to protect him from being shot, reinforces a lot of the sentiment that other characters have echoed continuously through the games. They’re willing to go to extreme lengths to follow Big Boss; he invokes that kind of feeling in the people who know him.

What happens from the end of MPO to Metal Gear 1 has only been talked about -- Ocelot tells what is presumed to be Major Zero that he wants Big Boss to join them so that they can become the Patriots, but it’s never mentioned what came of that (here we come MGS4). Two short years later, the Les Enfants Terrible project begins, and there are a number of missions he supposedly undertakes as a part of FOXHOUND until he starts Outer Heaven and the construction of Metal Gear.

The revelation laid out in MPO that he would destroy Metal Gear and then build a new one in its place comes to light here. Ursula saw Big Boss plunging the world into fear – and his role as a ‘villain’ really begins with Metal Gear 1. But his desire to bring down the West (as it was called there) in all likelihood had to do with the Patriots. Everything from MGS3 and MPO gave context behind what drove him to threaten the U.S. with his own version of Metal Gear and plunge the world into chaos.

Above all else, the Patriots fear what they cannot control – to bring about chaos would in effect render their iron grip on the world obsolete. It would simultaneously create an ongoing war, one in where soldiers would have a place to fight, free of being the tools of politicians. If anyone is reading at this point I’m not even going to brush up on the story of MG1 because how the hell is this only this long I did four posts on ken masters once upon a time what is going on here

The trials and tribulations that Big Boss goes through are second to none in the world of Metal Gear. For everything that Solid Snake has accomplished, Big Boss has done it and then some. And while this isn’t a matter of who has done more, it serves to high just how incredible his feats are. His rise from a rookie soldier to the legendary Big Boss to the most feared man in the world is a trip that you rarely see characters take in videogames.

time to wrap this up what do i do lets see here oh i know

Naked Snake: Yeah. EVA gave it to me. She said it used to be belong to a Western officer.

Sigint: Looks like someone did a little work on it, too.

Naked Snake: It’s more than a little. First of all, the feeding ramp has been polished to a mirror sheen. It’s not going to have any feeding problems. The slide’s been replaced with a reinforced version. And it meshes perfectly with the frame. The frame itself has been iron-wielded and scraped down multiple times for maximum precision. The front strap part of the frame has been checkered to make it dig into the hand. That prevents any slipping. The sight system’s original, too. It’s a 3-dot type. It’s got an enlarged front sight, giving it superior target sighting capability. The regular hammer’s been replaced with a ring hammer. That enhances the cocking speed and increases the hammer-down speed. They also reworked the grip safety to accommodate the ring hammer. Looks like they eliminated it altogether. This is a tool for pros. The thumbs safety and the slide stop are extended to allow for more precise handling. The base of the trigger guard is whittled down, so you can use a high grip. And the trigger itself is a long type for easy finger access. The trigger pull is about 3.5 pounds. That’s about a pound and a half lighter than normal. The magazine well has been widened to make it easier to put in a new magazine. The magazine catch button has been cut down low to make it harder to hit by mistake. The mainspring housing has been changed to a flat type to increase grip. And it’s even been fitted with stepping so that it doesn’t slip from the recoil when firing. On top of that, they added cocking serrations to the front part of the slide. That lets you load and eject cartridges faster in an emergency. Whoever did this is a professional. No question – this thing could shoot a one-hold at 25 yards in a machine rest.

Sigint: Well, I’ll be damned. That’s some gun.

hail