Cokes's Top Ten Gaming Badasses

These are Cokes's Top Ten Gaming Badasses ranked for Ed Bellis's What Would You Do.

Top 10 Gaming Badasses
Honorable Mentions: Auron, Master Chief

#10: Meta Knight (Kirby Series)

Meta Knight is a character long shrouded in mystery. Is he good or is he evil? Sure, he's tried to take over the world, but he's also helped Kirby save it. He wields a sword, and hides his face using a rather effective mask, which allows us to see only his eerie yellow eyes. He has his own squadron of lackies, the Meta Crew, who do his bidding, but when they screw up, as they inevitably do, he gets out there and does the dirty work himself. No one knows why he does what he does, and I doubt whether we gamers ever will, though we will get to kick the asses of both heroes and villains alike in Brawl in a mere 6 weeks.

#9: Wolf O'Donnell (Star Fox Series)

While he played an important role in Star Fox 64, O'Donnell really earned his stripes in the recent Star Fox: Assault. He and Fox clash early in the game over former Star Wolf team member Pigma Dengar, but the tiff ends with Star Wolf running off after a minor beating. Shortly thereafter, the Aparoids attack Corneria, and Star Fox team sets out to stop them from taking over the world. In Corneria City, Fox gets ambushed by the Aparoids only to be saved by...Wolf?! Wolf then explains that if anyone is going to tan Fox's hide, it's going to be him. They collaborate on several missions against the Aparoids, including a final assault on the Aparoid Homeworld, where it appears that O'Donnell, and his team are killed. We never find out if Wolf survives or not, but I think it'd be foolish to say that we've seen the last of this crafty Wolf, particularly if rumors of his inclusion in Brawl are true.

#8: Scorpion (Mortal Kombat series)

Try to remember the first time you fought against Scorpion in any Mortal Kombat game. Chances are that during the fight, you heard these three most famous words in all of fighting games at least once: "GET OVER HERE". You were then hauled toward Scorpion, and there's a good chance you were on the receiving end of an uppercut. Sometime later, the words "FINISH HIM" would be shown on the screen in blood, and you may have been impressed and even shocked when Scorpion pulled off his mask and incinerated you by means of fiery breath. What you probably didn't notice the first time it happened, however, was that his head was nothing more than a skull. We would later find out that he was killed years ago. So not only could he beat people down, shoot a grappling hook from his arm, and breath fire, but he was also undead, which has made him the enduring antagonist of the series, the ever-present fighter that nobody wants to screw with.

#7: Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid series)

Playing through the original MGS, there was an intangible quality about Ocelot that inspired awe in the player. Maybe it was the bouncing bullets, maybe the subtle accent in his voice, I still can't put my finger on it. Then he gets his arm lopped off by Grey Fox, and you figure that that's the end of his presence in the series. But he doesn't disappear like the rest of his cohorts. He stuck around, and at the end, you begin to realize that Liquid Snake wasn't the mastermind that he was presumed to be, that it was actually Ocelot. You had no idea who, if anyone, he was working for, or what his motives were, but you knew he was going to be a force to be reckoned with, and a resilient one at that. Two MGS games later, Ocelot is still around, thriving on his manipulative skills and his militaristic genius. And all that's not even mentioning the hand gesture.

#6: Proto Man (Mega Man series)

If you mentioned the words "badass" and "Mega Man" in the same sentence, the first thing most would say is "Zero", but Zero doesn't hold a candle to Proto Man.First of all, let's go with appearance. Flowing yellow cape-scarf, sexy red boots and helmet, and an opaque black visor, which has never been removed. Add in that sweet shield, and already he looks the part. But, like any great character, there's more to him than that. As Dr. Wily's first creation, he had no need to copy abilities, and is stronger than Wily's later creations. Despite being one of Wily's creations, he often does as he pleases, which, on occasion, has been assisting Mega Man, something his creator would detest. The thing that got me, though, about Proto Man, was the whistle. That whistle sticks with you long after it's stopped sounding, and keeps you waiting, wanting for the next time, but not just the first time you hear it, but every time you hear it. Eventually, though, it won't come when you most want it to, and that's what makes you go back and do it all again.

#5: Knuckles (Sonic series)

Knuckles was arguably one of the first badasses in the world of video games, and is arguably one of the most popular of all time. When he first appeared in Sonic and Knuckles, people wondered "Who's the new guy? Is he friend or foe?" despite him being playable. He had an aura of mystery around him, and his spiked gloves and pseudo-dreadlocks gave him an imposing presence. Later, in the 3D Sonic games, Sega expounded on his character, giving him a sharp tongue, quick wits, and just the slightest condescentant tone to his voice that makes you love him.

#4: Gray Fox (Metal Gear Solid)

The too-oft overlooked true badass of MGS. First of all, he can fend off bullets with a sword. He also had strength enough to lift Metal Gear off the ground. And then there's the whole "slicing off Ocelot's hand" bit. That alone would get him on this list, but then, in that great fight between he and Solid Snake, he shined. "Hurt me more!" he exclaimed numerous times, as I'm sure everyone remembers, as he fought Snake. He had no conscience, and as a result, he had no qualms about any of his actions, though ultimately, they were for the greater good.

#3: Zeratul (StarCraft series) Anyone familiar with StarCraft's Protoss campaign knows that Zeratul was the reason that the Overmind was destroyed. A Dark Templar, Zeratul and his brethren were shunned by their former brothers, the High Templar. Despite the High Templar's hatred toward the Dark Templar, Zeratul, along with help from the High Templar Tassadar, facilitated in the destruction of the Overmind, as only the Dark Templar's energies could slay it. Not once was he apologized to, and often times, even in the war room, Aldaris would ignore "the fallen one", but not once did his allegiance to Aiur and the Protoss waver.

#2: Ganondorf Dragmire (Legend of Zelda series)

Is it possible to describe Ganondorf in one word? I highly doubt it. He's the immortal embodiment of evil in the Zelda universe, and depending on your perspective, the foil to numerous Heroes of Time. He weilds magic as proficiently as a broadsword, and has thrown Hyrule into a state of sheer terror on numerous occasions. Ganon has escaped from alternate dimensions in his efforts to control the Triforce, and through it, the world. Oh yeah, he's also the only male Gerudo born in a thousand years. How much badder can a guy get? Now if they could just make him suck less in Smash Bros. >_>

#1: Albert Wesker (Resident Evil series)

Throughout the Resident Evil series, it's revealed that Wesker works for no one but himself. He is a master of manipulation, and has shown it from the moment that the player realizes that his sending the S.T.A.R.S. unit into the Spencer Mansion was a set-up. He then fakes his own death, injects himself with an experimental virus, and proceeds to torment the S.T.A.R.S. and RPD survivors throughout the rest of the series, including handing a complete beatdown to Chris Redfield in Code: Veronica. With one hand. Now, he's turned his back on both the old Umbrella and STARS, and is trying to recreate a new Umbrella, one which he will have supreme control of. Never has someone exuded such the attitude that Wesker has pouring out of him every time he's seen or heard from. Truly a consummate badass.

In gaming, every so often, a character comes along who makes you go "Oh ****, that guy kicks an insurmountable amount of ass". This is a list of the baddest badasses in the history of gaming badassery, the guys that nobody wants to cross unless their life depended on it. Of course, every character in this list is subject to **SPOILERS** of all sorts.