I've decided to sum up the most iconic video game protagonist and here are the list

10. Sonic
Let's not waste time by discussing the obvious; recent Sonic games are rubbish , everyone knows it and is tired of trying to make Sega see reasons. It's disquieting to think that younger generations of gamers will hear the name Sonic today and immediately find their thoughts focusing on Werehogs, Secret Rings, copycats or the true horror that is Sonic Boom - all of which offend the senses by their very existence. What I would much rather do is reminisce about the days when Sonic's name was big enough to keep Nintendo on their toes and make them think twice about the construction of their next Mario. Sonic was the cool alternative to Mario. He had beyond-athletic speed, a slick design and the most high quality, energetic music to have ever graced a Nintendo cartridge. What did Mario have? Well, he had a lacklustre jump, dungarees and a slight bulge in his gut. Somehow, Sonic still remains hugely iconic today, and while his reputation has taken repeated blows through no fault of his own, there's still a chance for Sonic Team to redeem his legacy.

9. Lara Croft
- Tomb raider
How big are those pockets, Lara? I doubt they're deep enough to hold the ridiculous amount of accolades, awards and critic's choice awards that have had your name inscribed on them over the last twenty years. Ms. Croft is one of the industry's most decorated characters, but she's also - by far and away - the most divisive to have ever been created. To some, she's a strong female role model - to others, an unrealistic depiction of women that only serves to perpetuate an unobtainable male fantasy. From sex symbol to feminist champion; there's really no end to what her image means for different people. The to and fro diatribes surrounding the perceived positive and negative aspects of Lara's character will doubtlessly continue as long as her popularity does, but ultimately that doesn't matter. What does, is her legacy and the fantastic video games in which she features.

8. Pikachu - pokemon
721 Pokémon. That's the staggering number of Pokémon that now exist thanks to the continued success of the franchise and yet, not a single one of those critters has ever come even remotely close to matching the astronomical popularity of Pokédex entry #25 Pikachu. Just look at those rosy cheeks, don't you just want to pinch, pull and squeeze them until every last volt of electricity has been extracted and left you a little crispy? No? I guess it's just me. Which is strange, because - I'm sure I risk my safety when I say this - Pikachu isn't particularly special in his native video game format. In fact, his abilities and prominence have been lacking ever since the days of the original Red and Blue (and Yellow) versions released at the height of the Pokécraze back in the 90s. You may think he's popular in the West, but in Japan, the character has become a part of the country's pop culture and one of its most recognisable exports of all time.

7. Solid snake & Big Boss
It's kind of tough to separate Solid Snake and 'Big Boss' (or whatever moniker you want to give the anti-hero/villain). If you had asked any Metal Gear fan ten or even twenty years ago who the main character of the series was, the resounding answer would've been the solid snake. In a post-Phantom Pain and Peace Walker world though? It's never been more obvious that Hideo Korea (the game's developer) always intended for Solid's 'dad' to be the real star of the franchise. Everything, after all, started with The Boss' protégé all those years ago in the jungles of Tselinoyarsk, Russia. In terms of iconography though? Solid easily comes out on top. The amalgamation of Sneaking Suit and the impractically-long bandanna have and always will be the classic image of Metal Gear. A shame then, that we've not had a Solid-led Metal Gear title since Guns Of The Patriots. But hey, there's always hope for a retelling of the first two Metal Gear titles to bring the entire franchise full circle. Well, there would be, if Konami hadn't just announced their withdrawal from the console market.

6. Agent 47 - HItman
Who would have thought that creating an iconic character would be as simple as putting a bald guy in a suit (that probably more expensive than your yearly salary ) and slapping a barcode tattoo on the back of his neck? I'd love to talk on about how Agent 47's iconic features are backed up by a fascinating personality, but as we all know, the assassin ain't much of a talker. But that's okay, the nameless (unless you count 640509-040147 as a name) result of a cloning operation doesn't need words to make you drool over him - the piercing blue gaze says it all. Indeed, aside from his good looks,Hitman fame comes entirely from the unique mechanics of the Hitman games themselves and the character's fictional history.

5. Link
Link being the only Legend Of Zelda character to appear on this list feels a bit deceptive, really. The entire main cast of the series deserves equal recognition for how iconic they are. So here's a quick shout-out to Zelda, Ganondorf, the Gorons, Zoras and ye even Tingle - that annoying little shish-kebab. Link gets top billing here because he's the poster boy for the Zelda series as a whole, and the way in which the player gets to experience Hyrule in all of its utopian glory. But besides that, the Hero Of Time's sage green attire - coupled with a Hylian shield in one hand and the Master Sword in the other - forms one of the most recognisable icons in video game history. No matter how drastic Link's redesigns have been over the years (Breathe Of The Wild being the obvious one), you'll always know who you're looking at just from a quick glance. He's the hero we need and the hero we've continued to have for almost thirty years.

4. Dante - Devil May Cry
I have to admit, I came so close to criticizing this guy for some reason but Dante to the top of this entry for some free entertainment, but all joking aside, the fact that Dante's redesign for DmC: Devil May Cry caused such an explosive controversy only serves to show just how much people liked the character. By Changing the character's visual characteristics of such an iconic figure was never going to sit well with fans of the originals, and Capcom knew it all too well. No publicity is bad publicity, after all. Despite the haircut and change of attire though, Dante's personality has remained consistent throughout the series' entirety (except for maybe Devil May Cry 2, but nobody cares about that catastrophe) and that's his real draw. Dante's is gaming's Mr. Cool, and it'll always be that way. If you're struggling to think of any character that exudes the same magnetic, cocksure personality as the Son of Sparda, save yourself the trouble. They just don't exist .

3. Mario
Most Nigerians don't need introduction to know how iconic this superstar is. How do you even sum up the rich history of a character like Mario with just a couple of measly paragraphs? Every corner of the world knows who Mario is and he's not so much an iconic character for Nintendo as he is for the entire games industry. To downplay the impact he's had on almost three generations of children and adults since 1981 would be like recognising an acclaimed actor for just one performance among many great examples. Have you ever played a truly bad Mario game? I'm sure they exist out there somewhere, but finding such a thing is probably nigh on impossible - it having been drowned underneath a sea of meticulously made platformers that rarely - if ever - experiences drops in quality. Thirty years. That's how long Nintendo have had to make some kind of mistake or slip-up resulting in a similar fate experienced by the previous entry's resident. We're all still waiting nervously for that day to come, but hopefully, it never will. - I hate to say it but we are failing to recognize the popularity of the character.

2. Kratos
Say hi to gaming's angriest man. To be fair to Kratos, he's got enough reasons for the perpetual rage that he's known for. After all, wouldn't you be just a little bit angry if you'd been manipulated into killing your own family and then killed yourself by the almighty Zeus? You can't blame the guy for wanting to stick the God of Thunder's head on a pike for what he's done. If Kratos has to kill the entire Greek Pantheon to achieve such a goal, then so be it - he doesn't really care about the consequences of his actions. But that's both his charm and the reason why he won't just be forgotten as another throwaway hack 'n slash protagonist. The God Of War series as a whole raises the serious question of what should be considered 'good'. If you believe the very definition of the word to be avenging the death of your family no matter the cost, then yeah, Kratos is a bloody saint. Otherwise, he's no better than the God he's on a crusade to kill. In fact, Kratos could have saved himself a lot of hassle if he'd just offed himself straight after murdering the crap out of Ares .

1. Scorpion mortal kombat
The one and only "come over here" crooner the baddass that made our day back even till Now. Don't start hating on me because I didn't put sub-zero on the list because I know you nairalanders . I had to pick one and I think scorpion is more iconic. Scorpion is not just a figurehead in the mortal kombat he's featured in the NetherRealm's logo. nobody cares if you think violence in video game is in 'bad taste' or potentially harmful mortal kombat is pure entertainment. Thumbs up for scorpion for making our childhood, The undead ninja

A gamer that doesn't know at least 5 characters that I mentioned above is that one a gamer?

Do u know that no one fvcking cares!

Vasaratti16:
A gamer that doesn't know at least 5 characters that I mentioned above is that one a gamer?

Mario should be number one cos my mother knows mario yet she's not a gamer.

justscorchone:
Mario should be number one cos my mother knows mario yet she's not a gamer.

Nice list dude. I've heard of them all, but I hope this is not an ordered list... If it is...

Who's Scorpion to be top in place of Mario?

There are 801 Pokémon! You didn't add the latest generation! Pikachu really is nothing special in the games, despite his popularity(based on being Ash's companion in the anime).

Where's Master Chief? Knock off Dante or something!

Agent 47 He's not that popular! I'm sure someone could replace him. Drake is a better fit than that guy.

The most sought out for game characters since nowago!

1) Nathan Drake
2) Geralt of Rivia
3) Attano Corvo
4) Possessed kenshi
6) The frye twins
7) Ashen One
Edward kenway


Pics from (T - B) Nathan Drake(most handsome daredevil), The legendary sterile witch fvcker(literally yennifer and keira meitz dem), The greatest stealthy assassin since d history of gaming and a blind bat.

HyDef:
Nice list dude. I've heard of them all, but I hope this is not an ordered list... If it is...

Who's Scorpion to be top in place of Mario?

There are 801 Pokémon! You didn't add the latest generation! Pikachu really is nothing special in the games, despite his popularity(based on being Ash's companion in the anime).

Where's Master Chief? Knock off Dante or something!

Agent 47 He's not that popular! I'm sure someone could replace him. Drake is a better fit than that guy.

You were right when, you said Mario should come first, I admit to have made that mistake

but

Pikachu is definitely the most is definitely the most iconic of the pokemon series pikachu might not be strongest but when any gamer should the think of pokemon the first character you can think of is pikachu, and don't forget pikachu appears in other games outside pokemon or is there any other popular pokemon character?

Master Chief is a great character if the list was more than that I would include him but comparing him to Dante!!! Is like comparing apples to oranges

Talking of Agent 47 which gamer doesn't knows the HItman? If you haven't played the game, at least one would have seen the movie. Moreover only few games has had the opportunity to be turned into a movie.

Vasaratti16:
You were right when, you said Mario should come first, I admit to have made that mistake

but

Pikachu is definitely the most is definitely the most iconic of the pokemon series pikachu might not be strongest but when any gamer should the think of pokemon the first character you can think of is pikachu, and don't forget pikachu appears in other games outside pokemon or is there any other popular pokemon character?

Master Chief is a great character if the list was more than that I would include him but comparing him to Dante!!! Is like comparing apples to oranges

Talking of Agent 47 which gamer doesn't knows the HItman? If you haven't played the game, at least one would have seen the movie. Moreover only few games has had the opportunity to be turned into a movie.

I wasn't saying Pikachu isn't iconic. Pikachu definitely is the most popular Pokémon. My parents know Pikachu but can't name any other. I was agreeing with you as to how Pikachu is unspectacular in the games.

Dante... Well, maybe cuz I haven't played DMC, so I'll just leave it there.

I still stand to say that a lot of characters are more popular than Agent 47. I know a lot of gamers who haven't played the Hitman series. I mean.. I'd rather have Ezio, or Cloud Strife...

But how about others, like DK, Megaman, Ryu?

Oh well, probably just the type of games I grew up playing.

Once again, nice work.

HyDef:


I wasn't saying Pikachu isn't iconic. Pikachu definitely is the most popular Pokémon. My parents know Pikachu but can't name any other. I was agreeing with you as to how Pikachu is unspectacular in the games.

, Dante... Well, maybe cuz I haven't played DMC, so I'll just leave it there.

I still stand to say that a lot of characters are more popular than Agent 47. I know a lot of gamers who haven't played the Hitman series. I mean.. I'd rather have Ezio, or Cloud Strife...

But how about others, like DK, Megaman, Ryu?

Oh well, probably just the type of games I grew up playing.

Once again, nice work.

Guy you are really dope oo never knew there was a real video game lover like me on Nairaland. Am even more surprised you know cloud strife, most of my friends that do game don't even know cloud. But he is my favorite protagonist of all time.

Vasaratti16:

Guy you are really dope oo never knew there was a real video game lover like me on Nairaland. Am even more surprised you know cloud strife, most of my friends that do game don't even know cloud. But he is my favorite protagonist of all time.

Of course I know Cloud! And thank you!

Who doesn't know spiky hair and broad sword welding cloud?


I agree with hydef, I would replace agent47 with Ryu

justscorchone:
Who doesn't know spiky hair and broad sword welding cloud?


I agree with hydef, I would replace agent47 with Ryu

Ryu guy you funny oo you didn't even call any better person is Ryu you are calling.

Vasaratti16:
Ryu guy you funny oo you didn't even call any better person is Ryu you are calling.

Trust me,people sabi Ryu pass that agent47 guy,don't believe me? Then run a survey

Vasaratti16:
Ryu guy you funny oo you didn't even call any better person is Ryu you are calling.

But you should at least have given Street Fighter an honorable mention. Agent 47 is getting flak because Hitman isn't all that mainstream. But it's your list, so I'll respect that.

My most popular video game protagonists would be :

Mario
Sonic
Link
Ryu and Chun Li

Scorpion / Sub-Zero
The Mishima Family
Snake
Lara Croft

what of my guy lawrence barnes aka prophet.


where is master cheif as well

Next on our list, are a famous pair of fraternal twins, who tear up victorian era London just for d fun of it.
They go by the names, Jacob and Evie frye.

Apart from being assassins, the next thing dey have in common is the surname, as where Jacob strongly relies on brute force and brawns to take out targets and complete tasks, Evie applies the more stealthier brainy approach.

Next is Ashen one, undead keeper of fire who is on a horror voyage to break the curse of the undeads.

It's a good thing the last dlc has fallen out, his age-old pilgrimage has finally come to an end.

Darksouls3

And then there is Edward kenway, man is a pirate! A pirate of the seven seas. Imagine having a conversation with good old black beard(Edward teach) of the queen anne's revenge.

Templars and assassins are at war again as it's all wrapped up in perhaps the best assassins creed game, since AC2.

Edward kenway, ancestor to arno is the lead protagonist in assassins creed: black flag