The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History

Who do you think are the most iconic characters in gaming history?

My picks:

1. Mario
2. Sonic the Hedgehog
3. Link (Legend of Zelda)
4. Pac-Man
5. Mega Man
6. Master Chief
7. Ryu (Street Fighter)
8. Samus Aran (Metroid)
9. Solid Snake
10. Spider-Man (I know, he's techincally a comic book character, but dang has he been in a butt-load of video games.)

Who do you think are the most iconic characters in gaming history?

My picks:

MarioSonic the HedgehogLink (Legend of Zelda)Pac-ManMega ManMaster ChiefRyu (Street Fighter)Samus Aran (Metroid)Solid SnakeSpider-Man (I know, he's techincally a comic book character, but dang has he been in a butt-load of video games.)Emerald_Warrior

great list Emerald.

the most obvious omissions to me personally are CLOUD, GORDON FREEMAN and PECACHU.

Uh... Lara Croft??? C'mon now... How could ANY gamer forget the Tomb Raider herself???

And as far as Mario being on-top, I'd say that's as accurate as you're ever going to find for most-recognized "face" in gaming. No other candidate reps video gaming like Mario, world-wide.

In no particular order

Mario Brothers

Link and Zelda

Snake

Sonic

Bowser

Goombas

Ganon

James Bond

Donkey Kong

Ninja Turtles

Mega Man

I could keep going for a long time, but most of the ones I mentioned have been around in the gaming world for around 25 years or longer.

Uh... Lara Croft??? C'mon now... How could ANY gamer forget the Tomb Raider herself???

And as far as Mario being on-top, I'd say that's as accurate as you're ever going to find for most-recognized "face" in gaming. No other candidate reps video gaming like Mario, world-wide.

MonkeySpot

[QUOTE="MonkeySpot"]

Uh... Lara Croft??? C'mon now... How could ANY gamer forget the Tomb Raider herself???

And as far as Mario being on-top, I'd say that's as accurate as you're ever going to find for most-recognized "face" in gaming. No other candidate reps video gaming like Mario, world-wide.

Lordofinternet

If you showed the character to a non-gamer, would they recognise that it is a game character?

Moving personal preference aside:

1. Mario (everyone knows Mario)
2. Pac-Man
3. Sonic the Hedgehog
4. Master Chief (He's EVERYWHERE in this generation, hard to miss)
5. Lara Croft
6. That blonde elf from Zelda (whatever his name is)
7. Scorpion/Sub Zero (Basically the same character)
8. Spyro the Dragon
9. Duke Nukem
10. Lemmings

-

Much as i hate to admit it; Gordon Freeman is a legend amongst gamers, but to everyone else he's a bearded bloke in an orange suit who could be from anything; most likely a low-budget movie.

And Pikachu is a cartoon character to me.

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Kazuya (Tekken)

Space Invader

Pac-Man

Mario

Donkey Kong

Link (Legend of Zelda)

Solid Snake

Sonic

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Lara Croft

Master Chief

[QUOTE="Lordofinternet"][QUOTE="MonkeySpot"]

Uh... Lara Croft??? C'mon now... How could ANY gamer forget the Tomb Raider herself???

And as far as Mario being on-top, I'd say that's as accurate as you're ever going to find for most-recognized "face" in gaming. No other candidate reps video gaming like Mario, world-wide.

Dudersaper

Space Invader

Pac-Man

Mario

Donkey Kong

Link (Legend of Zelda)

Solid Snake

Sonic

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Lara Croft

Master Chief

Jag85

[QUOTE="Dudersaper"][QUOTE="Lordofinternet"] disagree, this is 2012, he wasn't even the face much 6th Gen, 7th Gen had tons of new faces. Ge is still top tier howeverLordofinternet

I call BS. I highly doubt anyone that does know who Gordon Freeman is doesn't know who Mario is. However, there are plenty of gamers out there that know who Mario is and doesn't know who Gordon Freeman is.

[QUOTE="Jag85"]

Space Invader

Pac-Man

Mario

Donkey Kong

Link (Legend of Zelda)

Solid Snake

Sonic

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Lara Croft

Master Chief

Lordofinternet

Didn't realize Space Invaders or Asteroids were characters.

[QUOTE="Lordofinternet"][QUOTE="Dudersaper"]It doesn't really matter if he didn't shine in the 6th or 7th gen, Mario is still the most iconic character out there. You won't find a single gamer in the world that doesn't know who Mario is, no matter if they started gaming with the NES or just started recently with a PS3, even non gamers know who he is. That's being iconic.Emerald_Warrior

I call BS. I highly doubt anyone that does know who Gordon Freeman is doesn't know who Mario is. However, there are plenty of gamers out there that know who Mario is and doesn't know who Gordon Freeman is.

Mario. Even people who dont play videogames or never played them know who Mario is.

great list Emerald.

the most obvious omissions to me personally are CLOUD, GORDON FREEMAN and PECACHU.

TheKungFool

Pikachu really should have been on my list. I didn't think of him because I don't personally play Pokemon. Cloud I did juggle around in my head, but then came to the conclusion that he was really only in 1 game, and while that game did have a significant impact that generation, did that impact last through the following generations? Gordon Freeman I just don't see as being as iconic as the others on my list, but still is iconic.

Pac-Man

Mario

Sonic

Link

Ryu

Sub-Zero

Cloud

Lara Croft

Doomguy

Duke Nukem

Solid Snake

Master Chief

Mario

Sonic

Pac Man

If we are going on recognition alone, I would say:

1. Pac Man

2. Mario

3. Sonic

4. Donkey Kong

5. King Koopa/Bowser

6. Link

7. Mega Man

8. Snake

9. Kirby

10. Lemmings

11. Just about any whip wielding character gives away Castlevania

12. Arthur (Ghosts n' Goblins)

13. Frogger

14. Dr. Wily

15. Slime or goo or any number of other gelantious being from "insert RPG here"

16. Kid Icarus

17. Birdo

18. Toad

19. Starfox

20. Samus

21. Bomberman

22. Nes or Nester (nintendo power)

23. Ryu

24. Chun Li

25. Haggar

I'd say most people could name over 50% of those without even playing any of them.

Mario is number one, no doubt about it.

I don't see how anyone can (with a straight face) argue against Mario as the #1 most iconic.

Mario set that standard, it was he whom actually prompted the whole "we need a mascot character" stuff.

Sonic, Bonk, Crash Bandicoot etc..... all because of the sucess of Ninty flogging Mario.

fatal1tyJigglyWiggly_

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]fatal1tyAcidSoldner

that's not a joke
he is the face of pc fps gaming

fatal1ty power supplies, soundcards, motherboards, videocards, etc.

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]fatal1tyAcidSoldner

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]fatal1tyDudersaper

also this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=524gxYKpLgI&t=37s

scrubs here can't appreciate skill

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]fatal1tyJigglyWiggly_

that's not a joke
he is the face of pc fps gaming

fatal1ty power supplies, soundcards, motherboards, videocards, etc.

If we are going on recognition alone, I would say:

5. King Koopa/Bowser
14. Dr. Wily
17. Birdo
18. Toad
20. Samus
22. Nes or Nester (nintendo power)

I'd say most people could name over 50% of those without even playing any of them.

WitIsWisdom

I have absolutely no idea who any of those are by name, nor what they're from.

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]Was trolling on the PC Games forum not good enough for you? Piss off with that sh!t.

AcidSoldner

that's not a joke
he is the face of pc fps gaming

fatal1ty power supplies, soundcards, motherboards, videocards, etc.

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"][QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]

that's not a joke
he is the face of pc fps gaming

fatal1ty power supplies, soundcards, motherboards, videocards, etc.

JigglyWiggly_

The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History
Most Iconic Characters
Characters

Reading comprehension fail. Context is everything...

[QUOTE="WitIsWisdom"]

If we are going on recognition alone, I would say:

5. King Koopa/Bowser
14. Dr. Wily
17. Birdo
18. Toad
20. Samus
22. Nes or Nester (nintendo power)

I'd say most people could name over 50% of those without even playing any of them.

BarbaricAvatar

I have absolutely no idea who any of those are by name, nor what they're from.

By saying you dont know 6 out of the 25 I listed would mean that you know over 50% of them right?

Anyways, I would expect most people would know all of those except maybe Nes with a picture or two.

I don't see how anyone can (with a straight face) argue against Mario as the #1 most iconic.

Mario set that standard, it was he whom actually prompted the whole "we need a mascot character" stuff.

Sonic, Bonk, Crash Bandicoot etc..... all because of the sucess of Ninty flogging Mario.

TheKungFool

I would say either Mario or Pac Man... its a close call. Either way, Mario is definatley my most iconic gaming character...

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"][QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]Maybe you should reread the thread title and OP again. I know you're a moron and a troll, but I figured you could at least read.AcidSoldner

The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History
Most Iconic Characters
Characters

Reading comprehension fail. Context is everything...

[QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"] "The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History" yes, fatal1ty.JigglyWiggly_

The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History
Most Iconic Characters
Characters

Reading comprehension fail. Context is everything...

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"][QUOTE="AcidSoldner"]

The Most Iconic Characters in Gaming History
Most Iconic Characters
Characters

Reading comprehension fail. Context is everything...

AcidSoldner

If we are going on recognition alone, I would say:

1. Pac Man

2. Mario

3. Sonic

4. Donkey Kong

5. King Koopa/Bowser

6. Link

7. Mega Man

8. Snake

9. Kirby

10. Lemmings

11. Just about any whip wielding character gives away Castlevania

12. Arthur (Ghosts n' Goblins)

13. Frogger

14. Dr. Wily

15. Slime or goo or any number of other gelantious being from "insert RPG here"

16. Kid Icarus

17. Birdo

18. Toad

19. Starfox

20. Samus

21. Bomberman

22. Nes or Nester (nintendo power)

23. Ryu

24. Chun Li

25. Haggar

I'd say most people could name over 50% of those without even playing any of them.

WitIsWisdom

[QUOTE="Jag85"]

Space Invader

Pac-Man

Mario

Donkey Kong

Link (Legend of Zelda)

Solid Snake

Sonic

Ryu (Street Fighter)

Lara Croft

Master Chief

Lordofinternet

Secondly, an Asteroid is an object, not a character.

Didn't realize Space Invaders or Asteroids were characters.

Emerald_Warrior

This thing here is one of the most iconic icons in gaming history...

If it counted as a character, that would make it one the most iconic characters in gaming history.

These are my personal picks

1. Link

2. Cloud Strife

3. Marth

4. Ike

5. Neku Sakuraba

6. Samus Aran

7. Mario

8. Luigi

9. Donkey Kong

10. Wario

I'm going to try for 50 but only the first 10 are in order.

1. Mario (Mario Bros)
2. Pac Man (Pac-man Arcade)
3. Pikachu (Pokemon)
4. Link (The Legend Of Zelda)
5. Sonic (Sonic The Hedgehog)
6. Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
7. Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country)
8. Megaman (Megaman)
9. Samus Aran (Metroid)
10. Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
11. Master Chief (Halo)
12. Leon S. Kennedy (Resdient Evil 4)
13. Frog (Frogger Arcade)
14. Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
15. Zero (Megmman X)
16. Ryu (Street Fighter)
17. Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Country)
18. Crono (Chrono Trigger)
19. Fox (Star-fox)
20. Sub-Zero (Mortal Kombat)
21. Chun-Li (Street Fighter)
22. M. Bison (Street Fighter)
23. Sergeant John "Soap" McTavish (Call Of Duty)
24. Simon "Ghost" Riley (Call Of Duty)
25. Yoshi (Super Mario World)
26. Bowser (Mario Bros.)
27. Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)
28. Luigi (Mario Bros.)
29. Princess Peach (Mario Bros.)
30. Ghosts (Pac-Man)
31. Jin Kazama (Tekken)
32. Amatersu (Okami)
33. Cecil (Final Fantasy IV)
34. Cole McGrath (InFamous)
35. Commander Sheppard (Mass Effect)
36. Marcus Fenix (Gears Of War)
37. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
38. Ken (Street Fighter)
39. Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)
40. Tingle (The Legend Of Zelda)
41. Companion Cube (Portal)
42. Dr. Wily (Megaman)
43. Crash (Crash Bandicoot)
44. Chocobo (Final Fantasy VII)
45. Ryu Hayabusa (Ninja Gaiden)
46. Dante (Devil May Cry)
47. Kratos (God Of War)
48. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
49. Neco Belic (Gran Theft Auto IV)
50. Altair/Ezio Alditore (Assassin's Creed)