The most important videogame characters as of 1999.

Not long ago I found a copy of GAME magazine from the Summer of 99 I think it was. In it was an article about the most important characters in videogames. It's interesting to look back at who they chose and for what reasons. To spare some time I'll spare you all the details, but here's a rundown of who was chosen and why.

• Mario - the definitive videogame icon, and the icon of the entire industry
• Pac-Man - For being the first videogame icon and bringing about the rise of arcades
• Sonic the Hedgehog - The anti-Mario. He was everything that Mario wasn't and the symbol of Sega
• Lara Croft - The first major recognizable female videogame character
• Ryu - The symbol of fighting games and of Street Fighter, the game that helped revitalize arcades
• Leisuresuit Larry - First PC character to sell 1 million copies of his series, and first successful character targeted at adults
• Sarah Bryant - Recognizable female character in a male dominated genre
• Cloud Stryfe - Symbol of RPG's and the biggest RPG franchise

Pac-Man and Mario are unquestionably still deserving of this list.  Mario is stronger of a force than ever, and no matter how many bad games Pac-Man is in it's impossible to deny the history and what that game and character did in the early 80's.  I think the same can be said for Lara Croft.  Despite a lot of average and bad games, she's still got a real strong record in the history books behind her.

I'm not so sure about Sonic anymore. Sega's not the same company they were in the 90's now that they're out of the console game, and Sonic hasn't had a must own game since then.  On top of that he's not even going after that teen audience he was originally made for as a counter balance to Mario.  Sonic seems to be really aimed at kids these days.  THere's a lot of history behind him, but I'd have to take Sonic off the list. 

Ryu is a tough call. He was the symbol of Street Fighter, but that series is as dead as it gets now.  Unlikely to see it revived outside of classic collections now either.  Not being current hurts his credibility.  Still I think most gamers still know him, and how important Street Fighter and all fighting games were 15 years ago, so he can stay.  For a couple more years anway.

Leisuresuit Larry is a no at first, but when you think about how gaming has really shifted towards an older demographic you have to look at him in a different light.  And while he isn't exactly around, the franchise is still sort of there.  Being a million game seller back in the 80's is pretty big too.  Console gamers might not get it, but anyone who was gaming on a PC for many years can get it.  So, Larry hangs around. 

Sarah Bryant is a great big no.  Never should have been on the list.  If a recognizable female in fighting games deserves to be up there it's Chun-Li.  But since Ryu was already up there I think the writers of that list felt they needed to go a different direction.  As much as I like Virtua Fighter, Sarah just doesn't cut it. 

And last we have Cloud.  He's another tough call, since he's really only starred in one game. But through Advent CHildren and Kingdom Hearts he never quite goes away.  And for what it did to the RPG genre (for good or bad) Final Fantasy should be addressed, and Cloud probably is the most recognizable character in all the games.  So, he stays.

The industry is a couple years older now too, and some new characters need to be added to the list to at least replace the ones who shouldn't be there now.  Right away I'd say Master Chief.  He may not be the most interesting character, but he's the symbol of the X-box, and arguably the most recognizable FPS character.  So there's no doubt he should be there.

Pikachu needs to be there too.  The Pokemon franchise is too big to ignore whether you like it or not.

Any other thoughts?

Yeah as of 1999 I would definately add Master Chief. I would also add Kratos and Solid Snake. I guess I would throw in Ryu Hayabusa and Dante. Possibly even Marcus Fenix.Archangel3371

Solid Snake is a good choice.  He's a character that's been around for about 20 years has been in some excellent games, and whether you like the MGS series or not it's been one of the hallmarks of Sony consoles for 10 years. 

Kratos I think will be up there, but he's got to prove some longevity first.  He's been in 2 games in a 3 year period. They're excellent games, but that's just a blip on the radar right now. 

I'd pass on Ryu and Dante though.  They're good charcters but I don't think they've really achieved anything special that hasn't been done by other characters before.

And no way does Fenix get put on this list.  1 game that's not even a year old?  Yeah it's a good game, but it's wayyyy too soon for him.

[QUOTE="Archangel3371"]Yeah as of 1999 I would definately add Master Chief. I would also add Kratos and Solid Snake. I guess I would throw in Ryu Hayabusa and Dante. Possibly even Marcus Fenix.Robio_basic

Solid Snake is a good choice.  He's a character that's been around for about 20 years has been in some excellent games, and whether you like the MGS series or not it's been one of the hallmarks of Sony consoles for 10 years. 

Kratos I think will be up there, but he's got to prove some longevity first.  He's been in 2 games in a 3 year period. They're excellent games, but that's just a blip on the radar right now. 

I'd pass on Ryu and Dante though.  They're good charcters but I don't think they've really achieved anything special that hasn't been done by other characters before.

And no way does Fenix get put on this list.  1 game that's not even a year old?  Yeah it's a good game, but it's wayyyy too soon for him.

Yeah that's true of Ryu, Dante, and Fenix. They were just some names I'd throw out there but thinking about it then yeah they wouldn't make the cut.

[QUOTE="Robio_basic"]

[QUOTE="Archangel3371"]Yeah as of 1999 I would definately add Master Chief. I would also add Kratos and Solid Snake. I guess I would throw in Ryu Hayabusa and Dante. Possibly even Marcus Fenix.Archangel3371

Solid Snake is a good choice.  He's a character that's been around for about 20 years has been in some excellent games, and whether you like the MGS series or not it's been one of the hallmarks of Sony consoles for 10 years. 

Kratos I think will be up there, but he's got to prove some longevity first.  He's been in 2 games in a 3 year period. They're excellent games, but that's just a blip on the radar right now. 

I'd pass on Ryu and Dante though.  They're good charcters but I don't think they've really achieved anything special that hasn't been done by other characters before.

And no way does Fenix get put on this list.  1 game that's not even a year old?  Yeah it's a good game, but it's wayyyy too soon for him.

Yeah that's true of Ryu, Dante, and Fenix. They were just some names I'd throw out there but thinking about it then yeah they wouldn't make the cut.

I think Ryu would make the cut. The character has been around long enough and was liked by many, many people.

[QUOTE="Archangel3371"]Yeah as of 1999 I would definately add Master Chief. I would also add Kratos and Solid Snake. I guess I would throw in Ryu Hayabusa and Dante. Possibly even Marcus Fenix.Robio_basic

Solid Snake is a good choice. He's a character that's been around for about 20 years has been in some excellent games, and whether you like the MGS series or not it's been one of the hallmarks of Sony consoles for 10 years.

Kratos I think will be up there, but he's got to prove some longevity first. He's been in 2 games in a 3 year period. They're excellent games, but that's just a blip on the radar right now.

I'd pass on Ryu and Dante though. They're good charcters but I don't think they've really achieved anything special that hasn't been done by other characters before.

And no way does Fenix get put on this list. 1 game that's not even a year old? Yeah it's a good game, but it's wayyyy too soon for him.

Definitely agree with that assessment.

The obvious character missing from the list is Gordon Freeman. Even in 1999 I'd have half expected him to be on the list given the phenomenal impact of Half Life and the expansions (at least Opposing Force was out by then). Now with Half-Life 2 as well his position is cemented.

I was surprised to see Cloud present but not Link. I suppose for a balanced list they had to pick between the two. Although I'm inclined to keep Cloud on the list since he's still extremely recognisable and has been modernised with Advent Children, of the two I'd now side with Link since the Zelda games have continued to excel throughout the interim period. 

Although I remember the Leisure Suit Larry games I definitely think he's off the list now. Not only do most gamers no longer remember him, you can't even see influences of those games in current titles (notwithstanding the bland attempts at continuing the franchise itself).

Nah Lara Croft's popularity was declining with the release of TR Last revelation so not true.

The obvious character missing from the list is Gordon Freeman. Even in 1999 I'd have half expected him to be on the list given the phenomenal impact of Half Life and the expansions (at least Opposing Force was out by then). Now with Half-Life 2 as well his position is cemented.PhoenixMDK

I don't know about that. Gordon Freeman was always just a name and a face, not really a character if you know what I mean. The whole point of Half-Life was always that you were Gordon Freeman.

Anyway, the only really big character from the past several years would definitely be Master Chief.

cortez - timesplitters future perfect

prince - prince of persia

soooooo many more, it'll take ages to name them.....

Sorry but...Cloud is not RPG. Pikachu is RPG. The single biggest RPG of all time is Pokemon. It is still the biggest todate.

For fighting games...To be honest. None of them really deserve to be up there.And if there is one...It definitly deserves to be someone from Mortal Kombat. Sorry but outside of the hardcore communities really or nostgalic value. SF series is dead weight in the genre. This is what happens when you do not release a new in in how many years now? 7 or 8? Instead you just do dozens of remixes to milk it. When your biggest release in this decade has been an XBLA title. I think you are in trouble. Mortal Kombat atleast still holds some water with people. Regardless of quality. It is the one game more people associate with Fighting.  Maybe Scropian or Lukang or someone.

John Madden...Hate it or love it. It is the sports series.

The Zerg...Come on. The single most known thing from all RTS and from the most popular RTS ever.

MAster Cheif as a few brought up. Even though Gordon Freemon has been around longer...MAster Cheif is the first face really of FPS. 

That actually isnt a bad list for such an old issue of a now defunct magazine.

I'd probably replace Solid Snake with Sarah Bryant, and then add Link and possibly Master Chief just for being so damn popular, but other than that I think the list still holds up rather nicely. Better than these other crazy lists I see today that throw in Aeris and Captain Cloud and all these other characters that have no business in a list of top game characters.

I've seen a few people say it, but I have to disagree for those who say Link should be on the list.  I thought about it for a while when I first read this article, and my first impulse is to say he needs to be on the list, but when I try to rationalize why I can't really come up with a compelling reason. Sure he's a long running character in a successful game series.  But so is are Solid Snake, Ryu Hayabusa, the Belmont family, and hell even Mega Man.  He's a major icon for Nintendo but still not as big as Mario. 

On top of everything else, Link's never really been developed as a character despite 20 years in the industry.  So while the Zelda games are great Link wouldn't make the cut.  In fact I might put Gannon on the list before I put Link on it.

 

Link's never really been developed as a character despite 20 years in the industry.  So while the Zelda games are great Link wouldn't make the cut. 

Robio_basic

[QUOTE="Robio_basic"]

 

Link's never really been developed as a character despite 20 years in the industry.  So while the Zelda games are great Link wouldn't make the cut. 

The_Duke_Lives

Nope, and I never said he was. However he's a bigger gaming symbol than Link is. And if you had to pick one character to represent Nintendo Mario would win everytime. 

My whole point about Link is he doesn't represent something or hasn't accomplished anything that other characters have not already done, or do a better job at it.

Sonic for sure...

...oh yeah, and Sonic is most likely anti-mario because of nintendo's underhanded third party game developer's clause of the 8-bit era...