Videogame heroes you have admired

[fvgazi]

When I was a kid I was obsessed with Earthworm Jim and the Doom Marine / BJ Blaskowitz.

More recent ones I like:
Solid Snake
Mega Man
Ryu


.... and LO WANG from shadow warrior.
"you no mess with lo wang."

[NintendoLegend]

Mike Jones from the StarTropics series, among others.

[J T]

Harry Mason, from the original Silent Hill. There's nothing special about this guy that makes him suited to becoming a one-man rescue mission to Hell. He's not terribly strong (or smart), no super-jumping abilities, no special combat training, he isn't fast--nothing--he's just a regular guy. He can't even run for long without getting winded! Even the ordinary human heroes of the Resident Evil games had special police training. Not Harry. The only thing special about him is that he has pockets big enough to hold a big metal pipe (or is he just happy to see you?) and that he loves his daughter too much to ever give up looking for her himself. Unlike some later Silent Hill characters, he never did anything to deserve all of the horrors that are inflicted on him, and he's not on some sick quest to punish himself. He shouldn't expect to have any reasonable chance at saving his daughter. No normal human being could be blamed for running away and looking for help.

It's easy to admire strong warrior-type characters who were built to face the dangers they seem to take in stride, but they've always got the appropriate aptitude and tools for the job. Naturally they'll rise to the challenge. But Harry? Harry makes me think--what if all this shit happened to me. Not "me" if I were some buff supersoldier or trained martial artist, but my everyday self as I am now, in real life. How well could any of us take it?

Great post.