Games with the most charming characters

[Gamerforlife]

I'm not talking about badasses like Master Chief, sexy characters like Lara Croft, gangsters like Tommy Vercetti or "cool" characters like Sephiroth but characters that make you smile, because of their personality, their humor, basically anything that goes beyond what makes characters "marketable". It's that indescribable quality that only some video game characters posess. I don't know if all of these games I'll mention can be called retro, but it seems that few modern games focus on charming characters anymore. Instead you have your roided-up meathead stereotypes in Gears of War, your too cool for school anime rpg characters with spiky hair, mammoth sized phallus symbol swords and emo-angst that is so cool with the kids these days, or the equally annoying japanese rpg characters that reek of so much big-eyed, anime cuteness you want to club them over the head.

Anyway, I'll mention some of my fave games with genuine charm:

Sly Cooper and company

You know the Jak and Daxter games became too obesessed with being cool and marketable since the Grand Theft Auto inspired, second installment. I love the Ratchet and Clank games, but sometimes the humor is juvenile. Sly Cooper games have always had surprisingly well-written dialogue and decent humor that is appealing to both young and old. And unlike it's more popular peers(Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank)there's an effort to make you actually care about the characters in the Sly Cooper games. There's a semblence of depth in these characters that comes forth as the storylines play out, and it is surprising for a seemingly kid friendly series. They're not just in the game to make you laugh(Ratchet and Clank)or look cool while blowing stuff up(Jak and Daxter), they have actual stories to tell.

I find it very interesting when discussing the "big three" platform franchises on the PS 2, Sly Cooper is the only one whose characters don't use guns. It's not that I have anything against games with guns, but you know Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter have gunplay in their games because it is what sells now, while Sucker Punch just doesn't care about that.

Jade and Pey'j

A review for Beyond Good and Evil once commented on the surprising hug between Pey'J and Jade after winning their first battle. This comment stuck with me, as I thought of all those rpgs where every character has to strike a cool pose after winning every battle. No hugs, no handshakes, no acknowledgement that the battle was won by an actual team of people who give a crap about eachother. It's all about striking a marketable pose and inspiring lots of fanboys to go and download the "cool" character artwork from the game to use on forums, myspace pages and for desktop wallpaper. Okay, I'm kind of joking around, but you get my point. There is more genuine heart and emotion from the characters in Beyond Good and Evil than most cliche, look at me I'm so cool video game characters. They don't POSE when they win a dangerous battle.

I have some other examples from other games in mind, but my mind is just going kind of blank right now. I'll post again in the future, but it'd be great if anyone else has more to add to this topic about the unsung heroes of the gaming world who get by on actual character rather than fancy character designs and marketability.

[Mozgus]

Dammit, Jade was mine as well.

I really cant think of any other "charming" game characters, so I'll cheat and name a cartoon character. Harley Quinn of Batman: The Animated Series. I dunno why I'm so fascinated by that clown girl but every episode with her in it is my favorite. So many great quotes. And I'm not the only one:

Comic book fanatic and filmmaker Kevin Smith named his daughter Harley Quinn Smith after the character.

Oh wait, how about this? Max Payne. If I was forced to go gay for someone, I'd go gay for Max Payne. He makes the most mundane shit sound so interesting. Seriously, charming.

[Ivo]

Not to diss on Mozgus, but perhaps we should "exclude" from naming characters that do appear on PC games but are coming from some license? Or do that in other thread. Otherwise there are perhaps too many obvious examples (like Spiderman and so on).

Off the top of my head

Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island adventure games - he is just really funny

Tassadar from Starcraft - typical drama story from Blizzard (do they ever do truly "good" endings?)

Gordon Freedom from Half-Life - more or less a regular guy, caught in the middle of a huge mess

There's some very likable chars from retro Taito arcade games, but given the lack of story that's mostly due to their image and not exactly the "personality". I'm not sure that counts here

A couple of more recent ones are two helpers of good GBA games - Ezlo, the Cap of Minnish cap, and Otenko of Boktai.

[durkada]

Not one,but a pair -- Ico and Yorda. Despite the lack of dialog, or perhaps because of it, some intense relationship between the two is immediately apparent. For whatever reason, it was the most emotionally charged ending I've ever reached.

[kinn]

Guybrush Threepwood from the Monkey Island adventure games - he is just really funny

Agreed!

Maybe some of the character from Psychonauts?

[Gamerforlife]

Well Harley is cheating, but she is an amazing character. I bought the Mad Love comic last year, being the big Batman geek that I am. Nice bit of Kevin Smith trivia from Mozgus. I didn't know about that

Great responses in this thread. I especially agree about Ico(One of my all time faves) and Psychonauts. I wouldn't have thought of Max Payne as he does seem to be an easily marketable character, but he does have actual depth. I would add Mona too from MP 2. Without getting spoilery, Her and Max have a genuinely touching love story in that game.

Since we brought up Starcraft(one of the very few PC games I've played), I'll mention Jim Raynor. I vaguely remember the details of Starcraft's story, but I remember that he was a standup guy who had to deal with some tough stuff in the storyline(particularly in regards to a certain queen). Probably not the coolest character in the game, but I liked him

Oh, and Okami. Every living creature in that game adds to its charm. The innocent starving animals you get to feed, the village girl who happily comes over to pet Amaterasu each time you come to the village, the funny dancing old man, the "bouncy" priestess. One of the game's greatest accomplishments is instilling in the player a love of all living things, including the environment itself, which is barren and corrupt until you return life to it. In Okami, you use your divine powers to help the world not just to advance the game, but because you WANT to.

I especially love Kushi. Very minor spoiler, but seeing her carry that very heavy container of water all the way back to the village by herself with the game giving me no option whatsoever to help her despite my desire to, made her a character I couldn't help but love and respect

[Mozgus]

Not to diss on Mozgus, but perhaps we should "exclude" from naming characters that do appear on PC games but are coming from some license? Or do that in other thread. Otherwise there are perhaps too many obvious examples (like Spiderman and so on).

License? Max Payne was an original character.

[fastbilly1]

The Freeman and my boy Barney from Half Life - Granted in the original Halflife, Barney ended up shooting me more than the enemies. But it always me laugh to see him around every corner in Black Mesa.

Sabreman from the Sabrewulf series - A cookie old explorer somewhat in the vein of Alan Quartermaine who constantly shouts "For the Queen" or "Splendiferous." And while the original did not have voice clips he had charm as a stick man aswell. Though as much as I love the original I think the GBA version is superior.

Green Tentacle from Maniac Mansion/Day of the Tentacle - All he wanted to do was rock out and eat wax fruit, but mean old purple and Dr Fred had to do things.

Broom from Final Fantasy - Tceles B Husp! Tceles B Husp!

I could go on but I know those five are pretty high up on my list.

[metaleggman]

The Rabbids. I loved all the videos and promotional stuff Ubisoft France did with these guys. Lol, I haven't even played the game, but I really want to. Plus, one of 'em sneaked a peak at a Japanese girl's panties (though it did look like she was wearing granny panties )! Great stuff.

Olimar and the Pikmin were great. They weren't necesarily funny, but they were just cute, and the ways Olimar describes them are just hilarious.

The portrayal of Mario, Luigi, baby Mario, and baby Luigi in Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. Not even the text, but merely the way they acted and noises Mario made when he talked. The whole experience is just pure hilarious.

Lolo and Lala. Interesting duo in my books. Very memorable in Adventures of Lolo 3.

Oh, and everyone in the Wind Waker. The character design in that game is awesome in my opinion. The characters were sometimes creepy, but not too creepy for you to really point it out. Plus, the kid with giant booger coming down is great. He'd go around and it'd just wag along. Nasty yet hilarious. And everyone had tiny feet! I mean, wtf? So weird. Honestly, I dislike the character designs in Twilight Princess. They feel just plain weird to me...

[Ivo]

Not to diss on Mozgus, but perhaps we should "exclude" from naming characters that do appear on PC games but are coming from some license? Or do that in other thread. Otherwise there are perhaps too many obvious examples (like Spiderman and so on).

License? Max Payne was an original character.

I was referring to the Batman character reference, not Payne (although I agree she has a lot of personality, from the few episodes I've seen a while back and yet I instantly knew who you were talking about). However, I wasn't very clear as the way I said it seemed like I was referring to a char from a game, so my mistake there.

Ivo.