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Master Chief: He is a bad ass and had a bit of a simple minded personality in the first couple Halo games. Later entries however focus more on the bad ass side of things.
Wind Waker Link: Yeah specifically WW Link aka Toon Link. This guy just screams personality. Wich most of the time is a downside to a silent protagonist in my opinion.
Barney Stinson: I hope TV Shows are allowed. Barney is awesome and even tho HIMYM didn't end too well, he will always be my bro. Now Suit up!
Hell, I could just copy my post from the Antagonist thread haha.
It's still Big Boss.
From the moment he switches from the antagonist of the two Metal Gear games set in the 90s to his role as the protagonist of the Cold War era titles I was hooked. In the original two games we see this war monger who held the world to ransom with the threat of a nuclear holocaust, Yet hundreds of people optionally flocked to him, in MG2 one of your allies from the first game had switched sides. When Solid Snake asks why, Kyle tells him that when NATO bombed Big Boss in 95 they also bombed the resistance against him. As the resistance fighters lay wounded and dying Big Boss emerged. He didn't kill any of them, instead he helped them and had his men evacuate anyone who could be saved. I wanted to find out about this man and how he ended up the way he did and the Cold War Era games allowed us to do that.
In Snake Eater we see him as a young man who jokes around and is called by affectionate nicknames by his support team. We hear him called by his real name numerous times (We only hear his clone's, the protagonist from the 90s onwards, real name twice. Once when he tells his best friend and once when his surrogate mother speaks to him). We're led to believe Big Boss's mentor and de facto love of his life, The Boss, has betrayed America and defected to the Soviets and it's up to Big Boss to stop her. Nothing is further from the truth. The Government threw the Boss under the bus to cover up their own mistakes and they used her most beloved disciple (and by extension, the player) to kill her. The Boss knows this for the entire game and yet keeps it secret, to spare Big Boss the pain of having to choose his life or hers. Regardless of her efforts, Big Boss still learns the truth. Thus starting our downward spiral that comes to a head in Metal Gear 1.
Big Boss goes through absolute hell, time and again, and each time his mental state deteriorates further. And each time, we're a little more willing to follow him down that destined path. By the end of Portable Ops, the jokey, warm, youthful Big Boss is gone. He's worn down, disillusioned and angry. He's a darker man who's watched his comrades turned against each other, his old friend betray him and his mentor's name dragged even further through the mud. By the end of Peace Walker we've already seen him acquire his first nuclear warhead, his first child soldiers and him carry out his first act of warfare against his former home, the USA. Most importantly, he's cast aside the Boss's memory. By the time of the Phantom Pain he has become more of a myth than a man, although it's my interpretation that he is never replaced. He is always the same man, the persona of Venom Snake is just a coping mechanism for someone who lost everything.
I was ready to write Big Boss off as a antihero or some kind of tragic villain when I first played MGS3:Snake Eater all those years ago. I never thought I'd end up finding a character I sympathise with above any other in any game I've ever played.
I'll be the first to say this. Aesthetically speaking, the Doom Slayer isn't the most aesthetically cool character out there, even though he's obviously a cool and interesting individual. Many other characters take that cake in my personal opinion.
But when it comes to being the embodiment of ultra manliness and having a rich and historical background spanning for more than 20 years of existence, the Doom Guy/Doom Slayer gets that kind of medal. For such a simplistic character, there is a reason why the Doom Slayer is such an individual.
For years ever since the classic games, the Doom Slayer has always been the masterclass of expression, WITHOUT UTTERING A SINGLE WORD whatsoever. From picking up a new weapon aside from his basic pea shooter to battle the forces of hell and beyond, its shown to the player (the only individual whom he shares an identity with) the same expression the player would get when picking up a new weapon to f**k hell's s**t up: A devlish grin. When fighting the demons, he intensely grits his teeth as he fires his weapon, and when taking a sudden burst of damage, he would also get somehow surprised aka the famous "Ouch Face".
This is taken even further in the 2016 game. While there's no more status bar face to show what the Doom Slayer feels whenever he does something, the way it was handled in that game is even better. Through nothing more than eye and camera movements. Its very evident from the very first few instances of the game. He wakes up from his coffin to find out that he's somehow alive, and the very first thing he does is to smash a couple of faces, all while being naked. He goes into the room next to him to retrieve his armor, and from there, its seen from the way he meatily shoves the computer terminal with such contempt to the individual speaking to him. Again, without uttering a single word.
Spoiler:
The game's glory kill/fatality mechanic also reinforces how expressive the Doom Slayer is when it comes to the thing he does best. His glory kills are quick, vicious, and of course downright violent. But what makes these glory kills something isn't just how entertaining they are, but also how both the victim (the demons) and the perpetrator (the Doom Slayer) express themselves. The demons get only a fraction of a second to look at their would be killer, as they show to him (and the players) their legitimate expressions of fear and pain before they are viscerally butchered asunder as their spines are kicked in, their faces punched 6 inches under, be literally torn apart in separate directions, or any of their limbs ripped apart from their sockets only to be beaten to death by it. The Doom slayer does all of these butchering quickly and efficiently, as he simply does not give a crap about those demons that he brutally rips and tears. The Slayer quickly drops the demon's corpse without any second of emotional attachment or remorse.
The rest of DOOM 2016 should be a good source of evidence on how entertaining and expressive the Doom Slayer is.
To cut to the chase, why I simply love the Doom Slayer as a video game protagonist is that he is the masterclass expressionist. He fully expresses what he feels without uttering a single word. His strong character traits are on full display, and we are entertained by it. In an industry with hundreds to thousands of characters that are either mopey Final Fantasy/JRPG protagonists with literal thousands of dialogue but with no strong character traits to make them any god damn entertaining, to hundred other "SOLDIER MEN" with guns, armor, but cardboard performances that hold them back, or to powerless protagonists who are designed to be more closer to reality or to people whatsoever, The Doom Guy is more expressive and communicative to everyone than most fully voiced video game characters and protagonists.
The Doom Slayer is not a character that's emotionally deep, nor is a character that brims with the social commentary of human society and condition, or a character that has the Hideo Kojima + Christoper Nolan + Stanley Kubrick + John Woo kind of writing behind it. Its easy for a majority of people to simply write off the Doom Guy as nothing more than a 2 or even 1 dimensional character because of his strong character traits. But honestly, most characters can't even hold a candle with the Doom Guy who is a character that strongly shows his defiance, conviction, and ultra manliness without uttering anything other than camera motion and arm movements, and cocking his Shotgun or whatever weapon he has in his possession.
The other thing about Doom Guy/Doom Slayer is that he is indeed the blueprint of the many badass action heroes in video games, all with their own ways of revitalizing the character template. We got Duke Nukem who is essentially the embodiment of ultra machoness but with much more dialogue, to guys like Master Chief who wears his own version of the Green Armor who has a no-nonsense kind of character, we have guys like Grayson Hunt who in my mind is basically what a "Doom guy" would be if he had much more dialogue, and many more descendants of the Doom Guy's character template. But of course, they hold the candle to THE ONE.
Even though he's (kinda) overrated, I have this kind of soft side for him.
Kirby. What does he have that others don't?
1. The ability to copy almost anything he swallows.
2. A very cute voice. I can't help but feel bad for him when I keep pummeling one to death in Smash Bros.
3. An adorable, squishy exterior, especially when angry.
My favorite. Hmmm.
I got quite a few. But I have to pick from my favorite series.
I enjoy Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series. Some people might not like him cause he doesnt seem to have much emotion but optimistic. He seems always joyful. Well, I like that about him, He sees the bright side, and he always counts on his friends to help him, He does have a few emotions, but the thing is Sora as a Keyblade wielder he taught himself on his journey how to use the Keyblade, Sora never tried to really be the hero of the series, He is just helping his friends out, he is proud to be a small part of something bigger. Ive always liked Sora when i was young and I still do, I get excited when he shows up, even when I replay the series. :)
*inhales* It's without fail the one and only Jak of Jak & Daxter fame;
Spoiler:
This guy and these games have always had a special place in my heart. Sure, Jak himself is...not the most fleshed out character video games have ever produced, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the whole bright eyed adventurer turned vengeful renegade turned respected wastelander and mature racer at all riveting. Each of the games produced by Naughty Dog always brought something interesting to the table, be it brand new powers, weapons, abilities or plot twists, the 30ish hours it'd take me to beat the original trilogy was time well invested in my honest opinion.
Jak is brave, brash and emboldened in all the right ways, and though the choice in VA for him sounds off at times, you always know when you saddle up to a new mission or are about to fight a boss battle that Jak's got this covered. Even when Erol and Veger work to put him through hell and he ends up with spooky powers and transformations, Jak eventually steps in to save the day, even when an entire city thinks of him as little more than a monster.
Of course I would be remiss not to give Daxter a quick mention too, as the two are virtually inseparable, but I have and will always continue to like Jak a whole lot more. Those games were great and whilst I'm not holding my breath for any future games in the works for the franchise, I am quite thankful to have discovered Jak and his adventures.
There are more than a few good games out there and more than a few great protagonists to choose from. Narrowing it down takes time but I feel like an honorable mention should go to Shepard from the Mass Effect series.
I have a few, but here we go: I've said in another thread that one of my favourite all time favourite protagonists is Terra Branford from Final Fantasy 6.
Mainly because I love the core of her character; she's half human half esper who questions her existence and always wonder if she can experience human emotions like love. It's a constant struggle for her to find meaning in her life as she travels with her companions, but when she does come to terms to who she is, she becomes more determined to help her loved ones like the children from the orphanage, and her friends.
From the Fire Emblem games, I really like Alm and Celica, two of my favourite Lords in the series. Mainly because they both mesh together so well. Hopefully in the remake they'll be able to bring out more cores of their character, but I still adore them all the same.
There are a few others I'd like to mention like Shulk from Xenoblade, Yu Narakami from persona 4, Maya Amano from Persona 2, Sakura from Sakura Wars, etc, etc.
Master Chief, Korvo (In the first Dishonored), Noctis from FFXV and Layle from FFCC: The Crystal Bearers, it wasn't the best game, but he was a cool guy.
Zack Fair from Crisis Core has been my go-to answer for years - I don't know if he is still my absolute favorite because I've played as so many more protagonists since, but he was definitely the first protagonist I really, really liked and in games that give their characters a backstory and personality, this is still the kind of character I like most. I liked how he's such a stark contrast to the more popular and well known Cloud of the same franchise, that he's positive and upbeat despite the fact he's also suffered losses. Too many protagonists are just so bitter and dark because of their tragic backstories so I found Zack refreshing that way, that the game does choose to show his losses and sadness, but it also shows him using his losses to inspire his subordinates and continue being a happy person, instead of just wallowing in his inner torment for the sake of being an edgy character. Not that I don't understand why Cloud was the way he is, I just prefer characters who are able to handle their grief positively. And granted, Zack's backstory does not actually go as far back as Cloud's.
He's a happy protagonist but not without depth, but he's also not like annoyingly happy and upbeat. I feel like many Final Fantasy characters are designed to be either dark and edgy or just way too bubbly, but he was well rounded and balanced in his personality that he seemed more relatable and likable to me.
