Video game character contest!

[Anubis]

Since when did "iconic" or "classic" come to mean the same thing as "good"?

Mario is a flat character. Yeah he's a classic and all, but AS A CHARACTER, he's extremely weak. In fact, he has no character. His internal storyline is terribly inconsistent, he has no personality, and he's just kiddish.

Same goes for Link but to a lesser degree. Link as a character has never been fleshed out as a leading character should. Instead he's just a generic "hero". He's a good guy there to beat the bad guy, nothing more. No complexity whatsoever.

Cloud, on the other hand, although not one of my favorite characters, is head and shoulders above both. Very complex, lots of inner demons, lots of backstory, lots of EVERYTHING. Internal struggles, real emotion. Stuff Mario and Link have never even touched.

As for Sephiroth, he's easily one of history's most complex RPG characters. He's not only got the God complex, he also has this weird life/death thing, lots of intelligence and very little speaking, and the badass persona. In addition, he's got more depth than just about any Nintendo character ever made.

If it were up to me, Ghaleon from the Lunar series should win it all. I know for a fact, however, that from a literary POV AND a depth POV, Cloud and Sephiroth easily beat Mario and Link.

This isn't about "most famous" character, it's about BEST character. Yeah, the best can't win becasue the best wasn't in it. That leaves us with picking the best of the choices we have. That's Cloud and Sephiroth. They may not be as famous and they may not be iconic, but AS CHARACTERS, they are far superior to Mario and Link in every conceivable way.

As for a mature character, I mean a character whose value is based on actual valid points of reasoning such as depth and complexity as opposed to "novelty characters" or iconics as you put them.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Let me get this straight: "Iconic" dosen't mean that a character is good, but brooding and angst-ridden does?

Cloud and Sephiroth were decent characters, but they have failed to establish themselves in the annuls of video game history the way that Mario and Link have. Despite the fact that you think "retarded Nintendo kiddy fanboy noobs" are the only people who enjoy those characters, gamers (both young and old) have been enjoying the Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda franchises for over a decade. Some of the most fun I've ever had playing video games involve me playing the original Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda on my NES.

So, I'll vote for Mario and Link instead of those other characters, simply because Mario and Link have given me more hours of enjoyment over the last decade-and-a-half than probably any other video game characters.

 

[Welverin]

I'm just going to point out that:

A) This is a game, nothing to get riled up over. Get this riled up over politics, or love, but not a game.

B) Link is going to hand Cloud his pansy-butt on a platter.

I hope not, I picked Solid Snake. Yet another old school character, though he's far more popular now then he was originally.

"retarded Nintendo kiddy fanboy noobs"

"retarded Square think-they're-mature-but-really-aren't fanboy" pop into my head after reading this bit.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Can we please restrict our hating to the characters and not to the fans of said characters?

Having said that, I'm a big Mario fan.

 

[Stormfalcon]

Bah. Where's the original Donkey Kong in all this? Not the pansy goody-two-shoes one that was foisted on us in recent years. The original girlfriend-swiping badass that had his own games before that upstart limelight-stealing Italian lardball stole all the glory. The only thing I'd give Mario would be a flaming barrel hurled his way.

 

[Stormfalcon]

Bah. Double-post.

 

[Ristamar]

Bah. Where's the original Donkey Kong in all this? Not the pansy goody-two-shoes one that was foisted on us in recent years. The original girlfriend-swiping badass that had his own games before that upstart limelight-stealing Italian lardball stole all the glory. The only thing I'd give Mario would be a flaming barrel hurled his way.

Kong lost to Tommy Vercetti (from GTA: Vice City) by a slim margin in the second round.

 

[Welverin]

Can we please restrict our hating to the characters and not to the fans of said characters?

Aww, where's the fun in that?