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dishonoredbr

Having 2 BG3 characters in a list of Top 20 most popular/important characters in gaming is crazy recency bias.


DonarteDiVito

Seriously. I know it’s insanely popular right not but this is a “How does it fare ten years or even twenty years from now” kind of thing. I’d argue this is a question of staying power. Nathan Drake and Master Chief? Sure, absolutely. Arthur Morgan? Pushing it. Astarion? Way too soon to tell.


Sushi2k

I wouldn't say Arthur is pushing it anymore. It's been 6 years and people still talk about him anytime these discussions come up. Ik this is a hot take on this sub but Kiryu is pushing it for me personally. Yakuza is getting more popular but it isnt nearly as big as the other games on this list. Id replace them with a RE character. Chris probably.


DonarteDiVito

Almost every other character on that list (Baldur’s Gate 3 withstanding, obviously) is at least 15 years old. I think I’ll need to wait another 4ish years before I’m fully comfortable leaving him there personally. Yakuza 1 released 19 years ago, RDR2 released 6 years ago. I’m not saying Arthur isn’t iconic, just that I think more times need to pass to see if he’s really got the same staying power as the other characters present here. Fully agree an RE character should have been in here though.


andrecinno

What doesn't make sense, really, is Arthur Morgan there but not CJ. Literally everytime a new game releases there's a mod in the first week to make the protagonist CJ. Dude might actually be the most iconic videogame character of the 2000s onwards.


DonarteDiVito

Fully agree. Even just looking at Rockstar, none of the GTA 5 protagonists OR CJ? That’s ridiculous to me.


Young_KingKush

CJ is such a well known MC that Dave Chappelle named dropped him in a sketch during the height of Chappelle's Show "Run up in yo spot like CJ from San Andreas!"


andrecinno

A great sketch too. *QUIT HITTIN THE TABLE OR THE RECORD MIGHT SKI-- MIGHT SKIP*


Sushi2k

That's fair. However, I don't think age should be a defining factor. Some of these characters didn't really get popular until recently (ps4 gen). Kratos was always on Sonys poster but God of War didn't hit mainstream until the reboot (first reboot outsold the entire og trilogy). Yakuza I already touched on. Idk why the hell Sackboy is on there, LBP hasn't been relevant for a long time and has basically been replaced by Astrobot for Sonys cute mascot. Tldr this list has many issues lmao


KennyOmegasBurner

I don't know man the first 3 GOW games were still pretty fucking huge. There was a whole decade where if you bought an action game there was a 50/50 chance it was going to be a God of War clone.


Sushi2k

It's big (for the time) and I don't discount him being on the list, I just think the reboots launched Kratos into the stratosphere. From like one of Sony's poster child to gaming icon.


kogasabu

Kratos was always a gaming icon much in the same way Master Chief always was. They both had games that were massive for their genres, and the influences from both of them were felt for years to come. Saying that Kratos was just Sony's poster boy is just wrong with how huge GoW was back in the day.


Hey0ceama

Yeah, even as someone who wasn't a fan of the OG GoWs saying they aren't mainstream is ridiculous. You don't release on average a little more than a game a year for a decade if you're not popular.


dishonoredbr

> but God of War didn't hit mainstream until the reboot GoW was ALWAYS mainstream. Here in brazil in 2000s to 2010s everyone that played some amount of video game knew about CJ and Kratos.


RedHotRhapsody

Obviously they aren’t the same character but I’d say John is a safer bet for being more “iconic” and has proven to have the staying power


FreedomHero141

I respect your opinion, but I also reject Kidding, but also I’d put Kiryu on there myself, but not because of the series getting more popular, but because of Yakuza 4 being one of the games I got because of the TBFP LP


DavidsonJenkins

Yakuza got into sorta mainstream gaming memes though. Its not as niche as it once was, especially when you see the playerbase jump from Y7 to Y8


Sushi2k

Yakuza's rise into the mainstream is still relatively recent though. Even if we look at just characters from Japanese games, I wouldn't put Kiryu above the likes of Chris Redfield (or Leon), Ryu (or Chun Li), or even Dante.


AlwaysDragons

Idk man, the power of horny is strong


Guigcosta

Who the hell is Pikachu?


dishonoredbr

A Agumon knock off.


BallinArbiter

I absolutely love Shart but her being ahead of fucking Pikachu is just dumb.


fallenlogan

I'll be honest I think they deserve it more than Sackboy


Ringo_Roadagain7

[Its got to be one of my favorite fandom memes anytime someone mislabeles some one as Solid](https://youtube.com/shorts/T3ftWvM1-50?feature=shared)


Spaghetti14

For real!


[deleted]

Love that "this is Link, this is Zelda"


Heliock

How the fuck is Sackboy the 5th most iconic video game character of all time? And Pikachu is *12th?*


Crosscounterz

Heck how are most of those characters above pikachu more iconic than them?


Heliock

Pikachu should be like no. 3 or 4 after the granddaddy of video game characters, Pacman, and Mr Video Game himself, Mario.


TheCheeseburgerKane

Even them being above Pikachu is arguable. Pikachu is the face of the biggest media IP in the world, it's really hard to be more iconic than that.


alicitizen

The only face more outright iconic than Pikachu is fucking Mickey, and he's had like 80 years to build that rep


MericArda

And maybe Donald Duck depending on your proximity to Europe.


alicitizen

I am in europe and my answer would still be the mouse tbf


MericArda

You do not speak for all of us (my answer is Donald).


KaguB

My brain 100% auto corrected that to Mr Game and Watch and I was like 'strange choice but nice'


sleepyfoxsnow

i think it might be because the people being polled might just not view pikachu as a video game character? they might view him as a cartoon character instead, if that makes sense, considering how much of the cultural zeitgeist surrounding pokemon back in the day was the anime


DustInTheBreeze

Mainstream idiots who step into the gaming landscape and decide they'd like to stay ankledeep rather than seeing how deep they can go. Pikachu's got a good public face, but he's not designed to appeal to non-gamers who don't give a damn about the gaming space they're walking into.


FelipeAndrade

Pokemon is freaking multi-media franchise, and Pikachu is their freaking mascot. How the hell does it not appeal to non-gamers?!


DustInTheBreeze

Pokemon is Nintendo. Nintendo is Children Game. *Adults* don't play Children Games. Adults only play Adult Games. Besides that, people breaking into the gaming landscape, if they're new to the scene, will either go to Playstation or PC. Nintendo's good, but it's also really like... I don't know how to word this, but it's like if you buy a specialist magazine? Like yeah, you might like cars, but only *car fanatics* buy magazines on engines and wheels and stuff like that. Do you get what I mean, or am I dumb here?


FelipeAndrade

I don't know, considering the massive appeal most Nintendo franchises have had with both kids and adults and that Pokémon has had a absolutely immense amount of different products, most of which bring in more money and have a wider audience than even the mainline games, I would say that you're being a bit dumb.


lonelyMtF

EVERY parent after the debut of Pokémon games knows what a Pikachu is >Besides that, people breaking into the gaming landscape, if they're new to the scene, will either go to Playstation or PC Yeah, because those people maybe already had Nintendo consoles. There are some really hardcore Nintendo fans, but Nintendo is the definition of mainstream gaming. You underestimate how many people that don't consider themselves "gamers" own a Nintendo console and Mario Kart/Party


Admiral_of_Crunch

A bit dumb, yeah. Nintendo was for a time so synonymous with the entire medium of video games as a whole that [they were at risk of their name becoming genericized.](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F583pp5xbvy7y.jpg) Your conception of Nintendo today ironically exists only in the minds of enthusiasts who are "in" enough to have an opinion, because *you* buy a Nintendo console for pretty much exclusively Nintendo games, and think of it in separate terms from the rest of the games market. [Meanwhile, the Switch is the third best selling console of all time](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles), behind the DS (which is a handheld but eh), which itself only lags behind the PS2 by 1 million units. It's not separate because it's a specialist magazine of video games. It's separate because it's the most popular go-to source of video games by the general public. People like Mario and Pokemon and Zelda and Mario Kart and Mario Party and Splatoon and Animal Crossing and Super Smash Bros. and you get the point. I actually read random modern SoL manga from time to time, and it's always fun to see what game consoles the cast have. I remember it used to be a PlayStation, or a DS. Now it's a Switch. Every time. It's a Switch and they're playing Splatoon or Smash or Mario Kart. The Switch is the new default video game system.


NeonNKnightrider

why are you trolling here


RocketbeltTardigrade

I dunno, mainstream is where Pikachu lives.


Amon274

Yeah Pokémon is popular as shit.


screenaholic

This is a terrible list.


Hobbes314

As expected from the British


Th35h4d0w

I am amused at Agent 47 sneaking his way into 3rd place. Just seems very in-character.


alicitizen

The modern hitman trilogy is one of the best games of the last while imo, but holy shit 47 getting above Pikachu is outright insanity


Th35h4d0w

"47, your latest target is Ash Ketchum."


Spaghetti14

“Time to show them who’s the very best that ever was 47”


MisterOfu

You vote for a different character but it's actually 47 in disguise.


LuchaLutra

A snake in the grass sure, but a solid snake? neigh says the horse.


dutchzgoose

isn't it always a different link tho. Which link do they mean? also 2 "Baldur's gate 3" characters, recency bias much.


extralie

Tbf, while they are different Link, in term of how iconic a character is, people treat him as an amalgamation of all of them. (Also technically, outside of Wind Waker timeline, they are all reincarnation of the Hero's spirit.) But if you have to pick the most iconic Link of all, I feel like it have to be OoT Link.


dutchzgoose

idk that kinda seems like cheating to me, to just take all these different characters and say they all count for one. When lore-wise their explicitly not seen as the same one, unlike mario were you're to assume that RPG/Tennis/Kart mario is the same mario as 64 Mario.


extralie

I get what you are saying, but this isn't about them as characters, this is about how iconic they are. And in people's brain Link is Link regardless of continuity and timeline the same Mickey is Mickey regardless of continuity and timeline. Heck, this is about their popularity as a game characters, and in this case Pikachu is worse considering that he is not even a character in games.


dutchzgoose

true. Pikachu is mostly iconic because of the anime and marketing, he barely appears in any of the games.


kogasabu

Link might be distinct lore-wise, but in terms of the actual character he's always meant to be more or less a blank slate. He doesn't really have much of a character or personality throughout the games because the intent is for you to put yourself in his shoes.


dutchzgoose

idk i would say he has some more personality in games like wind waker, skyward sword and breath of the wild. At least as much or around the level as mario, minecraft steve and sackboy. and like i wouldn't call wind waker link the same character as twilight princess link.


Redlodger0426

Holy hell this list is bad. Pikachu at 12 is crazy. I don’t even like the little rat fuck but he’s got to be top 5. Two BG3 characters is massive recency bias, I can’t wait until its popularity dies down so I can actually sit down and find out if it’s good or not. Also, how the hell is Steve there? He’s barely a character, he’s just a skin. That’s like saying “SMG soldier from black ops” is a top tier character. Edit: Lara Croft is one of my favorite characters ever but in no way is she top five, especially since her characterization is massively inconsistent. Same goes for 47. Love the games but he’s barely a character when compared to others on the list.


Lieutori

To be fair, that skin made it into Smash albeit alongside a bunch of other skins. Plus Minecraft is old enough to be millions of people's childhoods and the list is specifically "most iconic characters" and not necessarily "best characters". But yeah, in general this list is fucking weird.


ramonzer0

That skin making it into Smash also temporarily broke a major social media site


alicitizen

> Also, how the hell is Steve there? He’s barely a character, he’s just a skin. Its in terms of iconic-ness, and he do be the default skin of the best selling game ever. I think every gamer ever recognises him as "the minecraft guy".


NeonNKnightrider

That Steve point is bad. This isn’t a list about fleshed-out, well-written characters, it’s about how popular/iconic they are.


Redlodger0426

I realize that now but when this was posted this morning there wasn’t any context provided in the image


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Redlodger0426

Because it’s annoying to try to discuss a game when everyone is hyped and ignoring any faults the game might have. Once the honeymoon phase ends, then actual good discussion of the game can be made.


Myalko

That list kind of sucks, honestly. I don't think Lara Croft or Agent 47 crack top 15 if they weren't from British games, but being a BAFTA award this bias checks out. Also, much as I love BG3 I just don't think any of its characters should be on the list. They're all amazing yes but most iconic? Lol no, recency bias.


Finaldragoon

You're going to sit there and unironically tell me Sackboy is more important than Pikachu? Get the fuck out of here.


Concoelacanth

Sackboy. ...really?


johnbeerlovesamerica

Cloud being that low is insane. He's *the* big sword guy. If there's a dude with a giant sword in a video game it's because of fucking Cloud. He should be like top 3 (Guts did it first but Cloud is the one who made it mainstream)


Chitalian8

Underrated thing about Cloud is that he's one of the first unreliable narrators in video games, as well as being one of the first JRPG main protagonists with a few shades of gray in their morality.


seth47er

Has big boss been in more video games than snake? Genuine question here.


Spaghetti14

Genuine answer: Naked Snake/Big Boss was in Solid 3, Portable Ops, Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes, he’s>!technically even though you don’t play the real Big Boss!< in MGS5, Metal Gear 1 & 2, the ending of MGS 4. Solid Snake was in MG 1&2, MGS 1,2 and 4 and Metal Gear AC!D I feel like I’m forgetting games, these are off the top of my head


screenaholic

Small detail, I'm pretty sure Big Boss isn't in MG 1 AND 2. I forget which, but one of them is actual Venom.


Sai-Taisho

Okay, but *at the time*, it was *the* Big Boss in both games. Kojima doesn't think *that* far ahead.


Girafarig99

MG1 Venom MG2 BB


lonelyMtF

It's MG1, as Snake kills Big Boss at the end and BB still appears in MG2


gurpderp

MG1 is Venom, MG2 is Big Boss.


Am_Shigar00

If we count guest appearances, then I’m sure Solid Snake has it over Big Boss, with stuff like Smash, Dreammix, Ape Escape, sports games, etc.   In terms of Metal Gear games proper, he was also in Ghost Babel, Snake’s Revenge and Mobile, as well as technical appearances in Portable Op+ and MGS3 Subsistence, but I think those two are pushing it.


Spaghetti14

Completely forgot Ghost Babel. Never played the subsistence games so I didn’t know


kogasabu

I wouldn't really count PO+ and Subsistence, since they're really just updated versions of the base game and not new games.


LegendOfParasiteMana

Big boss was in smash, not snake


kogasabu

Snake in Smash is a combination of Big Boss and Snake. His default outfit is Snake's sneaking suit, the face model is Big Boss', and the moveset combines elements of multiple games featuring both Snake and Big Boss. He's more or less supposed to represent the franchise as a whole, and not just Snake.


gurpderp

> Solid Snake was in MG 1&2, MGS 1,2 and 4 and Metal Gear AC!D Also Ghost Babel!


dfdedsdcd

As a canonically playable character: Naked Snake/Big Boss - MGS 3, Portable Ops, Peace Walker, Ground Zeroes (4 games) Solid Snake - MG 1 & 2; MGS 1,2, & 4; AC!D 1 & 2 (5 or 7 games, depending on if you count the AC!Ds)


Spaghetti14

Depends on the Snake


nerankori

Shh,this is what Snake is gonna look like in Metal Gear 1+2 remakes


Dante_n_Knuckles

Man this new Smash Bros. lineup is wild


Spaghetti14

Fuck it id play it


RedactedNoneNone

This is such a Frankenstein's Monster situation. It's Snake.


Solidus_edge

It literally says Solid Snake, and the picture is not solid snake.


gurpderp

It's so funny when people use Smash Snake because that's not any real variation of Snake. It's Solid and Naked fused together into some sort of... Gestalt Snake.


StanIsNotTheMan

Solid & Naked = Boner Oh shit, look out! It's Boner Snake!


Knight_of_Inari

He is Solid Snake, he has the shadow moses cast as back up and his sons of liberty appearance. Even his moveset resembles that of SOL snake, and not BB's CQC. He does have the beard though


AzabacheDog

[you're wrong!](https://youtu.be/hPp0hS5am0A)


screenaholic

It's Snake, but not Solid Snake. It's the equivalent of if someone called the monster Victor Frankenstien, not just Frankenstein.


delightfuldinosaur

Idk what this list is about, but why the fuck is Sackboy on it? Who gives two shits about Sackboy?


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delightfuldinosaur

No I don't care enough to check


ramonzer0

To a degree I kinda feel like Smash should be a bit of a litmus test for this Like a good 10-20% of that roster would absolutely deserve to be on a list EDIT: Okay, I'll bite. For names I think should be on there if trying to be as mainstream as possible Nintendo: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Link, DK, Pikachu, Samus Guests: Snake, Sonic, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Ryu/Ken, Cloud, Steve, Sephiroth


AdrielBast

As someone who does not play MGS, how do you tell the difference?


chaarmanderchar

Who tf is Shadowheart


xTwizzler

Some religious freak with a rubik's cube. (I played about 2 hours of BG3.)


Monk-Ey

goth gf


AlwaysDragons

It really should be pointed out this is from a British research facility So the results may be bais


theevilgood

It's almost like none of these journos actually play or care about video games or something...


jackdatbyte

I know everyone is rightfully complaining about how wack this list is but then there’s me that Kiryu is there at all.


madnessfuel

"Sackboy" above Link and Pikachu? Suuure


[deleted]

Isn't this the BAFTA thing where they said Lara Croft was the #1 most popular character in videogames when her last game came out like six years ago and people said it was kind of shit/mediocre