Well alot of us have played an amount of great games over the years. But what is one of the most important aspect of any great game saga? well in this case lets say the characters. Yes video game characters are one of the most importaint part to any games story. Its basically the avatar of who you are when you play the game. They also are the icon of any good game series since its beginning, its many sequels, and spin offs as well.



So for my latest article I decided why not make a countdown on some of the best retro game characters from the 80's and 90's. but keep in note that im just doing charactors that I think were the best remembered , so don't get all pissie of your favorite doesn't make the list.

Also this is for retro game characters, ones that have been around since before the year 2000, so don't expect Master Chief or Cratos to make the list.




So without further ado, I give you my top 15 retro game characters.





Who can deny that donkey kong is by far the classic of classics. This famous ape first appearing as Mario's first villain in the ground breaking arcade classic, and has managed to move his way up throughout the years. He's even been the hero in his own series of adventure games thanks to the help of Rare. As one of Shigeru Miyamotos oldest (and well known) characters, donkey kong is by far one of the greatest arcade icons of all time (but only second greatest next to Pacman).





Who wouldnt like two overlie cute dinosaurs defeating there enemys buy blowing bubbles and popping them with there enemys trapped inside. Yes it may sound corny and lame but it has a certain charm to it. Tiatos two beloved characters have come a long way over the years, from updated arcade sequals to a vast puzzle game spin off. these two are indeed one of a kind in the world of gaming.





What was it this that made this comic duo such a huge hit on there first PC back in 1993? Well it took the simple concept of a point and click adventure game and mixed it with that great (and somewhat gory) sense of humor the comic series was famous for, and that's enough to earn them a spot on any list of great gaming icons.






Probably one of the most satisfying series of games in history. I think what made Ecco such a huge hit was its simple form of gameplay. it wasn't anything hardcore or gory but it was just the basic controls and feeling of being a dolphin, moving like a dolphin, and everything else in between. From eating fish to jumping out of the water and doing loop to loops in the air, even a great soundtrack to go with it. Ecco is by far one of the best characters Sega has ever come out with, and that's enough to put him on anyone's list.






Why do so many people like Lara Croft so much you ask? What is so special about a bad ass chick that can infiltrate just about any tomb on the face of the earth with the assistance of complex acrobatic, can fight off various types of enemy's (some 3 times her size), and manage to to look extremely sexy at the same time? Everything, Lara crofts just one of those figures that manages to mix a good style of gameplay with good looks to match, and that's good enough to earn anyone's list of best game characters.






Sonic teams biggest selling character since Sonic the Hedgehog. Nights managed to capture the hearts of many gamers not by fast pace speeds but by flying around in a mind blowing dream world, loop to looping, performing aero maneuvers to score points. this was a game that showed just how creative Sega could be. Fan have even been craving for a sequel for quite a few years, and it looks like there get there wish with the upcoming Nights journey through dreams.

Bomberman is just the kind of character that invented a very fun and very amusing concept in video games, BLOWING STUFF UP! Yes the reason bomberman has been around so much over the years, with various games on various consoles is because he loves blowing stuff up. you can always improve his concept give him better graphics and add more multi-player but in the end I think he proves one basic point. BLOWING STUFF UP NEVER GETS OLD!






Ruy, now theres a character worth remembering. Your probably woundering why chose Ryu out of any other street fighter character, and why not from another series of fighting games. Well because out of all the fighting games in history Street Fighter is hands down the best remembered, and so is Ryu. He's definity the mascot of the series, he was also th first bad ass fighting character to come out. Come on who wouldnt like an anime style character wiht an expression liek im totally gonna kick your but.






The legendary spy/super solder Solid Snake. When they need some serous serous crap dealt with they don't call James Bond, they call this guy. Its clear that this guys a legend just for being bad ass and nothing else. Also he's a character that helped invent the stealth action game. (It aint called Tactical Espionage action for nothing.)





How can anyone forget Megaman? He's only been the biggest gaming icon since like 1987. You could chose any enemy to fight first, get there powers after you killed them, and you had to fight all of them again in the last stage plus a few other enemys and Dr Wily, and he's also come out with hundreds of spin offs and sequels over the years. megaman is by far one of the biggest gaming icons in history. (but not number one on this list.)





Yes the little pink puff ball made it to the list. But how can anyone not like this guy, he has a cute little smile, he eats his enemies and use their powers against them, and hes presented in a kid friendly atmosphere. every one knows kirby just rocks in that way, and can be enjoyed by all ages, and is also one of nintendo's most loved mascots.






Sprouting his classic (not for resale) praise, and showing just what blast processing can really do. Sonic the hedgehog became the really popular mascot of sega after his dispute in 1991. Thus began the console wars between nintendo with there Mario and this guy, with incredibly fast speeds and a cool attitude how can you not like the little blue hedgehog.






Mario is by all means one of the greatest gaming icons in history. Not only has he shown the world that gaming can still be fun with the classic title Super Mario Bros, but he's also creative and simple. He's also appeared in many other kinds of games over the years, from sequels, to RPG's, to spin offs like super mario kart, hes even been a referee in Mike tyson's punch-out. Mario is just the kind of character that can do almost anything, but he's not number one.






What makes Link good enough to make second place is the fact that he also gave a new aspect to the world of gaming. He's the kind of character that goes through some of the toughest situations, solves some of the toughest puzzles, and does it the the help of an inventory of tools by his side, all for the sake of saving the princess Zelda. Its a great concept for a game, the classic fairy tale idea of a brave warrior going off to rescue the princess from an evil force. The idea just seams to work and improves with each new installment. Link is indeed a great icon in gaming, But only second best next to the next guy.


So its come down to the moment, this next character is who I think is the greatest gaming character to ever exist, are you ready for it, you shure, OK the greatest retro gaming character is!






Yes Pacman, your probably thinking Why Pacman? there are many other classic characters out there that are way better then Pacman so why pic him as number one? Well let me just say that Pacman is the kind of character that everyone enjoys. everyones played Pacman in the arcades when they were little,
everyone knows pacman, everyone ether likes or loves pacman, our parants know Pacman, our Teachers know Pacman, almost everyone does. It may be a overly simple form of gameplay today but its just fun and everyone likes it. So there for out of all the game characters of the yester years, Pacman is indeed the best of the best.

Thanks for reading :)