Top 100 Video Game Countdown Thread | We've Reached the Top 20

[chasmmi]

25th

Peach - Mario (172 points, 1 top 5, 2 top 10) 

 

 

The original video gaming damsel in distress, except for the damsels that preceded her like OG Pauline. PEach shot to prominance as the low key top tier choice in Super Mario 2. She has also had the other odd flash of glory such as the opening 3 seconds of any Mario Kart race. But in the end, she just comes up short against the incoming true top tier choices. 

[chasmmi]

Are y'all ready for a murderer's row of people that will have folks aghast they did not make the top 10?

 

Well here goes...  

[chasmmi]

 24th

Garrus Vakerian (175 points, 2 top 5, 1 top 10) 

 

 

That scene in Mass Effect 3 where Garrus and Shepherd chat on a bridge and reminisce about old times and the adventures we all embarked on together. The number of times we escaped death by a whisker and always had a cross-hair ready to save the life of a proper bro. It is a cool moment and shows the bond these two heroes forged over the years., 

 

Then I remember than in my personal canon, Garrus literally spends the whole of Mass Effect one just chilling in the engine room while me, Tali, Wrex, and Liara go out and save the galaxy. Then the curtain is pulled back and you realise that this guy is a fraud, a hanger on who bends historic storytelling in order to give himself a heroic part that he never played. 

 

Fuck this guy.

[chasmmi]

23rd

Kazuma Kiryu (178 points, 2 First Place, 1 top 5) 

 

 

And the dream is over

 

The single greatest games protagonist crashes out in 23rd. There are three kinds of people in this world:

 

1) People that will not shut up about how good Yakuza is and badger everybody they can to play it. 

 

2) People who are sick of people telling them how good Yakuza is, but then they decide they may as well try one and 20 hours later become person 1.

 

3)  2) People who are sick of people telling them how good Yakuza is, but are able to resist and thus have lost out on one of the purest joys in the entertainment world. 

 

Yakuza is genuinely my favourite franchise. It has everything, a strong story, mad side quests, karaoke, nightclub hostesses with a heart of gold, and in 2020.... Go Karting!!! 

 

It is the perfect franchise. 

[chasmmi]

22nd

Geralt of Rivera (178 points, 1 First Place, 2 top 10) 

 

 

If you had told me Kiryu was going to score the same as Geralt, I would have taken that. I never dreamed that would mean missing the top 20. 

 

Now I personally can take or leave Mr. Cavil, but I cannot deny his popularity, both here and with the in game ladies. (Although do not be a fool and try to have all the ladies, the redhead and the angry one don't take kindly to that, if you wish to embark on dalliances, there is a perfectly serviciable topless witch bathing in a wood somewhere you can go sidequest with.)

 

where was I? Oh yeah, Geralt. I think my favourite part of the witcher was finding myself about 40 minutes into the game and being told to choose which of the three identically black shirts i wanted to wear to the formal cutscene. Thrilling stuff that.

[chasmmi]

21st

Arthur Morgan (196 points, 1 First Place, 1 top 5, 3 top 10) 

(Video is Spoilerific, proceed with caution)

 

 

RDR2 was a 8.5/10 game for me in a year awash with 9's and 10s (Spiderman, God of War, Yakuza series [at least I played them then etc), but I cannot argue against the quality of character that is Arthur Morgan. One of the best protagonists and voice actor jobs I have experienced in media (and yet not my favourite of the year!).

 

I'd love to see Arthur get another game, be sequel, or RDR3 continuing the backward trajectory and revolving around young Dutch and Arthur trying to build up a gang from the ground up. 

 

Also, that video is pretty epic.   

[chasmmi]

Told you it was a pretty mad bunch of entries in a row didn't I? 

[SchumacherFTW]

THIS IS FUCKING DISGUSTING! SHAME! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU! 

[EarlyDeadlinePredictions]

What a damn mess we're making of things...

[Legion Again]

Is the real outrage who missed the top 20? No, no.   
 

The REAL outrage is when we see whose made the top 20 instead 

[Water Bottle]

9 hours ago, SchumacherFTW said:

THIS IS FUCKING DISGUSTING! SHAME! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU! 

 

don't blame me i didn't vote but if i had i wouldn't have voted the way you wanted me to

[chasmmi]

16 hours ago, SchumacherFTW said:

THIS IS FUCKING DISGUSTING! SHAME! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU! 

I know. 

 

How dare that grey haired dolt finish above the glorious Kiryu. 

[chasmmi]

20th

Bowser - Mario (200 points, 1 top 10) 

 

 

 

Can it be argued that the most villainous thing Bowser ever did was finish above the previous 4 entries?

 

Bowser is one of the original old school game bad guys and one of the few franchise villains to stay at the top and not be usurped in favour of metallic hedgehogs or weird cannibal families. There may be a plethora of more well rounded characters out there, but at the same time, I could accept an Uncharted Game without Nathan, I am about to accept a Yakuza game without Kiryu, but if Mario's next game has him fighting Nostro the flying Koala... no thank you. 

 

[chasmmi]

19th

Leon Kennedy - Zombie Mario (201 points, 1 first, 1 top 10) 

 

 

The top Resident Evil character hits the list now. Leon has received a new lease of life thanks to the great Resi 2 remake earlier this year and I think I have already talked about how good a job the franchise in general does at making the characters feel important. 

 

When you play resident Evil, you feel that you are playing Leon, or Claire, or Ava, or whomever. You are not just Resident Evil Guy, or Resi Protagonist. And Leon is the best example of that.  

[chasmmi]

18th

John Marston - RDR (205 points, 2 top 10) 

 

 

Don't get me wrong, John was good, very good in fact. But having anybody other than Arthur as Rockstars top protagonist is a travesty. 

 

In fairness, the two characters were leaping over each other constantly and by the end only 9 points separated them. If anything, this is a hugely clear sign that Red Dead is the franchise for character based Rockstar fun over GTA's train following, penis waving shenanigans. 

 

Either way I look forward to some fun single player RDR2 DLC that allows me to re-engage with all the great characters one last time. Surely it won't just be online MMO micro-transactions all the way down from here will it? And if so, does a can of beans and 2 bullets still cost $14.99?

 

 

[chasmmi]

17th

Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid (230 points, 2 top 5, 1 top 10) 

 

 

The best cardboard box wielding character in gaming. If you like walking, being seen, starting again, walking, being seen, starting again, walking, being seen, starting again, and then watch a scantily clad woman shower in front of an audience, then this is the series for you!!!

 

Although, to be fair, he has an eyepatch and that is probably worth about 174 points. 

[Legion Again]

14 minutes ago, chasmmi said:

Leon Kennedy - Mario

Huh, TIL. Really inspired choice to have such a graphical different element in these newer Mario games.

[chasmmi]

16th

Princess Zelda - Legend of Zelda (233 points, 1 First, 1 top 5, 1 top 10) 

 

 

What the Fuck is that cartoon? It's... quite something. 

 

With that said, Zelda was the crazy outsider threatening to take it all for a bit. Anyone who has done a poll has likely experienced this phenomenon where a choice gets like 7 high scoring votes in the opening 8 or 9 lists and then is never voted for again. Zelda was that in this list. 

 

After about 7 lists, she was not only in the lead, but in the lead by a margin, before slipping down to 16th. To be fair she is a Nintendo Princess who gets more and more agency with every franchise installment, and I especially liked the role she played in BOTW. 

 

16th is still pretty high, but at least it is Zelda and not Peach. 

 

(As an aside, I wonder which musical, if any, had this kind of voting run in @captainwondyful's countdown) 

 

 

[The Panda]

Pikachu is gunning for the number 1 spot!

[lilmac]

My faves:

 

Last of Us

Mario 64

Ocarina

Goldeneye 

Mario Kart 007

Red Dead Redemption

GTA 5

Mario Odyssey