Top Ten Monday: Most Underrated Video Game Characters

10. Raiden (Mortal Kombat Series)

The characters who get the most love in the Mortal Kombat series are Sub-zero, Liu Kang, and Scorpion. Where's the love for Raiden. Certainly, he is equally bad ass to the other counterparts. He can throw lightning, which is awesome. When you add in the staff, and his sense of responsibility for the welfare of earth realm, Raiden is easily one of the most interesting characters to come out of the Mortal Kombat series.

9. Nightcrawler (X-Men)

Nightcrawler is one of those characters who simply needs his own game. In the X-men Legends series he is one of the most fun characters to play. Add to that his deep religious conviction, his heartbreak of being born looking like a demon, and you have a character who is deep and extremely interesting. The video game industry just hasn't given this guy enough love.

8. Barett Wallace (Final Fantasy VII)

Cloud Strife was the face of Final Fantasy VII, but Barett Wallace was the heart, the comedy, and the tragedy of the title. He's often forgotten, but the story just would not have worked without him. Not only that, but after Cloud, he was also one of the most badass fighters the game had to offer. And who wouldn't want to hang out with a guy who had a gun for a prosthetic arm?

7. Little Mac (Punch-Out Series)

Little Mac rarely gets much love on lists of top video game characters probably because of the very few games that he has headlined. But, Little Mac headlines really excellent games, and his personality shines through in all of them. Currently, Little Mac is back and headlining the new Wii title Punch-Out Wii! You should check him out.

6. Tails (Sonic series)

I, like the rest of the video game fan community, have been down on Sonic for quite some time. However, I am not down on one character from the Sonic universe, the very versatile and just plain cute Tails. Tails is often left in Sonic's shadow, but he is one of the most interesting characters brought forth by the game. Innocent, and not as fast as Sonic, you can actually spend some time enjoying the game if you play as tails. Plus, he's just so damn cute that you won't be able to avoid falling in love with him.

5. Hunter the Cheetah (Spyro series)

I spent some time with Spyro on the Nintendo Gamecube and was roundly dissapointed (after thoroughly enjoying him on the Playstation 1). However, there was light in a dark tunnel in the form of Hunter the Cheetah. His sections in Spyro: A Hero's Tail was the only thing that kept the game from being a total waste. And, I for one, couldn't play through his sections and think anything other than that I wanted Hunter to get a game of his own. Plus, there's just something about a dim witted protaganist that sits well with me, especially for video games.

4. Saddler (Resident Evil IV)

Saddler was an impressive villain. Bent on world domination, he let out the Los Plagas, a deadly mind controlling parasite, and began his plans for taking over the world. He even managed to kidnap the president's daughter. Add onto that, his ability to absorb and then spit back out bullets, and you have one impressive baddie. It's too bad he is left behind in Wesker's shadow. But Leon Kennedy certainly had enough of a hard time with him, that in my opinion he should be placed in the list of the ten greatest video game villains of all the time. Yet, he is noticeably absent from these lists, which is why he's extremely underrated.

3. Kamek the Wizard (Mario Games)

Bowser is little more than a big, overgrown toddler. But Kamek has got brains. Not only has he got brains, but he has magic, and can turn blocks into all sorts of evil things. Mario really has his hands full when he comes up against this magical koopa, though people tend to forget just how dangerous Kamek can be. He was the main villain in Yoshi's Island, and was a lot scarier than Baby Bowser could ever have been.

2. The Sprite (Secret of Mana)

Secret of Mana is one of my favorite video games of all time,and the Sprite character in this story really helped to set it apart. Its willingness to sacrifice for the good of the world, the way it talked about how it would exist in another reality once Mana had left the world they were currently in, and its sense of humor all set it apart from other video game characters. Add onto that some badass magical skills and you have a video game character who just isn't getting the love it deserves.


1. Chrono (Chrono Trigger)

Chrono gets the nod for the single most underrated video game character of all time for the valor he showed in Chrono Trigger. Not only did he save the world, but he saved the world 10,000 years into the future. What would you do if I told you that you could save the world from being destroyed 10,000 years from now? Yawn and go to bed? Me too. But that's what makes Chrono such a ridiculously interesting hero. He was willing to save the world even though its destruction would not have directly influenced his life. Add onto that, his willingness to die for the cause, and you have one serious video game hero who just doesn't get enough props.