5. Zero: Appears in Megaman X and Megaman Zero series, published by Capcom
Oh man, talk about classic. Zero first appears way back in the early 90s in the first Megaman X game. If I had to sum Zero up in as few words as possible, it’d sound something like “Honor. Duty. Ponytails.” Seriously. He’s an ultra lethal future samurai working as the equivalent of a police officer. In X series, “reploids” have true AI and even unique DNA patterns (I guess they’re part organic?) but they can be infected with a virus that makes them unstable or violent. That’s called going Maverick, and Zero is the greatest hunter there is, outstripping even X, the title character. It’s tempting to pass Zero off as an anti-hero because he tends to play “bad cop” next to X, but the fact is that although Zero will do anything it takes, it’s only because he’s about the most selfless thing ever to walk on two legs. In X4, he’s forced to fight and kill a man he respects (a colonel in the “repliforce” which is exactly what it sounds like), and that man’s younger sister (Iris) whom he loves but who attacks him in revenge even though he kind of wished they’d win the fights. In X5, his allies start turning on him left and right, but he doesn’t bat an eye when they order him on a suicide mission. All for the sake of the world. And after X6, afraid he may be going Maverick, he seals himself for a century to purge any impurities and awakes in the Megaman Zero series only to find that in his absence X has gone maverick and has turned the world into a dystopian hell hole leaving Zero with no choice but to fight his best friend. Despite being utterly selfless, Zero generally doesn’t seem to want to take responsibility for making decisions and yet also finds himself playing Devil’s Advocate. Although he’s relatable, I don’t think I can put him any higher on the list because in real life, he’d probably be really hard to get a long with, but… listen to that rockin’ theme music!
4. Jutah: Appears in Silent Bomber published by Bandai.
Even though his game got good reviews, I don’t think it was ever very popular and sometimes I feel like I’m the only person who remembers it. Indeed, I still remember how I first noticed it. It was the incongruity of the title. How does one bomb silently? This perplexing mystery forced me to look at the case. “Ah.” I said. “’It’s a sci-fi. The answer is obvious then. In space, no one can hear you bomb.” In all seriousness, although as a cynical old man Jutah strikes me as a little too emo, he was exactly the kind of character I wrote in middle school and highschool. One of those seemingly very common super soldiers raised in a lab. After discovering that a building he’d destroyed was full of civilians, he turned his back on the whole affair and wound up not resisting as he was arrested as a war criminal. Several years later, for atonement’s sake, he joined a (suicide) squad of prisoners led by a handful of military personnel when a new war breaks out. On the one hand, Jutah’s cold demeanor and ability to kick the shit out of entire armies single handedly make him seem all but unstoppable. On the other, he has some very glaring character flaws, most notably his refusal to act except when under direct orders. The only time in the entire game he goes on an “unauthorized” mission is to rescue his commanding officer. He’s got some surprisingly strong characterization, especially for the hero of an action game. One which never even got a sequel.
3. 3. Ryusei Date From Super Robot Wars published in America by Atlus USA
Super Robot Wars has the unique honor of being the best series of licensed games ever made. It also helped revitalize the mecha genre in Japanese television. The series has been around so long that they’ve created a ton and a half of new characters and machines to put beside ones they’ve licensed from TV studios. And I wish I could be talking about the original original, the hot headed but heroic Masaki Andoh, pilot of the Cybuster. Or for that matter, Excellen Browning, the pun loving Beauty who pilots the Weissritter. But I said I was going to cover relatable men, and Masaki’s a bit of an archetype and Excellen isn’t a man. Ryusei Date on the other hand is an almost disturbingly accurate portrayal of the average SRW player. He’s about 20, idealistic, talented, but inexperienced. He was recruited to be a test pilot in in an unusual fashion which only makes his lack of knowledge or concern for military protocol stand out even more. He’s also a huge doofus. As an example, he has little understanding or awareness much less concern for the real women around him, including his childhood friend Kusuha (a nurse who becomes a pilot), his commanding officer Aya (famous both for her strong telekinetic powers and her skimpy outfits) or Latuni (a lab raised super soldier and one of the best pilots, who views him as a knight in shining armor). On the other hand, he tends to drool over giant robots with a feminine appearance like the Valsione or the Angelg. It just makes me a little sad because in real life, Ryusei would probably be my best friend. Oh, and if you’re not afraid of blowing your mind, check this out. It works so well for those two.
2. Jude Maverick from Wild ARMs 4 published by XSEED
Jude, don’t make it bad. Take a sad game and make it better. You’ll note that Jude is from the same game as Raquel who was on my list of awesome female characters. What can I say? WA4 developed its cast really well. In certain respects, Jude is the prototypical hero for an RPG. He’s oddly young, extremely stubborn and naïve all the stuff one would expect. The difference is that WA4 actually goes somewhere with it. That game is very much a coming of age story and Jude as the main character is the one whose transition into adulthood is our primary concern. As a result there are two things that stand out about his development. First is the sheer amount of terror and tragedy. You know how much I love tragedy. If you want to understand someone, you have to look at how they act when the shit hits the fan. Which is the second thing. In most games a character’s personality is set up and never changes. In a well written one it’s set up to contrast with other characters, and then doesn’t change much from there. Most of the writing is so centered on the main plot (assuming there is much writing at all) that characters rarely get to stand around and soliloquize, and the games that do that usually get wordy and boring. Jude actually seems to develop though. Where he ends up isn’t far from where he started, but you see every victory and every failure takes its toll. The game also has an epilogue. You’d think a guy with such a strong desire to help people with skills like his would’ve gone into law enforcement. But no. He actually winds up as a bloody park ranger. Seriously. The indication is that by game’s end, he’s so sick and so confused by people that he withdraws from society. Pretty far cry from the typical fate of a game’s hero which is *always* one of the following three things A) Blaze of glory B) Return home or C) Adventuring into the unknown.
1. Zeri from Valkyria Chronicles II published by Sega
Zeri, the hero with no last name. Valkyria Chronicles is a weird series. Storywise, it’s a combination of high fantasy, highschool comedy and War Drama. Specifically, WWII. Don’t ask what would make someone think to combine those three things. I couldn’t tell you. Regardless, here’s how it works. In the world of VC, the Darcsens are believed to have caused terrible devestation in the ancient past and were only stopped by the godly Valkyrur, a godlike race which had more or less vanished from the pages of history. The history books are wrong though. It was the Valkyrur who were the agressors and the Darcsens were the only ones who stood in their way. Never the less, they’ve been persecuted for centuries, forced to work in the mines, to live in slums, accused of being cold-minded, physically weak, etc. In case you haven’t figured it out, Darcsens are the VC world’s Jewish community. Zeri disagrees with the majority of Darcsens who refuse to fight even in self defense. He argues that strategy hasn’t worked and the best way to protect his people is for him to become a “hero.” That is, someone so well known and connected that the whole world will have to rethink its position. Although the game’s hero Avan is the inspiring one and comes up with a lot of their plans, Zeri as the smart one has to figure out how to make it work. He’s also sarcastic and sharp tongued. In truth, he likes having a rival and as much as he claims to dislike certain people, it’s only to try and maintain objectivity on the battlefield. And yet he throws himself into danger repeatedly, either as the center of an extremely dangerous plan or to rescue others. It’s such a fantastic balance. All at once he’s an egotistical jerk and everything he does is informed by his desire to come out looking like a hero, but in a pinch you can see his legitimately "heroic" instinct.
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