30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Indigo Rush]

Day 29: Favorite Overall Cast

 

 

The Curse of Monkey Island 

 

I can remember just about every one of these characters that made an appearance, big or small, in this adventure game.

 

Starring the main character, Guybrush Threepwood...

 

The business-oriented coffin salesman, Stan:

 

The undead villainous LeChuck:

 

The fried chicken restaurant owner, Blondebeard:

 

Guybrush's main squeeze, Elaine Marley:

 

The pirate barbers:

 

And never forgetting...

Murray the Demonic Talking Skull

 

 

...seriously, this game is a hoot, and I didn't even mention a quarter of the entire cast. You guys need to play this game - it's the most hilarious game I've ever played, and these stand-out characters made it so!

[Danj86]

 

Day 29 - Favorite Overall Cast

 

Might want to change the title of the post again, dood. I wasn't sure if the next question was up, until I checked the topic.

 

Day 29: Fav. Overall Cast -

Persona Series

 

Rather than narrow it down to a specific game, I'm going to include the entire series of characters, even though I'm not familiar with the first two, they've become rather elusive. I do have Persona 2 on PSP, which looks very different to what I'm used to, but moving on...

 

I guess they know they've hit gold as they seem to be milking the characters as much as possible. Not that I'm complaining though, I'm enjoying seeing them all again in new and interesting light. A key word being new -

 

It's certainly some freakin' awesomeness to look forward to. I'd share something about Persona 5, but that seems to be shrouded in mystery. How cool!

But I'm getting sidetracked. I'm supposed to be talking about the cast. Full of life, complicated, moving...real. They feel real, is probably the best way to describe them. It might be hard to imagine that a game that is heavy in fantasy and some sci-fi, would have such real feeling characters. It can be hard to find that balance.

 

The games themselves, put you in a key position in the story and your meeting the characters for the first time, just like the character your playing, they let you learn about these people in your own way and in your own time. Choosing who you want to get close to and when. You learn many things about them, and even become to care about them.

The game can trick you into assuming the wrong thing, when you are blinded by rage, due to what happened to a particular, younger character. Or, for me at least, makes you angry and bitter due to a decision you never made and how it effected those left behind. If I didn't care, it wouldn't have effected me.

 

The choices are many and no doubt, each and every person you ask, will give you a different name for who there favourite character from the series is. For the record, my P3 fav. is Aigis and my P4 fav. is Naoto.

Something else worth knowing is how the characters help keep things lighthearted and entertaining in various moments, even Persona 3 still did this, despite the story being much darker and being full of much more tragedy.

 

You Are a Slave. Want Emancipation?

[Rusty Spy]

Day 29: Best Overall Cast

 

Well this one's kinda tough. Not really a whole lot of games with a strong cast that I ended up liking profoundly.... I guess I could cheat and say something easy like Bast-..... oh wait, that's right...

 

Team Fortress 2

 

 

One of the defining features of the game is it's unique and colorful cast of multicultural 60's stereotyped mercenaries. Each class has his own unique and outrageous personality that borders on psychopathic man-child to varying degrees, and each one is an absolute riot to listen to, and subsequently murder en mass.

 

But that's not all, the comics flesh out many of the side characters who all have interesting ties to the main conflict and add extra background to the games setting, all with equally colorful personalities with surprisingly deep backstory that ties into an ongoing plot surrounded in mystery and wrapped in an enigma.

[#AR]

Day 29: Best Bozos

 

I think just out of the sheer diversity and wackiness, I'd have to go with:

 

 

 

REN'S FAVORITE CAST: THE WARIOWARE SERIES

 

This is one of my favorite series from Nintendo, just due to the absolute insanity of it all. Of course, the Microgames are the main attraction, but the zany cast of characters, despite only having like minute-long "story" sequences, are so jam-packed full of charm that it's astounding.

Of course, you have Wario, who's already nuts, but then you have:

Jimmy T, one of the funkiest brothas this side of Nintendo

Mona, the ice-cream shop working, pizza-delivering, cheerleading pop-star

Dribble & Spitz, the cat/dog duo of taxi drivers

9-Volt and 18-Volt, the series' resident Nintendo fanboys

Ashley, the adorable witch

Kat and Ana, the kickass elementary school ninjas

and many many more. The charm factor is just through the roof, and I hope to see more of them in the future.

[ElectricAngel]

Day 29 - Favourite Overall Cast

 

Hoo boy we're almost done with this. Let's go! Alright, so I've thought about this one and there are a few games I can think of with some very likable characters. However, there are few games where everyone is awesome. And one of those games is

 

 

Portal 2

 

I seriously can't stay away from this game, can I? So, you're probably thinking "Uh, Swift, Portal 2 only has like, 5 characters. It doesn't count, man!" But that's where you're wrong. A cast is still a cast, no matter how small. What makes Portal 2 so great with it's cast is how it doesn't have an overflowing cast filled with a few likable and then a bunch of forgettable characters. What makes Portal 2's cast so special, is that it is quite small. 

 

And what's good about a small cast, is how writers can focus on each individual more and build character. There isn't one person (or robot) that I don't like in this game. All characters have wonderful, memorable lines. From the witty Wheatley, to the sarcastic GLaDOS, and even the zany Cave Johnson. What I like most about the cast is how they were able to develop the characters. Everyone in Portal 2 changes from the first time you met (or heard) them, and I think that's brilliant. GLaDOS and Cave Johnson also have a backstory that you learn about while playing through the game and you see how they became who they are today. 

 

I may have gushed about Portal 2 too many times in this thread, but I can't help it. This game gets so many things right it's impossible to not mention it at times. And one of the biggest reasons Portal 2 is so great is because of the characters. Without these guys, Portal 2 just wouldn't be the same game. It wouldn't provide that amazing experience to gamers. It kinda makes you think just how important characters can be in games. I'm looking at you, SEGA. Making all them Sonic characters and only using them in one game. Pfff.

[Dr. Homem]

 

Mass Effect series

 

Does any game have such a varied cast of characters? Composed by a myriad of species from all over the galaxy, the three Mass Effect games have a fascinating team of squadmates (and crewmembers, villains, etc). As corny as some dialogue can be, Bioware truly does a fantastic job at creating a believable world and characters. I can't even imagine what the script writing process for these games looks like. Arguably the best development happens in Mass Effect 2, as that game is focused 100% on the individual secondary characters' arcs and stories - but all three games had really enjoyable, fleshed out characterization.

 

That's what made the trilogy so engaging to me. The gameplay was fun and the settings were impressive, but the biggest attraction were the characters. It's often difficult for games with huge casts to make you feel for most or all of them, but in Mass Effect you had ties to every member, even the ones you didn't interact with much. That's a rare and valuable quality.

[JezMM]

 

Half-Life 2 has an amazing cast and I just want to know more about them and what will happen to them wughghghgh

 

I just absoloutely relish in every "cut-scene" HL2 has to offer where conversations play out between the characters.  I honestly even slightly prefer them to the "gameplay" stuff.  Episode One and Two made the difference between these sections all the more seamless too.

 

 

As mentioned on the favourite character day, I also adore the Left 4 Dead cast.  With regards to them all as a unit, I love the L4D2 guys just as much as the L4D1 guys too (the L4D1 characters have more appeal than he L4D2 ones as individuals though).  I can think of a few other games with strong writing and many excellent characters, but these are the only two that SPRING to mind in the sense of me finding every character equally engaging.

 

Let's not forget the NPCs in Left 4 Dead either, like Church Guy and Virgil the talking boat.

[jords]

Day 29:

This one is hard.

Um

I'm going with the last of us.

I really like how the cast were done in this game. Everything felt natural as to what people would do in a crisis, at least I think so. The bond between two unlikely partners, Joel and Ellie was just great, as they were force to stick around with each other and they slowly became very close buddies, Joel pretty much thinks Ellie is her daughter, that's how close he has gotten. And they didn't really like each other from the start.

I guess its a good sign when your not annoyed by any characters in the game and actually liked pretty much all of them. They told a great story and had a great amount of characters.

Special mention to the zombies. I really like the sound they make when eating your flesh LOL. That part was a joke. Or was it?

[Covskin]

Final Fantasy 6 may have the largest playable cast in the series, but I also can't bring myself to dislike a single character.

 

Terra proves to be the closest to the plot, but also has her own coming-to-terms with who she is. Locke, the theif treasure hunter who puts on a brave face despite his own guilt of a past failure. Sabin and Edgar, royal brothers who take different paths but don't lose their bond. Also, Edgar grabs a Jason mask to use a chainsaw and Sabin can literally suplex a dragon.

 

Shadow, the ninja running from his former life. Relm and Strago, and their grandaughter/grandad relationship (and the hints of Shadow's...). Setzer, the airship owning playboy. Gau, the feral child who has come closer than any other character to make me cry at a video game scene.

 

Umaro, the Yeti that throws his team-mates at enemies. Gogo, the ...mime (ok, I got nothing on him). Cyan, the chilvarious knight, and Mog. A dancing Moogle! Last but not least, Celes, the former general who bonds with this unlikely group and realises just how much she needs them.

 

Add into that frickin' Kefka as a villain, and a whole host of NPCs, and there is my gross simplification of a damn fine cast.

 

Honourable mentions go to Psychonauts, as every single kid in the camp has their own story arc and changing relationships amongst themselves, regardless of their interactions with Raz. Also, The Walking Dead, who's great characterisation makes every difficult choice that much tougher.

[Strickerx5]

Day 29: Favorite Overall (...first...) Cast

 

 

 

I just don't think it can be overstated exactly how much I love this game. It went against most of Nintendo's norms and totally rocked them in almost every way. The writing for each of these characters was phenomenal and their constant interactions were just icing on the cake. I don't think there was a single chapter that had dialogue that I didn't absolutely love. The only thing I can say I didn't like about this cast was how under utilized a lot of them were. I honestly wish we could of seen more of characters like Phosphora or Pyrrhon. Add in the lovely voice work that was done for this and you have a cast I hope Nintendo utilizes fully in the near future. It's one of the main reasons why I'm still holding out for an anime/ tv show to be considered.

 

 

Runner-Ups:

Batman: Arkham City- There's a reason why Batman is my favorite comic book hero. The cast holds some of the best characters ever conceived. I guess the only reason I didn't pick this was because that there was a lot more work done outside the Arkham universe to make these characters full than just this game. Which puts it at an unfair advantage in my book. Uprising made me love it's full cast in a single game.

 

Portal 2: Absolutely loved the witty dialogue and cast here. The only reason I didn't really pick this was because of the sear size of the cast Uprising got me to like as supposed to this games cast of a couple.

[Debug Ring]

Favourite overall cast:

Portal 2. Yes, Portal 2 has a fantastic cast, while few in numbers. Though, I think that' sweat makes them so great and stand out. There is only really 3 characters, and they manage to keep the story going, and it's one of the best stories out there. Actually, there is really only two characters, but the dialogue these characters have is incredible and really is to be admired. So, yeah, two characters to make one of the greatest stories in video games for me, that's gotta stand for something.

[KrazyBean]

Day 29: Favourite Overall Cast

 

I guess I'll go with Tales of Xillia. I already said that this game has one of my favourite protagonists and one of my favourite side characters, but the rest of the cast, good and bad, are pretty great too. They all had great lines, some incredibly funny ones too, and they all have interesting pasts. 

 

I like how some of the characters were characterised as well, particularly Jude, who is intelligent, a medic, and excels in physical combat. I personally don't see this often as normally intelligent characters or characters which excel in healing are normally compromised with a lack of physical strength and are given the support role. I just thought that this was a welcome change of pace.

 

I guess bonus points should be awarded for none of the characters really annoying me as well. JRPGs are very prone to doing this.

[BakingBluePotatoe]

Day 29: "We all live together in pieces and OH MY GOD UNICORNS!" Favorite Overall Cast

 

Gonna pull the Sonic Card again, as I don't have time to think up anything else.

 

Yeah, the Sonic cast, in all their insanity. I find them all really fun, and of course, I just LOVE getting my hands on plushies of them! The ultimate test of how much I like a character/group of them... would I want a plushie of them? Hehehe, and I love the simple dynamic everyone has with each other. Sonic's the Hero, Tails is the Sidekick, Knuckles is a Rival, Shadow is the angsty Anti-Hero, Amy is the action girl, Eggman's the villain, Silver's a Time Traveller, Blaze is a badass princess from another world......

 

Yeah. You get the idea. Sorry, I can't be more elaborate, I've got a busy day ahead of me!

[Willsy]

Day 29: Favourite Overall Cast

Sonic (more specifically, the classic five)

I'll admit that I'm not really a fan of many of the characters introduced after the classic trilogy (and CD). Mainly because I find characters like Shadow to be dull, and not really that interesting to me. However, the original four Sonic cast are probably my favourite cast of any video game. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman are my favourite Sonic characters because they all seem more original than the characters introduced later. None of them are a clone of the other. I know there is now a new character thrown into the mix under the name of 'Sticks', and she really does seem like an interesting character, so I'm willing to give her a chance.

[SuperStingray]

Day 29: 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

999's cast was the driving force behind its amazing story. Its SAW-like premise combined with a group of misfits made for some very memorable situations and interactions. Learning the history of these strangers as you try to escape and finding the reasons behind why each of you were captured made 999 whatever the visual novel equivalent of a page turner is.

[Jolt_TH]

Day 29: Favourite overall cast

 

hmm, this one is actually really hard. Not wanting to use Sonic, because that is the obvious answer, i'm going to have to go with

 

Mario Cast

Lets face it, the Mario cast is pretty awesome. The main man, Mario, his younger brother, Luigi, the damsel in distress, Peach, the faithful servant, Toad, the noble steed, Yoshi and the big bad king, Bowser. The cast has been through many adventures, kart races, sports, parties, you name it this gang has probably done it. These characters are all totally loveable and pretty much anyone will know who they are. This is without even going into the extra characters like Rosalina, Daisy, Dry Bones, Koopa Troopers, Wario, Waluigi, Birdo and Nabbit. They are all so full of life and energy and are just an all round great crew.

 

Honourable mentions go to

 

Starfox Cast

These 6 really work well together and seem like real characters, they bicker, they get smug, they show off, they really who actual emotion, plus it gets plus points for having a female member who isnt useless and can hold her own, (seriously in Assault Krystal was the member of Starfox that asked for help the least). not to mention the amazing rival team that is Starwolf, antagonistic, but yet they do know when to fight for the greater good.

 

Wonderful 101 Cast

Again these characters really interact well with each other. Now I have only played the demo and watched a little bit on youtube, but the way all the wonderful ones interact is just great, the rivialry between wonder red and wonder blue, the fact everyone gets annoyed with wonder green, the showoffness of wonder blue and wonder pink. These characters are just really likable and do pull of that 90's superhero feel to them.

[Your Vest Friend]

...Ehh, why not.

 

 

Sonic the Hedgehog, damnit

 

I think a better question here would be "why these, why not other casts?" In Mario, I don't have much interest in anyone outside of the big turtle army. In Fur Fighters, the cast technically includes 124 named babies that don't do anything character-wise. In Spyro, the cast is okay but mostly stays at a grounded level. Crash has some stellar standouts, but the ones that don't really don't. Any other franchise to me has like one or two stand out characters but then the rest are just there. In the Sonic series, I can at least enjoy the exploits of most characters, fondness of their character be damned. So overall, they're the ones who have always entertained me the most, so they get the kudos. 

[Mr Loopone]

Day 29: Favourite Overall Cast

 

Hmmm.... Tricky one is this one. I could choose the cast of Metal Gear Solid since I recall liking all the characters however my memory regarding the game is like mashed potatoes so all I can remember is patches of Solid Snake, Octacon, Revolver Octalot?, Sniper Wolf, Psycho Mantis, Campbell and the female who contacts Snake as well as appearing in Special Missions. No lines and vague looks at some of the others. I could choose the cast of Sly Cooper however I don't really like the Contessa and many enemy characters out of 3 felt are hard to recall due to their characteristics and motives weren't explored very well. Sleeping Dogs is another however I don't really like the chief in that game. Luckily I do have a favourite and very happy to talk about it too.

 

 

Ratchet & Clank Trilogy [Only decent picture and it is still missing some characters]

 

The Ratchet & Clank series have many characters, not just the heroes and the villains but also the many NPCs that each character I felt had a different personality even characters who only appeared in the game for a few minutes. Usually with games, it is for me gameplay mechanics however there are a few games where I care about the characters and the story as well. (the only time I had to skip cutscenes was on Side Matters and only because the game glitched 80% through so had to do everything again up to that point)

 

With the games being set in various planets and galaxies, each character are different species to each other as well as the robot characters such as Clank, Courtney Gears, Lawerence and Dr. Neferious who each have their own personalities inside of a typical obey orders routine that some robots in fiction follow. The characters seem to respect each other, even the villians and strangely rarely shout with Neferious being one the few who does (Ratchet as well, more in the first game though). Saying that the cast are well written and even have a bit of humour between each other some of it going towards Captain Quark, also out of the 3 games there doesn't seem to be an annoying character at all like many pieces of fiction where a younger character acts annoying and hyper (closest thing is Quark's monkey and even then he acts like an actual monkey).

 

Also it is very rare but I like nearly all the characters in the 3 games due to their personalities and characterisations whether it is Ratchet & Clank themselves, Mr. Fizwidget, The Plumber (have a feeling that I might mention this series next year), Sasha and the President, Skids McMarx, Helga, Courtney Gears, the mystic where you get the diamonds, Al and his family, Dr. Neferious, Lawerence, Chairman Drek, the "interceptor" and of course Quark. Oh and the unseen announcers for the TV programmes. There are even signs of character evolution such as Ratchet from the first game was more like a teenager having interest with hoverboarding while unsure whether to trust Clank but in the next two games, he becomes calmer and caring know that he can be depended as a hero but also loyal to Clank. Quark is another character that has had character evolution as well (even with his look too on the first game having more of a square chin than the later games) but to mention it is spoilering much of the games since he flip flops between a "hero", a villian and a hideaway person depending on his move.

 

Wait, I think that I got the question wrong...

[TearForFear]

 

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

 

I'm trying hard to remember, but I can't recall a single character I don't like here.

 

From the evil incarnate Shadow Queen to the shy but brave Koops,

From the coward Doopliss to the smart Goombella,

From the manipulative promoter Grubba to the emotional TEC-XX,

From the abusive Beldam to the adventurous Admiral Bobbery...

 

(many characters later)

 

...everyone contributes to create and animate a colorful and vibrant universe. Bless Intelligent System.

[buba]

Day 29 - Favorite Overall Cast

 

I kinda want to say anything other than Persona for variety's sake, but I can't. Not for this question.

So, here we go again with the Persona 3 cast, or S.E.E.S to be more precise.

 

 

What can I say that wasn't already mentioned in one of my previous posts? This group ended together for "reasons" and for a long time they are more like acquaintances than friends. Each has is own problems and objectives, but still work together as a team.

I really like how they took some time to interact with each other, getting to know more about everyone and understanding them and by the end they formed a strong friendship.

Everyone was interesting and always had something going on for them, they dealt with their own problems and still helped the others do the same and that was a plus compared to the P4 cast that took little to no time to change as soon as you beat their shadow selves.

To this day, there hasn't been a single group that I enjoyed being around in a game as much as S.E.E.S and that's why there is no way I could go with any different answer.

[Adamis]

Day 29: Favourite Overall Cast

 

 

The Sonic cast, because it's colourful, there are really interesting characters (last of his species ; princess from another dimension ; wannabe-hero from the future ; relax fisherman...) and everyone can find a favourite in it.

 

 

The Zelda cast (especially the one from the Wind Waker) is rich. It feels alive. There are strong characters in each game.

 

 

Final Fantasy IX. All of them. From the strong princess to the mage who questions his place in their world.

[The Tenth Doctor]

Day 29: Favourite cast

I'll agree with the Eleventh Doctor and say Portal 2. Not a large cast but each is memorable. Wheatley is funnily adorable. Glados is wickedly funny. Cave is awesomely funny. Atlus and Pbody are funnily cool. They are all wonderful characters, each feels different and are hilarious. Atlus and Pbody don't even talk and they're great! Heck, Cave is a disembodied voice and we still love him. Chell is rarely seen yet this whole world is so spun around her. She needn't say a word as her actions and how the world reacts to her is fantastic. Everyone, buy this game.

[RustyRick]

Day 29: Most favorite overall cast?


The main Mario cast lineup.


Well,as bland as most characters in the Mario franchise can be, I do enjoy the cheesyness in their movements, and I do often like the characters for their backgrounds, my personal favorites being DK and Wario, given their first appearances as villains, but now appear as side characters in  most spinoffs, and they do make for a nice filler cast.

[Gabz Girl]

Day 29! Favourite overall cast! This...is difficult to answer, since there's many videogame casts that I enjoy. There's Mass Effect which is full of characters with great personalities and likeability (well, most of them anyway), the Sonic series, Legend of Zelda Wind Waker and Red Dead Redemption's cast of eccentric weirdos. But let's go for something different, something which hasn't been mentioned before as far as I can tell...

 

 

The cast from the Jak and Daxter games. Ermagerd I love these characters! <3

 

Their designs are so unique, having both elf and feline characteristics, and each character stands out from the other. Their personalities are great too and well established. Of course we have our main character Jak who at first is your typical silent hero (Daxter does all the talking for him!), but in the sequels he finally opens his mouth after years of torture. Still, he isn't the most talkative guy and he only really talks when he wants to. Kira and Green Sage Samos are fun characters and Samos in particular is very funny. I also like Pecker the Latino monkey parrot thing. Yah, this guy!

 

 

 

Oh and Daxter the Ottsel is the coolest of all! Seriously who doesn't love Daxter's humourous antics? His crazy expressions? His relationship with hot, gun obsessed blondie Tess?

 

 

 

There are some duds here and there, but overall the cast in the Jak and Daxter series (especially the main cast!) are funny and have great personalities. Now if only there could be a new Jak and Daxter game, not that realistic shite Naughty Dog was gonna do before Last of Us. Yuck!

 

Pls Naughty Dog, make a new J&D game soon. ;-;

[NGw00d]

Day 29: Favorite Overall Cast

The Ace Attorney Cast

 

I pretty much love every single one of the main/recurring characters in this series. From defense attorney to witness to prosecutor, they're all pretty great. Even the new characters like Athena, Blackquill, and Fulbright are awesome, Athena especially as she's slowly becoming one of my favorite characters in the series. It's not just the characters themselves either, it's the way they interact with each other. Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena's relationship with each other is one of the best things to come out of the series and I really hope we see it expanded upon in future games. Phoenix and the prosecutor, whether it be Edgeworth, Godot, or Franziska, are always fun to see bouncing off each other in court, even better when the Judge jumps in occasionally. All around a great cast of mainstays in the Ace Attorney franchise.