The Most Beloved Video Game Characters of All Time: Their Stories and Legacies
Discover the most beloved video game characters, from Lara Croft and Mario to Kratos, Geralt, Arthur Morgan and Ellie, and explore their stories.
The most beloved video game characters have given us far more than just memorable adventures and challenging boss fights. Over the years, they have introduced personalities who became a core part of gaming culture itself. Some are instantly recognizable because of their appearance, while others remain memorable because of the stories they tell, the choices they make, or the emotional journeys they take us on.
From legendary mascots such as Mario and Sonic to deeply written protagonists such as Arthur Morgan and Ellie, these characters represent very different sides of video game storytelling. A 2024 BAFTA poll involving more than 4,000 players from around the world highlighted just how broad this legacy has become, with characters from several generations and genres appearing among the most iconic names in gaming.
Here are some of the most beloved and recognizable video game characters, along with the stories behind them.
The Most Beloved Video Game Characters of All Time
1. Lara Croft – Tomb Raider
Lara Croft is one of the clearest examples of a video game character becoming larger than the medium that created her. She first appeared in the original Tomb Raider in 1996 as an adventurous archaeologist exploring ancient ruins, solving puzzles and surviving deadly traps.
But Lara was never simply a treasure hunter. Across different versions of the franchise, her character has evolved considerably. The modern reboot trilogy in particular presented a younger and more vulnerable Lara, showing how her experiences gradually transformed her into the hardened survivor players already knew.
Her legacy extends well beyond games. Lara has appeared in numerous games, films, novels and comics, making her one of gaming’s most recognizable characters. In BAFTA’s 2024 global player poll, she was voted the most iconic video game character of all time.
2. Mario – Super Mario
Few characters are as immediately recognizable as Mario. The cheerful plumber began his journey long before Super Mario Bros., first appearing as Jumpman in Donkey Kong in 1981.
What followed was an extraordinary transformation. Mario became the central figure of Nintendo’s platforming games and eventually appeared in racing games, sports titles, RPGs, party games and countless crossovers. His personality has remained deliberately simple: he is optimistic, energetic and almost always ready for another adventure.
That simplicity is part of Mario’s strength. He does not need a complicated origin story to be memorable. His adventures have become a shared gaming language across generations, and Nintendo’s official history describes a character who has appeared in more than 200 games.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic was created as Sega’s answer to the growing popularity of platforming mascots, but he quickly became much more than a corporate rival to Mario.
Making his debut in 1991, Sonic was built around speed, attitude and a rebellious personality. His blue design and unmistakable silhouette helped him become one of the defining characters of the 1990s gaming era.
Behind the speed, however, Sonic’s story is usually about freedom. Whether he is fighting Dr. Eggman or protecting his friends, Sonic represents movement and independence. His popularity has survived multiple generations of hardware, and BAFTA notes that he has appeared in more than 100 video games.
4. Link – The Legend of Zelda
Link is an unusual hero because he rarely speaks, yet generations of players have formed a strong connection with him.
Usually portrayed as a courageous young hero of Hyrule, Link repeatedly finds himself caught in conflicts involving Princess Zelda, the Triforce and the forces threatening the kingdom. Although the details change between games, the basic idea remains familiar: an ordinary-looking hero is called upon to face an extraordinary evil.
His silence also gives players room to project themselves onto the character. Link does not tell us exactly what to think or feel. Instead, his actions tell the story.
From the original The Legend of Zelda to modern adventures such as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Link has remained one of Nintendo’s defining heroes. BAFTA’s poll placed him among the ten most iconic video game characters.
5. Kratos – God of War
Kratos has perhaps one of the most dramatic character transformations in modern gaming.
The early God of War games introduced him as an intensely angry Spartan warrior consumed by revenge against the Greek gods. His violent journey was driven by betrayal, guilt and an almost uncontrollable desire for vengeance.
Years later, God of War reinvented the character. The older Kratos is still haunted by his past, but his priorities have changed. His relationship with his son Atreus becomes the emotional center of the Norse-era games, forcing Kratos to confront something more difficult than any monster: himself.
The result is a character whose story is not simply about defeating gods. It is about trying to become a better person despite everything that came before. BAFTA specifically highlighted this transformation from a revenge-driven Spartan warrior into a protective parent.
6. Master Chief – Halo
John-117, better known as Master Chief, became one of Microsoft’s most recognizable gaming characters through the Halo series.
Master Chief is a Spartan super-soldier created to fight humanity’s most dangerous enemies. Wearing the iconic green Mjolnir armor and rarely revealing his face, he initially appears almost like a symbol rather than an ordinary human being.
Yet the Halo series gradually gives players glimpses of the person beneath the armor. His relationship with Cortana, his loyalty to humanity and his struggles with the responsibilities placed upon him give the character a more human dimension.
Master Chief’s combination of mystery, military discipline and quiet determination helped establish him as one of the defining protagonists of the console FPS era. BAFTA included him among its top ten most iconic characters.
7. Geralt of Rivia – The Witcher
Geralt is different from traditional heroic protagonists. He is a monster hunter who has spent most of his life being treated as an outsider.
As a witcher, Geralt possesses enhanced abilities, combat training and knowledge of monsters. But his real strength as a character comes from the moral gray areas surrounding him. His profession often forces him to choose between unpleasant options, and there is rarely a completely clean solution.
In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, this personal side becomes especially important. Geralt is not simply hunting monsters anymore; he is searching for Ciri, someone he considers family. His relationships with Yennefer, Triss, Ciri and his other companions reveal a man who hides his emotions behind sarcasm and professionalism.
Geralt’s popularity has helped make The Witcher one of gaming’s best-known fantasy franchises, while his character demonstrates how an RPG protagonist can feel both defined and shaped by the player.
8. Arthur Morgan – Red Dead Redemption 2
Arthur Morgan is one of the most memorable examples of character-driven storytelling in a modern open-world game.
As a senior member of Dutch van der Linde’s gang, Arthur begins Red Dead Redemption 2 as a loyal outlaw who believes in the gang’s ideals. As the story progresses, however, those beliefs are increasingly challenged.
Arthur begins questioning Dutch, his own actions and the future of the people around him. His journey becomes less about being the greatest gunslinger and more about understanding what kind of person he wants to be.
What makes Arthur particularly memorable is the sense of time running out. His story becomes increasingly reflective as he realizes that the life he once accepted may not be the life he wants to leave behind.
Interestingly, BAFTA’s 2024 poll recognized Arthur despite the fact that he appears primarily in a single game.
9. Ellie – The Last of Us
Ellie represents a different generation of video game protagonists.
Introduced as a teenager in The Last of Us, Ellie begins the story as a sharp, sometimes rebellious young girl living in a world devastated by a fungal infection. Her relationship with Joel becomes the emotional foundation of the first game.
But Ellie does not remain the same person. The events surrounding Joel fundamentally change her, and The Last of Us Part II explores the consequences of grief, anger and revenge.
Her story is intentionally uncomfortable at times. Ellie makes mistakes, hurts people and struggles with decisions that cannot simply be classified as right or wrong. That complexity is precisely what makes her memorable.
She was also one of the characters included in BAFTA’s 2024 top 20 list of iconic video game characters.
10. Solid Snake – Metal Gear Solid
Solid Snake helped redefine what a video game protagonist could be.
Rather than being a traditional action hero, Snake is a soldier shaped by warfare, manipulation and the complicated politics of the Metal Gear universe. His missions frequently place him between governments, military organizations and individuals with their own hidden agendas.
The deeper players go into the series, the more Snake’s identity becomes complicated. Questions surrounding genetics, legacy, loyalty and free will are central to his story.
His personality is often understated, but that restraint makes his moments of vulnerability stand out. Snake became one of gaming’s most recognizable stealth-action protagonists and remains closely associated with the evolution of cinematic storytelling in games.
Why These Characters Remain So Memorable
The most beloved video game characters do not all share the same personality or even the same type of story. Mario represents timeless simplicity. Lara Croft represents adventure and exploration. Kratos embodies transformation. Arthur Morgan represents regret and redemption, while Ellie explores the consequences of grief and revenge.
That variety is what makes video game characters so fascinating.
Some characters become icons because millions of players recognize their silhouettes instantly. Others become beloved because players spend dozens of hours living alongside them. In some cases, a character’s greatest achievement is simply making us care about what happens next.
The BAFTA poll illustrates this range particularly well, bringing together characters from Tomb Raider, Super Mario, Halo, God of War, The Legend of Zelda, Red Dead Redemption 2, Pokémon, Metal Gear Solid and The Last of Us, among many others.
Ultimately, the characters that stay with us are not necessarily the strongest, fastest or most powerful. They are the ones that make a game feel like more than a collection of mechanics. Years after finishing their stories, we still remember where they came from, what they lost, what they fought for and, most importantly, how they made us feel.
That is the real reason video game characters can become legends.
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