ZINECRAZY

10 Most Popular Video Game Characters of all Time

Who would have thought that after starting from mere vacuum tubes and pseudo-images created via electronic beams, video games would escalate to a level where in-depth storylines and full character profiles would become a norm? Throughout the relatively recent years, video game characters have continued to captivate players with graphic charm and fictional brilliance. Of course, the popularity of a video game character concept primarily relies on the attractiveness of the game itself.

Following is a list of some of the most popular video game characters of all time.

Snake

Video Game Characters

Solid Snake is the main protagonist of Konami’s Metal Gear series and according to a Famitsu poll for character rankings, the number one video game character of all time. Snake’s popularity can be gauged by the fact that he has made several appearances in other games as well.

Ryu

Video Game Characters

Everyone knows Ryu. Even those who haven’t played much of the Street Fighter series are well aware of his immensely popular hadoken. Ryu is the lead character in Capcom’s Street Fighter game, anime and Manga (comic book) series.

Link

Video Game Characters

The brave hero of Nintendo’s famous Legend of Zelda series, Link fights through hordes of enemies to save pretty Princess Zelda. He is also the star of the American animated series by the same name. Link was one of the first game characters to be honored in the Walk of Game.

Sonic

Video Game Characters

This loveable, snazzy blue hedgehog is the central character of the Sonic series and “the fastest thing alive” according to the quite famous animated TV show. The Sonic video game series was Sega’s response to Nintendo’s Mario and he did not disappoint, making it to the spotlight along with Mario.

Mario

Video Game Characters

When one thinks of the greatest game characters ever created, central character of the best-selling video game series of all time, Mario is indubitably one of the most popular characters in the history of video games. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that he is sort of a trademark for the industry as a whole.

Master Chief

Video Game Characters

Over the years, Halo’s Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 has grown greatly in popularity. He was ranked as the eighth most popular game character in history by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The cybernetically enhanced Spartan never takes off his helmet and barely talks, yet has a fan following vast enough to rival that of game characters the likes of Snake and Lara Croft.

Cloud

Video Game Characters

Cloud Strife first appeared in Final Fantasy VII as the primary protagonist in the storyline. The genetically enhanced mercenary and his Buster Sword are equally popular in gaming circles and among FF series fans. Cloud was ranked seventh by Electronic Gaming Monthly in their list of top ten videogame characters.

Kratos

Video Game Characters

This fierce looking, pale-skinned Spartan Demigod is probably one of the closest video game character definitions of the word “Bad-ass”. Kratos’ ferocity and God of War’s innovative gameplay have made way for the Ghost of Sparta, as he is often called, to become a widely popular character throughout the gameverse.

Lara Croft

Video Game Characters

Holding Guinness World Records for the “most official real life stand-ins” and the “most recognized female video game character”, Lara Croft of Square Enix’s Tomb Raider series most definitely deserves to be on this list. In the game, she is a bold and beautiful British archaeologist who roams the world in search of ancient artifacts of value.

Mega Man

Video Game Characters

This blue and cyan android is yet another example of Capcom’s tendency to consistently produce good character concepts. Mega Man has appeared in over a hundred titles in several different forms over the years. The one with the blue armor being the most popular and is considered one of the most beloved characters in gaming history.

10 Most Popular Mythical Creatures

Tales of magical adventures and supernatural creatures always mystify. In legends of old, books, old and new, several movies and countless video games, popular mythical creatures and there derivatives have consistently emerged. But No one has ever found any sound proof over the existence of the creatures mentioned below.

So here i have compiled a list of some of the most popular mythical creatures.

Dragon

Mythical Creatures

The Dragon has roots in Chinese and Greek mythology as well as in European folklore. The creature holds varied symbolic significance in each of several different legends and appears in diverse forms – from a winged, fire-spewing demon to a wise, virtuous master of all elements. “Dragon” is English for Greek “drakon”, which means “a huge serpent”.

Unicorn

Mythical Creatures

This creature is probably every little girl’s favorite mythical animal. The modern Unicorn is a docile, beautiful stallion with a single horn on its forehead. The original Unicorn, however, was an un-tamable butt noble horse with additionally a goat beard, a lion’s tail and cloven hooves.

Vampire

Mythical Creatures

Vampires are probably the most popular from amongst all mythical creatures. With their dreadful fangs, greater agility and endurance and an insatiable lust for blood, these undead immortals have haunted our minds through folklore, modern books and movies, the most popular of which would be Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the modern hit series (among much skepticism), Twilight.

Werewolf

Mythical Creatures

The Werewolf has frequent mentions in European folklore and modern urban legends. The creature is a man who can shapeshift into a large, man-like wolf either at will or when the moon is full. The urban legend of the Werewolf still persists. It is believed that one bitten by a werewolf is plagued by the same curse.

Pegasus

Mythical Creatures

Pegasus is a winged white horse from Greek mythology. It is said to be the offspring of sea-god Poseidon and Gorgon Medusa, born from the blood that gushed out of Medusa’s neck when she was slain by Purseus.

Centaur

Mythical Creatures

Half-human, half-horse, the Centaur is one of the many popular creatures from Greek Mythology. The nature of Centaurs, like the contrast in their bodies, is sometimes seen as fierce and un-tamable and at others, as wise and scholarly.

Phoenix

Mythical Creatures

The Phoenix is mythical bird found in Greek, Chinese, Egyptian and Persian folklore. The Phoenix is often seen as a beautiful, red and golden bird writhed in fire. At the end of one life-cycle, the Phoenix bursts into flames only to be reincarnated from the same fire. Owing to this, it is often portrayed as a symbol of rebirth.

Minotaur

Mythical Creatures

The Minotaur is a Greek mythological creature with the body of a man and the head a bull. The creature, according to legend, is said to be a ferocious monster imprisoned in the Cretan Labyrinth, where it was slain by Theseus.

Mermaid

Mythical Creatures

The Mermaid is a part-woman, part-fish marine creature with origins in British folklore. Mermaids, in contrast to their portrayal in most cartoons, were originally believed to be omens of disaster. It is hypothesized that sightings of marine animals the likes of manatees may be responsible for the said myth.

Gorgon

Mythical Creatures

“Gorgon” is derived from the Greek word “gorgos”, which means “dreadful” – an apt name for the three terrible sisters from Greek mythology that have a mop of snakes and eyes that turn all who look directly into them, into stone. Out of the three Stheno and Euryale are said to be immortal whereas Medusa is not.

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Carrion flowers are the opposite of what most of us think flowers are like. Instead of a lovely scent wafting to our nose, they send the scent of rotting flesh, strong enough to make some vomit. These "stinking flowers" have the same need for pollination as all the sweet scented ones do, but turn the mechanism on its head by attracting flesh eating flies like blow flies and predatory beetles. The smell comes from the essential oils of decomposition, putrecine and cadaverine - though admittedly at lower levels than in an actual corpse. Here is a countdown of the worst 5 offenders.

5. Dead Horse Arum Lily

Helicodiceros muscivorus is a foul smelling plant, carrying the stench of rotting flesh like other carrion flowers. It does have one unique property though, which is that it is able to raise its temperature using thermogenesis, acting as an added lure to attract flies to its pollen.

4. Arum dioscoridis

Arum dioscoridis, like all these plants has the smell of rotting flesh, but it also looks like it has rotting flesh inside it, with the dark mottled look of decomposition. The coloration, be it red and attractive or dead and rotten, all work together with the smell to lure the flies.

3. The Corpse Flower

The above photos looks like something out of the Wizard of Oz but its real! The Corpse plant, Amorphophallus titanum, (also known as the Titan Arum) is one of the largest flower structures in the world. It actually blooms and dies, and only then does a leaf emerge. It takes 6 years before one of these stunning plants come into bloom and it is stunning - in both senses of the word. At this stage the spadex of the Titan is approximately at human body temperature. People hold their breath when it is in full bloom, as the smell is so disgusting.

2. Dracunculus vulgaris

Known variously as the Dragon Arum, the Black Arum and the Voodoo Lily this one's beauty defies its reputation. A gorgeous, frilly pink flower with a purple spadex arising from its centre, it would be ideal as a Halloween costume. Even the stems are mottled with red and purple looking like it is blood spattered. Central to this plant is the overriding scent of a decomposing carcass to lure in flies to pollinate it. Apparently it is a smell you will never forget - the pure smell of death.

1. Rafflesia

Rafflesia is the state flower of Indonesia and the genus contains 27 species of parasitic plants - parasitic because they latch onto vines and then grow inside them. In fact, all you can see of the plants are the flowers and they have no roots. Also called the corpse flower, it is not the same flower as the Titan Arum, though it has some of the same distasteful properties. Enough to put someone off their dinner!

Whether they are called carrion plants, morbid plants or corpse flowers, they play tricks on the flies that normally prefer rotting flesh, and with their smell of death fool them into pollinating them. Whatever you do, make sure you don't have one accidentally planted in your garden unless you want to wake up to the sweet stench of decaying bodies.

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