Secondary Video Game Characters Cooler Than The Main Characters
SPOILERS AHEAD
It's an awesome feeling, being the hero of a video game adventure and saving the day. But sometimes, we find that someone else's story, or someone else's character, is way cooler than whoever the developers decided we should love. Here are some games whose "main" character should be reminded that there's nothing wrong with being second fiddle, as long as the day gets saved.
Johnny Gat & Kinzie Kensington - Saints Row series
Johnny Gat has been one of the core members of the 3rd Street Saints ever since the first Saints Row game. Unfortunately, he met his untimely end in Saints Row the 3rd during a mission that went wrong, causing the leader of the Saints — the player character — a lot of stress. In Saints Row 4's standalone expansion, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, you can play as the resurrected Gat or Kinzie Kensington as they try to rescue the Boss from Hell after an incident with a Ouija board. At any point, you can switch between main character Johnny Gat and supporting character Kinzie, although both their powers are pretty similar. Luckily, they're both similarly badass too.
It's awesome to see the former shut-in Kinzie roaming around Hell and kicking demonic butt in the name of the Saints, but it's even better to see Johnny Gat back in the flesh and wielding crazy powers. It's the kind of tease that makes us wish Saint's Row would get off their butts and make one of these two the real main character.
Elizabeth - BioShock Infinite
While we're used to being in the gumshoes of Booker DeWitt (or several versions of him), getting to play as Elizabeth in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 2, after she'd been the sidekick for all of the game proper, was a welcome change. Seeing things from her perspective, and playing with her particular stealthy style, was gratifying and offered more depth for her character. Plus, because of our attachment to her from the main game, it made it all the more difficult to watch her suffer through torture, and eventually death, at the bottom of the sea. Still, we were thankful for one more romp around Rapture with our favorite tear-opening dynamo, and pray for more. Resurrection happens all the time in fiction, so why not with poor Liz too?
Lynx - Chrono Cross
You play through most of Chrono Cross as the oft-silent protagonist Serge, and Crono he was not. Luckily, there's a portion in the middle of the game that gets a little screwy and switches your consciousness with that of Lynx's, the game's bad guy. It's a disorienting experience that leaves you questioning what will happen to your original form, and whether or not you'll be able to return to your body. Though after fighting and traversing as Lynx for more than five seconds, you might not even want to go back.
Becoming the bad guy while you're still trying to figure out the (dreadfully confusing) story can initially be harrowing, but it's pretty cool how you're given a chance to see how others interact with a humanoid feline who has magic powers. In addition to the novelty of the experience, you've got a deeper understanding of the character at the end of it. Plus, you're playing a magical big cat! That's way more fun than the "real" main character who's ... some guy.
Captain Price - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series
While Soap MacTavish (Soap?) is the main character of the Modern Warfare arc of the Call of Duty series, we'd have to say that our true favorite character is Captain Price. There's just something about this no-nonsense, badass wardog that we find admirable. It could be because of the way his backstory played out in the "All Ghillied Up" sniper mission, his reassuringly deep British accent, or just how he can face world-ending war and still keep his mustache so finely groomed. Either way, we had nothing but the utmost respect for the man. Check out his speech above, and tell us if it doesn't stir anything in you.
King Mickey - Kingdom Hearts series
We know that the Kingdom Hearts series is full of fantastic characters and amazing locales, but we're going to come out and say the best thing about it is the presence of King Mickey, whom you tragically rarely get to play as. The mouse certainly isn't a stranger to the world of video games, but the Kingdom Hearts series makes him, for perhaps the first time ever, a bonafide badass. Not only does King Mickey wander the many Disney worlds wearing a cool, Hot Topic overcoat while wielding Keyblades, but he seems to have his finger on the pulse at all times, showing up exactly when you need him the most like some kind of mus ex machina.
Taking a beloved — and squeaky-clean — cartoon character like Mickey Mouse and turning him into some kind of Yoda-like, take-no-prisoners keyblade master is the coolest thing Square Enix has ever done, aside from maybe Kefka's laugh.
Nick Valentine - Fallout 4
If you played Fallout 4 and didn't immediately want to be Nick Valentine's best friend upon meeting him, then you probably didn't play Fallout 4. The Synth detective was one of the more memorable characters in the Commonwealth, and was easily distinguishable from the rest of the riff raff thanks to his signature private eye getup, his gruff-yet-reassuring voice, and his humanoid(ish) appearance. The only two drawbacks were that you couldn't romance him (even though he won our hearts at first sight) and that you couldn't play as him. Yes, the Sole Survivor had his son to find and all, but wouldn't solving Wasteland mystery after Wasteland mystery as Robo-Dick Tracy have been far more entertaining? We agree.
Having Nick as a companion (which you should do often) meant that you'd always be treated to some flavorful voicelines and would always have someone to watch your back. Add to the fact that the game's major story expansion, Far Harbor, features a bit more story when you have Nick tag along, and it's clear that he's an important character to keep around.
Miles Edgeworth - Ace Attorney series
Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth — Phoenix Wright's friend and rival from the Ace Attorney series — is so awesome, he was given his own spin-off series called Ace Attorney Investigations. Our boy Phoenix might have eventually reached a fine level of coolness, after years of experience and courtroom battles, but Miles Edgeworth was born into coolness.
From his stern look to his air of confidence, it seemed as if nothing could shake the iron will of this prosecutor in the courtroom. It didn't matter that his cravat and purple suit made him look like a 1700s pianist, because he had the smarts and the attitude necessary to get a "guilty" verdict. He even commanded the obedience of Detective Gumshoe, all thanks to his stern demeanor and no-nonsense attitude.
Ellie - The Last of Us
Not only was Ellie from The Last of Us more impressive than Joel, thanks to her survival skills as a younger person, but her backstory was also more compelling. In the Left Behind downloadable content, we see how she and her friend Riley made it in the post-apocalyptic world together, and how she lived her life before her Cordyceps infection. Her relationship with Riley makes the ending of The Last of Us feel that much more poignant, because we now understand her losses that much more.
Couple this with how she survived throughout all of the winter portions of the game while simultaneously managing to keep Joel (the supposedly badass adult hero, remember) from Death's Door and we're left with one of the most incredible video game characters in history.
Martin Septim - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Sure, your player-character might have become a leader of different guilds, fought countless demons, and conquered every foe that came your way in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but honestly? You were really just a glorified sidekick to the real star of the story: Martin Septim.
Brother Martin — which is who he was when you found him — was the chosen one who would fight back against the demonic Mehrunes Dagon. And just as you were a lowly prisoner who had a great destiny thrust upon you, Martin was just a priest from Kvatch who happened to be the illegitimate son of Uriel Septim VII and the last of the Septim bloodline, fated to do battle with Dagon as the avatar of the god Akatosh.
Septim's destiny meant his demise, as well as that of his bloodline, but it also meant that he would seal the gates to Oblivion forever, protecting the realm. While you had a good amount of adventures yourself, you can hardly match up to being a realm-saving bastard of an emperor!
Harley Quinn - Batman: Arkham series
While the Caped Crusader will always be number one in our hearts, we'd say that he's had a lot of time in the limelight. And if you know anything about Batman, you'd know that he prefers to work from the shadows and remain unseen. With that said, we'd like to argue that pretty much any of the other playable characters in the Batman: Arkham series are far more deserving of their own games, and are actually cooler in their own rights. In particular, there's Dr. Harleen Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn. The Harley Quinn Story Pack downloadable content for Batman: Arkham Knight gave us a little sampling of what it would be like to play as the crazed clown-loving loonie, but it left us wanting more.
There's just so much that could be done with her character in terms of story, and she's already an acrobatics expert with a penchant for melee weapons, so the gameplay solves itself. Bottom line? We want more Harley, and we want her now.