Mario Ranked No.1 Video Game Character of All Time

Guinness just announced their list of Top 50 video game characters of all time and boy its a real shocker. The list was compiled using the results of a public poll on the Guinness website. The poll, which had over 13,000 voters, was then compiled into a list of the top 50 characters of all time.

There are certainly some controversial picks here, the top 5 is what you would expect as Mario takes the No.1 spot, followed by Link, Master Chief, Solid Snake and Cloud Strife. Its some of the rest that come out of nowhere. Seeing characters like Soap MacTavish over characters like Dante from the Devil May Cry series or Jill Valentine or seeing Naruto above characters like Max Payne, Ezio and Sephiroth. 

The full list is as follows:

1.    Mario (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
2.    Link (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
3.    Master Chief (Halo: Combat Evolved, Microsoft, 2001)
4.    Solid Snake (Metal Gear, Konami, 1987)
5.    Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
6.    PAC-Man (PAC-Man, Namco, 1980)
7.    Lara Croft (Tomb Raider, Eidos 1996)
8.    Gordon Freeman (Half-Life, Valve, 1998)
9.    Kratos (God of War, Sony, 2005)
10.  Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega, 1990)
11.  Crash (Crash Bandicoot, Sony, 1996)
12.  “Soap” MacTavish (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
13.  Nico Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar, 2008)
14.  Samus Aran (Metroid, Nintendo 1986)
15.  Ratchet (Ratchet & Clank, Sony, 2002)
16.  Nathan Drake (Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony, 2007)
17.  Captain Price (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Activision, 2007)
18.  Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land, Nintendo, 1992)
19.  Marcus Fenix (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
20.  Pikachu (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo 1996)
21.  Yoshi (Super Mario World, Nintendo, 1990)
22.  “CJ” Johnson (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar, 2004)
23.  Mega Man (Mega Man, Capcom, 1987)
24.  Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, Ubisoft, 2002)
25.  Shadow (Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, 2001)
26.  Jak (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Sony, 2001)
27.  Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem, Apogee, 1991)
28.  Dante (Devil May Cry, Bandai, 2003)
29.  Naruto (Naruto: Konoha Ninpoch, Bandai, 2003)
30.  Altair (Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft, 2007)
31.  Zelda (The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, 1986)
32.  Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII, Square, 1997)
33.  Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong, Nintendo, 1981)
34.  The Prince (Prince of Persia, Broderbund, 1989)
35.  Ezio (Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft, 2009)
36.  Leon S (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
37.  Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Red/Green, Nintendo, 1996)
38.  Guybrush Threepwood (The Secret of Monkey Island, LucasArts, 1990)
39.  Spyro (Spyro the Dragon, Universal, 1998)
40.  “Ghost” Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Activision, 2009)
41.  Goku (Dragon Daihikyoe, Epoch, 1987)
42.  Max Payne (Max Payne, Rockstar, 2001)
43.  Jill Valentine (Biohazard/ Resident Evil, Capcom, 1996)
44.  Princess Peach (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
45.  Larry Laffer (Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, Sierra, 1987)
46.  Augustus Cole (Gears of War, Microsoft, 2006)
47.  Bowser (Super Mario Bros., Nintendo, 1985)
48.  Eddie Riggs (Brutal Legend, EA, 2009)
49.  Ryu (Street Fighter, Capcom, 1987)
50.  Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet, Sony, 2008)

Its easy to see how Mario came on the top among all of these characters, Nintendo’s mascot continues to be the most iconic symbol in all of gaming and there’s little doubt that there’s any gaming figure more popular than the big M.