Top 20 Video Game Protagonists of All Time

Thanks to their very nature, video games are far less reliant on story and storytelling than other entertainment media, but even so, a solid protagonist in a game can elevate the experience in so many ways.

Having a well-written, well-developed, and well-acted character in the leading role can pull everything together in wonderful ways and get players invested heavily in the story, and there have been quite a few of those in games over the years. Here, that's exactly what we'll be talking about, as we go through what we feel are the 20 best video game protagonists of all time.

[swimmer]

When they announced that Arthur was going to be the protagonist over John, I wasn’t just worried, I was PISSED OFF. and then Arthur shined. And I cried at the end. And the game was incredible

[fastkat]

After playing the read dead redemption 2 campaign a million times, I wondered what did people think about how good of a character Arthur Morgan was. Well apparently a lot of people have him has the greatest video game protagonist of all time and I agree.

[beck]

I swear arthur felt like a real person the best of the best

[thudfactory]

Arthur Morgan's life taught me valuable lessons of life. I will always cherish that game.

[louniis]

Best of all time :
Arthur Morgan
John Marston
Kratos
Garelt of rivia
Ezio
Joel
Nathan drake

[JohnDoe-hmmi]

Arthur Morgan and Joel Miller for me 👍

[parasolo]

Great to see Max Payne in the list. I feel sympathy for this character for what he's been through and he has pretty funny dark sense of humor.

[NewYork]

That was such an amazing performance in Red Dead 2.

[duongtran]

Rockstar created John Marston and Arthur Morgan, both protagonist great in theirs own way.

[alexmeredith]

Batman, John Marston, Trevor Phillips, Kratos, Scorpion, Nathan Drake, Arthur Morgan, Michael De Santa, Vito Scaletta and Starkiller.

[siddheshsalaskar]

Along with kazuma kiryu, ichiban kasuga from yakuza like a dragon also deserves to be on this list

[manfromdarklands]

Arthur Morgan
John Marston
Ezio Auditore
Captain Price
Master Chief
Soap Mactavish
Commander Shepherd
Nathan Drake
Lora Croft
Kratos
Edward Kenway
Clementine

[DashCourageous]

Kratos was a Greek tragic character.. God of war 3 even before God of war 18 made him deserving of this list because even in his rage-filled six games by that third game you feel really sad for him for the acts that he perpetrated brought him to that point and his ending in God of war 3 was a tragedy. Much like solid Snake he was manipulated throughout his entire life and really had no control thanks to the gods, so he'd still be a character on this list. In my opinion..

[Jayaged]

wait minute has Johnny Cage ever been the protagonist of MK? I know the first protagonis was Liu Kang and it's Cassie Cage now I think.

[fw.cultist]

My top 10:
1. Ezio (Assassin's Creed 2, Brotherhood, Revelations)
2. Arthur Morgan (RDR2)
3. Kratos (God of War 1-4)
4. Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
5. Vito Scaletta (Mafia 2-3)
6. Joel Miller (The Last of Us)
7. Connor Kenway (Assassins Creed 2)
8. Edward Kenway (Assassins creed 4: Black Flag)
9. Tommy Angelo (Mafia Remake)
10. Niko Bellic (GTA IV)

Honorable Mentions: Trevor (GTA V)
Jin Sakai (Ghost of tsushima)
John Marston (RDR1-2)
Altair (Assassins Creed)
Desmond Miles (Assassins Creed)
Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
Ellie Williams (The Last of us)

[Hexentric]

My top 10 faves
Aloy - Horizon
Nathan Drake - Uncharted
Geralt of Rivia - The Witcher
Lara Croft - Tomb Raider
Senua - Hellblade
Yu Narukami - Persona 4
FemShep - Mass Effect
Kratos - God Of War
Cloud Strife - Final Fantasy
Leon S Kennedy - Resident Evil

[walebanj]

My top 7
Snake : MGS
Kratos : GOW
Nathan Drake : Uncharted
Lara croft : Tomb Raider
Liu Kang : you already know
Master chief : Halo
John Soap and Captain Price : COD
These are cross generation protoganist... Not just one hit wonder...

[MrGreenScreenSir]

Honestly, great list. But not having Jin Sakai on it is a crime.

[razeyourlazey]

My top character
Edit- just finished rdr2
Geralt - witcher
Arthur Morgan- rdr2
Lara croft - tomb Raider

[nerakar]

Jill over Leon? Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather look at Jill than Leon but he’s clearly the more popular character in the series 😅