QotD: What A Character

Who is your favorite video game character? 
Submitted by Korgoth.  

Ooh...geek stuff. My favorite. Ok, this is a tough one, but I'd have to say that my favorite character to grace the game consoles has been Raziel from the Legacy of Kain series. Here we have a vampire who was killed and brought back - so he's kind of a double vampire, or an un-undead? - who is caught in the wheels of some massive machine of fate and time to destroy his creator and defy the ancient god that set the whole thing in motion. It's an amazing storyline that runs through the series, and although some of the installments have been hit-or-miss as far as the gaming experience goes, the characters have been just so much fun to watch interact.

It also helps tremendously that Eidos (and Crystal Dynamics) chose good voice actors for the characters, rather than the usual lineup of C-grade voiceover standbys they use in video games. Raziel is voiced by Michael Bell, and the Elder God (very Cthulhu-esque, Kirk!!) is done by Tony Jay (recently deceased.) I can't remember who did Kain, but he's been a treat ever since the first installment on the PS1 back in the mid-90s, Blood Omen. Listening to their overblown banter is one of the hallmarks of the series.

Raziel becomes a dark avenging angel, determined to destroy Kain and the whole mess of events that he's part of, even if it means destroying himself. His sense of righteousness only goes so far, as he does eat souls to stay alive in the material world. Should he run out of energy, he is thrown back to the spirit world, and has to find a way back to continue on. He carries the ghost of a sword in his arm (yes, the sword has a spirit) while his nemesis Kain has the physical form of it. And always there's those damn vampire-hunters trying to bring a man down. Luckily their souls are  up for the eatin' too....just have to break the shells first. :P

Just on sheer force of personality and acting, these games get my vote for best game characters. Vae victus!