A list designed to answer the question, "Who are the toughest, and greatest, lead video game characters ever?" Not all videogame player characters are necessarily heroic, but we take their side anyway, because our fates are intertwined. The best video game characters immerse us in the story, and eventually gain our sympathy, even if they are anti-heroes (or villains!) And the more badass they are, the more inclined we are to take their side no matter what, and the more powerful we come to feel in controlling them. Even if our princess is constantly hidden in another castle, for some reason...
This is a CrowdRanked list of video game characters, so your votes and lists decide the final order.
Check out more lists like Most Badass Female Villains, Most Fantastic Fictional Serial Killers, Best RPG Video Games of All Time
http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-most-badass-video-game-heroes-of-all-time,
Cloud Strife
Gordon Freeman
Mario
Master Chief
Samus Aran
Solid Snake
Link
Kratos
John Marston
Commander Shepard