Best Anti-Heroes in games

[WickedLiquid]

So Mario and Link are swell and all, but who are some of your favorite antiheroes? You know, protagonists with questionable motives who don't play by the good-guy rules. And who do you think is the biggest antihero in games?

I think the biggest antihero so far is Kratos. The dude is just a dick, and is willing to bring the end if days and wipe out humanity just to settle the score with Zeus.

My favorite is John Marston, but I mention him alot in these types of threads so I'll give a shout-out to Joel from The Last of Us. His hardened shell he's built over 20 years of living in the apocalypse makes him the perfect antihero.

 

[Master_Craig]

I've got a few, but Wicked's already listed two of 'em.

Joel from The Last of Us.

Possible spoilers:

At the beginning of the game, Joel starts off as a caring father, then after sadly losing his daughter, Joel becomes a hardened survivor and a ruthless killer over the next twenty years, forged by experience and doing whatever it takes to survive. Then he meets Ellie, and over the course of the game, he is given a new purpose, something else to fight and care for, it's almost as if he slowly gets his humanity back. In contrast though, Ellie is forced to do horrible things to survive, and in essence, she slowly starts to lose her own humanity. It's a clever twist on things.

End spoilers.

John Marston from Red Dead Redemption.

Probably the best character Rockstar Games has ever created, certainly the most likeable protagonist. He's done bad things, but he's an honest man trying to do what he thinks is the right thing and wants his family back. He really wants nothing more in life than to just settle down with his family on a farm.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

I don't think Kratos is an antihero. There's really nothing heroic about him. He's basically the villain of his own story.

 

[WickedLiquid]

Without spoiling God of War I'll just say the first game is a road to redemption for Kratos and it is pretty clear that no matter how bad Kratos was, Ares was worse and needed to be stopped. Therefore Kratos has some heroic qualities.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

He also fucks over the entire world because he is mad.

Kratos is mostly a monster.

 

[WickedLiquid]

So was Dexter and Tony Soprano but people still rooted for them. NOW SHUT UP!!

 

[Bretimus_v2]

You wanna know who a great antihero is? All th dudes from any Rockstar game. Thems some crazy dudes.

 

[used44]

 

[WickedLiquid]

Yeah I think it's safe to say Rockstar knocks it out of the park with their biggest antihero being Trevor. But Bully will always have a special place in my heart.

Also I brought up Nintendo when I made this thread and completely forgot they've also got an antihero.

 

[cyberjim2000]

"I'm doing this because the rent is due"

 

[De-Ting]

Also I brought up Nintendo when I made this thread and completely forgot they've also got an antihero.

Yes!

 

[LinksOcarina]

"I'm doing this because the rent is due"

The only true anti-hero in my opinion.

Some of the others are decent but far from being anti-heros, Kratos is vengeful and a tragic hero at best, and he loses that edge by game two because murder is fun.

Marsten is a redemptive figure, hence the title of the game. He is a man who is trying to redeem himself, which is less of a anti-hero trait and more of a personal tragedy through adversity style of a story arc.

Joel is a pure villain if you ask me. He was impulsive, emotional, and cares only for himself. Joel is the true monster of The Last of Us, which is brilliant in its own way, but makes me hate the game even more.

 

[UghRochester]

The Wanderer from Shadow of the Colossus

 

[StudioTan]

Well, one can argue Link and Mario are churls in their own right.

Link: ransacking people's homes, smashing their pottery, and stealing their rupees. And we all know what Mario would do to his old pal, Yoshi just to get a 'one-up' on the situation.

 

[MattAY]

Think I'm a Wario bandwagoner here.

EH HEH HEH HEH HEEEEEEH!

 

[WickedLiquid]

Who needs a dictionary when you have Links? Well apparently we all do.

an·ti·he·ro
ˈantÄ“ËŒhi(É™)rÅ

 

[Longo_2_guns]

Well, if you're going by the standard definition then Spider-Man and Batman could be called anti-heroes. And if you look at the definition of a villain, which is basically anyone who does evil things to drive the plot, it's not a stretch to say that in a game you could definitely have a villain as a protagonist.

 

[LinksOcarina]

I would argue for the more Byronic Hero archetype, which has been around since the 19th century under Lord Byron, who created heroes that were not fully heroic.

The definition is more than just a google search, its much more complex than that because its subjective in terms of literature. Most of the time its shunning heroic "qualities" such as honesty, courage, idealism and basic morality, but rebels against that while doing good. I hate using DnD parlance but "Chaotic Good" or "Chaotic Neutral" are close definitions to it.

there is a LOT I can say about Joel as to why he is a villian, its a fun argument. I may just do a write up on it because right now i'm heading out to teach. Suffice to say, the ending is not the only part that screams out that to me.

 

[WickedLiquid]

If you are a villian you are not a protagonist you are an antagonist. DON'T MAKE ME OPEN THE DICTIONARY AGAIN!

 

[WickedLiquid]

The definition is more than just a google search, its much more complex than that because its subjective in terms of literature.

Key word there is subjective. Therefore nobody is wrong. Now that we've all said our piece we can all shut up or suffer the same Nick Cage gif!