- Survey of over 4,000 gamers reveals the most iconic video characters
- Despite his fame, Mario fell into the post and came in second place.
With his blue overalls, red hat, and trademark mustache, Mario is an instantly recognizable character around the world.
However, it turns out that despite his fame, Mario isn't the most iconic video game character of all time.
According to the BAFTA poll, the title will instead go to Lara Croft.
To celebrate the 20th BAFTA Game Awards, BAFTA asked over 4,000 players around the world who they thought was the most iconic character.
So, is your favorite character on the list?
BAFTA explained that “video games have created some of the most memorable characters of all media.”
“So, to mark the 20th BAFTA Game Awards on Thursday 11th April 2024, we are asking the public to help us solve this problem. over 100 players took part in the official BAFTA voting.
Lara Croft, who first appeared in Tomb Raider on the Sega Saturn in 1996, took the number one spot.
Since then, the character has appeared in an incredibly wide range of mediums, including television, movies, video games, and even her own live immersive experience in London.
BAFTA said: “Lara Croft has appeared in more than 15 games, three movies, multiple novels and comic book adaptations, and an upcoming Netflix animated series.”
Secondly, Mario has been the face of Nintendo for over 40 years.
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981, Mario was originally simply a player character in the Donkey Kong series, rather than the star of his own series.
BAFTA said: “Mario has gone from humble beginnings to over 200 video games, two films, and numerous other multimedia adaptations, including this year's BAFTA-nominated game Super Mario Bros. Wonder.'' He has appeared,” he said.
Hitman's Agent 47 is third on the list, followed by Sonic the Hedgehog and Little Bit Planet's Sackboy.
What list would be complete without Pac-Man?
“This little yellow hockey puck has appeared at more than 50 games and countless other transmedia venues,” BAFTA said.
Other legendary characters on the list include Pickuff and Crash Bandicoot, and Steve from the Minecraft series.
Meanwhile, The Last of Us' Ellie Williams recently appeared in the TV version of the game, coming in at number 19.
“The world was first introduced to this foul-mouthed teenager in The Last of Us: American Dreams, a four-issue comic series that served as a prequel to the game,” BAFTA added.
“Since then, she has appeared in sequels and DLC for The Last of Us series, and even in the 2023 TV version of the game.”
