As an industry, video games are pretty young. However, within the short time that gaming has been around, it has given birth to characters that have significantly impacted entertainment. Whether it was during the heyday of arcades or the excitement of home console wars, gaming has always resonated with people through its colorful characters on full display. Some characters have grown to become iconic, turning into symbols of nostalgia or clear ideas that players connect with on a personal level. They aren't just characters within their own games, but rather mainstays of gaming culture.

But which characters are considered the most iconic within gaming? Not every video game character goes on to achieve such a status, especially if they don't appear in many releases. The ones that do, however, end up remaining relevant for years after they first appear, becoming examples of the best parts of video games in different ways. Here are the seven most iconic video game characters of all time and why they're looked upon so fondly by everyone.

7 Master Chief (Halo)

Give him a weapon

There have been many first-person shooter games and series that have delivered big experiences and characters. However, few of them have the same level of impact that Halo: Combat Evolved had on pop culture. It was there that the world first met the Master Chief, John-117 of the UNSC. He was a Spartan soldier who was created with the sole purpose of fighting back the extraterrestrial threat known as The Covenant. And over the course of multiple game releases, Master Chief would see many battles and war-torn hardships. Halo would become an ongoing series that took the world by storm, resulting in multiple spin-offs and adaptations across media, with every game from the original Bungie trilogy being highly praised universally.

While the plot of the Halo series was epic, it was the character design and portrayal of the Master Chief that made the series what it ultimately became. Players could see themselves as the Master Chief, since the mask of the armor could be worn by anyone. The Spartan combat armor became an instantly recognizable part of modern gaming, with many parodies and homages to it across movies and television. Master Chief is still a beloved character in gaming that many refer to often when comparing the quality of other first-person shooters to the Halo series. To date, Halo is considered one of the best FPS series ever made, with one of the most beloved protagonists in the genre.

6 Chun-Li (Street Fighter)

The strongest woman in the world

The fighting game genre has many different female characters that are popular. But almost none of them have the staying power or the iconic status that Chun-Li has garnered over the years. As the self-proclaimed strongest woman in the world of the Street Fighter series, Chun-Li's appearance and fighting prowess are beloved by many people. Her first appearance was in Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior, and has since become a staple addition to nearly every entry of the series. In the ongoing story of the series, Chun-Li has always remained a key player in the ongoing battles that Street Fighter portrays. Her popularity has never been truly duplicated by other female fighting game characters.

Her unique first appearance in Street Fighter 2 has become an iconic style, even outside of fighting games. She wears a qipao, a popular Chinese-style dress that was imported from Manchuria in the early 20th century. But it's also her hair tied into buns, as well as her muscular thighs, that stand out as defining traits to everyone. In other media, like movies and music, Chun-Li has been referenced many times, including an album released by Nicki Minaj, in which the singer dressed like Chun-Li and the album is named after her. Chun-Li is arguably one of the most iconic female game characters of all time, not limited to just the fighting game genre.

5 Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

Bold and brave lady

When it comes to the presence of female characters in video games, one cannot go without mentioning Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series. While sex appeal was definitely part of the legacy of the character, it wasn't the sole trait that made Lara Croft an iconic part of gaming culture. The release of Tomb Raider on the original PlayStation was part of a major shift in gaming, where things went from pixels to polygons. Rendering more realistic worlds and characters became a higher priority among studios, which for Edios Interactive became a success story when Lara Croft connected with audiences. Lara was an archaeologist with a bold attitude, dual-wielding pistols, a mansion, and a sense of style that grabbed everyone's attention. And as beautiful as she was for a game character, her adventures became the stuff of legend for those who owned a PlayStation, reminiscent of classic adventure heroes like Indiana Jones.

In the public eye, Lara Croft became a representation of multiple things happening in video games in the mid to late 90s. The popularity of Lara Croft saw her plastered in magazines and marketing campaigns, mostly due to the character's sexiness, which drew a lot of attention. On the flip side, those who saw gaming as immature media decried how the overt sexual appeal was a major issue, especially when the character appeared in a release of Playboy. Regardless of the criticism, Lara Croft has become a sex symbol and a representation of female empowerment in games over the years. To many, Lara Croft is a game character that exudes the same kind of assertive energy that one would see in a character like James Bond, where sex appeal and heroic nature go hand-in-hand.

4 Pikachu (Pokémon)

Shocking and cuddly mascot

The Pokémon franchise is massive on every conceivable level. There may be more than 150 Pokémon to catch, but only one of them became the iconic mascot of the series. Pikachu is a lovable electric mouse that first appeared in the release of Pokémon Red and Blue (Green in Japan), but also garnered huge popularity from the release of the Pokémon anime series. It's because of that series that people outside video games know anything about Pokémon. You didn't even need to play the Pokémon games or watch the show to know who Pikachu was or that he was related to the Pokémon franchise. The gargantuan success of the games and the anime generated millions of dollars over the years, with a lot of it being thanks to the little Pikachu and his charming appearance.

If there is one Pokémon that is referenced more than any others, it's definitely Pikachu. Whether it's the way it speaks or how it looks in bright yellow with red cheeks, Pikachu is one of the most beloved characters of the series. In almost anything related to Pokémon, in either the games or other media, Pikachu has been incorporated into the presentation or marketing in some fashion.

3 Sonic the Hedgehog

The attitude of the 90s

The 90s were a time of changing perspectives, with many established notions being challenged in different ways. One of those things challenged was the dominance that Nintendo had over the video game industry with their many mascots and game releases. And although some games offered alternatives to what was happening with Nintendo, the real competition arrived with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega. The blue hedgehog on Sega Genesis was a completely different approach to a video game mascot, with a stronger sense of defiant attitude and style. The series would go on to have many more releases across multiple consoles and would move beyond Sega platforms onto other consoles in later years.

Sonic was fast, furious, and appealed to an older audience by being brash and poking at the opposition. This was different from what Nintendo had cultivated for a long time, being a more family-friendly brand. Sonic the Hedgehog was the character that showed everyone it was time for Sega to get loud and do things in their own way, and it resonated with a generation. For many, Sonic the Hedgehog is a snapshot of what gaming in the 90s was like, and very few other characters from that time would encompass the decade in the same way. Sonic may be different now, but he is still instantly recognizable and beloved by many players who grew up with Sonic games.

2 Pac-Man

An 80s arcade icon

If Sonic the Hedgehog was what represented gaming in the 90s, then Pac-Man is the representation of everything gaming in the 80s. Arcades were a massive part of video game culture in the 1980s, up until the point where home console gaming took over. But for a long period of time, people enjoyed video games at their local arcade, and chances are they played a lot of Pac-Man. The original arcade release of Pac-Man is legendary among those who grew up with video games in that era, and it was everywhere. As a simple game to enjoy repeatedly for a long time, anybody could understand and get into playing Pac-Man. From the start and throughout the 80s, Pac-Man was responsible for many quarters spent on arcade machines, with over $1 billion in revenue within just one year of release.

The look of Pac-Man became iconic not just because of the success of the game, but because of how simple its design is. With just a circle and portion cut out of it, everyone will most likely think of Pac-Man. Despite the global phenomenon that the series became in the 80s, the years that followed would see Pac-Man recede into the background. There were definitely many games that Namco would release, but much of the relevance to Pac-Man was tied to nostalgia for the original arcade game. Today, Pac-Man is still viewed as an icon of gaming culture, but it doesn't have the same popularity as it once did.

1 Super Mario

Gaming personified

If there is one video game character that has soared far above the limits of others, it would be Mario. There is no country in the world that doesn't know of or recognize Super Mario. This is due to the overwhelming success and generational relevance of Nintendo's beloved mascot. Whether it was on the NES and Famicom in the mid to late 80s, the Super Nintendo in the 90s, or on the many Nintendo consoles that came after, Mario has had a massive presence in gaming. Although not the first game to feature Mario from Nintendo, the release of the original Super Mario Bros. on NES helped usher in the legacy of the console and the birth of a mega-hit series. And from there, many sequels and spin-offs continued a legacy that has resonated with generations of people all over the world.

Mario is a character with an appeal that goes far beyond video games. With Nintendo putting a major focus on being a family-friendly brand, their characters are often designed to have the widest appeal possible. And following the release of Super Mario Bros. and its success, Nintendo would continue to put the character at center stage for everything related to their company. The mid-80s were filled with Super Mario-related products, as well as other media like television shows and movies, even though not all of them were as big of a success. Throughout the decades, Mario has become synonymous with Nintendo and video games as a medium, representing the simplest and most successful aspects of the industry. But the momentum of the character has not slowed or shifted downward, with a lot more success coming from new games being released, a blockbuster animated movie, and even a theme park showcasing the character in a big way. To everyone, Mario is a video game, and everything is good about them.

Icons of gaming

The best game characters are the ones that remain relevant to audiences long after they first appear. Yet even with the short time that video games have been around as an entertainment medium, they already have many characters that people could point to as being iconic. They represent not only the best aspects of the industry at its highest, but also the totality of nostalgia and good memories for people who have played games throughout the years. Not every character goes on to become iconic for one reason or another, but there is no shortage of video game characters that do so and remain with us long after we stop playing. They don't just become great characters we love to see, they end up being icons of gaming that will remain long after we're gone.