The 10 Most Influential Nintendo Characters of All Time

For all of us that grew up in the 1980's our first memories of video games came in the form of a grey box and 8 bit cartridges. The controllers were simple, D pad, A and B button, start, select, that's it. Home entertainment systems have come a long way in the twenty years since the Nintendo Entertainment System ,or NES hit the scene, but many of the characters from those early days still live fresh in our hearts and minds. Those characters that started it all still appear in games today, and below is a list of the top ten most influential Nintendo characters of all time.

10) Luigi from Super Mario Brothers: He has always taken a back seat to his older brother Mario, but Luigi proves even the guy in the background can play a key role. Luigi is essentially the first second player character ever created that was different from the first player. Mario is Red, Luigi is green, simple slight difference but it's there. Now in the modern world you have a variety of second and even third and fourth player options, but they all go back to Luigi. A success story from this guy is that he actually got his own game in the Gamecube title "Luigi's Mansion"

9)The Tetris Block: Not really a character per say, but you might consider them to be, after all if you have ever played Tetris the pieces seem to have a mind of their own. The first successful puzzle game, Tetris launched the ever popular genera of puzzle games. The word Tetris is in fact not really a word at all but rather a combination of two words. The Russian word for Four is Tetra, and the creators favorite sport was Tennis. Combine the two and you have a catchy game title that frustrated the heck out of us to this very day. There are many variations of Tetris available for most Nintendo systems, like Tetris Worlds, and Tetris Sphere.

8) Kid Icarus: An angle from mount Olympias was brought to our homes on the NES, and we loved him. This game was the first mythical action game to hit the home gaming market, and ever since we have enjoyed what this little guy started. The enemies in this game were a bit odd but that only added to the fun, killing Eggplant wizard was always a highlight.

7) Little Mac: Punch out was one of the NES's greatest selling titles. A cartoon boxing game based in part on the Rocky series this game launched the boxing game genera, although some may say this game had a larger following then the entire modern boxing game titles put together. Little Mac is an underdog hoping to get a shot at the title by taking down Mike Tyson (The Mike we all used to know and love, before he became a cannibal). Little Mac and his opponents like King Hippo, Don Flaminco and Piston Honda will live on in Boxing glory for all time.

6) The Belmont Family: Things that go bump in the night beware, the Belmont family is here and they don't take prisoners! Dracula's Curse featured innovative game play and amazing story line for it's time. Also this game would give you options on where to go and weapon choice, something that gamers from the Atari days had only dreamed of until this point. The Belmont family had two members on the NES, Simon and Trevor, but their legacy has expanded dramatically as time wears on and the struggle with evil continues.

5) Snake from Metal Gear: This game started the amazing franchise we all know and love today. Features in this game were so new at the time many people were unsure about the game. To get to areas you would have to silently kill guards, sneak into the backs of trucks and find key cards, very different from the side scrolling adventures where you kill some guys then move on. There was also a radio screen where you could contact HQ and see what was going on, and even listen in on the enemies movements (relating to the storyline). Even after all these years Snake is still with us in his new game for the PS3 Metal Gear Solid 4: Rise of the Patriots, time has been kind to our hero, but he is starting to look a little grey.

4) Samus Aran: This character is by far one of the most liked and admired of all time. We find out at the end of the original Metroid for the NES that our hero is in fact a woman! Samas Aran was the first major action hero and as a major shocker, once beating the dreaded Mother Brain we find out that Samas is a she! This goes to prove a very important point, it's not the gender of the character that makes a good game, but rather an innovative system of play, graphics, and story. Metroid is one of the best selling games of all time, it was reproduced for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance, and Samas still makes appearances in games to date. Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime two were number one sellers for Gamecube and we will expect Miss Aran to appear on Nintendo's newest consol ,the Wii

3) Megaman: The Blue Bomber is one of the most recognizable characters of all time. This little fighting robot came to us from Japan and has stuck with use ever since. His first game, produced by Capcom was thought to be a flop until a fan base emerged that would not let our hero die. Six games in all were released for the NES, and continued on the SNES with Megaman 7. Also spinning off from the series was Megaman X, same robot different look. To date there are 8 Megaman X games, and a sub series based on his partner Zero and the popular Megaman Battle Network series. Megaman even has his own show by the same name. Megaman brought to us an element of gaming known as choice. We the player could choose our fate, selecting what enemy robots to fight, and what powers and abilities to use. Megaman was and is still an amazing game

2) Link: You all knew he would appear on the countdown, and might even be considered number one, but anyways Link hods a special place in our hearts. The Legend of Zelda spawned the ever popular series of games with the same main title, but different subtitle. Zelda is the princess of Hyrule, and the subtitles explain the story. Zelda, a Link to the Past explores the past of Hyrule, Zelda Ocarina of Time was based on traveling through time with the help of a mystic Ocarina, and Zelda Link's Awakening was about a dream Link was trapped in. This series was the first true RPG to hit the scene and gained enormous popularity due to it's lengthy game play, deep storyline and massive worlds. The Triforce is an iconic figure in the gaming world, tying memories to this game whenever we see three triangles atop one another. Link could possibly be the most well known and respected character Nintendo ever had the pleasure of producing. Link appears in the new game Zelda Twilight Princess released for the Wii proving this game and its memorable cast of characters are here to stay.

1) Mario: The plumber that saved a kingdom makes my number one spot. Everyone knows this guy young and old alike. Mario is the true icon and image of Nintendo. His first game Super Mario Brothers was sold along with the NES when it was launched, and this in many ways actually saved the NES from utter failure here in the United States. Mario has endured the test of time, and we all love his epic struggle with the koopa clan, ever bent on the destruction of Mario and his gang. Mario was a simple game, run to the right, jump on enemies hit blocks, collect coins eat mushrooms, that's it! People were introduced to gaming through Mario and obviously were still hooked. Mario will now and forever be the most iconic character of all time.