For some reason, I got to thinking of this, and decided I'm interested enough to hear from you guys on the topic. What are the video game characters that over the years have made your heart beat just that tiny bit faster? And don't lie; just admit here and now that you have the hots for at least one or a couple. Personally, I've never been one for Lara Croft, who's probably one of the «default» choices on a list like this. But I like to think that my list is a strong one. I'll give you a top three, complete with a few honorary mentions from the same games, for kicks.


3. Lulu, Final Fantasy X

Lulu, with her deeply sarcastic demeanor, her darkness, grief, and icy exterior, doubled with her warm, loyal heart, takes the bronze medal here. I've been in love with her since ages ago. (...her ample «perks» don't hurt, either...)



Honorable mention: This one was torn between caring and compassionate, or just plain adorable. Yuna and Rikku are apples and oranges, and I can't decide. For the ladies, there is no substitute for the grizzled badass pinnacle of masculinity, Auron.


2. Bishop, Neverwinter Nights 2

He may be brutal, cynical, and willing to murder his own grand mother if need be, but damn if I'm not in love with Bishop's dark charm and chilling wit. He makes it completely impossible for me to play good characters in this game, cause I -always- side with Bishop, no matter how awful he is.



Honorable mention: Valen Shadowbreath, NWN:HotU. Come on. He's just so absolutely striking. I was heart broken when he refused to stay loyal to me in the end scene. Then again, -no one- did, so I had a hard time beating the final boss. Had to reload far back, gather up some extra gold, and buy some true names. Sad. Still, Valen gets points for his charming ways.

Honorable mention: Out of lack of options, I'll mention Aribel, but she doesn't really impress me, either.


1. Jeanette Voorman, Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines

I will let the following quote speak for itself: «I'm the finger down your spine when all the lights are out. I'm the name on all the men's room walls. When I pout, the whole world tries to make me smile. And everyone wants to know: Who... is... that... girl?» Jeanette is simply the definition of devious, striking attraction; she's the archetypical succubi, a role she takes on with style.



Honorable mention: Therese Voorman, her sister, probably takes the prize for her cool, calculating, scheming beauty. Also, I'd like to mention Debbie, the radio talkshow host that you can hear in the background here and there; she's got one of the hottest voices I've ever heard.

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Mary Maywell, Ravenclaw, Resident Ray of Sunshine
Also, some other dudes I barely play.

Got a thing for scary/spooky goth girls, don't cha?

I'm going to hold my vote until Dragon Age: Origins comes out. I've got both a female AND a male topper from that one. I am deeply regretful that I (and the rest of the female dev team) will have to share Alistair with the rest of the world soon.

Though, on your picks: nice choices!

I have to say, FFX was one of my favourites (if not the favourite) of the series. So it was kinda nice to see some props to that there.

Bloodlines is one of my favourite games of all time, period, so any kudos to it always makes me happy.

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Rowan Theirin - 7th Year, Ravenclaw House Prefect
Olivia Bellamy - 6th Year, Hufflepuff House



"If you don't like me, remember that it's mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter."
-Dr. Suess

What tipped you off?



I love you.

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Mary Maywell, Ravenclaw, Resident Ray of Sunshine
Also, some other dudes I barely play.

AGH! I FORGOT KOTOR!! I need to add a couple of honorable mentions, then.

Let us just assume I don't find Kreia (since she's... you know... venerable), HK-47 (since he's not... you know, human) or Mission Vao (since she's fourteen damn years old) attractive. Let's assume that. That leaves us with Atton Rand and Visas Marr, who are both certainly worthy of mention.

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Mary Maywell, Ravenclaw, Resident Ray of Sunshine
Also, some other dudes I barely play.

In no particular order, (since two of them are women; Nintendo is seriously lacking in hot male characters)...

Princess Zelda, The Legend of Zelda series

Zelda's just flat-out amazing. She's beautiful, and as the series goes on, she gets more and more awesome (standing on the back of a galloping horse and shooting arrows with pinpoint accuracy? Let's see you do that, Peach!)



Sophitia Alexandra, Soul Calibur

Sophitia's got points for being that hot, despite having kids something like four years ago? (Correct me if I'm wrong. Not a huge fan of the series) And, as far as I know, she's got all kinds of noble reasons to be going out and stabbing people in the face like she does. Or, as I've more often seen, breaking people's necks in the most sexual and provocative ways possible...



Zelos Wilder, Tales of Symphonia 1 & 2

Okay, yeah, Zelos isn't exactly the hottest guy. Pink and poofy pants don't work well together. But I'm a sucker for him, because he's an absolute pervert (see video; nothing explicit, I promise), but he's also got compassion and trust and all that good stuff coming out the wazoo. That, and he's hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bFKwBbBS9I&feature=related
(Nothing explicit, like I said. Just Zelos hitting on a girl. It's really the girl's and the blonde guy's face that are funny.)

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Marta Chesfer, 7th Year Ravenclaw
Mist Griffon, 4th Year Hufflepuff

No Pikachus were harmed in the making of my avatar
The concept of chicken seniority hurts my brain.
"When you have one foot in your past, and one in your future, you wind up peeing all over your present." -Ann Magnuson

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Shacadia Shay - seventh year
Aiden Rose Black - third year
Charlotte Alexis Grey IV - third year
Shilo Carter - first year

Guess I have a thing for hard, tough women.

Jaheira, Baldur's Gate, Shadows of Amn, and Throne of Bhaal.



Always a snide or sarcastic remark, and tough enough to make the world forget she's a half-elf - if it weren't for that rugged beauty. I guess the fact that I literally spent years of my life playing through a romance with her that was easily as rollercoaster-y as any I've had in my real life didn't hurt either.

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"They called me mad, and I called them mad, and damn them, they outvoted me" -Nathaniel Lee

Shifty are the eyes of the gambler...

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Mai Roarke Willow Moran Evelyn Grant Eien Hansen Ashlee Gardner

Here's another golden chick, who I am in love with.



That's Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy 7, for those who didn't know.

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Mary Maywell, Ravenclaw, Resident Ray of Sunshine
Also, some other dudes I barely play.

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And our freedom's consuming itself
What we've become is contrary to what we want
Take a bow...

Duke Nukem

I'm fairly uneducated in the world of gamers... but there was always something about this guy that caught my fancy.

Tina, from the Dead or Alive series, was always my favorite female video game character.
I mean, look at those boots!

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"The last man on Earth sat alone in a room.
There was a knock at the door."
-Frederic Brown

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Mai Roarke Willow Moran Evelyn Grant Eien Hansen Ashlee Gardner

Since it is a) partly my responsibility to plug the game, and b) partly because it's actually deserved:

http://dragonage.bioware.com/character_morrigan.html

http://dragonage.bioware.com/character_alistair.html

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Rowan Theirin - 7th Year, Ravenclaw House Prefect
Olivia Bellamy - 6th Year, Hufflepuff House



"If you don't like me, remember that it's mind over matter. I don't mind, and you don't matter."
-Dr. Suess