Since its first console was originally released in Japan in 1994, PlayStation has captured the hearts and minds of millions of gamers around the world. Alongside world-class gameplay and cutting-edge graphics, the stories and the characters that inhabit them have been paramount to its success. However, there have been a lot of characters over the years, and it can be tough to know who is the best of the best. So this is exactly why we asked for your help to decide this matter once and for all.
After thousands and thousands of battles with matchups like Cloud Strife vs. Solid Snake and Nathan Drake vs. Aloy, the greatest PlayStation character, according to you, has been decided. Who took the top spot? Drumroll please…
BOY… what a choice. With an 89.4% win percentage that’s worthy of the gods, Kratos has defeated all who stood in his way yet again to claim this coveted Platinum Trophy. The star of God of War Ragnarok and the character who first appeared on PlayStation 2 in 2005 secured victory in 42,088 of his 47,099 battles.
While the chances of Kratos’ victory may have been boosted by the recent release of God of War Ragnarok, he is undeniably an iconic character who has gone through some of the greatest character growth we’ve seen in and out of video games. I mean, we gave both 2018’s God of War and this year’s God of War Ragnarok a 10/10, and a big reason why was Kratos and Atreus’ moving journey outside of the combat and angry screams.
The road to PlayStation glory was a tough one, however, and Uncharted’s Nathan Drake put up a good fight and earned second place with a win percentage of 83.2%. Nathan Drake has, in recent years, been one of the most recognizable characters in PlayStation’s roster, and his popularity even helped him jump to the big screen.
Speaking of characters worthy of a change of medium, The Last of Us’ Joel Miller claimed spot #3 with an 80.8% win percentage, and Ellie wasn’t far behind as she finished eighth. While it may be some time until we get another adventure featuring these characters, Joel and Ellie will be brought to life by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in HBO’s The Last of Us early next year.
Rounding out the top 10 were Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake, Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife, The Last of Us’ Ellie (as we mentioned), Ratchet & Clank’s Ratchet, and Ghost of Tsushima’s Jin Sakai.
On the other end of the PlayStation spectrum sit Odin Sphere’s Oswald and Gwendolyn, who claimed the bottom two spots. We, at IGN, love Odin Sphere and its remake Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, but these games are a bit niche when compared to the others.
The Mark of Kri’s Rau Utu followed our Odin Sphere friends and, unlike many of the characters on the list, hasn’t had a new game or appearance since 2005. The Getaway’s Frank Carter placed one ahead of Rau and then, despite her being part of the roster of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Fat Princess followed.
Rounding out the bottom 10 were The Getaway’s Mark Hammond, Final Fantasy Tactics’ Delita Heiral, Syphon Filter’s Lian Xing, UmJammer Lammy’s Lammy, and Medal of Honor’s Manon Batiste.
Are you wondering where your favorite PlayStation characters landed, like maybe Aloy? (She took spot #13) For all the rankings, you can check out the full list of where all 123 PlayStation characters that competed in the face-off ended up.
For more, check out our rankings of the best PlayStation exclusives, the best PS5 games you can play now, and the greatest PlayStation games of all time.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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