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[Angry_Megalodon]

Altair and Ezio were absolute badasses. Compare them to whatever is doing Ubisoft nowadays. Day and night.

 

[KyoZz]

Haven't seen CMDR Shepard

 

[Isa]

He's from an older franchise but I really enjoyed Robocop's no BS attitude and one-liners against perps and such in the recent game. Never a dull moment when it comes to splatterin' fools, for me at least.

The death of badass leads is a disease that's infected most of all western media. As the revolutionaries try to tear down all manner of societal once-norms, the tough idealistic male lead was one of the first things to go. And its been a long battle, from belittling males and father figures at every opportune moment, to anything resembling noble attributes. Hopefully we can turn the tide but such is the culture war.

 

[realcool]

When we get a cool character they get one game and are killed off. :/

Sometimes greatness is an accident. Sometimes a creator is lucky. Sometimes the creator's vision is in service to their ego, public satisfaction be damned.

 

[EDMIX]

Semi OT. the sound design of that game help sell how badass that character was!

The game not only feels good, but sounds good.

 

[Frwrd]

Speak for yourself. I see badasses everywhere.

On-Topic:

Where's Duke Nukem?

 

[StereoVsn]

The man was introduced on ps2.

I swear, either I’m shit at explaining stuff or GAF doesn’t read a god damn thing.

The point I’m making with the thread is that there hasn’t been damn near any Kiryu level bad ass characters introduced in like 5-10 years for a franchise that’s new.

Sure there’s plenty of examples of one off new characters like a Clive from ff16, but they are one and dones.

When you think of kiryu he’s been in a ton of games, and is iconic.

The last iconic franchise carrying introduction was Doom Slayer. That’s all I can think of. He’s coming up on his 3rd game hopefully this or next year.

Oh, so you are looking into only characters they got introduced in say PS4 generation?

 

[StereoVsn]

Haven't seen CMDR Shepard

Commander Shepard is great, but according to the OP, he is looking for MCs introduced in say last 10 years or so. That said, Space Jesus is amazing.

 

[Rockman33]

A character like John Wick is fairly new.

Timothy in Dune is becoming more and more bad ass with each film.

TV we have Billy Butcher as of late granted he’s sourced from another medium.

Agree with all of that.

But still,
John wick is a decade old though.
Dune is an old IP.
Butcher is a old IP.

Not saying they aren’t out there. Just few and far between.

 

[Beechos]

He had his moments in the sequel. I’d definitely argue that Merrin is more bad ass teleporting around shanking fools.

Doom Slayer has my vote still as the latest and last iconic and cool character leading a franchise we’ve been given.

The rest is either one offs, or questionable.

I guess if we count doom guy we can also count bj blazkowicz. If anything I think he was more badass in the recent wolfenstein games.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

I was thinking this too but it also applies for movies and other entertainment.

Like as an example, remember when some Star Wars characters used to be pretty cool?

Now you don't get a badass and cool male character anymore and I don't think we need to explain why that is.

Watch the show, "Reacher" on Amazon Prime.

It's honestly a breath of fresh air to see a grizzled, competent, smart male kicking ass and taking names in today's era. It's like the show in an anachronism.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Geralt of Rivia in Witcher.

Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes.

Takayuki Yagami in Judgment.

Deacon St. John in Days Gone (sequel please).

 

[Kataploom]

I remember people praising Mercury Steam for making Samus a badass again in Dread, it really fits her

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

Dude is nothing without guns and knifes.

He knows wrestling and martial arts though. Not many people can or have the guts to suplex a monstrosity or zombies that I know of.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Ehh I miss my boy Rikimaru

 

[Edgelord79]

Kiryu in Yakuza is much more badass than any of those listed.

 

[Hypereides]

I really miss it too. I just want no-bullshit, action dealing dudes and heroines back. Both should be able to coexist without some needless politically correct undertones.

Kiryu in Yakuza is much more badass than any of those listed.

Part of me can't get over how they made him noticeably less buff. Dude was jacked in 3~5.

Y3:

Y6:

He still looks like a strong and capable fighter, but his frame is definitely smaller and less imposing than before. He looks more slender and "thinner" in 6, and entries after, compared to prior entries.

 

[ButchCat]

Man I miss this series

 

[rodrigolfp]

He knows wrestling and martial arts though. Not many people can or have the guts to suplex a monstrosity or zombies that I know of.

But he can't use wrestling or martial arts without a gun or knife.

 

[Hypereides]

A character like John Wick is fairly new.

Timothy in Dune is becoming more and more bad ass with each film.

TV we have Billy Butcher as of late granted he’s sourced from another medium.

I'm kinda baffled we still haven't seen a take on a John Wick TPS action game yet. It should be an almost evident idea to grab and take on.

 

[SleepMachine]

Deacon St. John in Days Gone (sequel please).

I just platinumed Days Gone. Damn, i slept on that game. It's great! Deacon is awesome. I'll admit i wasn't impressed with Deacon (or Boozer) at the start of the game. Boy was I wrong. The game has some other great characters as well, like Iron Mike and Boozer. I would buy a sequel day one, and i don't get many games on day one anymore. Play this game guys!

 

[GreatnessRD]

King of the smoke!

 

[STARSBarry]

Doom slayer in 2016 vs whatever the fuck they did to his backstory in Eternal.

I have a few gripes with Eternal, the lack or player choice in how they engage encounters is one, but the biggest for me was the story...

Like they understood this perfectly in 2016 (for the most part) where they essentially just smashed everything that tried to make a plot happen. But the issue with Eternal is they remove the mystery around doom guy. We didn't need to know about all the BS that explains why he's so powerful, the fact that he just was and demons where terrified of him was far more intresting.

It made him far less bad ass and I honestly just wish we could shove that genie back into the bottle and pretend all of that shitty fanfiction is none canon.

Doomguy was intresting because of the lack of backstory, he was anything we wanted him to be, now he's just a shitty master chief, who was given his powers.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I don't know if it counts but Johnny Silverhand is definitely up there. Amazing character.

Or more likely - V. It's being pure badass.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Doom slayer in 2016 vs whatever the fuck they did to his backstory in Eternal.

I have a few gripes with Eternal, the lack or player choice in how they engage encounters is one, but the biggest for me was the story...

Like they understood this perfectly in 2016 (for the most part) where they essentially just smashed everything that tried to make a plot happen. But the issue with Eternal is they remove the mystery around doom guy. We didn't need to know about all the BS that explains why he's so powerful, the fact that he just was and demons where terrified of him was far more intresting.

It made him far less bad ass and I honestly just wish we could shove that genie back into the bottle and pretend all of that shitty fanfiction is none canon.

Doomguy was intresting because of the lack of backstory, he was anything we wanted him to be, now he's just a shitty master chief, who was given his powers.

I think Eternal was an attempt to emulate an action game in the likes of a Devil May Cry or so. Based on other people's opinions, i think it does it quite well, but at the expense of other things.

But yeah, i agree with your perspective. For games like this, leaving the main character surrounded in mystery, even implying they aren't anyone particularly special that just happened to end up in that position through badassery alone, makes it all much more interesting.

 

[STARSBarry]

I think Eternal was an attempt to emulate an action game in the likes of a Devil May Cry or so. Based on other people's opinions, i think it does it quite well, but at the expense of other things.

But yeah, i agree with your perspective. For games like this, leaving the main character surrounded in mystery, even implying they aren't anyone particularly special that just happened to end up in that position through badassery alone, makes it all much more interesting.

Just imagine if the Seraphim had shown up and then gone, WHO IS THIS GUY?! and are as equally terrified of him as the demons. Because they have no idea how he does what be does. God it would have been sick.

Honestly the joke is Doomguy wasn't even the worst casualty of Eternal, what they did to Samuel Hayden fucking destroyed that character completely...

Oh man the more I think about it the more I get angry, how could they mishandle this so badly? Did no one honestly not go "I'm sorry but this is lame and gay, stop it" at any point in development?

Valve need to warp in Adrian Shepherd for an Oposing Force 2, only his complete silence can save us now.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Takayuki Yagami in Judgment.

Solves misteries and shit.
Dates chicks 20 years younger than him.
Beats up highschool kids.
Invents aikido on it's own without noticing.
Can dance, do boxing, ride motorbikes and skate.
Smokes and drinks, which is good for him.

Yeah this might be one of the most based main characters in modern gaming, if not the most.

 

[MrRenegade]

Doom guy is back.

When was he badass? Maybe in the first game. Now, he, at best is a clown with an inflated body, bloated by gases, heavy steroid use and no brains. The violence is like Benny Hill trying to instill fear with a stihl chainsaw.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

Recently I made a thread about the mt. Rushmore of bad ass lead characters in games. We had the usual suspects like Snake, Leon, Ryu Hyabusa, Kratos, etc etc.

Which sparked me to make this thread. When was the last iconic, bad ass, franchise figure face character introduced?

It feels like that died long long ago. In some respects it may be Bayonetta, but even she isn’t necessarily super bad ass. Moreso iconic.

Are we overdue for a new lead giga chad male?

Edit: I should clarify. There is still one off cool characters, but rarely are they :

-Iconic
-In multiple games
-generally though of as cool

Because it’s not “inclusive” enough bruh

Edit: forgot the /s if it wasn’t blatantly clear.

 

[kingpotato]

 

[jufonuk]

Luigi is a badass. Debilitating fear of the paranormal rescues his friends though does it three times. Maybe he is a ghost whisperer?

 

[AJUMP23]

Anakin skywalker succumbing to his wounds from a Sith Lord after saving his son was a pretty legit way to go out.

“You were right son, you were right”

 

[Gambit2483]

I swear it feels like 80% of the MCs for the last few years have been women. Or if there is a male lead they also throw in a 2nd playable female lead.

 

[Wildebeest]

It is because the prime demographic that these games target is the millennial generation. The sort of people you idolise when you are twelve are different to the sort of characters you want to see when you are 40. The womanising action hero has no chance against the sad dad who would do anything for his kids (apart from stopping playing video games and taking them to the zoo).

 

[crackajack]

In "recent" games maybe Arthur in RDR2?

maybe not
He is a character that in many dialogues has to bring up the question if he is a good man and always ponders about his actions, how is that badass? He is at best a dude in a kinda modern midlife crisis. A badass character does what he does and does not always second guess everything. He is a gangster surrounded by gangsters and he might be a decent provider in these times or even today depending on where you live, but in no world can someone like that be considered truly good which he seems to aspire to in some strange delusion. Equally annoyingly written as Kratos and his deal with the devil and whiny regret about it. Both are pussies in a Chad disguise.

The last new badass characters seem to have appeared in the PS360era eg Kane&Lynch or Sam Gideon were imho badasses, or maybe all the Darksiders heroes, even though I suppose they borrow from existing mythology, but afaik (i know nothing of those 4 riders) thankfully did not significantly alter it to cater to modern audiences ... yet.
They even make female leads worse nowadays, eg Faith Connors in the original Mirros Edge was better than the rewritten version of her in the story wise unneccesarily convoluted becoming more implausible Catalyst.
Did not make a big, lasting impression but iirc Jacob Lee (Calisto Protocol) was maybe the closest to badass we got this gen. Rather shallow, 1 dimensional but at least not overcomplicated written and with no nonsensical drama at weird places. Just a dude surviving some tough encounters.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

P from Lies of P?