My Top Ten Favorite Video Game Characters, Part 3

Yay, more video game characters!  Last time we talked about Saavedro and Siegmeyer, two tragic characters who succumb to their own despair.  Don’t worry though guys, I don’t only like depressing stories.  Let’s get right to it with number six!

Number 6:  Laharl, from Disgaea

 

“To show my appreciation, I’ll only beat them half to death.”

Disgaea is hilarious.  Pure and simple, the funniest game I’ve ever played.  It’s a tactical roleplaying game where you have to strategically move your characters in order to defeat your enemies.  In addition to the main cast, you’re able to create your own set of characters to support them, which is awesome and adds a lot of variety to the game.  However, the absolute best part of playing this game is just how much fun it is to listen to the characters, whether they’re fighting, arguing, or just being their awesome selves.  Disgaea definitely doesn’t take itself very seriously, with a lighthearted atmosphere, comedic character interaction, pop-culture references, and above all:  Laharl, Prince of the Netherworld.

Laharl is the son of the now-late King Krichevskoy, the lord of the Netherworld and ruler of demons.  Being the arrogant and power-hungry kid that he is, Laharl wants nothing more than to take is rightful place on the throne and rule with an iron fist, manically laughing all the way.  Heh heh heh heh, HAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHA!

With the help of his servant, Etna, he embarks on a quest to prove his worth as the Overlord.  I wish I could describe the sheer hilarity of watching those two interact, but it’s honestly something you have to see for yourself.  Along the way, they meet Flonne, a happy and loving angel who’s appalled at the greedy and violent nature of demons, and seeks to teach them the meaning of love and kindness.  Of course, she is the polar opposite of Laharl, which leads to yet more comedic interaction.  The entire game is just fun, plain and simple.  What separates Laharl from the other characters as well as most characters in general is that in addition to the multitude of funny moments, he also has some very deep and serious character development that’s presented in an awesome way.  

 

As Laharl continues his adventures, you discover that he may not be quite as evil as he proclaims himself to be, much to the joy of Flonne.  Small acts of kindness which would seem trivial and commonplace to most people are a big deal for him.  However, even as he tries to convince everyone, including himself, of his wicked nature, he occasionally shows his softer side, usually by being merciful on his defeated foes.  All of this comes to a head when you find out that Laharl’s mother, who he outright refuses to talk about, was actually a human.  She fell in love with his father, and despite the fact that humans die after being in the Netherworld for too long, she refused to abandon him or their newborn child.  Because she died due to her love for Laharl, he views love as useless and a sign of weakness.  In a very emotional scene where Laharl is able to speak to the ghost of his mother for a brief moment, it really brings out just how deep-rooted his inner turmoil is, and makes him stand out as a character. 

Overall, the game is still mostly comedic and silly, but the added depth and character development to Laharl when he’s already so funny and awesome (he takes out a fleet of ten thousand battleships by himself) earns him a spot on this list.

 

5.  Grigori, from Dragon’s Dogma

 

”What is your purpose here, Arisen?  If you sought to live you had naught but run and hide yourself away. But then, tell me, child of man....what does it mean to live in truth? To wage war against the passing days? To pray to the unseen for a few breaths more? To raise grand cities from stone, and spawn new life in turn? Mankind has done this, yes, and more. But is the tapestry you weave truly of your own design?”

As you can tell, this guy loves talking.  By guy, I of course mean giant awesome looking dragon.  In Dragon’s Dogma, the dragon who you later find out is named Grigori has begun laying waste to the land, and it’s prophesized that only the chosen being known as the Arisen can defeat him.  You see, the dragon has appeared countless times before, and each time, it wreaks havoc on the realm before flying off to its lair in a distant mountain, seemingly waiting for something.  Well it turns out, that something is you.  And of course, that’s your ultimate goal:  slay the dragon and stop his reign of destruction.

It sounds like a pretty generic plot, but you’re going to have to trust me when I say its anything but.  It turns out, that the reason the dragon mysteriously flies off is because he recognizes your character as the Arisen.  What makes you the chosen one?  After all, you start out as a harmless fisherman who would have no chance of winning in combat.  You are one among countless people with the bravery, determination, and courage to undertake the long and hard journey and face him.  But what makes Grigori stand out as the best character in this game?

 

Well, let me first say that the fantasy nerd in me has to give him points because he’s a flipping dragon, okay?  You can’t get much more awesome than that.  But Grigori goes far beyond the normal coolness that being a dragon comes with.  As you can tell from the above quote, he’s very philosophical and ominous.  Once you finally, after a long and perilous adventure, are ready to face him, he gives you a choice.  You can give up the one you love the most (basically the character you showed the most interest in throughout the game) and he will stop attacking the country.  You can leave and never have to face the seemingly impossible task of slaying him.  Otherwise, it’s time for the final showdown.

The reason Grigori gives you this choice is simple:  Even though the Arisen is someone who possesses the potential to defeat him, there’s no guarantee that they will.  In fact, many Arisens in the past have failed.  Grigori didn’t choose you because you would win, he picked you because you would at least try.  The above quote is from the final speech he makes before you fight him, which is the main reason that cements him as one of my favorite characters.  He describes humanity’s desire to expand and evolve, and how you represent their will to survive in the face of oblivion, for a dragon is destruction incarnate.  Grigori was created in order to test mankind’s worthiness to live on.  He doesn’t want to destroy you, he wants you to defeat him.  But he wants you to prove, beyond all doubt, that you’re worthy of leading humanity forward, and so he won’t hold back.

Should you decide to fight, what follows is one of the most climactic battles in gaming history, and Grigori continually encourages you to keep fighting and to show him your true strength, while at the same time asserting that you chose to fight this battle of your own free will, and that there’s no one to blame but yourself should you fail.  It’s an amazing battle, a grand finale to an amazing character.  Grigori is just too awesome for words.  There’s a lot more to the game’s story that I can’t mention here, but suffice to say that no other game has successfully recreated the thrill of battle against insurmountable odds in quite the same way. 

"Some welcome the end with arms outstretched, while others come to face death incarnate, arms in hand.  I ask again.  What is your purpose here, Arisen?"

 

That does it for these two awesome characters!  Next time, we’ll start getting into the characters who aren’t only my favorites from video games, but some of my favorites of all time.  Thanks for reading!