Many of our beloved video game characters were actually based on real people.
Sometime’s it’s obvious, and sometimes it barely makes sense at all.
In any case, join us as we count 10 video game characters based on real people.
10.
Dr Robotnik Sonic's bespectacled, mustache-having nemesis
is none other than the United States' 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt.
Like Robotnik, he too had a fondness for relentlessly hunting down forest animals (sadly, he turned
VERY few of them into robotic minions).
It should be noted that Sonic creator Naoto Oshima originally did design Robotnik a bit
differently - well, he was pretty much the same, but he also wore a bee costume, for
some reason.
9.
Sonic the Hedgehog The early 90s had two great heroes, accomplishing
incredible feats like "freaking out people who remember The Jackson Five" and "playing
a mean saxophone" - Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton.
But what if they were combined into a single character?
And...what if said character was a blue naked hedgehog who ran very fast?
According to Sonic creator Naoto Oshima, Sonic's "get things done" attitude is based on Bill
Clinton's similar demeanour and reputation, and his belted boots are based on the ones
worn by Michael Jackson in his "Bad" video, except using the colours of Santa Claus.
8.
Balrog This one would be a lot more obvious from
the get-go had North America stuck with the original names of the characters - Balrog's
actual name is...M. Bison.
And the character we know as M. Bison is actually....Vega.
And the character we know as Vega is actually...Balrog.
That’s not confusing at all… he lied.
Anyway, his name is "M. Bison" - a not-very-subtle play on Mike Tyson.
There's also the fact that he's a boxer with the same general appearance as everyone's
favourite discount Van Gogh 7.
Johnny Cage For the longest time, I was under the impression
that Johnny Cage was basically just a knock-off of Nicolas Cage.
I mean they have the same last name, right?
What else could there be?!
Turns out quite a bit - he's based on Belgian martial arts guy Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Yep, the Muscles from Brussels is the karate-lovin' movie star inspiration for Mortal Kombat's
most sunglass-ed character - specifically, his performance in Bloodsport were major influences
on Johnny Cage's outfit AND his legendary splits-punch.
6.
Nathan Drake Rough 'n tumble videogame-Indiana Jones actually
takes his inspiration from someone more non-fictional - Johnny Knoxville.
According to designer Richard Lemachard, much of Drake's appearance and attitude was based
on the guy who got famous for getting punched in the testicles repeatedly.
But, of course, there are other influences - there are sprinkles of Harrison Ford and
Bruce Willis in him, as well as Cary Grant's romantic hero persona, according to creative
director Amy Hennig.
Basically, he's everyone you thought was cool when you were 15.
5.
Ganondorf Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game to
introduce us to the human-esque form of Ganon (before he turned into a weird pig monster):
Ganondorf.
And according to Satoru Takizawa, the big visual inspiration for the character was Highlander
star Christopher Lambert.
The original thought process for Ganondorf was that he had some good aspects of him originally
- the parallel being Raoh in Fist of the North Star.
But his brows and general facial make-up is all Lambert.
4.
Samus Aran Prior to Super Metroid, Nintendo didn't really
have to define Samus Aran without her power armor - the character was originally a half-hearted
riff on Ripley from Aliens, but with the SNES having greater graphical capabilities, they
had to decide what Samus would look like beyond a kinda-human-ish figure with green hair.
They settled on actress Kim Basinger - giving Samus her physique and long blonde hair.
And the last name "Aran" is based on the birth name of Brazilian football star Pelé.
3.
Lara Croft
Believe it or not, but massive-chested polygon heroine Lara Croft is based on an actual human
being - pop singer Neneh Cherry Of course, Cherry doesn't have Croft's massive bosom
or her terrifying sharp angles, but she and her dress-style were early inspirations for
Croft, back when her design was a bit more muscular and clothes-having.
Other big influences on Tomb Raider were the comic book character Tank Girl, Indiana Jones,
and the desire to see how little effort it would take to make teenage boys get turned
on by a low resolution bunch of polygons.
2.
Mordin Solus
Everyone's favourite scientist Salarian - Mordin Solus - is based on none other than the wrinkliest
cowboy in Hollywood, Clint Eastwood.
The original idea for the Salarians was to be Mass Effect's take on "the grays" - the
stereotypical idea for extra-terrestrials.
But then they decided to get more specific and unique with Mordin, and decided Clint
Eastwood had the right look.
The shape of his head, the mouth, and the eyes are all pretty spot on.
1.
Fei Long, Liu Kang, Marshal Law, and Hitmonlee
Yes, as it turns out Bruce Lee was, and still is a popular man as a whole bunch of video
games have taken inspiration from his appearance and fighting style.
In fact, if you have a fighting game, it's almost unthinkable to NOT have one character
based on Bruce Lee.
BONUS ROUND: Every 80s Action Game Character Is Based Off
Of An 80s Action Movie, but mostly Stallone and Schwarzenegger)