I know I said I would answer the questions from this page on Sunday, but I’m losing Sunday to movie and celebration of my publishing with my wife.  So, here is the lone question of the page:

Readfulthings asked: Who is the most underrated video game character of all time and why?

This is a tough question and I consulted a few of my friends are still up on gaming while I got left behind at the PS2/Gamecube era.  Personally, I think this is a difficult question because most characters are either from a franchise (Mario, Metroid, Halo, etc.) or have fallen into the abyss of forgetfulness.  I think an underrated character should be one that made an impact that people overlook.  I examined lists for an idea, but found all of the characters to be secondaries from popular games or obscure games that the list maker simply loved.  Now, I’m going to cheat a little and make some categories, but I will end it on most underrated of all time (it’s a surprise):

Most Underrated Solo Hero:  RYGAR

Many people probably don’t remember this game, but it was an old Nintendo game before it tried again on the PS2.  I played it a lot with a friend and we never beat it because we could never figure out the grappling hook.  We did it once, died, and never figured it out again.  Anyway, I choose Rygar because in a time where you either punched, stabbed, shot, whipped, or jumped on your enemy, he had a unique weapon.  He’s one of the earliest characters that I remember having something that wasn’t a real weapon.  It was a chain-whip-shield thing, which was always cool.  So, he gets this ranking because he tried to be different and the soundtrack in his game was amazing.

Most Underrated Hero from a Group Game:  QUINA (FF9)

I have a lot of friends who make fun of this guy, but he isn’t given enough credit.  He’s strong, attacks with a fork, and can eat enemies to gain their abilities.  The reason he gets such hate is that he’s goofy, not really plot essential, and comes off a little dumb.  Still, he’s definitely the most light-hearted of a group where everyone has some level of angst, which made him a breath of fresh air.  Did I mention his weapon is a giant fork and he eats monsters to gain magic spells?

Most Underrated Female Character: Princess Farah (Prince of Persia)

Maybe I’m not looking at the right lists, but I never see her mentioned on hottest female characters or female badasses.  I do hear a lot of people complaining that she shot them while they were fighting.  I’ve had that happen too, but if you’re sidekick is an archer then you shouldn’t be standing directly in front of her.  For every shot to my spine she gave me, there were 10 times that she shot under my flipping, arching body to hit an enemy.  She’s also not the defenseless princess that many people are used to.  I’ll admit that she’s not Princess Zelda, but Princess Farah is a great character that doesn’t get much credit.

Most Underrated Monster/Enemy: Blood Skeleton (Castlevania)

I hate, hate, hate these guys and I again never see them mentioned in video game conversations.  They can never be permanently killed, so you have to keep killing them every time you go near them again.  They aren’t dangerous, but simply annoying and a hassle.  After a while, they can bring your frustration up to a level where the more dangerous enemies will take advantage of your sloppiness.  I should repeat that I HATE these guys.

Most Underrated Villain: Carmen Sandiego

I know this international criminal was teaching me geography, but that doesn’t alleviate her of her crimes.  She’s a bad guy with a catching theme song that’s already stuck in my head.  Yet, she never gets the props that Bowser, Ganon, Mother Brain, and the more action-oriented villains get.  You might not get to have a climactic battele with her, but you have to work your butt off to find her.  I bought a book of world maps specifically for the game when I was younger.  Carmen doesn’t even rank on video game hotties most of the time either.  It’s a travesty.

Most Overrated Video Game Character: The Bee (Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past)

I think I’ve confused people here.  In the Legend of Zelda game for the SNES, two animals were developed to attack you.  The cuccos (chicken) who would attack you if you hit one too often and then you had to get out of the screen.  These things would take all the press for such actions, leaving my choice forgotten.  When chopping down bushes, you can uncover an angry bee that attacks with more speed and ferocity than the cuccos.  You can also catch this pain in the face with a net and an empty bottle.  This is where its use comes in.  You can release the bee to attack non-boss enemies on the screen.  You can even unleash it on Ganon and, while not causing damage, that bee will track him in the darkness and get to him before he finishes his teleport.  Let’s see one of those egg-laying, future fried dinners do that.

I’m sure everyone has their own list or disagrees with people on my list.  That’s the glory of personal opinion.