I'm not really what one would call a "gamer". I do play video games, on occasion, but I'd rather wargame or, if that's not an option, watch something and paint. That said, the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game inspired my biggest and longest-running supers project to date, so I do recognise the good concepts and ideas that can come from games, even if they're not my favorite pastime. When I run my demo games, however, I get plenty of requests for video game characters, some I've heard of, but most I have no idea. Being the kind of guy who's willing to buy a miniature or two to get more interested in the hobby, I'll go off and have a look at some of these suggestions, only to discover that they're all epically powerful, god-killing golden children. Kids these days... what happened to rooting for the underdog? I do actually have some video game heroes, as you may have seen, like Solid Snake, the Pokemon Trainer and there are a couple more in the pipeline, but there's always those couple more, aren't there?
1. Kirby
The very first video game I owned was Kirby's Dream Land 2 on Game Boy. I loved that game, lost track of how many times I finished it, and since then I've tried to own or at least play as many Kirby games as I can, they're great fun, if a little kiddy. For an eight-inch tall ball of marshmallow, Kirby is a rampaging engine of destruction, battling elder gods and ancient threats whilst devouring his foe's very souls to gain their power. In game terms, I'm not entirely sure how Kirby would work, his whole "inhale and copy" ability would be odd in a 3D miniatures game, I think it would be a bit of fun, however, to have this pint-sized, pink "Star Warrior" tangling with the likes of Thanos.
2. Commander Keen
Remember these games? I do. I remember booting up the 486 and typing "keen1" into DOS. Good times. This kind of classic character is exactly what I'm thinking about when I complain about the walking gods that inhabit Video Games these days; a boy genius builds a spaceship in his backyard and flies to Mars, where he finds aliens bent on destroying the Earth, with nothing more than a raygun and a pogo stick, he saves us all. Also he's the ancestor of the main character in Doom. Guardians of the Galaxy showed how the saviors of the universe can be ordinary people with just a little pluck and courage; Commander Keen would look great next to Flash Gordon and Ratchet when the alien fleet lands and starts to wreak havoc.
3. Mewtwo
Yeah a Pokemon one. I know that with Pokemon, you either get it, or you don't, it's a generational thing. Unlike most Pokemon, Mewtwo has a distinct personality and a complicated back story; having been created in a lab and battled with his own desires to conquer and destroy. Mewtwo walks that wonderful line of villain-hood where he is forced into being a hero on occasion, which he proves better at than being a destroyer, much to his rage. To me, in my "Head-Canon" the idea of cramming Mewtwo into a Pokeball is laughable, he's a force of nature, and you'd better hope that he's on your side when it comes to the crunch.
4. Samus Aran
I haven't played many Metroid games, but I have a soft spot for Samus; the bastard daughter of Ellen Ripley and Tony Stark. Like all Nintendo characters, Samus has had a grand destiny built upon her in recent years, but back in the day, she was just a damn talented bounty hunter with the bad luck to keep getting caught in the middle of an alien holocaust. Forget the sexed-up "Zero Suit", I want to see an armoured Samus blasting away Skrulls on my table one day, hoping she gets paid for saving the day yet again.
5. Megaman
Why has there never been a Megaman/Astro Boy team up? In the distant year 20XX, the evil Doctor Wiley attempts to conquer the world with his invincible Robot Masters; the only thing in his way, Doctor Light's robot boy, Rock. Endlessly adaptable, almost indestructible and (depending on how you read Bob and George), pretty stupid, Megaman has been a gaming icon for decades, and has always had that superhero edge to his story. Not sure how his various powers could be represented, but I think he'd be a popular addition to any games featuring Metallo or Ultron.
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