10 Video Game Characters Fans OBSESSED Over

Gamers can't get this lot out of their heads.

By James Egan /

In the world of gaming, solid gameplay, catchy tunes, and awesome graphics aren't enough.

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For a game to leave a mark in the industry, it needs to have a charismatic character at its centre. As a result, gaming heroes like Sonic, Master Chief, and Lara Croft were tailored to perfection by the developers to hit the widest demographic possible.

But sometimes, gamers don't just like video game characters - they're obsessed with them. Fans devise memes, fan art, cosplays, and erotica to emphasise their utter devotion to these fictional individuals.

What makes this fanaticism more bizarre is when it occurs over someone that was never meant to be popular. People love the Psychos in Borderlands so much, it's easy to forget they're not particularly important in the story.

Darth Revan is more popular than the main cast of Star Wars despite his limited appearances. Johnny Silverhand may have been the poster boy for Cyberpunk 2077 but it was Panam and Judy who stole our hearts.

Even though the developers are always happy when one of their creations goes mainstream, nobody could've fathomed how obsessed people would become over these gaming characters.

10. Waluigi

While developing Mario Tennis, Nintendo realised there wasn't enough human characters. On top of that, Wario needed to have a doubles partner. And that was all the motivation Nintendo needed to create Wario's partner-in-crime, Waluigi.

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But when the lanky troublemaker debuted, the reception for him was... pretty bad. In fact, many people saw Waluigi as proof that Nintendo's creative juices had run dry. (Could they have at least given him a better name???)

But for some unexplained reason, the once hated villain has skyrocketed in popularity recently. Despite never playing a central role in any game (except for Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix), Waluigi is trending more nowadays than some of Mario's biggest foes like Kamek, Bowser Jr., or even Wario.

Every time a new Mario game is announced, fans pine for Luigi's wicked doppelgänger to be incorporated in some way. Every time a new character is introduced in the Smash Bros series, his dedicated community pray to the heavens and cross their fingers, hoping to see this moustachioed menace added to the roster.

A few years ago, the idea that Waluigi could headline a game seemed inconceivable. But since his loyal fanbase is constantly growing, that notion now seems like an inevitability.

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