10 Video Game Underdogs That Defied All Odds
It's never about the size of the dog in the fight.
In life, there are winners and there are losers.
There are many circumstantial factors that may impede an individual from reaching their truest potential, but they don't have to let them, if they so choose. With enough discipline, perseverance and a never-give-up attitude, a person will not only be able to achieve their intended goals, but vanquish the obstacles in their way.
You only need look to various success stories in life, such as American businessman Chris Gardner, or iconic film characters such as Rocky Balboa. The opposition in their life's journey was not enough to prevent them from finding success in their respective paths.
Whether these characters were part of our shared history, or fictional in their various properties, they refused to give in to the odds that were stacked against them. Gaming has had its own fair share of underdogs as well, who were met with very bleak circumstances, but managed to rise above them by the end of their journey.
Each character's journey may have differed vastly from one another's, but they all found it within themselves to rise above their initial obstacles, and change the trajectory of their respective footpath.
When there is a will, there is a way, as the old adage goes. As for these video game characters, they made sure to dig deep within themselves in order to find that way...
10. Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
What may seem like a simple premise on the surface can actually be considered the dramatic journey of a protagonist on a quest to win at all costs. Ghosts, who become more volatile in further stages, were no match for the perseverance and evasive nature of Pac-Man.
The iconic 19080's maze arcade game saw the protagonist Pac-Man trapped in a maze, with the sole purpose of eating all blinking dots in said maze to proceed to the next level.
Opposition came in the vicious form of the Ghost gang, where Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde would chase down the hero in order to stop him from achieving his goal. As Pac-Man progressed to the next level, the Ghosts would get increasingly smarter and faster, forcing the hero to get smart or die.
Pac-Man's never-give-up attitude, coupled with the intelligent use of power pellets to fight back against the ghost, illustrated what sort of underdog he truly was. When the jump was made to 3D in 1999's Pac-Man World, he nevertheless still possessed the same traits in order to both defeat the Ghosts and save his friends.
Even though the original game was rudimentary at best, one can't overlook the fact that although there were progressively harder odds stacked against him, Pac-Man was one of video gaming's foremost underdogs in history.