10 Annoying Characters That Stopped Great Video Games Being Perfect
Hey, listen...
Over time, video games have started to develop into some of the greatest narrative experiences of all modern media forms. As such, they are often crafted with a whole host of interesting and well-developed characters that players can't help but feel very attached to. Gaming history is littered with some really wonderful heroes of all colours and creeds, and our empathic impulses are sent into overdrive as we guide them through their adventures.
The law of averages dictates that not all characters will have such an effect on us, of course, and there are more than a few that you'd likely rather see die a violent death than reach safety and success. The sheer infuriation that some of the following have driven us to, however, has even seen them deemed so annoying, they have a majorly negative impact on their games as a whole.
But just who are these exasperating individuals, and what makes them so unbearable? Well, join me on a journey fraught with frustrating fairies and tedious toads as we countdown ten annoying characters that stopped great video games being perfect.
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10. Slippy Toad - Star Fox
When enthusiasm and goodwill don't properly translate into useful behaviours, you end up with a pain in the derriere like Slippy Toad. The mechanical abilities of this less-than-competent pilot are apparently what make him such an indispensable member of the Star Fox team, but unfortunately those skills don't translate well into the game itself.
Instead, what we experience is Slippy's even more staggering ability to be constantly in danger during aerial combat. His high-pitched cries for help punctuate so many stages, leading the player to have to detour to his rescue, time and time again. The useless, rambling attempt at "advice" that he tries to offer when he's not in trouble is also just as useless.
Slippy's heart is probably in the right place (I assume; my school's biology department never had a suitable budget for the whole dissection thing) but his abilities in battle and a tendency to screech incessantly under pressure make him a major bugbear.