10 Hopeless Video Game Protagonists

For the longest time, Luigi was known as little more than player two; the green Mario that the younger brother was saddled with. Over time, his prominence in the franchise grew as he was instilled with more and more personality until, in 2001, he was given his moment in the spotlight.

Luigi's Mansion tip-toed on to the scene, nervously looking around as it was given the unenviable task of launching alongside Nintendo's Gamecube, carrying the burden of being the new console's 'killer app'.

The story goes that Luigi has won a mansion of his own but soon finds the place to be overrun with ghouls. Even worse, they've captured Mario and it's his job to suck them up using a modified vacuum cleaner and save the day.

Spawning two sequels since, the series is best known for imbuing the character with more personality than his brother's ever had. No longer just the taller one that could jump a bit higher, Luigi became a loveable goof.

From quietly humming the game's theme to comfort himself, to screaming and hurriedly crawling away from the faintest sight of his own shadow, Luigi's Mansion argued that it's okay to be scared and that anybody can be a hero.