10 Most Influential Video Gaming Characters Of All Time

3. Pikachu

As far as gaming icons go, Pikachu has a lot to answer for. One of the most instantly recognizable creatures on the planet, Pikachu is the poster boy for Pokemon, arguably one of the most influential video game franchises ever. A game that was groundbreaking on so many levels, the original Pokemon games were some of the first to allow character sharing between friends (only if you had a link cable though, obviously). They acted as a child-friendly, entry level option for RPG games, something which nearly every game employs in some format (levelling up, assigning power ups), but rarely with Pokemon's accessible, addictive but unfathomably deep mechanics. They created a basic but living virtual world in which no two gamers would experience exactly the same game. Pikachu himself was merely the nominated, cute face of the franchise. Not a particularly dangerous or powerful character in the game, it was the merchandising and in particular the TV shows which brought him to prominence. The ideal cuddly toy, Pikachu was perfect for both boy and girls, and helped provide a link with female gamers that has since grown on Nintendo's hand held systems. The influence that Pikachu has had on gaming, both technically and socially is huge with trading cards, spin offs and even imitation brands (Digimon anyone?) benefited from the Pokemon experience. Even Japanese anime became more well known in the western world following Pikachu and his friends' arrival. That is some serious power! Did You Know? All Pokemon names are the same both singular and plural, meaning you can have one Pikachu or many Pikachu!