10 Video Game Characters You Didn't Take Seriously (Until They Killed You)

8. Izumi (Shenmue 2)

Izumi Shenmue 2
SEGA

Izumi, a Japanese foreign exchange student working as a shop clerk in Hong Kong's Golden Quarter, is one of the many women in Shenmue whose flirtatious interest the game's docile hero Ryo is painfully oblivious to. It doesn't matter how many times she suggests the pair, both strangers in a foreign land, meet up to study/go shopping/some thinly veiled excuse to encourage some awkward heavy petting, Yokosuka's most focused man won't have any of it, steadfastly refusing to deviate from his revenge quest (except to play darts).

The Tomato Store assistant also has a predilection for martial arts - another thing her and Ryo have in common. That's probably why, clearly frustrated with the constant rebuffs, she holds absolutely nothing back in absolutely kicking his arse after emerging as the secret master of Pine Arcade's fight club.

Not only is Izumi a whirling dervish of fists and fury, but she invokes attacks that can only be blocked by passing QTEs a concert pianist would struggle with. These are made even more difficult, nay, impossible, on the HD ports, in which they are displayed incorrectly. Some people just can't take no for an answer.

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Shenmue 2
 
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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.