3. Tails
This little Sega character may never over shadow his pal Sonic, but Tails is still a hugely important and recognisable character in the world of video games. Everyone knows him. Show anyone whose had a passing interest in video games in the last twenty years a picture of the perky fox and theyll probably be able to tell you his name and that hes Sonics friend. First appearing in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Tails has been around almost as long as the blue blur himself. It has to be said though that in all the years since, he hasnt had a lot of starring roles. Other than a couple of Game Gear games, he hasnt even shared the spotlight with Sonic in the same way that Knuckles has. So why is Tails on this list? Tails earns his right to be on this list because Sonic needs him. Many players will know the feeling of going back to the first Sonic game after playing any of the Mega Drive sequels, and not having Tails there. Its empty. Tails is the Abbot to Sonics Costello, the Robin to Sonics Batman, the Ant to Sonics Dec. Knuckles may have tried to make the duo and threesome, and share billing with Sonic and Shadow would later stumble in and try and take the limelight from Sonic, but they failed. Tails has never tried to outshine his hedgehog friend, and thats because he doesnt need to. Everyone knows who Tails is, and whilst it could be seen as riding Sonics coattails, he has been able to ride them to the top.