Since the first console was released in Japan in 1994, PlayStation has captured the hearts and minds of millions of gamers around the world. Aside from its world-class gameplay and cutting-edge graphics, the stories and characters that live in it are paramount to its success. However, there were much of characters over the years, and it’s hard to tell who’s the best of the best. So this is exactly why we’re asking for your help to sort this out once and for all.
After thousands upon thousands of battles with opponents like Cloud Strife vs. Solid Snake and Nathan Drake vs. Aloy, the greatest PlayStation character, according to you, has been decided. Who takes the top spot? Drum roll please…
BOY… what a choice. With an 89.4% win rate worthy of the gods, Kratos has once again defeated all who stand in his way to claim this coveted Platinum Trophy. God of War star Ragnarok and character who made his PlayStation 2 debut in 2005 won 42,088 of his 47,099 battles.
While Kratos’ chances of winning may have been increased by the recent release of God of War Ragnarok, there’s no denying that he’s an iconic character who’s gone through some development. The greatest character development we’ve ever seen in and out of video games. I mean, we gave both God of War 2018 and this year God of War Ragnarok 10/10, and a big reason why Kratos and Atreus moved beyond battle and angry screams.
However, the road to PlayStation glory was a difficult one, and Uncharted’s Nathan Drake put up a good fight and took second place with a win rate of 83.2%. Nathan Drake has, in recent years, been one of the most recognizable characters on the PlayStation roster, and His popularity even helped him jump to the big screen.
Speaking of characters worthy of a change of medium, Joel Miller of The Last of Us took 3rd place with an 80.8% win rate and Ellie was not far behind as she came in eighth. While it may take some time until we have another adventure with these characters, Joel and Ellie will be brought to life by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in HBO’s The Last of Us early next year.
Rounding out the top 10 are Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake, Marvel-Man’s Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, Final Fantasy VII‘s Cloud Strife, The Last of Us’ Ellie (as we mentioned), Ratchet & Clank’s Ratchet, and Ghost of Tsushima’s Jin Sakai.
On the other side of the PlayStation spectrum are Odin Sphere’s Oswald and Gwendolyn, who took the last two spots. We, at IGN, love Odin Sphere and its remake Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, but these games are a bit niche when compared to others.
The Mark of Kri’s Rau Utu has been following our Odin Sphere friends and, unlike many of the characters on the list, hasn’t had a new game or appearance since 2005. Frank Carter of The Getaway placed Rau ahead of Rau and then, even though she was on the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’s roster, Fat Princess followed.
Rounding out the final 10 were The Getaway’s Mark Hammond, Final Fantasy Tactics’ Delita Heiral, Siphon Filter’s Lian Xing, UmJammer Lammy’s Lammy and Medal of Honor’s Manon Batiste.
Wondering where your favorite PlayStation characters have landed, such as Aloy? (She takes #13) For all the charts, you can check out the full list in which all 123 PlayStation characters competed in the endgame.
For more, check out our ranking of the best PlayStation exclusives, the best PS5 games you can play right now, and the best PlayStation games of all time.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and more Convulsions.
