From Hideo Kojima to Hatsune Miku, here are the strongest characters in gaming history.
Fans are constantly sparking debates around the strength of their favourite characters, even if the answers aren’t immediately obvious. Would Goku from Dragon Ball win in a fight against Mama from Cooking Mama? We might never know. Canonicity means little when these matchups take place after all, because it’s all in the imagination. It doesn’t matter why Mama has taken up a spatula against Goku – only that she might win.
Instead of these hypothetical 1v1 matchups, we posit this: throw the five strongest characters in gaming history into an arena and see who lives, team deathmatch-style. To that end, we’ve come up with a list of the five strongest video game characters of all time. Now all we need is an arena.
Hideo Kojima from Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
By Timothy Raj Augustin
Hideo Kojima, best known for his cameo in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, makes one final appearance in the franchise in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. In Peace Walker, Big Boss is sent over to investigate a rumour about a truck in Costa Rica containing “God,” who turns out to be none other than Kojima himself. Now, you might think that calling Kojima “God” is something of an over exaggeration, but take it from Kazuhira Miller: “to say he's a critical VIP would be a massive understatement."
To prove his identity to Big Boss, Kojima originally sent over a pair of his signature glasses in Ground Zeroes – after which the game’s protagonist heads over to find and extract him from enemy forces. Now, one might ask: if Kojima is God, how did he get captured at all, and what do his glasses have to do with any of this? Well, us mere mortals can only speculate about the intentions that drive Kojima to do what he does. Just be thankful he’s on our side.
Shaq from Shaq Fu
By Tommy Makmur
One of the greatest basketball Centers of all time, Shaquille O’Neal, makes his fighting game debut as Shaq in Shaq Fu, a fighting game released in 1994 on SEGA Genesis, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Amiga. Not only is his prowess on the basketball court well documented, but his martial arts technique is too in Shaq Fu. In the game, Shaquille O'Neal walks into a dojo while sightseeing before a charity basketball game in Tokyo, Japan. Inside, he was called a warrior chosen by the Stars (get it? all-star?) and must save a boy called Nezu from an evil mummy Sett-Ra in another dimension.
In the game, Shaq did what he does best: dominating everyone in his way to score a hoop. He eventually beats everyone, including Sett-Ra and his minions, to rescue Nezu in another dimension. After that, he rushes to join the all-star charity match and finds out that Beast, one of Sett-Ra's minions, is in his opponent’s team, seeking a rematch against Shaq. And the story ends without knowing who won the match. But as he is the greatest warrior chosen by the star, surely we know how the story ends, right?
Nicki Minaj from Call of Duty
By Anna Bernardo
Playtime is over when Nicki drops in the Warzone! Nicki Minaj isn’t just a rap queen—she’s the undisputed strongest gaming character of all time. Some may try to convince you it’s LeBron James or Hideo Kojima, but none of them “pull up in the monster” like she does.
Nicki Minaj is featured as an Operator of the KorTac faction in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, and Warzone 2.0. She was released during Season Five of Modern Warfare II on August 24, 2023, as part of the "Tracer Pack: Nicki Minaj Operator Bundle."
Since debuting in Call of Duty, Nicki has been boom, badoom, boom booming her way through lobbies and cutting through the competition since Pink Friday. And which other character could ever be so unafraid? Other operators blend in—Nicki pulls up in her shiny pink camo and bright pink hair, making sure you get eliminated in style. At this point, it’s not even about K/D ratios—it’s about who’s got gun, hun.
Hatsune Miku from Fortnite
By Kurt Lozano
Nature tells us that the most dangerous creatures are often the ones that are brightly-colored, alluring, and beautiful. With her bright, blue hair and flowing twintails, eyes of piercing cobalt like the deepest ocean abyss, and an enigmatic voice that evokes both an angelic choir and a siren’s call, you would do well to remember that Hatsune Miku is one of the most dangerous and powerful characters in all of gaming.
What makes Hatsune Miku so terrifying is the host of abilities she uses to entrap unwitting victims. Hatsune Miku has the uncanny ability to shelter herself in any electrical medium – hiding in your wi-fi so to speak – and strike from virtually anywhere. Not only that, she also has the ability to force herself into the minds of her victims, be it through hearing her sing or seeing her dance. No matter what you do, there will be no escape once she enters your mind, you will be thinking Miku, Miku, oo-ee-oo.
But by far the most terrifying of Hatsune Miku’s abilities is her dreaded Miku Miku Beam, a devastating beam of otherworldly energy that can annihilate entire cities in a matter of seconds. Some say that whenever Hatsune Miku unleashes this attack, she often stands above the rubble and gleefully whispers to herself, "World is Mine."
So if you are ever unfortunate enough to encounter the dreaded Hatsune Miku, you can only either run or pray to whatever gods you worship before she erases you from existence… then proceeds to do the Fortnite Default Dance on your charred corpse.
LeBron James from MultiVersus
By Kurt Lozano
Boy, oh boy where do I even begin. LeBron… honey, my pookie bear, my sunshine, my only sunshine, the Man on the Lakers. I have loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you. The way you drive into the paint and strike fear into your enemies eyes. Your silky smooth touch around the rim, and that gorgeous jumpshot. I would do anything for you. I wish it were possible to freeze time so I would never have to watch you retire.
You had a rough childhood, but you never gave up hope. You are even amazing off the court, you're a great husband and father, and sometimes I even call you dad. I forever dread and weep, thinking of the day you will one day retire. I would sacrifice my own life. It was the only thing that could put a smile on your beautiful face. You have given me so much joy and heartbreak over the years. I remember when you first left Cleveland and it's like my heart got broken into a million pieces. But a tear still fell from my right eye when I watched you win your first ring in Miami, because deep down, my glorious king deserved it. I just wanted you to return home.
Then alas, you did, my glorious King came home and I rejoiced. 2015 was a hard year for us my lord, but in 2016 you made history happen. You came back from down 3-1 to the 73-9 Warriors and I couldn't believe it. I was crying, bawling even, and I heard my glorious King exclaim these words, "CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!" Not only have you changed the game of basketball and the world forever, but you've eternally changed my world. And now you're getting older, but still the GOAT, my GOAT. I love you pookie bear, my glorious king, my sunshine, LeBron Raymone James Sr.
