Top 10 Video Game Characters Trying Way Too Hard To Be Cool

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#10: Prince of Persia

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“Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within” (2004)
The prince was undeniably awesome when Sands of Time kicked off the modern reboot of this long revered PC classic, but the follow up to the highly regarded smash hit saw him lose his way. While some of the other entries on this list are so bad they almost become good, this poor guy just hits all the negative stereotypes of a broody, angsty teenager, with no redemption. Sporting a new cloak, longer hair, and an attitude that never shuts off, this is definitely one character who probably should have dialed it back a little.

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#9: Radical Rex

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“Radical Rex” (1994)
The video game scene of the 90s was a melting pot of nostalgia that brought many of gamers’ favorite characters to the forefront of mainstream media. In all of this frenzy, it’s understandable, but never forgivable, that video game companies tried to capitalize on this appeal by bringing us characters like the ferocious little T-Rex. If there was any doubt that the fire-breathing dinosaur was about as cool as a sixth grader after hearing the opening theme of the game, just a few quick platforming sections on a skateboard is all that’s needed to cement that opinion once and for all.

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#8: Reboot Bomberman

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“Bomberman: Act Zero” (2006)
We would imagine that it’s pretty hard to screw up the iconic protagonist of a long running, successful franchise, but Hudson Soft definitely found a way with this dystopian entry. Introducing a new little robot that no one asked for or wanted, this reboot tried to push the series in a grittier direction with improved graphics, and industrial style themes and visuals, leaving its’ iconic character suffering greatly for it. While the customization could have been awesome in any other game, the whole situation somehow left this depressing robot less cool than ever.

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#7: Snow Viliers

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“Final Fantasy XIII” (2010)
In a game where the main party is full of annoying characters, Snow definitely takes the cake as one of the biggest try-hards, especially with stupid quotes like this. (Since when do heroes need plans?) While he’s definitely on a noble quest, it’s hard to identify with someone who, at a glance, looks like someone you would never want to spend time with. His standard ensemble of a tuque, trench coat and gloves hit you with about as much subtlety as a brick, and while we can get behind his fighting mentality, that only really works if you’re able to back it up. Square Enix has a mixed track record with their aloof, “cool” characters, but players definitely agree that they missed the mark on this one.

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#6: Johnny Cage

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“Mortal Kombat” series (1992-)
Boasting a swagger that franchise fans either love or hate, this Hollywood parody has been a staple of the series since its inception, and his attitude has stayed true to form ever since. This martial artist brags about his movies to get girls, wears his sunglasses everywhere, and even has his own name tattooed on his chest. While he’s definitely a heavy-handed stereotype that pushes the limits as far as they can go, there are a few moments where he takes it just a little too far over the line and leaves even his die-hard fans cringing a little.

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#5: Shadow the Hedgehog

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“Sonic the Hedgehog” series (1991-)
This self-proclaimed “ultimate lifeform” is what happens when you take something that wasn’t broken, and fix it for teenage audiences. The anti-hero is usually a look that’s pretty easy to pull off, but there’s so many head scratching moments that it’s hard to take him at all seriously. The motorcycle could have been cool if the series wasn’t already based entirely on how fast the main characters can go, and we’re still not entirely sure why he even needs a gun in the first place. We’d really like to have a mature, cool counterpart to the wise-cracking Sonic, but Shadow just isn’t up to par.

“Bombshell” (2016)
While Duke Nukem may have been himself a living testament to the ass-kicking action movies of the 80s and 90s to the pointof becoming a joke, he was simply a product of his time. Bombshell has no excuses for how cheesy and unexpectedly lame she is. With the most generic military backstory possible, Shelly tries to defy gender stereotypes by working on cars, ripping the heads off of her enemies, and generally trying to come across as tough as possible, but it all comes out so forced with the same repeated bad jokes that gamers were more than likely to turn off the game.

“Deus Ex” series (2000-)
We never asked for him to prove he’s a mechanically augmented security chief with an impressive resume, but Jensen does his best to go the extra mile and make sure that everyone around him knows that he means business … by speaking like he’s Batman doing a Chanel N 5 commercial. Whether it’s taking down anyone who gets in his way, threatening or not, intimidating his fellow soldiers due to his defensive nature, or generally just moping about his past, he definitely needs to realize that it’s starting to get a little bit old. He’s cool at glance, but spend any amount of time with him and it quickly wears thin.

“Overwatch” (2016)
Assassins generally want to not be seen, and remembered even less, but apparently this close quarters specialist didn’t get the memo. It doesn’t matter how silently you can slink through the battlefield when you stand out like a Halloween costume on Thanksgiving, and while his aggressive ways of dealing with his enemies may be cool on their own, the whole package bundled together just makes it all seem like he’s putting on an unnecessary show. This mercenary has got a lot of cool individual elements, but just didn’t really know when to stop it seems.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Lars
“Tekken” (1994-)

Drake
“Drake of the 99 Dragons” (2004)

Wesker
“Resident Evil” Franchise (1996-2009)

“DmC Devil May Cry” (2013)
While the original Dante got close to this territory on more than a few occasions, he never went quite so far as to offend his entire fanbase like his successor did. From answering the door naked nursing a hangover to hanging out in wifebeaters, Dante wants very much for gamers to understand just how little he cares about what they think of him. A bunch of bad design choices, executed even more poorly have tarnished the reputation of this character for years to come, and left him as the poster boy for trying too hard.

Agree with our list? Have any other favorite video game characters who are just trying too hard? For more cool top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.