Top 10 Forgotten Video Game Heroes

This particular character may sound familiar to you if we add one more “lo” to that name. “Lololo” is his name in several Kirby games and the anime series “Kirby: Right Back at Ya!” -- though, in the English dub, it’s “Fololo”... man what’s with the constant name changes for Lolo? But before all of that, Lolo -- just two “lo’s” and no “fo” -- was the main protagonist for his own series of games in the late 80s and early 90s where he traversed through different puzzles to collect hearts and open treasure chests to rescue his companion, Lala.

Out of the four Goemon games to come out in the U.S., his Nintendo 64 titles are the most well known. With gameplay similar to “Super Mario 64” and “Ocarina of Time,” it was definitely a lot of fun to play. However, its humor was hit or miss with the American audience... which is why we wish it would be re-released today. Thanks to the popularity of anime now, a game with a peach-shaped, villainous spaceship and a giant, roller skating robot wouldn’t seem nearly as strange as it was back then. Besides, who doesn’t sing, “Da-da-da-dash,” when “I Am Impact” starts?

There comes a time in a young Viking’s life where he gets to be the lead character in a video game. Such a destiny was foretold about Rangar, who gets tossed into the brewing conflict between Odin and Loki -- no, not those two -- and has the daunting task of preventing Ragnarok. Did we mention that it’s pretty much his first day on the job since he just got initiated into Odinsblade? The real twist is that, after the entire ordeal, you can actually decide to let Loki win. Maybe Rangar was bitter about only being in one game.

You may remember this guy as an honorable mention in our “Top 10 Failed Gaming Franchises” list and... yeah, we’re still thinking about this one. Zool was a gremlin ninja and... we really don’t need to say anymore, because really, who doesn’t want a cross between a gremlin and a ninja who traverses across stages that look like a candy store exploded? Seriously, how could he not becoming a platforming icon of the 90s, especially when both games were such huge successes for the... Amiga ... and Commodore filed for bankruptcy in 1994, a year after the release of “Zool 2.” Oh.

Dressed in their blue and pink parkas, Popo and Nana would race to the top of different mountain courses. But why are they on this list? We definitely know who the Ice Climbers are, They’re those annoying little buggers that DAVE ALWAYS USES IN SMASH BROTHERS DAMN YOU! Excuse me. But, to our surprise, these two have only had one game release... and it was 30 years ago. That’s 30 years without even having a second game to their name! If they’re well-liked enough to be regulars in Smash Brothers -- except now even Smash Brothers have forgotten about them, as they’re not in the most recent versions thanks to the limitations of the 3DS. Even missing the Wii U version, that sucks.

From earthworm, to superhero, to cartoon star, to... nothing. As his catchy cartoon theme states, “the soil he did crawl,” and, “a super suit did fall.” The rest, as they say, is forgotten history. After a string of fun 2D adventures and a cartoon series, things took a turn for the bad when the worm moved onto the Nintendo 64. Turns out, the hero with the great, big muscles, was still just an earthworm The 3D game tanked, and we never heard from Jim again... until the HD remake, which reminded us of a time where we thought he was “mighty fine.”

We could always use more female leads in video games, especially leads like Konoko, who combined third-person-shooting with hand-to-hand combat while she discovered the secrets of the police force she worked for. Sadly, cool gameplay can only go so far. There were several problems with the game, the biggest one being the removal of LAN-based multiplayer -- which had been available in demos -- and the absence of certain mechs that had appeared in the game’s trailers. This is a case of a game being too ambitious and coming out too soon, which has left us wondering... would the game work better if it were re-released today?

Beyond the puns and the platforming, Gex actually has an interesting backstory. In the first game, he deals with his father’s death by bottling up his feelings and seeking comfort in watching television -- at least, according to the instruction booklet. Of course, being pulled into the T.V. and defeating a super-villain made the whole thing a bit surreal (“I Wonder what’s on HBO”), but we can’t believe this hasn’t been remade with a few “Beyonces” or “Netflixes” while having some message about the media and how people process grief. Sadly, the last time we saw the geico was in “Hot Shots Golf 2.”

You’d think by the year 2094 people would know to not let robots fight their battles, but thanks to SenTrax making their robo-spokesperson an adorable, yellow tank, people were easily swayed. Thanks Tiny. Aw, but he is kinda cute. Maybe things will actually work out -- nope, that live demonstration just caused Tiny’s destruction, and his shards have brought his attacker, and an entire robot army, to life. Oops. One hundred years later, Tiny is rebuilt, and his adventure begins... this one time. Sadly, this was the only Tiny release, and we never got to be that adorably destructive robot again.

Before we try to remember our final pick, let’s not forget about these honorable mentions:

Ristar
“Ristar the Shooting Star” (1995)

Brian
“Quest 64” (1998)

NiGHTS
“NiGHTS” series (1996-2007)

Vyse
“Skies of Arcadia” (2000)

Croc
“Croc” series (1997-2006)

While everyone was entering into the world of 3D gaming, this robot maid decided to shake things up in her own 2D adventure. Marina Liteyears introduced gamers to the very first 2D platformer on the Nintendo 64, a rather bold move when every game was trying to live up to the 3D standards of “Super Mario 64.” The game got decent reviews at the time, but nothing too spectacular... that would come several years later when reviewers looked back at the game and praised it as an underrated gem. If we don’t remember anything else about Marina, we’ll always remember this: shake shake. Shake Shake.

Do you agree with our list? Which video game hero do you remember fondly, but everyone else has seemed to forget? For more memorable top tens published everyday, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.