NintendoLegend.com‘s Five Fine NES Series Reminder: The following choices are in no particular order, and do not reflect a “best of” list, but merely a summarized list of examples per category on the Nintendo Entertainment System. In this case, Five Fine NES Antiheroes.
The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System console was capable of deep characterization decades ago, and would serve to introduce millions of fans to intricate mythologies and complex canons. With some of these storylines bordering on the theatrical, included were some examples of the literary antihero; that is, a protagonist whose character is, in some respect, conspicuously contrary to that of the usual “hero” archetype. Some popular examples include the character of Marv from Sin City or the Punisher vigilante from Marvel Comics. The following are five examples of this fiction trope taken straight from NES video games.
Samus Aran
Before her later games would delve a little further into her mysterious past, before she achieved three-dimensional heroics and made her motivations slightly clearer, and before her character was contorted altogether by such titles as Metroid: Other M, all we knew of Samus Aran was that she was a bounty hunter with a gun for an arm. Such proclivity for violence and combative skill rarely comes from you everyday nice girl next door. Admit it: Before we learned in the big twist ending reveal of the NES Metroid game that Samus was a girl all along, she definitely seemed like a gruff, stubble-chinned, muscular, armor-lugging sci-fi badass who did not take crap from anyone and was willing to blast the brains out of any alien at any moment with little discretion, hesitation, or mercy.
Billy Lee
Really, though: Does he not seem like some sort of punk? Then again, maybe this is forgivable, considering how many times his girlfriend Marian kept getting kidnapped by Shadow Warriors and such throughout the Double Dragon series of cartridges on the NES. But do we truly know what sort of person Billy was before such kidnapping? He clearly had a taste for sexy women, fist fights, and walking the mean streets. Keep in mind, too, that his twin brother turned out to be quite an evil figure.
Dr. Zordirz
Although it was based on an arcade port, the 8-bit NES cartridge version of a game called Xenophobe contained its own distinctive take on the title, including a character called Dr. Zordirz who was based on a character who appeared similar and had a similar last name in the arcade cabinet. Our first clue is the word “xenophobe” itself, which essentially means “one who has a strong fear of anything alien.” In modern context, this is basically a form of racism, or at least prejudice, and can be used to describe, for example, a man who has an irrational fear of Hispanics or African-Americans. In other words: Although the game is proudly emblazoned as Xenophobe, xenophobia is not usually considered a positive or even ethical trait. Considering that the aliens in this game do not seem to be hurting anyone, should we question why this eyepatch-sporting skinhead is running around blasting them all?
Crash Cooney
The NES video game Crash ‘n’ The Boys: Street Challenge is a multi-sport cart of good times, representing the fun that developer Technos would tend to infuse into every title, including their work on the aforementioned Double Dragon series. Crash Cooney is an interesting character. He has legit beef with his rival, a “snobby rich” kid named Todd Thornley III. The game’s introductory cutscene reveals that he, indeed, is a whiny sore loser with a rich father. But does this merit the sort of treatment Crash will later dole out upon him and his comrades? Through a series of thinly veiled sporting events, Crash and his gang proceed to systematically murder Todd and all his friends. We are supposed to root for Crash because he is the poor, underprivileged kid, but poor kids are usually the ones that grow up into criminals, right? At the very least, Crash Cooney is a muscular gang-leader able to incite murderous intent in his loyal followers.
Thief
In the epic Final Fantasy video game on the NES, the player is able to select four different classes of characters to form his or her adventuring party, which was a revolutionary gameplay mechanic at the time. Among the available characters to choose form in order to form the world-saving troop was Thief. Thief. His name is Thief. He does not even have a proper name, and is clearly one who steals, a common burglar who is likely going to continue picking pockets and looting homes, even taking from the bodies of the dead. Sure, the ragtag bunch is willing to use whoever they can get, but why could there not be a guy named Hero or a lady named Courageous Princess?
Honorable Mentions: Virtually any protagonist from a license game based on an action movie, Urban Champion, the NARC officers, and Trojan. For a further deeper, darker new perspective at some Nintendo “heroes,” check out Five Fine NES Games With Disturbing Undertones.