The 15 Most Annoying Video Game Characters : Ever

digg_url = 'http://www.cracked.com/article_15902_15-most-annoying-video-game-characters-from-otherwise-great-games.html';digg_title = 'The 15 Most Annoying Video Game Characters of All-Time';digg_bodytext = 'In honor of this week\'s Game Developer\'s Conference, some characters that should have stayed undeveloped.';digg_media = 'news'; digg_topic = 'gaming_news';

In video games, just like life, there's a certain percentage of peoplewho just need a good punching. The percentage may even be higher in video games, if that's possible.
What makes the offenders on this list even worse is that they rearedtheir ugly heads in what are otherwise some of the best games evermade, making the whole experience just a little worse each time.
#15.

Baby Mario from Yoshi's Island

This is an infant version of everyone's favorite plumber who must beprotected by Yoshi (that is, you). If the two of them get separated,may God have mercy on your eardrums.
Why he annoyed us:
Did you know that human beings are biologically programmed to find ababy's crying unpleasant? If you answered 'yes', congratulations,you're smarter than Nintendo.
Every time Baby Mario is separated from Yoshi, he bawls his lungs out,releasing one of the most ear-piercing sound effects in video gamehistory. While the relentless crying does prompt the player to urgentlyrecover Baby Mario, it comes at a great price: their sanity. Thanks tohim, the mute button quickly becomes an integral part of this gameplayexperience.
#14.

Miles "Tails" Prower from Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic 2 introduces us to Tails, a sidekick who wants tohelp Sonic save the world. Unfortunately, his ambitions far surpass hisabilities.
Why he annoyed us:
On one hand, Tails is a cute, lovable fox. But on the other hand,Tails is good for exactly nothing. Unable to keep up with Sonic'smomentum, playing as Tails in the co-op mode is basically a constantstruggle to keep the character on-screen.
The computer-controlled version of Tails is no better. Try playing aspecial stage with Tails as your computer partner and he becomes thedigitalized version of every bumbling sidekick in TV sitcom history,crashing into bombs at will. During regular gameplay, when he's notbusy dying, Tails has also been known to prematurely activate crumblingplatforms and elevators. Worst of all, deep down inside he believeshe's helping the entire time, which makes it almost impossible to hatehim.
Almost.
#13.

Slippy Toad from Star Fox 64

This toad pilot and mechanical genius is a valued member of the StarFox team. That is, until he opens his mouth, engages in combat, orpretty much does anything.
Why he annoyed us:
You'd think that a toad flying a jet fighter in space would benothing short of awesome. You'd be wrong. During every mission, Slippyquickly makes himself the most hated member of the Star Fox team byusing his high-pitched voice to shout random, useless advice. Duringcombat, his idea of dogfighting seems to be getting trapped by theenemy and bugging Fox to save him.
We're assured during the game that his mechanical expertise makeshim invaluable, which must be the only reason he isn't blown out of thesky by friendly fire five seconds after takeoff.
#12.

Ashley Graham from Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4 sends you off to rescue Ashley, the president'sdaughter. Once you find her, keeping her alive becomes a tedious,full-time job for the rest of the game.
Why she annoyed us:
When will game developers learn that no one enjoys protecting the weak and defenseless? Or even worse, controlling them?
Like Resident Evil 2's Sherry Birkin before her,Ashley's special abilities include being difficult, slowing you down,and making the game less fun. It gets to the point that when Ashleygets recaptured, it's like a weight has been lifted. You can go back toslaughtering mutated Spanish villagers unencumbered. The whole secondhalf of the game revolves around saving Ashley from a parasiteimplanted in her body that would turn her into an inhuman horror. Howmany of us were hoping the parasite would take over so we would have anexcuse to bombard her with incendiary grenades?
#11.

Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

This tactical espionage agent is pretty much the main character in Metal Gear Solid 2, and is not Solid Snake. Not even close.
Why he annoyed us:
Mainly, because he prevents us from playing as the ultra-coolSnake. Instead, we're "treated" to hours upon hours of controlling theeffeminate, whiny Raiden. We've never been employed in the spybusiness, but according to all the research we didn't do, it's industrypolicy that girly men like this aren't given jobs.
Raiden's unwelcome presence makes him a constant, persistent eyesore. Let us re-emphasize that Metal Gear Solid 2is still a great game. But Raiden did something we had previouslythought impossible: he took the fun out of sneaking up on people andbreaking their necks.
#10.

Natalya from Goldeneye

James Bond must protect this computer programmer who once worked onthe deadly GoldenEye satellite that has been hijacked by terrorists.Her expertise was essential in stopping it from attacking London, whichmeans every bad guy in the game is going to try to shoot her while you,as Bond, must throw yourself in front of their bullets.
Why she annoyed us:
"Ok Natalya, here's the deal. I'll kill all the bad guys andcomplete the mission objectives. All you have to do is not die andunder no circumstances should you step in front of me while I'mshooting. If you get the urge to fire your revolver or type on akeyboard with closed-fists, go right ahead. Just don't die. Think you can handle that?"
No she can't. If James Bond is licensed to kill, Natalya must belicensed to die. She, like the aforementioned Ashley Graham, was bornwith a rare genetic disorder that disables her instinct forself-preservation.
Natalya also reinforces a double-standard. It's ok for her to ruinJames Bond's missions by dying unexpectedly, or bitch at him for icingBoris, her scumbag computer programmer friend. But should we suddenlyfeel the need to turn on her and unload two RCP-90 clips into herskull, it's considered "wrong" and "misogynist" and "pathological".
#9.

John Madden from the Madden Football Series

This former NFL coach and color commentator has been a mainstay onone of the most popular series of video games of all time. Since themid-90's when technology allowed for voice announcers, John's job hasbeen to provide insight into the game as it's played.
Why he annoyed us:
Just like his real-life counterpart, the virtual John Madden isalways prepared to state the obvious. If a defender knocks someone ontheir ass, Madden will be quick to point out that a big hit wasdelivered. If a receiver burns the secondary for a touchdown, Maddenwill cunningly observe that the player is, in fact, quick.
The only difference here is that video game Madden plays CaptainObvious in a much more repetitive manner than he does in real life. Forexample, one can only listen to Madden calling a nice play "big timefootball" so many times per game before fantasizing about Solid Snakecreeping up behind him and snapping his neck.
Madden barely makes an appearance in the newest edition of the game,so maybe after more than a decade of annoying gamers, somebody at EAfinally turned off his microphone and hoped he wouldn't notice.
#8.

Navi from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

In Ocarina of Time, Navi is Link's fairy companion on hisquest to save Hyrule. She shows how much she cares for Link byconstantly pestering him like a nagging, clingy spouse.
Why she annoyed us:
Anyone who has ever played this game should remember constantly hearing a tiny little voice saying:
"Hey!...Hey!...Listen!...Hey!...Watch out!...Hey!..."
SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'm trying to have an adventure here. God damn.
#7.

Tingle from Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

This eccentric little man sells you maps, making it easier to findyour way through the world. Oh, and he wears a spandex fairy costume.
Why he annoyed us:
Yes, the Zelda series makes its second appearance. Are we being toohard on Nintendo on this list? It's no coincidence; they have aterrible habit of including characters and themes in their games thatare cringe-worthy for anyone over the age of 12... yet the same gamesare also some of the best ever made and impossible to resist for adedicated gamer. It's a cruel, cruel trap.
As for Tingle, we're all for character development in games but itmay never be fully understood why this simple map maker had to befleshed out as a 35 year old weirdo obsessed with fulfilling his fairyfantasy. Sure, as Link we're also wearing green tights, but at leastwe've got a sword, dammit.
This guy seems to have been genetically bred in a lab as a walkingirritant. Everything he does rubs us the wrong way (Tingle ends everysingle convesation with the magic words "Kooloo-Limpah") and there's noavoiding him, because he's got the maps. What's worse, Nintendocontinued to bring him back in future installments of the series.
It is a cruel irony that we could barely make it down one hallway of Goldeneyewithout accidentally killing Natalya, yet no amount of vicious blows byLink's sword will bring down Tingle. He's lucky, too, because as soon awe had that last map we'd put his head on a pike.
#6.

Daxter from Jak and Daxter

This is Jak's half-otter, half-weasel companion who makes a long quest seem longer by interjecting bad humor into it.
Why he annoyed us:
Daxter reminds us of that one friend who is always cracking jokes,but isn't any good at it. In the case of our friend, we try to force apolite laugh, as not to lower his self esteem any more than it alreadyis.
Daxter, however, is not our friend, leaving us no choice but to hatehis very soul. Further sealing his fate, he constantly complains abouthow the player is playing the game. This is the kind of back-seatgaming we wouldn't tolerate from Navi the magical fairy up there, we'resure as hell not going to take it from this talking rodent.
#5.

Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing

This is the hot-tempered mole who stresses the importance of saving your game just a little too much.
Why he annoyed us:
Much like an activist with nothing better to do, Mr. Resettitravels around berating those who quit their game without saving. Ifyou ever reset or turn off this game without saving, if we may borrow aline from Full Metal Jacket,you will be in a world of shit. The next time you attempt to play, Mr.Resetti shows up to punish you by forcing you to scroll through endlessscreens of boring text. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Even if you had to quickly turn off the system in order to drive yourgrandmother to the hospital, you will still be chewed out. If hehappens to be particularly upset with you, he'll even make you type outan apology using a mediocre and outdated letter entry system. Okay,it's funny the first couple of times. But after that, Nintendo justneeds to realize we're busy people, always getting paged to go tend tosome emergency. We can't be stopping to save your stupid game everytime, Grandma's spleen is bleeding.
#4.

The Cops from Road Rash

In real life, we appreciate the cops. We don't want to live in alawless wasteland (well, not all the time anyway). But in the world ofvideo games, they serve primarily as a means to obstruct your fun.
Why they annoyed us:
When playing this game, all you're trying to do is participate inan innocent little illegal motorcycle street race, while maybe hittingyour opponents with chains. The "fuzz", as they are referred to, insiston busting your ass at every opportunity. They have also clearly beenbribed, as they never attempt to arrest your opponents, many of which,according to their bios, actually have an established criminal history.
As if these officers weren't already diabolical enough, they oftenhave the foresight to park themselves roughly two-hundred yards infront of double-parked cars at the end of blind 90-degree turns, sothat when you inevitably crash, you slide right into them. We ask you,who's committing the crime here?
The system, man. That's who.
#3.

Waluigi from Mario Tennis

For some reason all of the heroes and villains of the Mario universe gather to play a game of tennis. Waluigi is Wario's teammate, which is also his sole purpose for existing.
Why he annoyed us:
When they were developing Mario Tennis, Wario needed a doublespartner. So they chose between two alternatives: Either dig into theMario archives and bring back another classic villain, like they didwith Birdo and Shy Guy, or put 'Wa' in front of 'Luigi' and create thebiggest piece of shit character of all time. Sadly, they chose thelatter and the abomination known as Waluigi was born.
Sure, maybe the concept of an evil counterpart to Luigi actually hadpotential at some point, like maybe if they didn't just take the Luigimodel, turn it purple, then stretch him out and give him a mustachelike a silent film-era villain. It also doesn't help that you'redebuting him in a damned tennis game. Seriously, if this is the firsttime we've seen him, how do we know he's evil? Because of his backhand?
#2.

Every Racer that uses Comeback A.I., from Countless Racing Games

At some point race game designers realized we stopped playing thegames as soon as we got good enough to win the races. So how to keepthe game competitive years later? Why, by giving the opposing racersmagically-enhanced speed, which means no matter how well you drive,they will always be right up your ass.
Why they annoyed us:
When we own the fastest racer on the track, are the most skilleddriver, and sit in first place for minutes on end, we expect to buildan ever-widening lead en route to a dominant victory, thus giving usthat self-esteem boost we so desperately need.
However, racers who use comeback A.I. don't like it when you feel goodabout yourself. Making people angry and depressed is the highlight oftheir day. Whenever you move into first place, they gain an impossiblespeed burst (or, in Mario Kart, actually teleportahead) to stay right behind you and wait for you to make the slightestmistake. Hit a pothole two seconds before the finish line, and theseguys will sweep around you to claim the checkered flag.
Never mind that you just shaved a whole minute off the time it took you to winthe race before, and that you've spent weeks honing your driving skillsand upgrading your car. It's like a practical joke the system isplaying on you, and you keep falling for it over and over again.
#1.

The Dog from Duck Hunt

It's a hunting dog who is proficient in retrieving ducks and laughing at you.
Why he annoyed us:
This dog, despite not even having a name, has truly earned histitle as the single most hated character in video game history. Formillions of kids, he was the very first video game character they eversaw, and it was their very first experience with having an inanimatecomputer mock their failure.
You could shoot a hundred ducks in a row, but as soon as you miss one,this motherfucker would be laughing at you like you shit your pants.This canine is not man's best friend. To him, you're his bitch, to bemocked for his enjoyment. If real dogs did this, they'd be extinct bynow. Mankind would have made sure of it.
These same people, who cried watching Old Yeller as a kid, found themselves shooting mercilessly at this animated, snickering dog, to no avail. So congratulations, Laughing Duck Hunt Dog. You were the first landmark annoying video game character, and for two decades you have held tightly onto that crown.