“Tomb Raider”'s Lara Croft named most iconic video game character of all time over Mario, Sonic, Pikachu
Mario whomst? Sonic what? Pikach-who?
Three decades of raiding tombs as the titular tomb raider of the Tomb Raider franchise has landed Lara Croft in peak position atop a new list of the most iconic video game characters of all time.
The action-adventurer, who made her debut in 1996's seminal Tomb Raider game, received the title as part of the prestigious BAFTA Game Awards' global poll that asked 4,000 gamers to choose the most impactful gaming character in history.
Croft earned the distinction over second-place finisher Mario from the Super Mario franchise; Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sonic series, who placed fourth; Link from The Legend of Zelda in seventh place; and Pokémon star Pikachu at No. 12.
In a statement about Croft's latest milestone, voice actress Shelley Blond, who played Croft in the original game, said that the game went "above and beyond any and all expectations" in cementing Croft in pop culture.
Nintendo; Core Design; Sega
Mario, Lara Croft, and Sonic the Hedgehog"When creating the voice for Lara Croft, it came just by looking at the rough sketches I had in front of me and I took note of the fact that she was a female Indiana Jones-type of character, ballsy, and well-spoken," Blond said. "Lara is very special to me purely because she means so much to the gamers. I love hearing stories from people around the world who played the game and channelled Lara to escape their bullies or to help them feel stronger when they wanted to come out to their loved ones. And most beautiful of all is hearing how gamers used to play it with their parent/s who are no longer with us and the sound of my voice, the music from the game, and sound effects are all wrapped up in their memories of that loved one."
Following the success of the first Tomb Raider game, initial publisher Eidos and developer Core released Tomb Raider II to massive sales in 1997. The most recent installment in the main series remains 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, though remastered versions of the first three titles were released on multiple platforms in February.
In addition to the gaming series, the first of three eventual live-action Tomb Raider films premiered in 2001, with Angelina Jolie leading the project to $275 million at the global box office (before she fronted its 2003 sequel, The Cradle of Life). Alicia Vikander took the reins from Jolie in 2018's reboot of the film series — a sequel to which has long been in development.
Later this year, Netlix will also debut an animated series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, starring Hayley Atwell as the voice of Croft.
See the BAFTA Game Awards' full list of the most iconic video game characters of all time below.
Lara Croft, Tomb Raider
Mario, Super Mario
Agent 47, Hitman
Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic
Sackboy, LittleBigPlanet
Pac-Man, Pac-Man
Link, The Legend of Zelda
Master Chief, Halo
Kratos, God of War
Shadowheart, Baldur's Gate 3
Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2
Pikachu, Pokémon
Steve, Minecraft
Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid
Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot
Cloud Strife, Final Fantasy VII
Astarion, Baldur's Gate 3
Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza
Ellie Williams, The Last of Us
Nathan Drake, Uncharted
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
Tomb Raider concept art traces Alicia Vikander's Lara Croft transformation
Tomb Raider game writer wants to tackle an older, 'grizzled' Lara Croft
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
