March 29, 2024


12 Videogame Characters You Didn’t Realize Were Based on Real People

 

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12 Videogame Characters You Didn’t Realize Were Based on Real People

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1. Kratos is based on Ed Norton in American History X

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Sure – when you’re trying to decide on the look of the hero of your new game franchise, set in mythological Greece, why WOULDN’T your first thought be of Nazi-fied Ed Norton? In the words of Kratos kreator David Jaffe:

“It took a long time to figure out what Kratos would look like, and ultimately we took inspiration form Edward Norton in American History X, when he played a Nazi. There’s this scene in which the cops arrest him and you just see how buffed and built he’s gotten. I showed that to the artist and I said, ‘Okay, that sense of power and aggression that you just see in his face, can we somehow take that, the essence of what he’s exuding, and somehow turn that into a character that fits into this Greek mythology world?”

I mean, this approach sorta ignores all the context of the scene – which we won’t go into detail of here, but let’s just say does not provide the best example for your protagonist that you want the audience to sympathize with. Then again, both end up regret-filled buff dudes who have markings on their body that serve as a reminder of their shameful, hate-filled past.

 

2. Sonic the Hedgehog is based on Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson

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The early 90s had two great heroes, accomplishing incredible feats like “freaking out people who remember The Jackson Five” and “playing a mean saxophone” – Michael Jackson and Bill Clinton. But what if they were combined into a single character? And…what if that character were a blue naked hedgehog who ran real fast?

According to Sonic creator Naoto Oshima, Sonic’s “get it done” attitude is based on Bill Clinton’s similar demeanor and reputation, and his belted boots are based on the ones worn by Michael Jackson in his “Bad” video (except using the colors of Santa Claus, because they needed another person who seems to have inappropriate access to sleeping children).

 

3. Dr. Robotnik is based on Teddy Roosevelt

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Sonic’s bespectacled, mustache-having nemesis is none other than the United States’ 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. Like Robotnik, he too had a fondness for relentlessly hunting down forest animals (sadly, he turned VERY few of them into robotic minions).

It should be noted that Sonic creator Naoto Oshima originally did design Robotnik a bit differently – well, he was pretty much the same, but he also wore a bee costume.

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…since the most terrifying thing imaginable is Teddy Roosevelt dressed like a bee for no reason.

4. Boo is based on Takashi Tezuka’s wife

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Don’t worry – Takashi Tezuka’s wife is still alive (as far as we know), but the behavior of Boos in the games are directly based on his wife. Shigeru Miyamoto and he would often work long hours on games back in the 80s – and whenever Shigeru saw Tezuka’s wife, she was incredibly shy. But when Tezuka would come home, she would sometimes angrily yell at him for always working such long hours. The implication being when Shigeru saw her, she was shy and meek (just like Boos) but when she wasn’t in his view, she would become aggressive (just like Boos).

 

5. Balrog is based on Mike Tyson

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This one would be a lot more obvious from the get-go had North America stuck with the original names of the characters – Balrog’s actual name is…M. Bison. And the character we know as M. Bison is actually….Vega. And the character we know as Vega is actually…Balrog. Way to not confuse anyone, Capcom translators!

Anyways, yeah – his name is “M. Bison” – a not-very-subtle play on Mike Tyson. There’s also the fact that he’s a boxer with the same general appearance as everyone’s okay-est The Hangover cameo and a love of pigeons (we’re assuming).

 

6. Johnny Cage is based on Jean-Claude Van Damme

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For the longest time, I was under the impression that Johnny Cage was basically just a knock-off of Nicolas Cage. I mean – same last name, right? What else could there be?! Turns out quite a bit – he’s based on Belgian martial arts guy and sometimes Guile, Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Yep, the Muscles from Brussels is the karate-lovin’ movie star inspiration for Mortal Kombat’s most sunglass-ed character – specifically, his performance in Bloodsport were major influences on Johnny Cage’s outfit AND his legendary splits-punch.

7. Nathan Drake is based on Johnny Knoxville

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Rough ‘n tumble videogame-Indiana Jones actually takes his inspiration from someone more non-fictional – Johnny Knoxville. According to designer Richard Lemachard, much of Drake’s appearance and attitude was based on everyone’s favorite guy who got famous for getting punched in the balls repeatedly. But, of course, there are other influences, or else Drake would be laughing as rockets got shot up his butt a lot more – there are sprinkles of Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis in him, as well as Cary Grant’s romantic hero persona, according to creative director Amy Hennig. Basically, he’s everyone you thought was cool when you were 15.

 

8. Ganondorf is based on Christopher Lambert

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Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game to introduce us to the human-esque form of Ganon (before he turned into a weird pig monster): Ganondorf. And according to Satoru Takizawa, the big visual inspiration for the character was Highlander star Christopher Lambert. The original thought process for Ganondorf was that he had some good aspects of him originally – the parallel being Raoh in Fist of the North Star. But his brows and general facial make-up is all Lambert.

 

9. Samus Aran is based on Kim Basinger (and Pelé)

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Prior to Super Metroid, Nintendo didn’t really have to define Samus Aran without her power armor – the character was originally a half-hearted riff on Ripley from Aliens, but with the SNES having greater graphical capabilities, they had to decide what Samus would look like beyond a sorta-human-ish figure with green hair.

They settled on actress Kim Basinger – giving Samus her physique and long blonde hair. And the last name “Aran” is based on Edson Arantes do Nascimento – the birth name of Brazilian football star Pelé.

10. Lara Croft is based on Neneh Cherry

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Believe it or not, but massive-chested polygon heroine Lara Croft is based on an actual human being – pop singer Neneh Cherry (here’s one of her videos). Of course, Cherry doesn’t have Croft’s nutso bosom or her terrifying sharp angles, but she and her dress-style were early inspirations for Croft, back when her design was a bit more muscular and clothes-having.

Other big influences on the titular Tomb Raider were the comic book character Tank Girl, Indiana Jones, and the desire to see how little effort it would take to make teenage boys get turned on by a low-res bunch of polygons.

 

11. Mordin Solus is based on Clint Eastwood

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Everyone’s favorite scientist Salarian – Mordin Solus – is based on none other than the wrinkliest cowboy in Hollywood, Clint Eastwood. The original idea for the Salarians was to be Mass Effect’s take on “the grays” – the stereotypical idea for extraterrestrials. But then they decided to get more specific and unique with Mordin, and decided Clint Eastwood had the right look. The shape of his head, the mouth, and the eyes are all pretty spot on.

Why did it have to be Clint Eastwood? It had to be him…someone else might have looked totally wrong.

 

12. Fei Long, Liu Kang, Marshal Law, and Hitmonlee are all based on Bruce Lee

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You know who else is based on Bruce Lee? So many characters – if you have a fighting game, it’s almost unthinkable to NOT have one character based on Bruce Lee.

BONUS: Every 80s Action Game Character Is Based Off Of An 80s Action Movie (although mostly Stallone and Schwarzenegger)

 

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Source: ANDREW BRIDGMAN (@pubegoldberg) Dorkly.com

 
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