Meta Knight
Meta Knight is one of those characters you see once and just say "I want to play as that character." Wielding the Galaxia blade, sporting enormous wings he can fly with, and looking like a dark blue version of Kirby under his armor, Meta Knight is just a plain awesome character. Whether he's acting as Kirby's rival, or a steadfast ally in times of need, whenever we see him we know we are in for a treat. Something that adds to his coolness factor is also how honorable he is, whenever he is a boss he will always give you a sword to fight him with. He's basically saying " Let's go, no tricks, you vs me. Let's see who wins." But the real reason Meta Knight stands out so much as a badass, is considering how different he is from other characters in Kirby. Most enemies and even the main antagonist King Dedede are colorful and cartoonish [aside from the REAL final bosses who can be quite disturbing], while Meta Knight stands out with his dark appearance and almost sinister looking design.
Jill Valentine
In a world filled with zombies, humanoid reptiles, and biological weapons like Tyrants, you have to give Jill Valentine credit. She's not only faced every biological horror imaginable, she's overcome them. Whenever Jill is around we are treated to great quotes [Insert Jill sandwich joke here.] legendary monsters [Nemesis.] and surprisingly good games from a franchise even its most hardcore fans consider dead [Revelations.] No matter what kind of situation she is thrown into, Jill is able to survive and even thrive. She's survived the destruction of Raccoon City, being infected with the T-Virus, facing the Nemesis innumerable times, and even tackling Wesker out of a window over a sheer cliff into the ocean. And that's not even going into everything that happened in Revelations. For all the attention and reverence Chris gets in the games from other characters, we all know who the real badass is in the Resident Evil games.
Garret
There are different types of badasses. Some are gratuitous and over the top, and some are subtle. Garret may not be able to do back flips over speeding cars and fight enemies at inhuman speeds, but when you need someone to steal everything that isn't bolted down to the floor in a castle while leaving absolutely no trace of himself and alerting no one, look no further. Garret exemplifies everything great about a master thief. He can pick any lock, sneak past any number of guards in any layout, and steal anything without its owner being any the wiser. He accomplishes all of this with his own highly trained senses and sharp thinking skills, as well as an arsenal of arrows and gadgets. But what truly makes him a badass is his razor sharp wit and sarcastic quips as he sneaks around taking absolutely anything of value. Oh, and he had his eye ripped out by a pagan deity and had it replaced with a cybernetic eye. Just a little bonus bit.
Artorias the Abysswalker
Out of all the characters in Dark Souls, the only one that really stands out as badass would have to be Artorias. Putting aside the fact that his character design is very similar to Guts from Berserk, his personality and abilities are what propels him to the rank of badass. Possessing an unbreakable will of steel, Artorias set out with his wolf companion Sif to end the spread of the Abyss. However he was defeated by Manus, his arm was crushed into dust, and the Abyss corrupted him. Even after all of this though, he continues to fight against the corrupted humans of Oolacille despite his injuries until he comes across your character. No longer able to hold off the Dark corrupting him, Artorias becomes the equivalent of a berserk animal. We get to fight him , but its implied that we are fighting Artorias at only half his strength and skill. Even drawing upon the Abyss to give himself strength, his wounds are too severe for him to completely recover from, and he can only ever use one of his arms since his left arm is gone. His attacks have no skill or technique to them either, its all about sheer physical force, dominating you with pure power. That's really what makes Artorias so badass. His power. We never truly see it, just a glimpse of it.
Red
The entire Pokemon series is built around the concept of capturing and training Pokemon in order to become a Pokemon Master. While you fight at least five Pokemon Masters in each game, those being the Elite Four and the Champion, I think its safe to say that out of any character in the Pokemon series, no one embodies the concept of Pokemon Master more than Red. He has a team consisting of different types all of which are in the 70-80 level range, each one requiring a different strategy to take down. Red himself despite his power and prestige as both the previous Pokemon League Champion, and the trainer who defeated Team Rockey, never talks presumably because there is nothing to say to someone who is his equal [You.] While his boss music is shared by Lance, it goes better with Red and it these factors, a powerful team, awesome music, and great attitude, that cements the battle with Red as a classic moment in gaming, and perhaps the most badass Pokemon Master in the Pokemon universe.
Auron
Auron is cool for a lot of reasons, but I'll try to keep them short. He wields his massive katana with ease, carries around a jug of nog, and only speaks when necessary but when he does, its usually something important and full of wisdom. Auron has never forgiven himself for allowing his two best friends to die and dedicates the rest of his existence to stopping Sin's endless cycle of rebirth, while keeping a promise to his friends to look after their children and protect them. His honor is really what makes him so cool and what cements him on this list, the fact that even death couldn't stop him from fulfilling his vow to his friends, and the vow he made to himself to stop Sin once and for all.
Ezio Auditore
This guy starts off as one of the most obnoxious and insufferable twits you'll ever see in a video game. He's cocky, arrogant to a fault, self centered, and his bark is worse than his bite. He's desperately in need of a reality check.... and he soon gets one. The murder of his family is enough to drive Ezio on a quest of revenge at first.... but he slowly begins to mature. He begins killing the Templars not because they murdered his family, but because has begun embracing the principles of the Assassins and realizes that revenge won't make him happy. He stops thinking about himself and starts thinking of the larger picture. And over his journey of self discovery, he develops as a warrior and an assassin. He can wield any weapon, fight through any number of opponents, and assassinate any target with ease. He starts off weak, but by the end of his journey he has matured into something great.
Garrus Vakarian
Garrus gets on this list just because of his coolness factor. While at first he was just a cop who was willing to break the rules in order to get results, over time he began to realize that he could do much more if he had no rules to hinder him. Gathering a group of specialists, he began trying to rid Omega of crime one sector at a time, under the alias Archangel. He became such a thorn in the side of organized crime that the three largest gangs on Omega formed an alliance with the sole purpose of killing him. As the Mass Effect games progressed Garrus just became cooler, developing a sarcastic wit, and getting into a habit of competing with other crew mates when it came to who was a better soldier. Plus he has scars. Scars are always cool.
Samus Aran
The definitive badass. Samus is like Jill Valentine in the sense that she's faced innumerable threats that seemed impossible to overcome, the difference? With Jill it always seemed uncertain, but with Samus it always seemed attainable. No matter what kind of threat Samus faces, we know deep down that she will emerge victorious, no matter what threat she faces. Whether its a horde of Metroids, another incarnation of Ridley, or the loss of all her suit functions, Samus is the type of character who we know cannot be defeated by anything the galaxy throws at her, due to her intelligence, acrobatic skills, weapons and sheer determination. She's a character who was groundbreaking for her time, and continues to inspire gamers every time she appears...... except for Other M.
Dante
Dante is a badass. The definition of it. What makes him different from everyone else on this list? Dante has to show it off. How badass he is. Almost every cut-scene in the Devil May Cry games involves him making sarcastic remarks, surfboarding off the backs of demons, easily toying with the most powerful of Hell's minions, and performing some of the most gratuitous displays of awesome ever seen in a video game. Even the act of eating pizza is made enjoyable for us to watch as he does so while fighting demons barehanded. He can be stabbed with swords, blasted with fire, and struck by lightning, but then get up a second later as if nothing happened with making a sarcastic quip. But for all this bravado, his comments and attitude have an air of sophistication to them. He never curses and uses baseless insults when dealing with his enemies, as it seems he's above that. And while he can spout the occasional cheesy or dorky line, even those lines are enjoyable since he's having such a good time doing his job that we enjoy it with him.
Red Vulture out.
