Some do it to conceal identites, some do it as form of a symbol, some do it to accentuate their own style and personality, and some do all three. Today, I will take you through some of my personal favorite characters who for some reason or another don a mask upon their face. Ladies and gentlemen, these are my Top 10 Favorite Masked Characters. YOUR TELLING ME THAT MASK ISN'T GLUED TO YOUR FACE!? Yep, and I'm still not showing you what I look like. Gotta keep some mystery to myself intact. How do the eyeholes work on that thing? I've seen your eyes fully closed and half open before. That's a mix of magic and technology, and a really long story. Speaking of mixing, this list will have some non-Nintendo characters. Only rule here is that they have to appear in a Nintendo game or have game on a Nintendo system. Anyway, onto the list. 10) Cubone – A very unique Pokémon with a mask on its head. I’ve always liked the design of this Pokémon. However, what puts him on the bottom is the reason he wears his mask, which is a really sad and dark story. The Bone mask he wears on his head is actually the head of the deceased mother. Jeez… That and they are pretty common pokemon to see in the games, so the story gets a bit more sadder and honestly a bit confusing. Aside from that little tangent, I still like this pokemon and his little mystery of story. Even if it’s really dark. 9) Shy Guy – Alright, let’s get into a lighter tone. Shy Guys are a race of… beings… in the Super Mario Universe. No one truly knows what’s under the hood of these mysterious characters, and apparently what’s under the hood is really freaky if Mario Power Tennis is any indication. This creates a really interesting mystery that I hope gets solved or way more hinted at one day. However, what I really like about them is that while they clearly are trying to hide their face, that doesn’t stop them from being fun, expressive characters. Despite their masks, you know exactly what expressions they are making and what they are feeling. The only issue I find with them is that there are millions of these guys and that kinda dampens the mystery just a bit. Still some of my favorite Mario characters though. 8) Lucina – Unlike the previous two entries, there is only one Lucina. A strong female protagonist with a goal to save the future. In Fire Emblem Awakening, she initially dons her mask in order to help her allies in the past. She disguises herself as a incarnation of Marth, who her style and fighting is based off, until her true identity is revealed as the daughter of one of the main characters of that game, Chrom, hiding who she was until the right moment. I like her story here, although it had a bit more impact in another game I’ll get to in a bit. What makes her low on this list is that while she does don a mask and hide her identity, after she reveals herself, the “masked” aspect of her is really diminished and almost forgettable. Not saying that Lucina isn’t a good character because of this, it’s just that I wish she didn’t lose the masked identity when her real one was revealed, because her masked design was really cool too, and despite this minor gripe I have, I like Lucina and feel very comfortable putting her on this list. 7) Sheik – Not quite the Zelda character you were expecting, was it? Nevertheless, Sheik’s identity is very interesting in the Zelda Lore. For the sake of some who still might not know, I’ll keep Sheik’s true identity a secret. Honestly I think that helps explain the character a bit more. I think what really helps with this magical disguise is how much is kept hidden from us about the person behind Sheik, but we still know a lot about Sheik as a person. How they trained under the Sheikah Tribe, and how they know so much about the Tri-Force. We also don’t even know the gender of Sheik neccesarily, because of how ambiguous the disguise is. I think, while it creates a really great mystery, it also shows how separate the two characters are, Sheik and the one disguised as Sheik. Which is a bit problematic as a masked character, IMO, isn’t supposed distance themselves from the actual identity altogether. You have to be able to see how well the character disguising themselves as this other person makes sense and while it kinda does here; there are still some question marks. Nevertheless, I still like this character and definitely I happily keep Sheik on the list. 6) Masked Lumen – Let’s keep this short and sweet. Masked Lumen is not only an amazing Boss Fight in Bayonetta 2. He’s a very skilled fighter with a mysterious past that unravels slowly as you play through the game. His mask and look might hide his identity, yet it clearly shows who he is, a Lumen Sage with incredible skills almost matching Bayonetta herself. The only thing holding him back is his reveal of who he is, which quite frankly is kinda underwhelming, although in terms of the arc of the character itself, that’s done pretty well. This character is friggin’ awesome. Next entry. 5) Plague Knight – Plague Knight doesn’t necessarily hide his identity. He clearly wears his mask ask a professional Alchemist. Not to mention it’s very easy to see that despite the mask, he doesn’t really hide anything. At least when it comes to some of his concoctions and actions. I think Plague Knight has a striking, fun, and relatable personality. In addition his character arc in Plague Of Shadows really good and expands his character even more. Despite his mask, he becomes and is a very open character and one that I enjoyed getting to know. 4) Kid Cobra (ARMS) – It is true that all characters in the game ARMS where masks in some way. However, Kid Cobra wears his for entertainment and fun and I love it. In universe he’s a live streamer and it doesn’t feel like he’s hiding his identity for his streams, but accentuating his personality and motif. It’s pretty much his gimmick, like Brian’s YouTube gimmick is using Cartoons of himself. Or maybe more accurately Vanoss or Sonicfox. He’s only a bit lower, because we don’t know much about him other than his skateboarding and livestreaming. Still, he represents one of my favorite types of masked characters, the ones who use masks to show off more of their personality. 3) Phantom Thieves (Persona 5) – If you want to talk about a character(s) with personality, definitely think the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5. Their on a mission to change hearts and stop evil souls and they look awesome. Speaking purely on aesthetics, the phantom thieves have some amazing, cat-burglar style attire that looks awesome. Not to mention the character arcs of all the thieves are really well-handled and you start to grow an attachment to each of the characters. I think that these guys are great additions to this list. Now if we could only get Persona 5 on Switch. 2) Skull Kid/Majora’s Mask – Of course he’s on this list. I can’t forget one of the most iconic masked characters of Nintendo. Majora is a powerful entity trapped within a liitle wooden mask. Skull Kid, is a mischievous little scamp trying to make friends. However, when he finds Majora’s mask, he is met with a terrible fate. His demeanor and actions are become a bit more monstrous, almost demonic. He threatens to bring down the moon on a small town and when Link fights him for the first time he loses, badly. And that’s just when Majora is stuck in this masked form. When he fully unleashed, he’s even more of a threat. With powers and skills that make for an interesting boss fight. The only lacking part is we kinda know almost everything about Majora and Skull Kid. Yes Majora is iconic, and he and Skull Kid are reallt cool, but he’s not my absolute favorite. That goes to #1. Before we hit #1, Brian and Arza shall read off the Honorable Mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS Link (Zelda) - He used Masks in a few games, but not often enough and he doesn't wear one just regularly. Bowser Jr. (Super Mario) - He does have a cute little Bandana with teeth drawn on it. However, its not something he wears over his face all of the time. Also, its pretty clear who he is as a character. Scorpion (Mortal Kombat) - A ninja that wears a Mask?! WHAT A SHOCK! As a matter a fact, lets just throw Ryu Hyabusa and Sub-Zero up here while were at it. Of course Ninjas are going to wear a mask, were talking about unique characters that wear a mask by choice. Rovio (Link Between Worlds) - His reveal at the end is interesting and a really good twist, but isn't a really a MAJOR player in the Zelda franchise and is just a really good story piece. Shovel Knight - First off, that's a helmet, not a mask. Second, their isn't any mystery here. It just feels like its practical for a knight like SK to do. Reaper (OverWatch) - His story is just way too confusing, why are you against OverWatch just because you died? Also, OverWatch just came to Nintendo Switch. At least characters like the Phantom Thieves and Masked Lumen have been a few Nintendo Consoles in some capacity. #1 Meta KnightMy favorite Masked Character of Nintendo and #1 is Meta Knight from Kirby. Not only does he have an awesome ship with his face on it that happens to be one of my favorite stages in Smash Bros. This character and his backstory is really interesting and I think that he has the perfect amount of mystery to him along with personality and it never felt like he hid behind his mask. Meta Kinght is a brave warrior from DreamLand, and apparently is a similar being to Kirby. However some elements to him are mysterious. We see in some games that fights Kirby, but overtime he becomes his friendly rival and someone, who is there to help Kirby when he needs it. We also see glimpses of who he is. For those who don’t know, under his mask he looks like a dark blue version of a certain puffball. This helps give more understanding to his character, yet helps build a little more mystery to him and starts to create a unique story. He’s a brave, honorable Knight and swordsman, and once again my favorite Masked Characters. Anyway, what are your favorite Masked Characters? Did you like Shadow's List? Also, since were at that time, what are you gonna wear for Halloween? Leave a comment down below. Tell us what you think.
For more fun Masked and Nintendo Content like this. Keep coming back here to Nintendo Gamepoint+. See you guys later.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Nintendo GamePoint+From Nintendo Game News, Info, and Reviews. To going Totally Off Tangent about other nerdy stuff. Plus other wacky adventures. Archives
August 2022
Categories |