Video Games By Characters...For Beginners Quiz

Answer: Pokemon

"Pokemon", since its release in the mid-to-late-'90s, became a cultural phenomenon that shaped the world of handheld gaming and further pushed Nintendo into a position of ubiquity in the video gaming world. In the games, the point was always to catch Pokemon in 'Pokeballs', train them in battles, and travel around the world collecting badges to become a 'Pokemon Master'. Little has been done to deviate from this typical pattern over the years, but the series still garners countless players, all aiming to catch 'em all.

You'd probably know Pikachu out of all the rest; there are, after all, hundreds and hundreds of individual Pokemon.

Answer: Pac-Man

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde all made supporting appearances in the "Pac-Man" series as the only enemies of the game. While Pac-Man went around collecting dots, the ghosts would be making their rounds in an attempt to stop the ever-hungry, yellow puck from accomplishing his goal of astounding obesity (I kid; his goals were well-rounded).

Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde were red, pink, cyan, and orange, respectively. Their Japanese names-- Oikake, Machibuse, Kimagure, and Otoboke-- translate to Chaser, Ambusher, Fickle, and Stupid.

Answer: Halo

Spartan-117, better known as Master Chief, is the protagonist of MOST of the "Halo" games (though there were a couple which did not feature the seemingly unstoppable cloned soldier). Visiting a number of planets and planet-destroying rings across the galaxy, he has a tendency to be able to withstand rigors unfounded by any normal stretch of the imagination.

The "Halo" games first started appearing on the original Xbox and the PC and have since grown to be one of Microsoft's leading franchises.

Answer: The Legend of Zelda

Link, a Hylian warrior who doesn't speak but wields a sword unlike any other, is the oft-green-clad hero of the "Legend of Zelda" series and has been since the original title's release on the NES console in the 1980s. Because of the popularity of this adventure RPG series, Link has grown to be one of the most recognizable faces in the video gaming world; the series is almost always a best-seller for Nintendo.

Zelda, as fans would be glad to point out, is the name of the Princess of the Kingdom of Hyrule. She's usually in need of saving.

Answer: Kingdom Hearts

"Kingdom Hearts", a hack-and-slash RPG made by Square Enix (known for "Final Fantasy") and Disney, became an immensely popular series for Sony's PlayStation 2 console selling millions in Japan and North America and becoming an instant Player's Choice. You play the role of Sora, the wielder of the Keyblade who, along with Donald Duck and Goofy, needs to travel around the universe in a Gummi Ship, stopping off at famous Disney worlds saving Kairi and, by a great extension, all of Disney. Three different "Kingdom Hearts" titles were released on the PS2-- "Kingdom Hearts 1", "2", and "Chain of Memories".

Answer: Sonic the Hedgehog

One of the most popular series on the early Sega consoles, "Sonic the Hedgehog" fleshed out its cast of characters with each successive entry into the canon. Tails, Sonic's right-hand man (erm...fox) appeared in the second game in the series while Knuckles appeared in "Sonic and Knuckles"; all of these games made their debut on the Sega Genesis. Since, a large slew of characters has been added to the roster across several different consoles, moreso when Sonic made his way to non-Sega consoles after Dreamcast's failure.

Answer: Donkey Kong

After Donkey Kong's debut as an enemy in arcades in the 1980s, Nintendo turned the beat around with the primate, featuring him as a playable character in Rare's "Donkey Kong Country" in the mid-1990s. Since then, the Kong family has expanded immensely to include Diddy, Cranky, Funky, Dixie, Kiddy, Wrinkly, Candy...and on and on. Rambi is one of the earliest animal buddies seen in the series; he's joined by Enguarde, Ellie, Squitter, Squawks, and more.

Answer: God of War

First released in 2005, the "God of War" series started appearing on the PS2 and took hack-and-slash action games to Ancient Greece. Over the course of the original trilogy, Kratos descended into Hades, fought on the titans, and pretty much destroyed every major figure of Greek myth in horribly graphic ways.

It has since become one of the best-selling series brought out by Sony's in-house developers. Kratos became such a major figure in Sony's line that he was added to the roster of "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" as a playable character.

Answer: Mortal Kombat

"Mortal Kombat", known for being an arcade fighter staple before appearing on several home consoles, is the battleground for several famous fighters including Johnny Cage, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Raiden, and countless others. The series was popular enough to have an early film adaptation (back during a time when they weren't as commonplace) in 1995.

It has since become one of the leading graphic fighting games on the market.

Answer: Mario

The "Mario"/"Super Mario" series is one of the most iconic in the world of video gaming. As the mascot of Nintendo, Mario has headed one of the best-selling series of all-time for several decades, extending his repertoire of talents to include go-karting, a series of sports, platform gaming, role-playing games, and even typing programs.

Other characters who got their starts in the "Mario" series include Luigi, Princess Toadstool (Peach), Toad, Yoshi, Wario, and Bowser, amongst hundreds of others.