Despite what some angry people on the internet might have you believe, politics have an important place in video games. Every game is a piece of art and as such it has something to say - this means that every game is inherently political, as it’s making a comment on some aspect of culture, art, or life.
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Metal Gearhas something to say about everything, from the American war complex to the role of child soldiers, to how to properly cook eggs. WhileMariois a biting critique of the working class' constant acquiescing to an undeserved monarchy. But the question remains, what video games have the best depictions of people that give their lives to politics? Are they trying to change things for the better or are they secretly more evil than[INSERT POLITICIAN YOU PERSONALLY DISTAIN HERE]?
10Senator - Eternal Champions: Challenge From The Dark Side
We doubt you remember Eternal Champions, and you know what, we hardly blame you. It was one of countless pretty genericMortal Kombatalso-rans in the mid-1990s. It doesn’t help that it was only ever released on the Sega CD, meaning the likelihood of you even seeing a copy for sale was pretty slim at the time.
There’s not a lot notable about the game, except for one of its secret characters: Senator. This politician was an extremely thinly veiled reference to Senator Joe Lieberman, who at the time was leading a House inquiry into violence in video games. We can hardly blame Sega for including him, considering the senate gave the company an especially hard time during that inquiry (thanks to its version of Mortal Kombat having a secret blood code). However, it’s safe to say that Senator isn’t the most productive politician, with a manifesto that only concerned itself with banning video games.
9Senator Steven Armstrong - Metal Gear Rising: Revenegeance
Is Metal Gear Rising’s Senator Armstrong a mass-murdering, human-experimenting, nano-machine-infused pantomime villain? Yes. Can we totally imagine him getting elected in real life? Most certainly.
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Maybe that is down to him proclaiming that he would “make America great again” over five years before any failed TV presenter would make that his campaign slogan. However, we can also totally buy into the idea that the American public would love nothing more than to elect a man that looks like he eats bodybuilders as a source of protein.
8Princess Peach - Super Mario Bros.
Contrary to what some royalists might have you believe,members of the monarchy are inherently political figures. Even if a king or queen is just a state figurehead and doesn’t have any legislative power, they still have great sway over public opinion. No video game royalty is this more true than it is for Princess Peach.
Does she have any political power over The Mushroom Kingdom? It’s hard to tell, but the King of the Koopas certainly seems to think that forcibly arranging a marriage with her would serve his empire well. The real question is how long can she keep her secret fling with a lowly plumber out of the red tops?
Yeah, sure. Why not.
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He was probably more in touch with the electorate than most US politicians.
6Odin - God Of War: Ragnarok
One of the best aspects of the more recentGod of Wargames is their depictions of gods. These are not untouchable beings living in the clouds… Well, actually they are kind of are, but that doesn’t mean thatthe likes of Odin, Thor, Sif, and Freyr and Freyaaren’t more the leaders of two warring nations. Each has its own inner workings and internal politics, and different people aren’t just vying for power, but popularity with those living in the Nordic realms.
While Odin might not be a benevolent ruler, he is a realistic one. His violent quashing of a Dwarven rebellion so that he can harvest their land’s scarce minerals is eerily similar to countless real-world empires. While the way he pitted Dark and Light Elves against each other is also reminiscent of a foreign power destabilizing a foreign region for his regime’s own good.
5President Michael Wilson - Metal Wolf Chaos
Ok, hear us out: President Wilson is actually the best video game president the USA has ever had. We never learn his politics, we don’t even know if he’s a democrat or republican. All we know is that his Vice President has staged a coup, and now he is going to single-handedly kick his ass and take back The White House in a giant armored mech.
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Best of all, he only actually really seems concerned about getting “the party started”. We know this because he will yell it more times than any election slogan has ever been printed.
4Senator Bernie Sanders - Super Bernie World
We weren’t going to include any real politicians on this list originally, because ranking actual politicians that appeared inNBAJam or countless terrible Steam parody games, would be a good way to get everyone riled up. However, we had to make an exception for everyone’s favorite grumpy granddad in a lawn chair who had a really fun Super Mario World Kazio mod dedicated to him during his 2015 democratic nominee for President run.
Although, for as neat as this game is, it’s frankly quite distressing to watch a lifelong socialist move further and further to the right as he tries to get to the end of the level. That’s some biting political humor for you.
3President The Boss - Saints Row
The secondSaints Rowcharacter that has earned a place on our list is The Boss. They took over the presidency at the beginning of Saints Row 4, and when we rejoin them they are deciding whether to cure cancer or solve world hunger.
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On one hand, we would like it or politicians to tackle multiple important issues at once - after all, that’s what we elect them to do. On the other hand, we don’t see either of those issues being solved by our current establishment, so they have to be doing something right.
2Ichiban Kasuga - Yakuza: Like A Dragon
You don’t have to get elected to be an important part of the electoral process.Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s Ichiban does his part simply by running against the slimeball that is the leader of Bleach Japan, Kume. Yes, he doesn’t actually have any intention of winning, or real political ambitions. In fact, he’s only signing up to run for a ministerial position so that he can get close enough to shake Kume’s hand, but sometimes that is all that matters.
Kasuga is a political figure not because of what he stands for but because of what and, more importantly, who he stands against. Without Ichiban standing up for the misfits and those the system forgot, Ryo Aoki would have his way and cause untold damage to people that live in the greyer parts of Japanese society.
1Mayor Mike Hagar - Final Fight/Street Fighter
We still don’t know what Mike Hagar stands for. In fact, we’re pretty sure he ran on a platform of “Give me back my daughter, you lowlifes!”
But hey, if he’s gotten a statue dedicated to him in Metro City inStreet Fight 6, he must have been a great man. You know, because no one problematic has ever had a statue erected in their honor before…
