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8 of the most iconic video game hero animations
Some video game hero animations stick with us. Whether it's the explosive entrance of a beloved character, a brutal (or ridiculous) death scene, a hilarious idle animation, or more subtle animations that give characters much-needed depth, some animations are simply iconic.
Below, we've highlighted eight of the best video game hero animations featuring some of gaming's most famous faces, from Lara Croft and Sonic to Cloud Strife and Crash Bandicoot. So, read on for the eight most iconic video game hero animations, in no particular order. And if you want to make your own creations, see our best laptop for game development and best animation software.
01. Luigi vacuuming ghosts in Luigi's Mansion
We kick off this list with the Nintendo classic Luigi's Mansion. In this 2001 GameCube action adventure, Mario's younger brother must explore a haunted house to rescue his famous sibling while fending off the ghosts that reside there. How does he do that? With a super-powered vacuum, of course.
Armed with the Poltergust 3000, Luigi takes down a ghost by pointing his vacuum at it and then must hold the suction as the ghost's health reduces, and it flails around in an attempt to escape. Trying to maintain the suction on the ghost can be tricky, but watching it thrash its arms about as you do so is comical. When you finally capture a ghost, there's even a satisfying little pop sound as it enters the vacuum. The series' suction animations have become funnier and more detailed over the years, but nothing beats the original.
02. Mario's lazy idle animation in Super Mario 64
Idle animations occur when you stop playing a game but don't hit the pause button. One of the best is easily Mario's idle animation in Super Mario 64. If you leave Mario alone for too long, he says, "I'm tired," yawns, and sits down for a little nap. Leave him a bit longer, and he lies down, occasionally saying things like "spaghetti," "ravioli," and "mama mia" between his adorable snores. After all, what else would Mario be dreaming about? This iconic animation is a humorous touch and almost makes you not want to play the game.
03. Lara Croft is killed by a T-Rex in Tomb Raider: Anniversary
The Tomb Raider series is almost 30 years old, and in that time, we've seen heroic explorer Lara Croft die in a multitude of different ways: from being impaled by spikes to being eaten by piranhas. But the best death scene animations in the Tomb Raider series involve Lara being eaten by a T-Rex.
T-Rexes appear multiple times in the series, appearing first in the original 1996 Tomb Raider, but it's Tomb Raider: Anniversary's T-Rex death scenes that are arguably the best version. In Anniversary's T-Rex boss battle, there are several ways Lara can die: if you miss a prompt, the dino snatches her up in its jaws and chomps her, or its smaller ravenous companions can jump on you. Our favourite, however, is when the T-Rex grabs her in its jaws and thrashes her around like a ragdoll before throwing her in the air, catching her in its maw, and swallowing her whole. While it's no doubt annoying when this happens, it's worth letting the dino get you at least once to watch the cool animation.
04. Cloud Strife's smooth entrance in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Cloud Strife has a lot of cool animations in Final Fantasy VII Remake, including sliding in to save his friends on a motorcycle and jumping into a moving train. But his first appearance in the remake is arguably the best hero introduction in all of video games. While we did technically meet Cloud in the original Final Fantasy VII, his reintroduction in the remake is considerably more memorable.
The game begins with an overhead shot of the metropolis Midgar before zooming in on a speeding train, sparks flying from its wheels as it slows to a stop. The camera then pans to Cloud, holding on calmly, his hair blowing in the wind. When the train stops, security guards check it out, only to be taken out by members of the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE. Just as the group is about to leave, Barret turns to the train and says, "Get down here, merc," and Cloud flips over the train and lands in a badass heroic pose with his Buster sword in hand. From this moment, you know Cloud is the essence of cool.
05. The exaggerated NBA Jam dunk animations
The NBA series may focus on realism nowadays, but 1993's NBA Jam is all about fun – and that means breaking the rules of basketball and human capability. Alongside the ability to elbow players without consequence, NBA Jam also allows you to make ridiculous, exaggerated slam dunks that defy the laws of physics. Players can jump higher than the basket before performing an inhumanly slow spin and dunking the ball. Scottie Pippen is good, but not that good, but these over-the-top animations are what have made NBA Jam such a classic.
06. Crash Bandicoot's many ridiculous deaths
Yes, another iconic video game hero's death scene has made this list, but we simply couldn't choose just one Crash Bandicoot death to highlight. Across the Crash Bandicoot mainline series, the poor marsupial has died in a variety of hilarious and outlandish ways. While the N.Sane Trilogy remaster kept some of these deaths intact, and reimagined others, it's the original trilogy that has the funniest, Looney Tunes-like animations.
Some of our favorites include (but certainly are not limited to) Crash being rolled flat by stone rollers, burnt to a black crisp by fire, getting stuck on a rolling boulder, ascending to Heaven as an angel, being blown into small pieces by a TNT crate, smashed into nothing but a head and shoes, being sliced in half with a swordsman, transformed into a toad by a wizard, and turned into a block of ice as his polar bear companion adorably sits on top of him. These death animations are hilarious and keep the series feeling fresh and light-hearted, which is critical when you begin to feel frustrated at a tricky level.
07. Overwatch 2 personality-filled character animations
There's arguably no first-person hero shooter around that injects as much personality into its characters as Blizzard does with Overwatch 2. Every character in this team shooter is distinct, and that is largely down to how they're animated in-game (though the cinematics help, too).
The character animations in the hero select screen give you a clear idea of what your character is about. Doomfist charges his fist and looks furious at the camera, hinting that he's not to be messed with; sniper Widowmaker looks over her in a focused and cold way, indicating she's calm, collected, and dangerous; and Junkrat blows up a bomb then laughs maniacally, suggesting he's a wildcard. The Play of the Game screen gives each character another opportunity to shine, with a brief animated snippet of their victory pose.
Blizzard manages to showcase each hero's distinct personality even during gameplay, which is tough for a first-person shooter. Each has unique animations for everything from how they move and wield their weapons to their emotes and voice lines, so you never lose the sense of who they are.
08. Sonic's impatient idle animation in Sonic the Hedgehog
Last but certainly not least is perhaps the most iconic video game idle animation of all time. In 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog, if you stop playing for too long, without pausing, poor Sonic looks straight at the screen and taps his foot impatiently. This is a brilliant animation as it emphasises Sonic's need to go fast, and you, dear player, are slowing him down. While the 1991 animation is the most iconic, our favorite is the Sonic CD idle animation, which is the same, except, after a certain amount of foot tapping, Sonic says, "I'm outta here!" and jumps to his death, resulting in a Game Over screen. We love how this simple animation showcases Sonic's attitude and impatience, even if it does make us feel a bit guilty.
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