6 Most Cynical Capcom Characters

Highlights

• Video games have long embraced cynical characters, who are tired of conflict and make light of them. Capcom has included such characters in many of their titles.
• Dante from Devil May Cry is apathetic and only cares about paying the bills and relaxing, even when faced with terrifying creatures. He finds humor in their threats and plans to enjoy life after defeating them.
• Karin from Street Fighter is snobbish and believes that success and business sense make her superior. She applies this mentality to combat and uses her self-centered nature to improve herself and compete in the Street Fighter tournament.

One expects video game characters to be earnest and enthusiastic. Because of that expectation, though, such characters can become stale. That’s why more recent games have given way to more cynical characters.

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Capcom has gotten involved in this trend. This studio’s titles feature several characters who are just done with it all. They don’t care about the conflict one way or another, sometimes even making light of it. This mindset occasionally stems from a rough past, as someone who’s seen the worst would hardly be impressed by anything less. Alternatively, this might just be the way the character is written. However they adopt their attitudes, these cynical characters are usually among the most engaging in the industry.

6 Dante

Devil May Cry

The son of a demon knight, Dante isn’t fazed by the supernatural. In fact, he runs his Devil May Cry business to rid clients of monstrous problems. This would ordinarily make him a hero. Though a small part of him is determined to do what’s right, he gives an outward impression of pure apathy. He only seems to care about paying the bills and relaxing. Even the most frightening creature is just a pest for him to exterminate (for a fee).

That becomes apparent whenever he confronts a demon. The creatures all give some longwinded speech or threat, yet Dante only makes fun of them. He couldn’t care less about what they’re saying. Once he sends them to Hell, he’s just going to kick back and order another pizza.

5 Karin

Street Fighter

In many ways, Karin is the stereotypical rich girl and vapid blonde. She’s a fierce rival to Sakura, and that animosity comes from her upbringing. Her family raised her to believe that those with the best business sense and who find the most success are inherently better than everyone else. Karin takes that to the extreme, pushing her father out of his own company. As such, the struggles and feelings of “commoners” aren’t worth dwelling on. This explains her snobbish behavior around other Street Fighter characters.

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Karin soon takes that mentality of success and applies it to combat. She mellows out somewhat in doing so, appreciating others’ techniques and even acknowledging Sakura’s superiority at one point. However, she mainly uses these revelations to improve herself and retake the top spot in the Street Fighter tournament. That self-centered demeanor is ingrained in her blood. On the upside, her outlook drives her to better herself and helps her compete with other fighters.

4 Leon S. Kennedy

Resident Evil

Debuting in Resident Evil 2, Leon Kennedy begins as an idealistic buck who strives to be an honest cop and help people. Unfortunately, he must constantly fight to survive amid multiple zombie outbreaks. He sees countless friends, enemies, and strangers fall victim to the horde. Life is fleeting. Because of that, he severs what few connections he has and goes off on his own. The games repeatedly pair him with new allies, but he swiftly loses touch with them. To be fair, though, he doesn’t pay any mind to the zombies anymore.

Frequent victories have left Leon jaded to the undead menace. He often cracks jokes at his enemies’ expense. He does this while diving headfirst into no-win situations. Maybe he knows his plot armor will protect him. Whatever the case, he acts like someone with nothing to lose. When he takes risks in the early games, he wants to be a hero. When he does the same in later entries, he may just want to die.

3 The Grim Reaper

Maximo

Considering how hard Ghosts ‘n Goblins is, death is a common occurrence. That explains the Grim Reaper’s complacent, self-satisfied attitude. His position is secure because it’s always in demand. To his chagrin, the Maximo spin-off series threatens his comfortable lifestyle. When the villainous Achilles starts raising the dead, the Reaper could be out of a job. So, the skeletal entity teams up with Maximo to save the day.

Obviously, he only does so for selfish reasons. Living beings are just pawns; the Reaper simply wants those pawns to serve his own purposes. In other scenarios, he’d be an antagonist. It just so happens that his way is the natural order of things. The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.

2 Fou-Lu

Breath Of Fire 4

People often imagine gods looking down on lowly mortals. That’s actually the case with Breath of Fire 4. Fou-Lu is the dark half of protagonist Ryu and one of the Endless (immortal) beings. Upon reawakening, he encounters the worst that humanity has to offer. Ironically, the worst comes from the empire that he helped build in times long past. The lesser men now ruling it want nothing to do with him and proceed to attack. This lack of faith, loyalty, or decency is repugnant to Fou-Lu.

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Such hubris would be bad enough, but their actions also affect innocents. The imperial assault results in the death of Mami, a woman who tends Fou-Lu’s wounds. From here, the fallen god declares the human race to be irredeemable and not worth saving. He resolves to wipe them out to cleanse the world of evil. It’s the ultimate case of cynical disappointment.

1 Marino

Mega Man X

Marino is basically Capcom’s version of Rouge, the bat from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The Mega Man X character is a self-proclaimed thief. She doesn’t put much stock in the Rebellion or Resistance. In fact, she seeks to exploit the conflict for personal gain, namely to steal valuables while they’re busy fighting each other. She’s only looking out for Number One.

That sentiment holds true even once Marino joins the Rebellion. Circumstances thrust her toward this allegiance once she gets on Dr. Psycho’s bad side, but even then, she’s not a team player. She prefers her own company, as the heroes are too idealistic for her liking.

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