InsanityManifest:
Pretty much any male lead from a JRPG has that weird "in-the-closet" aura...Besides that none of them look like they could actually win in a good ole' fistfight.

*cough*Vaan*cough*

Katana314:
Contra characters. That enormous body and you fall flat from one shot/touch? Sheesh.

yeah, but it added to the games difficulty. You were supposed to be an ordinary dude who can die after one touch. that's why it makes it to my favorite games list.

Erana:

As was said before, characters in Survival/horror games are pathetic. Which is kinda sad, since they are usually the most realistic.

I kinda feel that's the point, though. It wouldn't feel like a survival/horror if everyone in the game was carrying BFG's and looked like they could strangle lions. I think that vulnerability adds to the game. But it doesn't discount their nomination as a weak protagonist.

As for me, I also vote the spoony bard. What other character runs and hides after getting hit once or twice...

Necrohydra:
I kinda feel that's the point, though. It wouldn't feel like a survival/horror if everyone in the game was carrying BFG's and looked like they could strangle lions. I think that vulnerability adds to the game. But it doesn't discount their nomination as a weak protagonist.

Its not even that in my eyes.
They're not vulnerable. They're plucky young twenty somethings who feel it's thier duty to go searching through Umbrella's laundry while at risk of being eaten by the walking dead, when sane people in that situation would have taken the direct route out of Racoon City as fast as they could manage it.

With the exception of every Silent Hill character (who are excused by having VALID REASONS to stay in Misty Town) and possibly games like Clock Tower, every Survival Horror character is a moronically insane puppet who's watched too many episodes of Scooby Doo, feeling the inate need to split up from thier group and look for clues while being chased by zombies or dinosaurs, or to jump into the walking dead masses clobbering them over the head with store mannequins.

monk in guild wars
although the necromancer dies too easily

James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2. He can take like 2 hits before dying, can only run for five seconds before needing to catch his breath, can't aim a rifle, and he doesn't understand that you're supposed to SWING a pipe, not stab with it.

Erana:

portuga-man:
Squall

How is having the most powerful attack in a major game franchaise weak? Please, support your reasoning.

I guess i got the wrong idea from this toppic. I thought that, by weakest protagonist, potato lord meant some like "protagonist who you wish you could kill, or not play with. someone with no depth, even though the developers tried to. An irritating protagonist. Someone you simply don't like."

Squall fits perfectly in all those categories. oh yes, he has the most powerful attack of them all, but he's just a "pouty jerk".

but if you mean weak, as in "strenght", then i guess i'll have to go with the chap from Dragon's lair for the nes. 1 hit, from everything (except the bat,s i think), and you die.

happy now? :\

Peter Jacob from eternal darkness, though i supose you could say superman the game versions.

MrCrun:
Guybrush Threapwood? He's rubbish on almost every level, apart from the ability to combine ridiculous objects with other ridiculous objects.

Except that he managed to kill the Pirate Lechuck 3 times and can hold his breath underwater. Not to mention he beat the sword master of melee island. And married the govenor. Not too shabby.

Apparently the pip-squeak from Fable(the adventure game) was pretty pathetic, though.

Toan from Dark Cloud
Senel from Tales of Legendia
just becuase, I guess.

hey how about mario and or sonic/ they couldnt do anyything, esp. mario. even sonic could run fast, but mario died after one hit. maybe 2. and he was an f@#cking plummer i mean come on he was weak as shit. sonic as well.

any escort misson NPC's. Weak as piss and completely directionless..

Any of the girls from the project zero games (i belive its fatal frame in statside) in any of the spooky cutscenes they just wimper and freeze instead of dogdeing resisiting or legging it. On which note They run like there frolicking through a garden jeez i walk faster than them and there trapped genrally in what appears to be a house/village/mansion made out of rotten plywood and paper "the door is sealed by a misterios force" Its half inch thick wood woman! Kick it through!

The Fool, from Fool's Errand.

While obvious as to the reason of him being in the game, and possibly the number one choice for going on an errand, he is... by total undenied definition: a Fool.

Raiden. Hands down. He's so bad it hurts to look at him.

dmc0419:

L4Y Duke:
I'd say its Tidus from FFX. I don't think I need to explain why, right?

I'd have to say Tidus is topped by Vaan in FFXII, they're the same person only in addition to everything Tidus brings to the table Vaan is also completely irrelevant to the game's story.

*typo

Have to agree, Atleast Tidus had that whole thing about Zanakand going on. Vaan is just a void you push around a game.

Poida12:
Or how about Max Payne? He needs to slow down time in every fight to come out on top. Cheater! It's easy to win in an unfair fight. Very weak.

Yeah. And Raz is weak because he needs to go into people's minds to fight them. And Kirby sucks because he needs to swallow people to get their abilities.

Seriously, this goes back to the "abilities" argument. Max Payne is cool because he can slow down time. It's his special superhero ability. It doesn't make him weak. And besides, he's always outnumbered. I'll put you in a room with six guys and see how well you fare.

Crash Bandicoot! 1 hit without the mask and you're done.

Why has no one mentioned Sonic the Hedgehog? He can be blown away by a small breeze if he's not holding a ring.

TheTakenOne:
Why has no one mentioned Sonic the Hedgehog? He can be blown away by a small breeze if he's not holding a ring.

i did mention sonic

josh797:
hey how about mario and or sonic/ they couldnt do anyything, esp. mario. even sonic could run fast, but mario died after one hit. maybe 2. and he was an f@#cking plummer i mean come on he was weak as shit. sonic as well.

Oh. I stand corrected, then.

Open mouth, insert foot.

Vaan from FF12. I hate his voice, and he is the worst voice actor in the entire game.

I'd say one of the player characters from those bass fishing games.

superman from superman 64.

i'm confused like many others here. i'd consider weakest to be more about anything other than physical strength or weapons or something. it's about character, conviction, etc.

so with that, how can you consider squall weak? yeah he's all pouty in the beginning and whatever, but the entire game is character development for him. at the end he's vastly different from what he was in the beginning, and you can see depth. unlike, as mentioned before, vaan from xii. why the heck was he even the main guy? THAT'S a weak protagonist.

i'd give a shout out to mallow. that little shit had no development over the entire game. he just made it rain everywhere. i know he's supposed to be a youngin', but come on. man up a little.

wilsonscrazybed:

The Potato Lord:
(or regular human one they have are sub-bar)are stupid and basically make you feel like you could do thier job better.

It's "subpar."

I'm not sure I understand this thread. Maybe it's because I feel that people who aren't cut like Rambo have redeeming qualities that make them in their own right "badass." That's kind of the point of fantasy and games in general right? Giving someone the tools to do something they couldn't normally do. In this respect perhaps you could have been clearer in your original statement as to what "weak" means to you.

Like someone said above, Gordon Freeman pretty much topples an alien empire with a crowbar and his wits. In my opinion that makes him pretty fucking badass. of course he is just a scientist, not exactly the kind of guy you expect to be in a drinking beer with The Undertaker while driving monster trucks over pools of alligators and piranha.

I personally feel that the characters like Duke Nukem who run into places guns blazing without care for strategy are simply ineffective. Not just as iconic story figures but how they represent tactics as well. To me, that equates as "weak."

Exactly. Thats why Snake and Gordon are way better than Che(i)f and Nukem. They're cool because they're different. For guys like Nukem and Cheif, saving the world is par for the course. it's expected of them. it's not expected from a one-eyed old man with a mullet. Even the Arbiter is better than Cheif, who isnt all that bad to begin with. Arbiter turns invisible, and fights with a squad of Osoona; that's a win for strategy.

Some suggestions for the title (with reasoning as requested):

1) Daxter: Whilst he had his own game, he was still pretty crappy and useless in his first outing.
2) The villagers of Tristram in Diablo II: Given what happened to them in the first game... wouldn't they just move instead of awaiting the destruction of the second?
3) Any hero unit in StarCraft: They were all very powerful granted, but given that the level was an instant failure if they died did anyone ever take them out of their base? (aside from when the objectives ordered you to)
4) Leisure Suit Larry: C'mon ladies, who's gonna hit that?
5) Tony Hawk: Given that we know he's a boarding legend, why do we have to train him up from pathetic in all his games?

Eagerly awaiting feedback

MA7743W:
monk in guild wars
although the necromancer dies too easily

Someone listed Guild Wars! ~my hero~
Seriously though, my all time putz of a protagonist is Cloud Strife. He's strong, yeah, but he has a huge mental breakdown and gets put in a home where he sits and drools on himself. I find myself thinking, "Get over it man! You have a world to save and a major evil to put down! You can deal with your inferiority complex LATER!" So imo, he's not weak in the physical sense, but weak in the head for most of the game. Yes I know the poor guy was tortured in Hojo's lab but sometimes there are more important things than crying over your own pain. Or maybe Cecil has just set the bar too high for me, I dunno.

can it be an enemy? if so those litle ewoks from halo 3 there such wimps!
o and as a protagonist i have to say The silver surfer, anyone playd that game on nes he hits a fucking bird and he dies

everyone is complaining aboute raiden but i already forgot aboute that guy, kojima even things out for me by giving me the ability to kick his ass in mgs3

Hi, new here.

I'm going with (dare he say it?) GOKU, Yeah, I said it!

"But Goku can teleport across space even dimensions and the Kamehameha Wave and the Super Saiyin...."

Yeah and despite all that power, he has the brain of an 8-year-old as it was likely that his wife tricked him into having sex as he doesn't really care about anything, but fighting and training to fight some more. The only real reason he wins is that its always a p---ing contest between him and whatever villain is out to destroy the world where a deus ex machina comes along to make sure Goku wins. Goku even ADMITTED that he's a villain magnet at the end of the Cell Saga though he instantly comes back against Buu and in GT. Also Goku and his crew showed BALLS-OUT RIDICULOUS irresponsibility when he was given about 3 YEARS of advance warning to destroy the Androids BEFORE they could be activated and go on a killing spree, but NOOOOO!

"That's weak. I want a challenge. Let them be activated, kill people, almost kill my friends and family multiple times until I show up and pull something out my butt to save the day. We can ALWAYS use the Dragon Balls to wish everyone back!"

Everyone always compares him to a fight against Superman or Hulk, but honestly, BATMAN could beat him down by just outsmarting him. It's really not that hard as even the most "evil" of enemies never kicked him in the nads and/or interrupted his 5-minute long attacks and transformations and he'll kindly let any equally long finishing move gear up to hit him.

Goku's SUPPOSED to represent innocence, peace and determination, but honestly, he lives in a world of idiots where making money is apparently evil, no matter what the methods or intentions to do with said money, women are better nags than fighters and that the universe bends in his favor as the king idiot whether its an underestimating bad guy, a planet that's supposed to explode in minutes, but takes MONTHS to blow and of course, a new power/form to save the day.

Goku has all that power, but not only is he useless once the day's saved, but he RELIES on villains to justify his existence, otherwise he's just a bum that can only provide for his family by punching out giant fish. I'm not Superman's biggest fan, but at least when the day's over he actually HAS a life instead of being a fight junkie.

Kshandamionreal:
Hi, new here.

I'm going with (dare he say it?) GOKU, Yeah, I said it!

"But Goku can teleport across space even dimensions and the Kamehameha Wave and the Super Saiyin...."

Yeah and despite all that power, he has the brain of an 8-year-old as it was likely that his wife tricked him into having sex as he doesn't really care about anything, but fighting and training to fight some more. The only real reason he wins is that its always a p---ing contest between him and whatever villain is out to destroy the world where a deus ex machina comes along to make sure Goku wins. Goku even ADMITTED that he's a villain magnet at the end of the Cell Saga though he instantly comes back against Buu and in GT. Also Goku and his crew showed BALLS-OUT RIDICULOUS irresponsibility when he was given about 3 YEARS of advance warning to destroy the Androids BEFORE they could be activated and go on a killing spree, but NOOOOO!

"That's weak. I want a challenge. Let them be activated, kill people, almost kill my friends and family multiple times until I show up and pull something out my butt to save the day. We can ALWAYS use the Dragon Balls to wish everyone back!"

Everyone always compares him to a fight against Superman or Hulk, but honestly, BATMAN could beat him down by just outsmarting him. It's really not that hard as even the most "evil" of enemies never kicked him in the nads and/or interrupted his 5-minute long attacks and transformations and he'll kindly let any equally long finishing move gear up to hit him.

Goku's SUPPOSED to represent innocence, peace and determination, but honestly, he lives in a world of idiots where making money is apparently evil, no matter what the methods or intentions to do with said money, women are better nags than fighters and that the universe bends in his favor as the king idiot whether its an underestimating bad guy, a planet that's supposed to explode in minutes, but takes MONTHS to blow and of course, a new power/form to save the day.

Goku has all that power, but not only is he useless once the day's saved, but he RELIES on villains to justify his existence, otherwise he's just a bum that can only provide for his family by punching out giant fish. I'm not Superman's biggest fan, but at least when the day's over he actually HAS a life instead of being a fight junkie.

I must say that I share your opinion of that series. Its total garbage. My question is how do you know so much about it when you obviously hate it enough to stop at one episode?

I'm going to have to go with Raiden myself. I'm one of the few twisted assholes who LIKED Rose. Simply because she made him suffer.

Girlysprite:
Mario. You'd think that after Bowser has kidnapped the princess so many times, he'd finally kill the dude, but noooo.

but then he wouldn't have a golfing buddy

The lazy ball juggling beach boy Tidus and his unbelievably naive but shamelessly dressed stripper puppet, Yuna. GDI in general, cause Nod always manages to get the drop on them. Finally, the Exile(LSM) from KotOR 2, I just couldnt sympathize with his story in the same way that I could Revan(DSF), or any variant of the two characters. In conclusion, Paine rocks, Nod is the best, and Revan is queen of the sith!