I Wish I Was in Dixie

Instead of the Old West, Red Steel 2 is set in the “Red West” which combines elements from the American West with Asian architecture and culture. This combination is fitting, given that the Westerns of the 1960s were directly influenced by Japanese samurai films. (A Fistful of Dollars was effectively a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo while The Magnificent Seven was based on Seven Samurai.) Red Steel 2‘s nameless hero is last member of the Kusagari Clan and aims to avenge his fallen brethren by confronting marauding biker gangs that infest the region. He arms himself with both pistols and swords, and his fighting style is an extension of the East-West connection that permeates the game. His character could be described as underdeveloped, but his motives are clear despite the lack of exposition.

Gemini Sunrise left her home in Texas for the bright lights of New York City at the request of her dying master. She has trouble fitting in due to her cowgirl personality, but that’s to be expected when you keep a horse in your apartment and ride it around the city. Gemini joins up with the New York Combat Revue’s Star Division – which is a combat unit disguised as a musical troupe. Gemini was trained as a samurai but always dreamed of performing on stage, so the Star Division was a perfect fit for her. Armed with both a katana and a Colt Single Action Army revolver, Gemini is effective in battle despite her innate clumsiness. She fights demons around the city, entertains theatre-goers, and engages in a power struggle with her sister Geminine who resides inside her body as an alter-ego. How very typical.

GUN is an open-world game centered around Colton White’s journey to find his father’s killers. During his adventures, Cole rides horses, hunts wild animals, encounters bandits, herds cattle, participates in poker tournaments, aides law enforcement officials, and tries his hand at bounty hunting. A skilled marksman, Cole arms himself with revolvers, rifles, shotguns, bows, and various explosives. He also has knives, tomahawks, and other melee weapons at his disposal. Cole can be surprisingly vicious at times, and he’s not above slitting throats, using human shields, or scalping his enemies after they’ve been dispatched. He’s ultimately a product of his environment, and his life reflects the harshness of the American frontier in the late 1800s. (The fact that Cole has to fend off a grizzly bear attack in the first scene in the game illustrates this point.)

Wild Arms is one of the few RPG series to adopt an American Old West motif, and numerous characters from the franchise were considered for this list. Jack Van Burace certainly looks the part of a cowboy with his blue jeans and duster coat, but he fits the mold of a samurai cowboy rather than following the typical John Wayne archetype. Like many others on this list, Jack has a mysterious past, he’s driven by vengeance, and he’s known as a fast draw. He’s depicted as a treasure hunter of sorts, but he’s really looking for a way to confront his past. Once known as Garrett Stampede, Jack abandoned his former life as an elite knight after an incident led to the death of the woman he loved. Despite being a drifter with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Jack has a carefree personality and is responsible for a number of light-hearted moments.

Dixie has a lot in common with Tina Armstrong. They’re both stereotypical American girls, they’re both professional wrestlers, and they’re both featured in games that focus heavily on sex appeal. Dixie grew up as the daughter of a prominent rancher and held her own against all of her male counterparts on the rugged Texas landscape. She won numerous rodeo competitions, volunteered at the Sheriff’s office, and was even recognized as the most eligible bachelorette in the Lone Star State. With her big mouth, big hair, and big boobs, Dixie promotes a culture of excess and is a reflection of how the Japanese view American girls. She’s boisterous and energetic, but you really have to admire her confidence. She loves flaunting her figure both in and out of the ring, and it’s hard not to be impressed with her “chaps and panties” look.

Irvine Kinneas is an expert gunslinger and renowned sniper. Despite his reputation for being a loner, he has a charming and playful personality and cherishes the company of others. A consummate ladies’ man, Irvine uses his lone-wolf persona to impress women. He acts as though he doesn’t have a care in the world, but it’s all for show. Irvine is hired to assassinate a sorceress, but he does not perform well under pressure and seemingly chokes. It’s later implied that his hesitation was intentional, and Irvine generally shows more caution than his friends do. Irvine faces a number of moral dilemmas throughout the course of Final Fantasy VIII, but he is driven by honor and always aims to do the right thing. As the last party member introduced in the game, he generally doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves.

Silas Greaves was clearly created in the image of Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name” character from the legendary Dollars Trilogy. His large brimmed hat and tattered poncho would be right at home in a Spaghetti Western, and his stoic personality is a perfect fit for the genre. Silias was a famous bounty hunter who rose to fame in the 1880s. Driven by revenge, Silias planned to gun down his brother’s killers and was motivated by a strong sense of justice. At 62-years old, Silias is the oldest character on this list, and his life experience makes him one of the most interesting to boot. His life is filled with stories of revenge and redemption, and his bounty hunting adventures are almost unbelievable. On his own accord, Silias is said to have defeated or killed John Wesley Hardin, Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance Kid.

Don’t worry, you’re not seeing double. Like Silias Greaves, Jesse McCree draws inspiration from Spaghetti Westerns. (He’s basically Clint Eastwood transplanted into a futuristic setting.) A former outlaw looking to atone for his past indiscretions, McCree is a walking stereotype who makes constant references to Western films. Although he finds employ as a gunslinger for hire, he only fights for causes he believes in. Justice ain’t gonna dispense itself, after all. Like any respectable cowboy, McCree arms himself with a trusty revolver. He’s quick enough to empty his six-shooter in a matter of seconds, and his ultimate “Deadeye” ability allows him to eliminate anyone in sight. He doesn’t score a lot of points for originality, but his appearance in Overwatch speaks to the timeless nature of the cowboy archetype.

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath was one of the most underrated games from its generation and arguably the best game that Oddworld Inhabitants ever made. The Stranger is a fearsome bounty hunter who pursues and captures outlaws (dead or alive) in order to raise funds for a mysterious life-saving operation. Armed primarily with a self-made crossbow that uses small animals as ammunition, the Stranger travels from town to town collecting bounties. He captures most of his targets with relative ease, and his rugged toughness allows him to fend off most of his opponents with little effort. Like so many other heroes from the Western genre, the Stranger’s past is shrouded in mystery. His actions are straightforward and he seldom says more than he needs to. It almost feels as though his character was lifted straight out of a Sergio Leone film.

No character in gaming better exemplifies the cowboy lifestyle than John Marston. Born in the 1870s and orphaned at a young age, John spent his youth as an outlaw committing robberies, raids, and other crimes across the frontier. After being shot during a failed robbery attempt, John abandoned his life of crime and bought himself a ranch where he could live peacefully with his wife and son. His daily routine is filled with cattle herding, horse taming, and hunting, and John partakes in basically every activity that people associate with the American Old West. He’s renowned for his gunslinging abilities, he hunts down bounties on wanted posters, and his funds are largely supported by gambling wagers that he makes in various saloons. He has experienced life on both sides of the law, and this gives him a unique perspective on the world.