Winter is Coming

Celsius has been featured in many games in the Tales franchise and has appeared as a summon spirit, an optional boss, and a playable character. Her role changes from one game to the next, but she’s typically depicted as an attractive blue-skinned woman who specializes in martial arts. As the so-called “Disciple of Everlasting Ice,” she attacks with ice needles, envelopes her opponents in glaciers, and causes shards of ice to emerge from the ground. She can also conjure blizzards out of nowhere or surround herself in a vortex of white wind. Celsius hangs around in ice temples and is often seen with her wolf companion, but she generally gives the cold shoulder to humans. She speaks harshly at times, but undercurrents of affection are apparent in her actions. All in all, Celsius is a lot warmer than she looks.

Mitsuru Kirijo has great genetics and was born into money, but she’s defined by her restless ambition rather than her birthright. She was the president of her student council and a mentor to younger classmates, but she still found time to start a secret organization to hunt monsters. Mitsuru is linked with spiritual beings called Personas who can be summoned to fight on her behalf. These Personas are manifestations of her inner psyche, and their affinity for ice reflects her cold and direct personality. In battle, Mitsuru shows off elegant fencing skills while her Personas freeze her opponents with ice-based magic. With giant ice mirrors that act as shields, frozen shards that are used as projectiles, and glacial masses that bombard enemies from all directions, Mitsuru has a chilling effect on the dark forces she contends with.

Centuries ago, the Ice Witch Lissandra swept across the land like a blizzard in an attempt to unleash an ice age on the world. She was defeated by ancient warriors, but she refused to let it go. She worked tirelessly to erase knowledge of her existence and began planning for war. To that end, Lissandra assassinated a tribal leader, stole his identity, and began chipping away at the tribe’s values. The tribe became more insular with each passing generation, and Lisandra was eventually left with the cruel and twisted army that she desired. In battle, Lissandra throws ice spears that shatter upon impact, immobilizes enemies with permafrost, and entombs herself in glacial floes to make herself invulnerable. Her moveset might have been even cooler if she spent her time devising new spells rather than trying to rewrite history.

The Crystal Maiden Rylai has many ways to disable her foes. Her Frostbite technique encases enemies in blocks of ice, Crystal Nova delivers bursts of damaging frost that slow enemy movement, and her Freezing Field surrounds her body with icy explosions. Her abilities are not unlike most of the characters listed here, but they were not easy for her to master. Rylai was born in a temperate realm and raised alongside her fiery older sister. Unfortunately, her innate ability to control ice caused problems in her village as she’d unwittingly stop rivers, ruin crops, and destroy entire orchids. After being abandoned by her family and banished from her village, Rylai was taken in by an Ice Wizard and taught to use the frozen arts in a proficient way. By the time Rylai descended from the glacier, her skills were unmatched.

One of six Robot Masters from the first Mega Man game, Ice Man was specifically designed to perform under extreme climate conditions. He stands out from other Mega Man bosses like an overused cliché. Not only is he the smallest of all the Robot Masters, but his blue parka basically makes him look like a regular Eskimo. (And an adorable Eskimo at that!) If it wasn’t for the fact that he shoots waves of super-chilled air from his mouth, I wouldn’t even be sure that he was a robot at all. His Ice Slasher attack – which produces a blade of ice that can freeze anything it touches – is his trademark maneuver, but Ice Man also has versatility on his side. In Mega Man Powered Up, he can turn his enemies into blocks of ice and use them as platforms to reach areas that are inaccessible to others. He’s basically the epitome of cool.

Since her introduction in Final Fantasy III, the Ice Queen Shiva has appeared in almost every game in the series in one form or another. Wreathed and frost and not much else, the enticing Empress of Ice is occasionally featured as a boss, but she’s usually an ally who can be summoned to battle. One look at her alluring figure could make the ice man cometh, but her cold embrace condemns her enemies to oblivion. Blizzards whirl and rage at her command, and she wields ice and snow to send her foes into an eternal sleep. After her frosty breath freezes her enemies, she can shatter the ice with a graceful snap of her fingers. Shiva has never been given any significant back story, but her regular appearances in the Final Fantasy series have made her one of the most popular entries on this entire list regardless.

I might be bending my own rules by including both Mitsuru Kirijo and Jack Frost on this list, but I think it’s fair since Jack had already appeared in several Megami Tensei games before Persona was spun off from the main franchise. Jack Frost takes the form of a friendly snowman and his appearance marks the coming of winter. He leaves beautiful icy patterns on windows and acts like a friendly child, but he’s not nearly as innocent as he looks. When provoked, his mischievous side takes over and he’ll freeze his foes with ice and snow. Just because he’s an ice person doesn’t mean that he’s a nice person. To date, Jack has appeared in over 30 games. Like Shiva, he is almost always featured in a supporting role, but he’s incredibly popular in certain circles and can almost be seen as a mascot for the entire Megaten franchise.

Glacius is an alien being from a distant planet who acts as a galactic marshal. During a routine visit to Earth, his ship was shot down over Antarctica. Though seriously injured in the attack, Glacius survived by using local resources to create a new shell. His frozen surroundings didn’t provide a lot of options, so Glacius chose ice for his new body and set out to locate his assailant. The other characters on this list can manipulate ice, but Glacius is actually made out of it. His knowledge of ice is so intimate that he’s able to liquidize himself at will. This lets him melt down into a puddle and quickly move across the ground. It also allows him to morph his arms into weapons like lances and axes. His powers could be likened to the T-1000 from Terminator 2, though I’m pretty sure the T-1000 couldn’t form spiked balls from the moisture in the air.

Kula Diamond was created by a crime syndicate to exterminate a man named K’ who had betrayed the organization. As a response to K’s fire-based abilities, Kula’s DNA was altered to give her ice powers. Despite efforts to repress her emotions, Kula acts like a typical 14-year-old girl. She certainly doesn’t fight like one, however. She can blow freezing air from her mouth, create dangerous ice spikes, or simply freeze the ground below her. She uses ice as a shield, a projectile, and a material to encase her opponents. Her entire body is weaponized, too. She’ll freeze her hair into pointed spikes, absorb incoming projectiles with her icy hands, or suspend people in place simply by touching them. When Kula’s strawberry-blonde hair turns blue and frigid air begins to swirl around her, it’s a sign that someone’s about to be knocked out cold.

The original Sub-Zero was a skilled ninja named Bi-Han who was killed during the events of the first Mortal Kombat. Kuai Liang adopted the Sub-Zero moniker in the sequel to honor his older brother’s legacy. The brothers were both assassins for the Lin Kuei clan and descended from an aptly-named race known as Cryomancers. Sub-Zero’s innate ability to control ice provides him with many ways to flash-freeze opponents. His blasts can stop opponents in their tracks and even make them hang in mid-air! He also uses ice breath, shields himself with ice walls, and erects explosive ice statues in his own likeness. He shatters his frozen opponents into pieces and is cold-hearted enough to rip out their spines, but he also has fun with his powers. This is evident when he freezes his opponents and uses their bodies as skateboards.