The Final Frontier

A tragic villain if ever there was one, Captain Vladimir is a Soviet cosmonaut who still believes that he’s in space. He’s completely unhinged from reality, but it’s understandable given his situation. The poor guy spent two decades floating in space! He continues to wear his helmet after he returns to Earth because he thinks he will die without it. Vladimir has no clue what’s going on in battle, but he appears to have telekinetic powers and can somehow manipulate gravity. His strange powers and unlikely tale of survival have led many to speculate that Vladimir is long since dead and that his spirit was merely possessing the space suit. This theory suggests that Vladimir could only pass to the other side after finding peace. Fittingly, Vladimir’s body disappears after he finally realizes that he had made it home. Welcome back, Captain.

Roger Wilco is a janitor who survives an attack on his ship because he was sleeping in the maintenance closet when he should have been working. Relying solely on dumb luck, Roger destroys an alien space ship and saves his home world before being rewarded with a golden mop and a promotion to head janitor. Throughout the course of the Space Quest series, Roger battles hostile aliens, takes down greedy corporations, and even travels through time! Unfortunately, his career has no upward mobility whatsoever. He’s briefly named captain of his own ship due to a mix-up at the StarCon Academy, but he’s promptly demoted back to janitor. Roger Wilco is lazy, clumsy, unfunny, obnoxious, selfish, annoying, and incompetent, but he’s also a hero who inadvertently saves the galaxy on numerous occasions.

As an orphan growing up on a desert planet, Jaster Rogue dreamed of seeing the galaxy. Military occupation made it illegal to leave, but Jaster found his ticket off the planet when he met two space pirates who were looking for recruits. The pirates mistook Jaster for a legendary bounty hunter and invited him to join them. Jaster had grown to resent his planet, so he jumped at the opportunity to pursue his life-long dream of sailing the stars. Although it was not his intent, Jaster ended up falling into an epic adventure involving lost planets, ancient artifacts, and undercover space princesses. In his attempt to learn more about the galaxy, Jaster discovered more about his own secret legacy. Who would ever have imagined that an orphan from a desert planet would play such an important role in the galaxy? Where do they come up with this stuff!?

Infinite Space is set tens of thousands of years in the future where mankind has spread across several galaxies. Yuri had a strong sense of adventure from the time he was young, and he eventually fulfilled his dream of sailing into the sea of stars after he bought his own ship. Civilian space travel was technically outlawed by his planet’s leader, but Yuri was willing to bend the rules. The young captain-in-training engages in piracy, kidnapping, and even murder in order to achieve his goals. He’s generally a heroic figure, but he often has to look at the bigger picture since he’s investigating ancient artifacts that can supposedly manipulate the universe itself. Like every other young man in science fiction who dreams of traveling through space, Yuri uncovers surprising truths about his own secret legacy.

In an era where most RPGs were based in medieval fantasy, Phantasy Star broke the mold by introducing sci-fi elements like space travel. It was also noteworthy for featuring one of gaming’s first female protagonists in Alis Landale. Alis is a strong character who seeks vengeance against the evil King Lassic after witnessing the death of her brother at the hands of vicious robot cops. Her motivations begin to change as she meets more victims of Lassic’s oppression, however. She’s still driven by vengeance, but she also takes on a larger goal of liberating the solar system. She gains allies and obtains legendary weapons during her journey, and she ends up visiting three different planets along the way. Alis is celebrated as a hero in the Phantasy Star universe and is remembered thousands of years after her death.

Released in 1983, Jetpac followed the exploits of Jetman as he worked to rebuild and fuel his rocket in order to explore new planets. He could move around freely with the use of his jetpack, and he was armed with a laser to fend off waves of hostile aliens. Lunar Jetman presented all sorts of new challenges, and the seasoned spaceman found himself building bridges, destroying bases, and navigating across harsh terrain from the safety of a lunar rover. Solar Jetman focused mostly on Jetman’s skills as a pilot as he contended with gravity and inertia while searching for lost pieces of a legendary ship on various planets. Jetman doesn’t get a lot of attention these days, but his games were a big deal back in the day. All of his adventures (including the 2007 Jetpac sequel) can be re-lived on Rare Replay.

When Rosalina was a little girl, she met a lost star child who was waiting for its mother in a rusted space ship. After spending years peering into the night skies together, Rosalina decided they should fix the ship and search for the celestial mother themselves. After packing all the essentials – including a stuffed bunny and her father’s telescope – Rosalina set sail into the stars. They were unable to find the Luma’s mother, so Rosalina took it upon herself to take care of the child and built a place for them to live. In the meantime, Rosalina’s home planet had become a pale blue dot in the distance. When she glazed back at her home through her telescope, she was hit with the realization that her own mother had died while she was busy looking for the Luma’s mother. Congratulations, Rosalina. You played yourself!

While traveling to the planet Landroll for a vacation, Opoona’s ship was destroyed by unknown forces and he was separated from his family. Upon learning that his parents had been injured, Opoona decided to get a job in order to pay for their extensive treatment. As a descendant of the brave Cosmo Guards of the planet Tizia, Opoona was well-suited for the Landroll Ranger program. While his parents were recovering, Opoona completed many assignments as a Ranger and was eventually reunited with his siblings. Despite his bravery, Opoona is not depicted as a chosen hero. His adventures reinforce the importance of relationships and family, and everyone he meets has a meaningful existence. Opoona is relatively obscure, but his cult following warranted him a spot in Koei Tecmo’s crossover hack-and-slash game, Musou Stars.

Kerbal Space Program features a realistic orbital physics engine that has caught the interest of NASA, but Jebediah Kerman and the other Kerbals are downright ridiculous despite their ability to construct complex spacecraft. Jebediah is the presumed owner of “Jeb’s Junkyard and Spaceship Parts Co.” – which stands as a symbol of the unstoppable Kerbal drive towards attempting the impossible. Jeb is one of four original kerbonauts introduced in the game, but there are several reasons why he’s the most well-known. By default, Jeb will be the first kerbonaut to board any vessel launched. He’s also prominently featured in training scenarios. Most importantly, Jeb is a complete badass. Situations that would spark fear in most kerbonauts have no affect on Jeb, and he keeps on smiling regardless of how much danger he’s in.

A tiny astronaut from the planet Hocotate, Captain Olimar’s ship crash landed on a distant planet that was home to strange, plant-like creatures called Pikmin. The planet’s oxygen atmosphere was poisonous to Hocotates, so Olimar had to recruit the Pikmin to help recover missing pieces of his ship before his life support systems ran out of power. He managed to return home, but he later returned to the same distant planet in search of treasure to pay off the debts of the freight company he worked for. Olimar is an unlikely hero, but it’s hard not to root for an honest man with a strong work ethic. Olimar is also a quintessential family man. Although his adventures take him to the far reaches of the galaxy, he’s always thinking about his family and keeps in touch with his wife and kids through the magic of space e-mail.