How Swede It Is

Most of the characters in Bloody Roar have the ability to transform into half-animal creatures, but Xion the Unborn takes the form of a demonic beast from another dimension. There’s obviously something different about him, and he seems intent on destroying everyone around him. His tyrannical tendencies were fueled by a cursed relic, however, and he wasn’t overtly evil. Although he’s motivated by power and dreams of becoming an all-powerful being, Xion is misguided and often confused. He’s not as calculating as he appears, and often lacks control over his actions. When he’s not being consumed by a dark presence, Xion revels in self-reflection and typically keeps to himself. He’s one of the most interesting characters on the Bloody Roar roster, but I can’t rank him higher on this list since his Swedish background is barely mentioned.

Swedish video game characters are few and far between, so this gives me the perfect opportunity to highlight lesser-known individuals. The Samaritan Paradox is an obscure point-and-click adventure game that was released on PCs in 2014. The game follows a frustrated post-grad student named Ord Salomon. After Ord is given an unfinished novel that’s filled with cryptic codes, he proceeds to unravel the secrets surrounding the author’s death. In his efforts to solve the mystery, Ord pieces together clues, solves a bunch of puzzles, and ultimately discovers a lost fortune. The whole thing unfolds like a politically-charged morality play, and Ord gets more excitement than he bargained for. The Samaritan Paradox is set in Sweden during the 1980s, but the game isn’t overly concerned with realism. Ord even comes face-to-face with a dragon at one point!

Annika Lofquist is one of several Swedish operatives in the Rainbow Six series. Her father was an admiral in the Swedish Navy and her mother was active in the Swedish Green party, so it’s fair to say that Annika has stronger ties to her home country than most of the characters on this list. The Göteborg native attended Stockholm University and served with the Stockholm police force for many years before joining an elite counter-terrorism unit known as Team Rainbow. Rest assured, her engineering background made up for her lack of military training. With 14 patents to her name, she was an innovator in the field of electronic surveillance. There are no gender restrictions in the Swedish military and women may even be considered for the draft in the future, so it’s only fitting to highlight a female soldier on this list.

Aero Fighters (known as Sonic Wings in Japan) is a series of shoot ’em ups with a comedic flair. They look like typical military-style shooters on the surface, but the games are infused with humorous elements. During the game, you’ll encounter flying dolphins, cybernetic gorillas, and transforming landmarks. Players can choose from several pilots, and each one has their own distinct plane and weaponry. Kohful is basically an airborne Viking, and he wears a horned helmet instead of proper flight gear. The series is light on exposition, but Kohful’s massive muscles and manly moustache say more about him than a wall of text ever could. He’s somewhat cocky and often argues with his robotic sidekick over who the best pilot is, but you have to admire his confidence. He’d happily conquer other planets if his jet would allow for it.

Chris isn’t the type of person you’d expect to see in an international fighting tournament. Not only is he remarkably shy and unassuming, but he’s also a 14-year-old boy who is voiced by a woman! Most of his opponents have a clear size advantage over him, so Chris mostly relies on speed and acrobatics. He also happens to be one of the four “Heavenly Kings” who was chosen to host a divine spirit called Orochi. While under the influence of Orochi, Chris loses his innocent smile and becomes a sadistic and hateful individual. He also gains the ability to wield dark flames, and he uses his pyrokinesis with malicious intent. You’d never expect such explosive power from someone like Chris, but it kind of makes sense. A country known for putting ketchup on pasta obviously knows a thing or two about subverting expectations.

Introduced in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, Lars Alexandersson is a charismatic and heroic solider. He’s not the most obvious choice for this list, however. His blond hair and blue eyes are indicative of a Swede, and he borrows fashion cues from the Scandinavian God of Thunder, Thor. At the same time, he speaks Japanese and looks like a typical anime character. Incidentally, Lars is the illegitimate son of a famous Japanese martial artist named Heihachi Mishima. Heihachi ran the Mishima Zaibatsu for nearly 60 years, but Lars staged a coup d’etat and overthrew the crime syndicate. Lars’ flexibility as a fighter makes him effective against a variety of styles, and he has been painted as the star of Tekken since making his debut. He would have been rated higher on this list if not for the fact that his Swedish heritage is underplayed.

A brilliant young woman who possesses exceptional spiritual powers, Petra Johanna Lagerkvist represents the Swedish Branch of the Celestial Union. (The Celestial Union is a group of special fighters from around the globe who can fight with the power of angels.) Armed with magical handguns and backed by tremendous wealth, Petra is a valuable asset to the organization. She puts her detective skills to use in various locations around the world, and she commands respect wherever she goes. I guess that comes with the territory when you have super-human strength and stamina. Although she’s still a teenager, Petra is wise beyond her years, confident in her abilities, and incredibly dedicated to her work. She comes from a gifted family line, and Sweden should be proud to have such a classy and dignified representative on the world stage.

Mattias Nilsson is the poster boy of the Mercenaries series, and he has been featured in more trailers, ad campaigns, and game covers than any of his castmates. Boisterous, aggressive, and outright rebellious, Mattias served in the Swedish Navy before finding work as a mercenary. He looks like a modern-day viking, and he has the same adventurous spirit that ancient Scandinavians were known for. Mattias has a well-documented affinity for high-grade explosives, and he openly questions why everything can’t be propelled by rockets. Sweden introduced the world to dynamite in 1867, and Mattias seems determined to promote explosives around the globe. He uses explosives for even the smallest of problems, and his weapons are even more volatile than his personality. His penchant for destruction borders on obsession.

Dwarfs are a staple of Scandinavian folklore, and there’s no better representative for this list than Torbjörn Lindholm. As one of the greatest engineers in the world, Torbjörn designed weapon systems for various countries around the world. He hoped his technology could make the world a better place, but his employers let sentient robots control the weapons. When the robot populations turned against their human creators, Torbjörn’s inventions played an integral part in ending the conflict. In battle, Torbjörn uses a multi-purpose hammer to build, upgrade, and repair weapons. The dude can assemble a turret faster than most people can assemble an Ikea bookcase! Torbjörn’s daughter Brigitte was also considered for this list, but her beauty only serves as a reminder that Torbjörn’s wife was way out of his league.

Marie Rose was created as a response to Sweden’s regressive PC police. In 2011, Dead or Alive: Dimensions was banned in Sweden because some of the fictional characters were under 18. (Some people can’t tell the difference between a fighting game and pornography.) In response, Team Ninja created a new character with the proportions of a 12-year-old girl. Marie Rose was a Swedish servant who looked younger than any of her co-stars, but no one could take issue with her design since her arbitrary in-game bio said she was 18. Despite her youthful appearance (or because of it?), the pint-sized brawler became one of the most popular girls in the entire franchise. Maybe the fans just wanted a little variety. In any regard, Marie wouldn’t exist it wasn’t for Sweden, so it’s appropriate that she shares a birthday with the country.