Video Game Characters: Part One!

Hello all!
I want to start an ongoing topic that I will cover over time. So this is Part One of my Characters segment where I talk about characters that I love and some that I hate. I won't get too philosophical with them because if I am being honest - I could talk about character personas for days. So I will keep these short and sweet! Hope you enjoy.

I am going to start with Mario!!!!  Let's-a-go!

So, Mario is an amazing character. His plot is simple. He needs to save the princess - so he does. It's a great goal because it's easy to understand for kids and the game itself is complicated enough that it won't bore an adult. As Mario evolves throughout the games his story changes. In Super Mario Sunshine (which I feel is one of the more underrated games) he has to clean up Delphino because baby bowser impersonated him and destroyed the town. You do have to save the princess in the beginning but once you save her the game continues. Mario's constantly chasing Princess Peach gives the player a mission without burdening them with layers and layers of back story.

A character in the Mario series that I cannot stand is Toad. He's constantly getting into trouble and then Mario mistakes him for the princess all the time. The only series where he is actually useful is in Luigi's Mansion where, when you find him - he is a save point. Then you're thankful to have found Toad because that means that you can continue on and worry less about dying and losing data.

Link: Protector of Hyrule!

Link is a fantastic character because he demonstrates the wise hero. Link doesn't speak much in his series (I don't know if you've noticed..) and his tacit heroism is something that I greatly appreciate.
Frankly, I don't like the American dubbed voices as much as I like the Japanese ones. Titus? Sucked. Ichigo? Lame. I feel that Link wouldn't be as successful a character if he had some wacky American voice.
Link's silence also gives off a sense of mystery. All the characters in the series find him very mysterious and I think this mystery is the reason Link and Zelda still aren't a couple. If we imagine for a moment that Link is a real person - he is obviously very thoughtful and probably very timid or shy. This makes me think that he would have a difficult time with women because he wouldn't want to make her uncomfortable. So Link stays forever friend-zoned because he's too passive and willing to serve princess Zelda (even if it means life or death).

Paarthunax

This is a totally random character that I want to write about because - I feel this weird bond with him. So at the end of Skyrim you're supposed to kill Paarthunax for aiding in Alduin's regime. For whatever reason when I reached this mission I moved on and ignored it. I went back later - hoping to 100% the game and found myself with my bowstring drawn and unable to release the trigger. Why? I still don't know. This is what I think about the character.
For one, I don't trust The Blades. While I really want Max Von Sydow (Esbern) to like me (or he might exorcise me -- get it?) I don't feel connected to that group. Paarthunax's character to me seems resentful. He's the tragedy of Lucius Malfoy. He would do anything for his master, but when his master is gone he is left to face the crimes he committed. I feel like Paarthunax has redeeming qualities that make me like him. Also, I like talking to him because he has an awesome voice actor (who, oddly enough, is the voice of many many many Nintendo characters).

Do you have any characters that you love? Leave them in the comments below!
Also, tell me whether I should kill Paarthunax or not. I still can't decide.

See you next week and thanks for reading!!