5 Best Star Wars Video Game Characters, Ranked

Glup Shittos are everywhere, and they don't just come from the movies. Over its nearly 50-year history, "Star Wars" has turned out popular characters across all possible media, from the core films and TV series to the comics, novels, and even video games. Names like Nomi Sunrider, Prince Xizor, Darth Bane, and Doctor Aphra may not be quite as famous as the Luke Skywalkers and Darth Vaders of the galaxy far, far away; but for devoted fans, these more extraneous characters are often just as beloved, and the video games have a whole slew of their own fan-favorite faces.

Due to the sheer number of "Star Wars" video games that have come out over the decades, whittling down a list of just five all-time great characters is no easy task. We have to first give honorable mentions where they are due. Supporting players of the "Knights of the Old Republic" games like Jolee Bindo, Bastila Shan, and Atton Rand are all icons. The underrated "Star Wars Outlaws" has some strong contenders, with heroes Kay Vess and ND-5 leading the way. The modern-day "Jedi" games have plenty of compelling allies and villains, like Nightsister Merrin and former Jedi Dagan Gera. We also have to salute the brave members of Delta Squad. And of course, what discussion of "Star Wars" video game characters would be complete without giving a nod to true '90s icon Dash Rendar?

With only five spots, though, we had to save the majority for the true legends: "Star Wars" video game characters so beloved and memorable that fans still talk about them decades later.

Galen Marek, better known as Starkiller, debuted in the 2008 video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed." Riding the ultraviolent character-action wave sparked by 2000s hits like "God of War" and "Devil May Cry," the game attempted to bring a similarly edgy vibe to the galaxy. To do that, Lucasfilm Games (previously known as LucasArts) created a protagonist of unbelievable Force power.

Starkiller was a quick hit with a certain segment of the fandom, combining that dark side cool factor with a level of brooding sympathy that would have made him right at home in a Thirty Seconds to Mars music video. With a tagline like "May the Force blow your mind," it would have been easy to completely phone in the protagonist, but Galen got two big boosts: one from some higher-level story writing that exceeded what most folks expected from a "Star Wars" game at the time, and again from actor Sam Witwer, who delivered a great performance right as video game graphics got good enough where that started to matter.

Today, Witwer is a "Star Wars" legend, known best for voicing the resurgent Darth Maul from his "Clone Wars" resurrection all the way through his currently airing self-titled animated series on Disney+. He's a mainstay of the franchise in its modern form, and Starkiller was his debut. For that alone, the character earns a spot on this list, but he'd still be here even if Witwer hadn't become such a fan favorite in his own right. Even in the games' sillier moments, Starkiller is just a memorable character.

He's Cal Kestis. A double jump, he can do. Disney gets a lot of guff for its hit rate with "Star Wars," but it has done pretty well overall when it comes to the video game side of the franchise. "Outlaws" got patched into a pretty fantastic open-world "Star Wars" sandbox, "Battlefront II" fixed a disastrous launch build and became a fantastic multiplayer game when all was said and done, and the LEGO games have continued to hit. But the crowning achievement of "Star Wars" gaming in the Disney era is undeniably the "Jedi" games, starring knight-on-the-run Cal Kestis.

There are a lot of reasons why Cal deserves to be on this list. Cameron Monaghan is a top-level actor who turns in an excellent, nuanced, resonant performance. The stories of both "Jedi: Fallen Order" and "Jedi: Survivor" put Cal in compelling emotional circumstances that actually take advantage of that level of acting talent — something that wouldn't have always been the case for a "Star Wars" game. And perhaps most notably, Cal Kestis is one of the first Jedi in the Disney era to get a real, dedicated romance arc, which wasn't too uncommon in the old Expanded Universe (EU) but has been a frustrating hindrance in the modern franchise due to an over-adherence to the prequel-era codes of detachment.

All in all, he's just a great character. With a third game on the way (and the potential for Monaghan to play Cal Kestis in live-action one day), it's possible that he could rise even higher on this list. But for now, the top three spots still belong to some long-time legends.

"What if Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were one guy?" is a question that "Star Wars" fans have asked since the beginning. The premise of a Jedi with a gun has an undeniable aura that made for great playground conversations; and while it may sound a bit goofy, there's just something compelling about smushing together two of the franchise's main archetypes — lovable scoundrel and swashbuckling Jedi. "Star Wars" has attempted this on several occasions, most recently with Jude Law's space pirate character Jod Na Nawood in "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew." But if you've been around long enough to remember the heyday of the '90s EU, there is only one character who holds the crown of Force-sensitive scoundrel, and his name is Kyle Katarn.

First introduced in the 1995 first-person shooter "Star Wars: Dark Forces," Kyle was the man responsible for stealing the Death Star plans, making him a sort of proto-Cassian Andor. But his mercenary persona got an upgrade in the sequel, 1997's "Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II," where it was revealed that Kyle was in fact a Force user.

What followed was a beloved sub-series that still has a dedicated following today, and a character who became so popular he got worked into a huge number of EU novels and storylines. What made him such a hit? Was it the suave persona? The full-motion video cutscenes (starring actor Jason Court)? The elaborate backstory and ever-expanding lore around a character originally designed to just be a cool dude? In reality, it's a combination of it all. And while Kyle Katarn has never been re-canonized, the truly devoted are still holding out.

This slide contains spoilers for "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic."

There is no "Star Wars" video game character more famous than Revan. The main character of "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic," who went from Jedi Master to Dark Lord of the Sith and back again (or not, depending on the player's choices), is an icon — even if you never played the game yourself. No "Star Wars" game added more to the lore of the larger franchise than "KotOR," and Revan is at the heart of that lore, to the point that their name has been re-canonized (though their story has not).

The only thing keeping Revan from the top spot here is that, well, they aren't much of a character. That might sound preposterous, but because Revan is the protagonist of a game that lets you pick everything from their gender to their appearances and their moral choices, each player will end up with a different understanding of Revan. That's part of the appeal, and to be fair, there are some hard canonical lines set down in the games. In the truest canon, Revan was male, and his departure from the Jedi to fight a war against the Mandalorians has been described in some detail. There are also books that nail down a more concrete version of the character.

Even so, the appeal of Revan has always been in their enigma. The story of Revan never got to complete itself in the old EU, and as of now, they have not had the chance to tell a new version under Disney. Perhaps one day we'll get it; but even unfinished, Revan is an all-timer.

Most of the best "Star Wars" video game characters fall into one of two categories: player insert or swaggy badass. There are exceptions, sure, but even beloved characters like Kyle Katarn lack much of the depth and development that you get elsewhere in the franchise. And then there's Kreia.

While the Jedi Exile is the player character in "Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords," the story of the game revolves around Kreia, an old woman strong in the Force who the player character meets at the very beginning of the story. Her history is left mysterious, unraveled slowly as you move through the game; but what's clear from the jump is that she has strong ties to both the Jedi and Sith, yet claims allegiance to neither.

Great writing and a "Star Wars" Hall of Fame performance from voice actor Sara Kestelman combine to make the most unique and memorable "Star Wars" video game character ever — a character unlike any you'll find elsewhere in the franchise. Kreia delivers some of the greatest, most underrated lines; hit a real fan with "It is such a quiet thing, to fall" or "To be united by hatred is a fragile alliance at best," and watch their reaction. At their best, "Star Wars" video games can expand the tonal zone of the franchise because they exist on the fringes, and no character takes better advantage of that opportunity than Kreia.