Everybody knows and loves the green pipe hopping plumber who dons a red hat and blue overalls. From saving a princess to utilizing one of his many power-ups, Mario's a man of many talents and the king of adaptability. However, the legendary Super Mario isn't the only video game character with a resume's worth of practical skills.
Some of the most popular and even pretty recent characters earn praise for their ability to adjust to different environments and situations. It takes years of training for someone to learn new traits, but for video game characters, all it takes is an upgrade or a bit of trial and error.
10 The Cat In Stray Quickly Adapts To A City Underground
The 2022 third-party action game Stray has taken the world by storm. It's not everyday players get to jump up buildings and run through bacteria-infested tunnels as an orange tabby. Cats have earned a stellar reputation for being versatile creatures.
The unnamed character in Stray wears the title well by adapting quickly to their new surroundings. After their heartbreaking fall into the dark underground civilization, the cat trudges on and perseveres. Displaying skills like climbing, leaping, and using a flashlight-bearing robot, the tabby frees the others and makes it back home.
9 Albert Wesker Adapts To The T-Virus Prototype
Albert Wesker might be one of the most hated villains in the Resident Evil franchise, but he's one of the most compelling for various reasons. The intelligent double agent was gifted enough that his physical strength heightened after taking a strain of the t-virus. He survived several games, easily escaping death and getting rid of anyone in his way.
Players can agree that going against Wesker, who casually throws out a few one-liners and takes bullets like they're pebbles, is challenging. No matter what anyone throws at him, Wesker finds a way to survive. In Resident Evil 5, Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar are the ones to take down the nearly invincible man.
8 Link Is A Skilled Marksman And A Puzzle Master
The Hylian hero of Hyrule, Link, remains one of pop culture's most recognized characters. The pointy-eared blonde displays great skill in every iteration of Zelda games, but his most remarkable can be attributed to his talents in weaponry and puzzle mastery.
While Link's excellent at climbing, running, and jumping through various environments, Link is best at wielding the Master Sword and Fairy Bow. Of course, he isn't just a skilled fighter and puzzle solver. He's musically inclined as well, utilizing the ocarina flute to play specific tunes.
7 Geralt Is More Emotionally And Physically Adept Than Most Witchers
Many regard Geralt of Rivia as one of the most skilled fighters amongst the Witchers, but he also seems more in tune with his personal emotions than others. Even though the Witcher-ification process of the mutant soldiers nearly strips them of their humanity to make them better fighters, Geralt holds a minor semblance of his past self.
Geralt's adaptability to the varying landscapes of the world and ability to fight a multitude of foes is an integral part of his character. However, his fatherly care for Ciri and personal attachment to Yennefer and Triss make him genuinely multi-layered.
6 Lara Croft Always Escapes Near-Death Situations
Not always as respected as she should be, Lara Croft proved her skills in a multitude of scenarios and environments. While she's best in her natural environment of raiding tombs and solving puzzles in life-or-death situations, she's just as talented in hand-to-hand combat and wielding a gun when need be.
The most recent additions to Croft's adventures in Rise of the Tomb Raider and even Shadow of the Tomb Raider are some of the best examples of her adaptability, physical strength, and mental stamina. No matter the obstacle, Croft will dig in, find the solution, and carry it out.
5 Crash Bandicoot Navigates Varying Environments With Relative Ease
Perhaps one of the most popular games to come out of the nineties, Crash Bandicoot features the titular character in a multitude of conditions through many levels. Players get to take Crash (or Coco) through levels that increase in challenge throughout the games. However, some levels are just plain challenging.
Not only does the bandicoot hop atop boxes, creatures, and platforms, he also leaps across gaps of water, fire, and more just to grab a few crystals and make it to the end alive. Strangely enough, he's good at scuba diving, too. Although Aku Aku comes in handy when facing enemies, Crash prefers spinning, slamming, and hopping as a form of defense.
4 Ellie Quickly Learned How To Survive In The Post Apocalypse
The Last of Us brings players into a terrifying post-apocalyptic environment to follow Joel and Ellie through hoards of hostile humans and creepy clickers. An adolescent girl in the first game, others want to use Ellie for her immunity.
Despite her dark situation, Joel's job of escorting Ellie to Firefly turns into a familial bond. Ellie even manages to crack a few jokes here and there. For someone so young, her ability to handle the circumstances of the harsh world, along with keeping herself and Joel alive, makes her a versatile contender.
3 Kratos Is Always Utilizing New Upgrades To Defeat Enemies
In God of War, Kratos is a staunch warrior who hardly struggles to defeat the strongest Gods and mythological creatures. Even though he has a more diminutive stature than giant beasts, his heightened abilities allow him to take down the most prominent enemies.
Throughout the God of War games, the "Ghost of Sparta" progressively learns new skills and unlocks different powers to destroy his foes. Kratos' most prominent adjustment comes during the latest addition to God of War, when he has a son, Atreus, to work alongside.
2 Nathan Drake Can Get Out Of The Most Dire Situations
While he's compared too often to Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, Nathan Drake has earned the title of a multi-talented treasure hunter on his own. Uncharted gives the quick-witted fortune seeker a rich story to showcase his skills in full.
From pick-pocketing as a catholic orphan to navigating islands full of large puzzles and mercenaries, he never fails to make it out alive. Both in water and out, through snowy mountains and dangling trains, Nate is great at thinking on his feet to survive and salvage a few artifacts along the way.
1 Spyro Learns New Tricks To Get Through Tough Levels
The beloved purple dragon, Spyro, is small but mighty in every game. The kid-friendly games aren't particularly unique in gameplay, but they make the titular character lovable to the end.
Like most games, Spyro starts with basic skills like running and jumping to get through more manageable levels and progressively learns new skills to get through the ones with challenging obstacles. After obtaining all the abilities to hold fire, glide longer, and jump higher, Spyro can sprint back and go through past levels for 100% completion.