My Favorite Glasses-Wearing People In Gaming (In No Particular Order)
I wear glasses myself, so here's an ode to my fellow vision-impared brethren.
List items
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Yes, he's a worrywart with horrible allergies, and yes, he can be pretty damn awesome, even for a toddler. No one's a better or more loyal friend than Chuckie is.
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He introduced me to the mad scientist stereotype, which will always be one of my favorites. (Did you notice how there's quite a few of them on this list?)
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My nickname was Velma at one point as a kid. I wasn't as prone to losing my glasses as she was (thank goodness), but I always held her in high regard for being the sensible, logical mind behind Mystery Inc. Her crush on Shaggy in the most recent series (which will be missed) was cute-- when Shaggy wasn't ignoring her, that is. Poor Velma.
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Think a glasses-and-bowtie-wearing linguist can't be badass? Guess again. Milo, despite his awkward, nervous personality, uses his brain to its full extent and finds the strength within himself to become a complete badass and save an ancient civilization in danger. Plus, his voice actor is Michael J. Fox, which is awesome in itself.
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With her ever-present red hair and yellow-tinged glasses, Commissioner Jim Gordon's daughter has been a regular ally for Batman, not even letting being crippled by The Joker stop her from lending a hand, working for The Birds of Prey as Oracle, a master hacker.
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Okay, he doesn't wear glasses, but his real identity, Daniel Dreiberg, does. Shy, socially-awkward ornithologist by day, badass superhero by night. Loyal friend, down-to-earth kinda guy. One of my favorite characters from one of my favorite comic series of all time.
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Eccentric-but-brilliant. Also a Ghostbuster. Despite his tendency to make things worse, he's also usually the key element in righting them once more.
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She's an adorable, apologetic child genius. With a jetpack. Who boxes her "superhero" grandfather for no reason. On television. I don't think there's really any character in the WarioWare series that I don't like...
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She was the first Elite Four member with glasses, and hey, she's a master with Ice and Water-type Pokemon. A woman after my own heart.
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I'm generally not a huge fan of Rock-type Pokemon, but there's something endearing about this guy. I guess there's something pretty awesome about following in your dad's footsteps and becoming a Gym Leader, just like him. Or maybe it's because he's one of the more polite Gym Leaders (ever notice how they all either accept defeat gracefully or act like a total douche about it?)
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His glasses are tinted, but his personality pegs him as an avid reader, so I'm assuming they're prescription. A sharp dresser who specializes in Psychic types, how is that not awesome?
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He's your snarky, studious "rival", and is actually pretty funny attimes. Pokemon Black/White is a great change of pace for the series, and giving more of the cast glasses, as well as adding some diversity, is a major plus.
He gets rid of 'em in Black & White 2, but I'm keeping him on the list anyways.
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She doesn't wear glasses in Pokemon: Black & White, but gets a pair like Cheren's in Black & White 2.
Bianca starts off as meek, but eventually comes into her own as one of Professor Juniper's assistants, growing a backbone and standing up to her overbearing father. I love that kind of character development in a game.
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Professor Juniper's former college roommate who studies the dreams of Pokemon. She's adorable, wears a labcoat, and gives you useful key items. Enough said.
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Shauntal gets my vote just for being a Ghost-type Elite Four member, in a game where very few new Ghost-types were introduced. She's also a novelist with a cute lolita costume and an awesomely large hairbow. Or are they shoulder pads..?
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Your trusted technical genius/master hacker ally from Sly Cooper. These games were so clever and slickly animated...can't wait for Sly 4! An animated adaption would be awesome too, if it were done well.
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I wasn't the biggest fan of her RC missions, but she gets a spot on this list for being adorable, being the only female member of Sly's team (if you don't count Carmelita), and the nerd love between her and Bentley.
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Like every character in Psychonauts, Sasha is more than meets the eye. Under that thick, analytical layer is a man seriously looking out (in his own way) for the kids at his summer camp, haunted by the death of his mother (and his father's erotic thoughts about aforementioned mother), has a justified hate of tacky lamps, and a hidden affection for his partner, Milla Vodello, the Mental Minx. He also teaches you how to explode stuff, which is always cool.
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What list of glasses-wearing characters would be complete without him? He never says a word, but you seem to still somehow empathize with the surprisingly-adept-at-fighting theoretical physicist as you play. He secretly gives nerds everywhere hope that we can someday become badasses, too.
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Any ally of Dr. Gordon Freeman is an ally of mine. Doubly so if he has a teleporter, the guts to keep a Headcrab as a pet, and acts a little like Doc Brown from "Back To The Future". Great Scott!
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Danke, Herr Doktor! He may be a short-tempered, amoral Deutschbag without a medical license, but a good Medic is a deadly partner who can not only be the deciding factor in whether or not you win a match, and a lot of achievements can be unlocked with his co-operation. He plays violin, makes Sandviches, screams about Oktoberfest out-of-context, has a penchant for evil laughing, and allows a flock of birds to observe him performing surgery. And of course, quite an impressive collection of hats, goggles, masks, and wigs, among other wonderful accessories. Valve is wonderful at creating lovably deranged characters, aren't they?
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Proof positive that the women in the Team Fortress 2 universe are badass too, Miss Pauling comes off as an innocent, mild-mannered secretary and messenger for Helen (The Announcer) who's also quite prepared to off egotistical Directors like it's nothing.
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AKA Kevin Clamely. Wears glasses in his normal form, as well as the paintings of him prior to his transformation. Again, mad scientists are cool, and the ultimate act of a mad scientist is to experiment on himself, right? After an accident claimed his son's life, he set out to study "neurological redundancy", and low and behold, zombie mutants. And a chaingun arm. Those are always cool.
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Classic nerd hero. Mundane hobbies, eccentric behavior, and glasses don't envoke the idea of "hero" to most (although we gamers know better), but with the help of the other three Ghostbusters, Egon saved the city, became a badass hero...and earned a cute secretary girlfriend, to boot. Don't cross the streams!
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Do I even need to say anything for this one? Sure, he had his moments of teenage angst (who didn't?), but still remained, for the most part, an honest, humble, very human badass, and a hero to all, especially those who wear glasses. No matter how many times they broke, he kept on wearing them. And we're very glad he did.
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I didn't always agree with his reasoning, but he nevertheless remained the greatest source of wisdom in the Harry Potter universe. Even better, he's one of the wisest wizards to ever exist, and he's a candy addict, hums to himself, and owns a pet that bursts into flames. Crazy awesome indeed.
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He Who Fights Aliens (& Also Sometimes Robots & Fascists & Fascist Alien Robots) Armed With Only A Sonic Screwdriver & A Random Human He Befriended One Day. The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) wasn't vision-impaired, but he wore glasses in an effort to give kids who wear 'em someone to look up to. Awww...
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He plays Wheatley in Portal 2. Wheatley is awesomely adorkable. Enough said.
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GLaDOS' personal songwriter and lover of mad scientists, zombies, and SPAAACE.
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I love the way VALVe is run, the way they always listen to their fans, and they always seem to make the delays worth it. And hey, the guy created Dr. Gordon Freeman! What's not to like?
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Who else could take a tragic event like their house burning down and turn it into the inspiration for a successful franchise? I've played every Sim series at least once, and I'm just in awe of this man's creativity.
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