In celebration of the Pride festivities in Toronto and the Pride Parade taking place on Church Street this weekend, let’s talk about 2SLGBTQI+ characters in video games.
According to Wikipedia, Le Crime du Parking from 1985 is the first game to feature an 2SLGBTQI+ character. The title features Paco, a gay man that deals drugs. This isn’t very well known, but apparently, the earliest trans icon in a video game is Birdo from Super Mario Bros. 2 is a trans woman, as she’s referred to as a “male who believes that he is a female” and would rather be called “Birdetta.”
Some of the other popular games with LGBTQ characters include Phantasy Star II, which features a gay man named Usvestia, Tony from Earthbound, Flea from Chrono Trigger, Tatsuya Suou from Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Quina Quen from Final Fantasy IX, James “Jimmy” Hopkins from Bully, Sander Cohen from BioShock, Commander Shepard from Mass Effect (dependent on player choice), Ellie from The Last of Us, and Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn.
Games like League of Legends, Dragon Age Inquisition and Overwatch also feature several LGBTQ characters — who didn’t sleep with Iron Bull from Dragon Age?
However, my favourite bi/pansexual king in a video game is Zagreusfrom Hades. Flirting with Thanatos was all I ever wanted to do when playing.
What’s your favourite 2SLGBTQIA+ character in video games? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credit: Supergiant Games
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