A Prayer for These Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Our hero Mario made his first appearance in "Donkey Kong" (1981), where he endeavored to save Pauline. He continued his heroic princess-saving pursuits in various Nintendo games from there. Bowser is the reptilian, fire-launching antagonist Mario faces in several games, first opposing our hero in 1985's "Super Mario Bros." on NES.

The whip-wielding (and otherwise redoubtable) Simon Belmont is the protagonist video gamers play in the Castlevania series, starting with the original "Castlevania" (1986). According to "Castlevania" lore, Simon Belmont kills Count Dracula in 1691, and multiple games in the series feature the player reenacting that honorable event as Simon Belmont.

Link, the Hylian hero of the "Legend of Zelda" video game series, first appeared in Nintendo's "The Legend of Zelda" (1986). Link faces treacherous dungeons, a variety of enemies with various susceptibilities, and eventually his nemesis Ganon, the burly, intimidating foe that only has one weakness (silver arrows). Link's arsenal is impressive, as he is able to engage his foes in combat with his sword, bombs, boomerang, bow and arrow, hammer, harpoon, ice and fire rods, and many other tools of dungeon progression and enemy destruction. Ganon is known as Ganondorf in his humanoid Gerudo form, which was introduced in "Ocarina of Time" (1998).

Samus Aran is the main protagonist of the "Metroid" series, introduced in the Nintendo Entertainment System's "Metroid" (1986). She is an ex-solder turned intergalactic bounty hunter who, along with her multifaceted Power Suit, is able to run, jump, spin, bomb, and missile her way through various puzzles and seeming dead-ends, challenging enemies, and finally the Mother Brain (in the first "Metroid" game). Adding to the difficulty is the fact that completing the game with a faster time results in different ending sequences or bonus content.

Solid Snake (real name David) was inducted into the Green Berets as a teenager, possessing an IQ of 180 and speaking six languages fluently. He first appeared in "Metal Gear" (1987), released on MSX home computers. Solid Snake uses his soldier and mercenary skills in secretive infiltrations and solo missions to find the titular weapon 'Metal Gear' that can launch nuclear weapons. Several games in the series feature political and philosophical themes, touching on the ethics and negative effects of warfare.

The Sega Genesis release of "Sonic the Hedgehog" (1991) introduced gamers to the blue hedgehog hero created to compete with Nintendo's mascot, Mario. Sonic's incredible speed is his main weapon against Dr. Ivo Robotnik and the nefarious machines he creates to destroy his hedgehog nemesis.

Lara Croft is the main protagonist of the "Tomb Raider" series of video games, introduced in the initial game, "Tomb Raider", in 1996. Lara Croft has to solve puzzles, engage in combat against mercenaries, animals, and supernatural creatures, and survive by scavenging resources and adapting to brutal conditions to achieve victory in Tomb Raider games.

"Final Fantasy VII" (1997) is the PlayStation game that introduced gamers to Cloud Strife, who wields a massive sword as he confronts traumas from his past and enemies in the present as he works as a revolutionary in an eco-terrorist group. His former colleague, Sephiroth, is the main antagonist Cloud faces in FFVII, and he has superhuman physiology due to being injected with cells from an extraterrestrial lifeform when he was still a fetus.

Aya Brea is the protagonist first encountered in "Parasite Eve" (1998). She is a New York City police officer who sets out to stop the Eve, a woman seeking to destroy humanity through spontaneous human combustion. Mastering the real-time battle system of the game, stocking up on healing items and ammo, and levelling up strategically are required to be able to complete the game.

Geralt of Rivia is the protagonist introduced in a series of short stories called "The Witcher" by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is the hero gamers control in the series of video games by the same name, beginning with "The Witcher" (2007). With exceptional swordsmanship, a vast knowledge of formidable monsters' strengths and weaknesses that he can exploit and alchemy and potion-making, as well as an ability to cast simple spells, Geralt engages in difficult battles involving multiple facets including precise dodging and parrying as he strives to protect people he cares about and conquers beasts as a professional slayer. Gaunter O'Dimm is known as the Master Mirror or The Man of Glass, and he is the antagonist gamers face in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" (2015), particularly in the "Hearts of Stone" expansion to the game. He is polite and charming, but manipulative, and revealed to be a demonic entity with incredible abilities such as stopping time, creating pocket dimensions, and warping reality.