The 21 Most Powerful Video Game Heroes Ever (From Weakest To Strongest) (2024)

In the world of video games, anything is possible. Players can be anyone from a goose that annoys a village to a god that saves the world. It's also true that some of the most beloved characters are also very powerful. Thus, it begs the question, who is the most powerful among them?

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As with all fiction, the strength and abilities of a character can change as a story advances. It is also very much down to interpretation from the personal perspectives of fans and creators. However, based on accomplishments, these candidates tend to rank as the most powerful heroes in gaming.

Updated July 27, 2023, by Michael Llewellyn: With the increasing number of heroes in video games, it is always fun to compare the most powerful and imagine super fights that fans will unlikely see beyond appearing in crossover titles like Super Smash Bros and Super Robot Wars.

Of course, fans rarely agree on which characters will win certain fights, but there are times when a character's abilities are immeasurable. This list has been updated to include more super-powered video game characters that rank as the most powerful.

21 Cloud - Final Fantasy 7

• Released: 1997, 2020 Remake.
• Platform: Android, PC,PSP, PS1, PS4, and PS5.
• Developer: Square Enix

Cloud is a long-time favorite of Final Fantasy 7 fans and the protagonist of arguably the most popular entry in the franchise. Even though Cloud never officially made it to SOLDIER, he had the physical capabilities. Cloud is a natural swordsman, given his ability to go toe-to-toe with Sephiroth and other characters in the Final Fantasy universe through the Final Fantasy Dissidia series.

As a result of Hojo's experiment with Jehova cells, Cloud absorbed Zack's abilities, skills, and strength. However, Cloud evolved into a stronger character as the story continued, and as evidenced by his battle with Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, Cloud has almost god-like powers. Unfortunately, Cloud's self-doubt and reliance on his friends can make him vulnerable to the other beings mentioned here.

20 Yuri - Shadow Hearts

• Released: 2001 and 2004
• Platform: PS2
• Developer: Sacnoth

The Shadow Hearts games are set in a Lovecraftian alternate universe during the First World War. Yuri is the protagonist of the first Shadow Hearts game and a dual protagonist in Shadow Hearts: Covenant. He is referred to as a Harmonixer in the Shadow Hearts universe and can take on the form of demons he has defeated in combat.

Even without transforming into demon form, Yuri is a powerful fighter that can take all opponents down with his fists. In Shadow Hearts lore, Yuri has the highest sanity meter, meaning he can stay in Demon form longer than other Harmonixers and utilize all their elemental powers in combat.

19 Clive Rosfield - Final Fantasy 16

• Released: 2023
• Platform: PS5
• Developer: Square Enix

Clive Rosfield is the protagonist of Final Fantasy 16 and is already ranked by fans as one of the strongest characters in the universe. He is a powerful warrior that can match anyone with a sword, fights his enemies with little to no help from a supporting cast, and can utilize the powers of Eikons - summons.

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Like Yuri from Shadow Hearts, Clive absorbs and utilizes the elemental powers of other characters in the story with the Eikons he defeated. Clive can merge the capabilities of multiple Eikons without it damaging his body or psyche. However, he does have a limit on how long he can use the semi-dominant form of his powers. He only uses his maximum power when fighting other Eikons, but he would be a match for most of the characters in this list.

18 Talion - Shadow of Mordor/War

• Released: 2014
• Platform: Linux, OS X, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Monolith Productions

As the hero of the Shadow of Mordor series, Talim may rank as one of the most powerful characters in The Lord of the Rings universe. The character is not considered canon, but if he was to make it in the official lore, he could be more powerful than Sauron.

As seen in the game, Talim is immortal and can fall in battle several times only to reemerge stronger to exact revenge on the enemies that killed him. Skillwise, the Ranger is almost unmatched, but his immortality is limited to completing his mission and the downfall of evil.

17 Death - Darksiders 2

• Released: 2012
• Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Vigil Games

As one of The Four Horsem*n of the Apocalypse, Death is arguably the most powerful character in the Darksiders series. Admittedly he lost some of his powers at the start of the game, but Death is still a character that transcends life itself.

In the Darksiders comics, Death was the only character capable of defeating War and even cutting off his arm. Death is almost invulnerable, and at the height of his powers, he can come back from the dead.

16 Kaim - Lost Odyssey

• Released: 2008
• Platform: Xbox 360 - Backwards compatible with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
• Developer: Mistwalker and Feelplus

Kaim is the immortal main protagonist of the Lost Odyssey. Despite his quiet demeanor, he is a powerful warrior capable of defeating armies single-handedly without breaking a sweat, as evidenced in the opening scenes.

Despite his empathy that develops slowly through the story, his years as an immortal have desensitized him emotionally, making him an efficient killer in battle. He can withstand powerful attacks from mages and tank-like war machines. More interestingly, he emerged from a meteor strike that wiped two armies on the battlefield without sustaining as much of a scratch.

15 Sonic The Hedgehog

• Released: 1991
• Platform: 3DS, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android, Gameboy Advance, iOS, PC, Sega Genesis, Sega, Master System, PS3, PS4, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Sega

The least powerful of the most powerful characters are the Sega mascot himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. He has impressive skills, such as super-speed, spin attacks, and more. However, his more impressive abilities often require specific criteria to be met. For example, his most famous, the Super Sonic, requires him to have all the Chaos Emeralds.

While a powerful video game character, Sonic often needs external factors and is reliant on other help to access his true potential.

14 Samus - The Metroid Series

• Released: 1986
• Platform: Gameboy Advance, GameCube, NES, SNES, and Switch
• Developer: Nintendo

Samus from the Metroid series is a bounty hunter and the last remaining piece of the Chozo legacy. After her parents were killed, Samus was raised by the highly advanced Chozo. She is gifted with their technology, namely, her highly advanced suit, which gives her numerous impressive abilities.

Her abilities include firing missiles with laser beams, freezing enemies solid, transforming into a ball, dropping bombs, dropping super bombs, and making force fields that allow her to survive in space, lava, and underwater. While powerful, Samus is like the Iron Man of Nintendo. Her physical strengths come from the powers obtained from her super suit.

13 Master Chief - The Halo Series

• Released: 2001
• Platform: Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Bungie and 343 Studios

The Master Chief is a genetically engineered super-soldier put through rigorous training and given advanced armor capable of surviving a fall from space. He is like a one-person army defeating hordes of alien enemies with enhanced strength, size, speed, and tactical intelligence.

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The Master Chief has incredible skill with nearly any weapon and has shown himself highly skilled in immediately figuring out how to use alien weapons. He has immeasurable endurance, having survived a lot.

• Released: 2013
• Platform: PC, PS3, OS X, Sheild TV, and Xbox 360
• Developer: Konami

When one thinks of the Metal Gear franchise, Snake is usually the character that comes to mind. However, as powerful characters go, Raiden from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance is on another level compared to other characters in the same universe.

He is a cyborg who has power over how much pain he can feel in battle, can jump from missile to missile while they are in mid-flight, lift tank-sized machines, cut through anything, and more. Raiden's strength and abilities greatly depend on his cybernetic enhancements, making him lower down the list than other characters pushed by magic.

11 Delsin Rowe – Infamous: Second Son

• Released: 2014
• Platform: PS4
• Developer: Sucker Punch Studios

The third entry in the PlayStation-exclusive series Infamous introduced gamers to its new protagonist Delsin Rowe. Delsin is comparable to Rogue from the X-Men franchise in that he can absorb and use the abilities and other super-powered people known as Conduits.

This makes Delsin a pretty powerful character in any universe, and as far as superpowers go, he is capable of unlimited power within reason. He does, however, have a cooldown time after using his powers. This means that as strong as he is, he does not quite match some of the more elite members of this list.

10 Starkiller – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

• Released: 2008
• Platform: DS, iOS, J2ME, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Switch, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360
• Developer: LucasArts

Released in 2008, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is an action-adventure game focusing on a brand-new protagonist known as Starkiller, or his birth name, Galen Marek. Marek was raised as a secret apprentice to Darth. Vader planned to use Marek to fulfill overthrow The Emperor.

In the first game alone, Starkiller defeated four Jedi in hiding, Vader himself, and even The Emperor in combat. He mastered seven variations of lightsaber combat to exploit weaknesses in all his enemies. Furthermore, he had almost god-like Force powers - as displayed when he pulled a Star Destroyer out of the sky. Unsurprisingly, the Starkiller character is no longer considered canon since Disney took control of the franchise.

9 Alex Mercer – Prototype

• Released: 2009
• Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Radical Entertainment

As a superhero/supervillain title from the same studio, the Prototype games are considered successors to the fantastic Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. As a result, Alex Mercer plays and feels very much like The Hulk if he was enhanced with the abilities of Marvel's Venom - all thanks to the Blacklight virus.

Very few games provide the kind of power fantasy that the Prototype series does, and when fully powered, Mercer has world-destroying abilities. Thanks to the virus that created his powers, he has limitless strength, shapeshifting abilities, superhuman speed, and is almost indestructible thanks to his regeneration abilities.

8 Dante - The Devil May Cry Series

• Released: 2001
• Platform: PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
• Developer: Capcom

Dante is a paranormal being, able to freeze time, withstand attacks from inter-dimensional entities, and can repel demons one hundred times his size. The son of Sparda has enhanced strength and speed and is skilled with a blade. Moreover, Dante can transform into a powerful demon for a limited time.

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He has been known to rip the souls out of enemies without harming their bodies (which allows him to kill things that cannot die). Despite his relaxed demeanor, Dante is a powerful strategist comparable to Halo's Master Chief.

7 Bayonetta - The Bayonetta Series

• Released: 2009
• Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: PlatinumGames

Bayonetta is a Bullet Witch with a ton of abilities up her sleeve. She is an immortal that makes light work of traveling through space and re-entering Earth's atmosphere. She has immeasurable strength, as displayed when she throws skyscrapers and tanks around like toys.

Additionally, Bayonetta can master any weapon, summon demons, she can shapeshift, control time, and more. She proved powerful enough to defeat a god after her battle with Jubileus. Perhaps more interesting, Bayonetta has no time limit on her powers, arguably making her even more powerful than Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

6 Kratos - The God Of War Series

• Released: 2005
• Platform: PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, and PS Vita
• Developer: Santa Monica Studios and Ready at Dawn

Kratos is often considered the strongest video game character due to his kill count of gods. He successfully killed the entire Greek pantheon. Kratos is a god and a slayer of gods from Greek and Norse mythologies. While a lot of characters on this list have killed gods, it is Kratos that makes it look easy.

He has been to Hell multiple times and fought his way out. His opponent's magic, size, intelligence, and strength proved fruitless against the rage of Kratos. He is a battle-hardened warrior with experience in war and epic battles against gods and titans.

5 Asura – Asura’s Wrath

• Released: 2012
• Platform: PS3 and Xbox 360
• Developer: CyberConnect2

The titular character of Asura’s Wrath is one of the most powerful protagonists in any video game. He is a demigod and a literal god-killer as he takes vengeance on gods and deities that are the size of cities and planets.

Aura’s strength lies in his rage - inspired by the Dragon Ball series giving fans knowledgeable in Dragonball lore an idea of the kind of power that Asura possesses. Even characters like Kratos, another warrior guided by rage, would not be able to cope with the ferocity of Asura.

4 The Prince - Katamari

• Released:
• Platform: Android, DS, iOS, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, PS Vita, Switch, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
• Developer: Namco

Some of the most powerful characters are the ones with strange abilities. The Prince is a being that creates celestial bodies. To make celestial bodies, it uses a sticky ball and rolls it as it consumes everything smaller than it, and by doing so, it gets larger and larger and can collect even more things. The Katamari ball swallows up people, animals, monsters, and planets.

So all the characters - up to now - have been considered whether they can do anything about a Katamari ball. The fact of the matter is that they can't. It is indestructible and sticky, and they would just get mowed down and added as part of the ever-consuming ball.

3 Kirby - The Kirby Series

• Released: 1992
• Platform: 3DS, DS, GameBoy, GameBoy Color, GameBoy Advance, NES, SNES, Switch, Wii, and Wii U,
• Developer: Nintendo

Kirby is a very young star warrior, a god of space. Their job is to protect all the universes. He can consume an infinite amount of matter and has immeasurable strength making him indestructible. Besides all that, he is incredibly adaptable. He eradicates his enemies, takes their abilities, and survives in extreme conditions.

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In Smash Ultimate lore, the god of light - Galeem - appears and decimates the entire Smash Bros. roster. Kirby is the sole survivor. He gets on a star, and they allow him to teleport and move around incredibly fast.

2 Amaterasu - Okami

• Released: 2006
• Platform: PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One
• Developer: Clover Studio

There are very few characters in fiction more powerful than Amaterasu from Okami. She can create all things at will. That includes stars, ice, lightning, weather, bridges, trees, wind, fire, water, bombs, and anything one can imagine. She can also cut anything from buildings to trees and stone and slow time. She is also a healer, able to bring dead plants back to life. It takes little effort, as she can create anything in seconds.

Amaterasu can create anything that is her ultimate weapon and protection to defeat almost any other video game character. Her power of creation gifts Amaterasu with god-like abilities that have no limit.