Kicking Keesters on Easter: 5 Video Game Characters Who Rose from the Dead

In the spirit of Easter and Jesus's resurrection, it made me start to think about video game characters who have also risen from the dead. Taking inspiration from "the reason for the season" I have decided to focus on five characters who've made a miraculous comeback in order to save the world. While these characters do not measure up to a religious icon, they do create their own marks upon the world in which they live.

Honorable Mention - Duke Nukem in Duke Nukem Forever

It is worth mentioning that Duke Nukem Forever was as dead as dead can be. Somehow, the king himself pulled his rotting body from the rubble of a failed company in 3D Realms, and was saved by Gearbox Software. Duke was old, crude, and boring in his final release. He may not be close to the savior, but it is a miracle that Duke Nukem Forever was able to actually be released. For that we solute you. Now let's never speak of that game again...

Death Knights in World of Warcraft

Arthas is one of my favorite bad guys in all of gaming. His downfall was amazing to me during Warcraft III, and the Death Knights add to his intrigue.  Thanks to Arthas, the Death Knights spread the will of their master throughout Azeroth. With their enhanced rune power, they struck fear into the world for the Scourge.  The original Death Knights created by Gul'dan are not represented by the Knights of the Ebon Blade you know and love today as represented in Blizzard's Wrath of the Lich King.

So why do they belong on this list?  After breaking from Arthas's power, the Death Knights vowed to help end his reign. While you may enjoy living a life of luxury in the sun with your bright colors and happiness, they choose to fight and hone their skills. Their world is one of darkness, death and destruction. They are the armies that will bring an end to Arthas and defend the world. Therefore, they deserve their chance to be recognized as heroes.

Main Character in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Imagine if you will, spending hours creating a character. Not just any character, but your unique brand of justice-dealing avatar that represents your inner style of keister-kickin. Mine usually has a handlebar mustache...  You finally perfect your instrument of doom and start the game. Man, this sounds a bit like Lord of the Rings... This war is apparently not going that well... WHAT! I'm dead??? (Not a spoiler if they basically spell it out on the back of the box) Shortly thereafter, you are reborn, and all hell breaks loose. The world is your oyster, and you are the fun loving otter looking to crack it open... with a blade.

What makes your character so special is their absence of fate. This allows your freshly reanimated figure to mold and weave the world around them, thus creating a world that only you can save. Literally, in this situation only you can save it. In doing so, the fateless one starts to unravel the fates of all others. Fortunately for you there are countless people that you will interact with, hundreds of side quests, and well over one hundred hours of gameplay. My handlebar-faced homeboy had plenty of opportunities to end many mortal's fates before the credits rolled.

Edward "Stubbs" Stubblefield in Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse

If you think the recession is bad, then you need to hear the story of Stubbs during the Great Depression. Struggling through life, Stubbs finds happiness in his girl, Maggie Monday, before he is killed by her father. Twenty years later, Stubbs rises from his desecrated grave into the town of Punchbowl, PA. Soon after, he creates an army of zombies to take back the town from Maggie's maniacal father.

Stubbs is a far cry from the Savior in this story. What he does do is change a town, and gives the people there the opportunity to have a purpose after death. Granted, that purpose is to eat brains, and lots of them. He had been cast down, and rose again to rid the world of a form of evil that is worse than zombies. That must count for something right?

Most Final Fantasy Characters in Any Final Fantasy Game

Let's face it. In every Final Fantasy the world is at stake. Fortunately your merry band of misfits is set and ready to meet this threat head on. They level up and hit the stores for better equipment and items. Golbez? No problem. Kefka? You're mine. Yu Yevon/Jecht/Sin? I got them/it. Besides, if they kill me I have ninety-nine Phoenix Downs. That's right; you may die, but I can bring you back. Then we can continue saving the world. My plan is fool proof.

No worries. I have a Phoenix Down... Where did my bag of items go?

Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect Series

Of course it's Commander Shepard. The man died in outer space, and crashed and burned into a planet. He was then put back together in an attempt to control the invading Reaper forces. You are the true ultimate weapon against the forces of destruction in the coming war, and advanced life will not survive without you. Help me Commander Shepard. You're my only hope.

With the third entry in the series coming out so recently I dare not spoil it for anyone. Everything that you have worked for in the past two games comes to a head in the final confrontation, and it isn't just Earth that is counting on you. You didn't rise from the grave to be the protector of humanity (well technically you did), but were brought back to save the entire galaxy. If that doesn't remind you of Easter, then I don't know what will.


Are there any others that you would add to the list? Leave a comment below and like the story on Facebook. Make sure you keep checking back for more great content. Please check in with our sponsors to help keep this site rolling.