Most Selfless Nintendo Characters

Highlights

• Yoshi’s loyalty and self-sacrifice often go unnoticed, while Isabelle’s hard work and dedication to her community are key takeaways.
• Lucina’s time-traveling efforts to save her father and Luigi’s courage despite his fears highlight their heroism.
• The Great Deku Tree’s selflessness in protecting and preparing Link, TEC-XX’s love-driven betrayal, and Zelda’s ultimate sacrifice for her kingdom showcase their selflessness and heroism.

Nintendo is known for having some of the purest, most big-hearted characters in all of gaming. They’ve set the gold standard for heroics, with protagonists willing to throw themselves into all sorts of danger to save the world or even just one innocent person.

Most of these heroes simply do the right thing simply because that’s what they do. They’re the heroes, after all. However, not all of them have to sacrifice much to fulfill that role. Only a select few Nintendo characters set aside their own needs and goals for the sake of others. True selflessness is its own kind of heroism, and it’s time to give these characters the credit they deserve.

8 Yoshi

The Mushroom Kingdom’s Most Valiant, Undervalued Steed

Nobody gives this little green dinosaur enough credit, least of all Mario. When the red-capped plumber needs some help getting through the Mushroom Kingdom to save the princess, Yoshi is always just one power-up away. Yet the only reward he gets for all his help is being dropped into a bottomless pit while Mario double-jumps to safety.

Now, most allies would quit after the first few times this happens, but Yoshi is loyal to the bitter end. He knows saving the princess and the Kingdom is the top priority, so he never fails to take one for the team.

7 Isabelle

All Work And No Play

Isabelle is one of those everyday types of heroes. She doesn’t save lives — she makes lives better through hard work. While the town mayor is off catching butterflies or selling fruit, she’s filing paperwork back at the office (i.e. actually running the town).

Even when she moves on to a more cushy position on a tropical island, her workload never slows down. She’s still pulling 24/7 shifts so that everyone else can have fun in the sun. Even on holidays, she only steps outside the Resident Services building for work-related purposes.

6 Lucina

Messing With The Timeline In The Most Noble Way Possible

Time travel is always a dangerous business. One false step and the future could be drastically altered, but for Lucina, that’s exactly what she’s hoping for. In her future, her beloved father, Chrom, was betrayed and murdered by someone he trusted, and she’s looking to rewrite history.

To that end, she dons a disguise and travels back in time to meet her younger father so she can prevent his untimely demise. Her plan is incredibly risky, even threatening to undo her own existence if she succeeds, but her love for her father is strong. The world needs Chrom, perhaps even more than she does.

5 Luigi

Overcoming Fear Is What Courage Is All About

Luigi is often viewed as the scaredy-cat of the Mario Bros., but that’s ironically what makes him more of a hero. Mario is so carefree he’ll jump right into danger without a second thought. He doesn’t seem to have any fear to overcome.

Luigi may be more reluctant to be the big hero, but he will do it eventually. Especially in Luigi’s Mansion, where he forces himself to overcome his fear of ghosts to rescue his brother and friends. He won’t just walk away, no matter how badly his knees are shaking.

4 Link

Being The Bigger Person