Having the 2nd largest population in the world, India is expected to surpass China by 2024 – Indian people and culture are going all over the globe. However, India’s popularity is not reflected in Media, as the west usually depicts Indian in mundane roles, such as cab drivers, convenience store owners, and call center workers. It’s the same in the videogame medium – Indian people/southeast Asians are underrepresented.
A lot of game use India as a backdrop – with quite a few fictional characters and settings based on Indian culture, however, there are only a few characters who are outright Indian. With the growing video game market in the Southern Asia country, it is very likely that there would be more Indian characters released in the future – as the developers try to score some points with the growing fanbase. This article will list out some of the most notable Indian video game characters.
10 - Mira from Dreamfall Chapters
A cyberpunk-themed game – Dreamfall Chapters set in a dark future in which Europe is wasted away due to pollution from long periods of industrialization and wasteful spending. Being the owner of a workshop located in the middle of Europolis, however, Mira’s old home is in Mumbai’s tech-slums. She grew up in the streets where gangs of cyborgs, corrupted police and immoral corporations rule. What’s worse, they are always in need of live research specimens.
Due to her upbringing, Mira isn’t shy of abusing everyone nearby verbally – and her angry rants are often laced with curses in Hindi. Indians are often depicted as some of the more direct types of people, who aren’t afraid to speak their minds, however, Mira really should back off with the cursing. There is a reason behind her offensive tendency – as she was raised in a hostile environment.
9 - Abubo Rao from Rage of the Dragons
If you have played the Double Dragon Series, you would probably know Abobo, a giant henchman who could destroy walls by walking into them. Rage of the Dragons was supposed to be another entry in the series until the developers gave up on securing the rights and turn it to a standalone game.
Abubo Rao is an Expy of Abobo – with the same gigantic stature and tremendous brute power. Used to be a gang lieutenant, Abubo’s life was great until his plans were derailed when Jimmy and Billy Lee Lewis defeated him. Determined to get revenge ever since Rao is trying to rebuild his reputation and become a mob boss in the criminal underworld. Don’t let his giant baby antics fool you, as he can pound the ground so hard that shockwaves are created.
8 - Jayadeep Mir from Assassin’s Creed Series
Born from a union of a Sikh Princess and a Kashmiri Muslim, Jayadeep Mir was groomed from birth to become an Assassin like his father before him. Trained by the Indian Brotherhood, Jayadeep was very agile – that coupled with his mastery of the sword makes his presence almost supernatural.
However, due to a mistake from his first mission, he was banished for compromising the Brotherhood. After that, Jayadeep took an alias named “Henry Green” then move to England. In this new country, Jaya was very successful in building a network of information, which leads to him surviving the destruction of the English branch – as the Templar has gained control of London. Known henceforth as the Ghost, Jayadeep’s aspiration is to return triumphantly to India after proving himself in the field.
7 - Wonder-Black from The Wonderful 101
An eleven years old prodigy with 300 IQ, Krishna Ramanujan has always been good at working with machinery and techs. At a young age, he has already contributed a great deal to the science world, getting admitted into a technical university in the States. When he’s not researching about mechanical engineering, Krishna works as a superhero, fighting crimes under the alias Wonder-Black. Cybercrime is his forte, as his strong point is the ability to collect data. Wonder-Black has a silent countenance and hardly spoke in social situations – however, he is not as apathetic as his appearance might suggest. Despite being a university student and active superhero, Krishna is still a kid – and he would probably rather spend time playing video games.
6 - Lakshmi Bai from The Order: 1886
Based on one of the leaders of the 1857 Indian Rebellion. She is getting into this list anyway despite being a real person – as the settings of The Order 1886 is in an alternate universe. Being a banished queen from India, Lakshmi escaped by faking her death when the United India Company seized control of the government.
Experienced firsthand the insidious scheme that the East India Trade Company is going to replicate all over the world, Lakshmi opposes them. She then gathered a number of lower-class citizens and oppressed immigrants to form the Rebels. Despite depicted as terrorists in the eyes of the public, her group played a part in exposing conspiracies, vampire hunting and even stop Jack the Ripper! Despite being in London, Lakshmi has never forgotten her Indian heritage – she would even use Hindi to get an extra layer of protection.
5 - Great Tiger from Punch-Out!! Series
Great Tiger was one of the earliest appearance of an Indian in a videogame. His debut was in the Super Punch-Out!! Arcade game back in 1984 and as a product of the time, he is very stereotypical. The guy speaks Hindi, wears a turban even inside the ring, but the worst thing is he also rides a magic carpet.
Dubbed “the Champion of India”, Great Tiger flex his tiger motif whenever he got the chance. His strength as a fighter lies in his power of magic and illusion – as he can move fast enough to create clones – illusions of himself. His abilities are probably based on Hinduism, with signals that his body has transcended its limitations.
4 - Symmetra from Overwatch
Satya Vaswani is born and raised in the slums of Hyderabad – with a global war on the horizon. However, she was given another chance – as the population’s lesser living conditions were improved by the Vishkar Corporation’s hard light technology. Vaswani was one of the few who could become a light-bending architect – and because of that, she immersed herself in education to rise in the rank of Vishkar, becoming the corp’s top architect.
Despite being famous, she has never forgotten her Indian heritage – it was brought to the forefront, with her incorporation of the Indian Dance into construction methods. Currently, she is sent all over the world under the Symmetra name – in order to increase the company’s influences.
3 - Farah from Prince of Persia Series
Being a young daughter of the Maharajah, Princess Farah was captured as spoils of war. Reduced to a slave in the nearby kingdom – however, that does not break her spirit. Despite being raised in wealth and luxury, Farah was also trained in the art of war and combat. Her physical prowess is one of the few things that rival her beauty - and after her alliance to the titular Prince of Persia, Farah’s skill with the bow made her escape from the catacombs pretty much effortless.
Farah was not fine with a supporting role, as she later seduced the Prince and stole the mystical Dagger of Time from his grasp. Being one of the greatest treasure in the known world, the Dagger can control time – and it is just understandable that Farah would want to make use of its power. Overall, Farah is a great representation of the Indian woman’s confidence.
2 - Chloe Frazer from Uncharted Series
No one would expect Chloe Frazer to be on this list, as she grew up in Australia, with an Australian mother – and she even speaks with a heavy Australian accent. Her Indian heritage wasn’t revealed until much later when she’s promoted to main character status in Uncharted: the lost legacy. A lot more details were revealed about her backstory, with her father being an Indian Archeologist.
She and her mother were shipped to Australia to avoid the dangers that come from his latest adventure. As Chloe returns to India years later, she was depicted to be very knowledgeable about Indian mythology and especially the Hoysala Dynasty. Despite only being a half Indian, Chloe definitely deserved to be on this list, as her Indian heritage played a great part in her transformation from just a simple thief into a real archaeologist.
1 – Dhalsim from Street Fighter Series
A spiritual person who is into meditation, curry, and elephants, Dhalsim is Indian Stereotype at its best. Despite practicing pacifism tenets, he would not hesitate when it comes to protecting his home and loved ones. Dhalsim’s fighting form includes elements of Yoga – and it is way more dangerous than it sounds. He can extend his limbs to extreme lengths to catch opponents off guards, jump extremely far to close the distance, and even assault at unexpected angles. As Yoga is part of the greater Hindu philosophy, and Dhalsim has practiced its power to the extreme – as his special attacks consist of using Yoga to teleport, breathe fire, or throwing noodles. Furthermore, it also affects his dialogue – 90% of the lines have the word “yoga”.
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