Video games have had politicians of all stripes. Eternal Champions and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance had senators. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 and Metal Wolf Chaos had Presidents. They’ve even had intergalactic leaders in Mass Effect and the Metroid series. But what about something a little more down-to-earth?
Why rule a galaxy when there’s a town that needs running? There might be a political conspiracy going on, but the new housing estate needs some new power lines. The President can throw fists or play basketball all he likes. These video game mayors have more serious matters to attend to. These are the top mayors in gaming.
5 Miles O’Donovan (Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)
How much Donovan? Miles O’Donovan! He was originally mentioned off-screen in Grand Theft Auto 3 as the Mayor of Liberty City. Though it wouldn’t be until its PSP prequel, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, that he would be fleshed out a little more. He spends much of the game being a thorn in protagonist Toni Cipriani’s side, winning the city election against the wishes of Cipriani’s Leone family.
The mayor then tries to force the Leones out in favor of their rivals in the Sindaccos, Forelli’s, and the Sicilians. Except his dealing with the Mafia ends up biting him back when the Sicilians kidnap him. Luckily, Cipriani can help him out, so long as he climbs into Leone’s pockets. In his attempt to become the biggest dog in Liberty City, Donovan ended up being hoisted by his own petard by Cipriani and his mob. Rough gig.
4 Burt Reynolds (Saints Row The Third)
The third Saints Row game was a case of being two steps forward, one step back from its predecessor Saints Row 2. It had fewer activities, and fewer customizable options and the city of Steelport was more generic than Stilwater’s lively districts. However, the game had smoother controls, better graphics, and a snazzy remastered edition. It also had a mayor with style. It had Burt Reynolds as himself running the show, whose charm was enough to keep the Boss and their Saints in line.
Once he makes his presence known, he gives the Boss a few errands to run. Like taking care of a nosey journalist, stopping some private soldiers gone amok, and preventing a zombie outbreak. Completing the latter would even let the late Smokey and the Bandit actor join the fray as the player's Homie. Just call him up, and he’ll shoot up some Morningstar gangsters alongside them. As brief as his appearance is, it spiced up the final act of the Saints’ third outing.
3 Cody Travers (Street Fighter 5)
He saved his girlfriend back in Final Fight, but he couldn’t save himself. Cody succumbed to the thrill of the fight, beating punks on the regular until he couldn’t control his aggression. Too violent for society, he ended up becoming what he detested the most, a criminal. By his return in Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Super Street Fighter 4, he was an ex-con on the run still fighting for fun.
But his friend Guy still saw some good in him. Though Cody would deny it, he still used his strength against evildoers than any innocent passers-by. With the help of another old colleague, Cody rehabilitated himself into an upstanding member of society. In Street Fighter 5 he made his big comeback as the new Mayor of Metro City. While he still has a hands-on approach to the town’s crime rates, his secretary and mayoral duties keep him from regressing to his old ways.
2 Mike Haggar (Final Fight)
Search ‘video game mayor’ on Google, and chances are that Mike Haggar’s name is the first one that comes up. When his daughter was kidnaped by the Mad Gear gang, Haggar didn’t get the corrupt police involved or give in to ransom demands. He decided to take matters into his own hands and, with the help of his daughter’s boyfriend Cody and his friend Guy, pummeled his way through the gang’s bosses until his daughter was safely back in his hands.
Haggar would continue to uphold his civic duty in keeping the streets safe in Final Fight 2 and 3. All while keeping his wrestling skills sharp in Saturday Night Slam Masters and its sequel. He even got to piledrive Marvel’s heroes and villains in Marvel Vs Capcom 3, in both its regular and Ultimate editions. In Street Fighter 5, he stepped down to help Cody and let him take over the role. But there’s always a chance he could be up for re-election and take a pipe to the competition.
1 Mayor (SimCity series)
Yup, like the time when Time magazine put a mirror on their front cover, the most iconic mayor in a video game is whoever’s looking back at the game screen in SimCity. After all, who else is going to hook up the suburbs with electricity from the power plant? Who’s going to raise taxes to get funding for a new sports stadium? And who’s going to unleash Bowser on the downtown district because they messed up the layout?
It’s the player who’s in control of putting their municipal vision together in the SimCity series. It can be fun sending whatever natural disaster the game has against one section of their city or another. Eventually, the player can’t help but put destruction aside in favor of the joy construction can bring. Becoming the most iconic mayor in gaming by proxy is a decision the player wouldn’t regret.