Aside from video game characters who start as the "chosen one," many begin their journey as inexperienced individuals who show promise. Whether it's a stranger, a loved one, or even sometimes an enemy these characters are set on their road to greatness by the training and tutelage of a teacher or mentor.
Eventually, all students are meant to surpass their teachers, but the bar is set absurdly high in certain cases, especially if the teacher in question is a literal god. There's a saying, "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach," but there are more than a few video game teachers who prove that saying wrong.
10 The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3
Most Metal Gear Solid fans can agree that the Big Boss, also known as Naked Snake, is one of the best mercenary characters in video game history. And as influential as he is in the Metal Gear Solid series, the person that influenced him the most was his mentor. Known as The Boss, she trained him to be the ultimate soldier.
She herself was a legendary Soldier as she was behind several important special operations that earned her the title of "the Mother of Special Forces". In Metal Gear Solid 3, Naked Snake has to take her out, a fact that is hard for him to come to terms with. He's the only one that is able to take her on and her death and the words she imparted to him impacted him greatly for the rest of his life.
9 Darth Vader - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Not all teachers are good people that want to spread their benevolent teachings to worthy students. Even evil teachers can have the desire to teach the younger generation the ways of the dark side, and Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a prime example of that. He's the one who trains the character player, Galen Marek as his secret apprentice.
After killing his father, Darth Vader trains Marek to be a Sith Lord and to carry out the assassination of Darth Sidious. He was able to masterfully manipulate Marek for years to see his goals come to fruition and despite being severely damaged, he managed to survive a large explosion of the Force that destroyed a squadron of Stormtroopers.
8 Chun-Li - Street Fighter
Chun-Li is one of the most iconic fighting video game characters and, just in general, video game characters of all time. She was the first female fighter to be made in the Street Fighter series and is one of its most popular. A martial artist who is known for her lighting kicks, Chun-Li has come a long way from her Interpol days of tracking down Shadaloo.
In Street Fighter 6 she is a kung fu teacher who has gained her community's admiration. It can be assured that she is still considered" the strongest woman in the world", even with her more peaceful lifestyle.
7 Heihachi Mishima - Tekken
In the Tekken series, Heihachi has almost always taken the role of the antagonist in the games and the vendettas that many of the characters in the series have against him are well-earned. Even when it comes to him and his son Kazuya, who is just as bad and possibly even worse than his father. Heihachi trained Kazuya, his grandson Jin and his adoptive son Lee.
Throughout the series, Heihachi has fought against many powerful foes that wield inhuman powers and he either wins or comes out of the fight with his life. Even Akuma isn't able to put him down for good in Tekken 7. It takes a drawn-out fight between Kazuya and being thrown into a literal volcano to finally put an end to him.
6 Blythe - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
As with many other Fire Emblem games, players can choose the gender of the main character to either be male or female. Aside from certain classes, romances, and the character model that shows up in cutscenes, the experiences of both main characters are the same. In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the protagonist is Blythe, a mercenary turned professor as they save three students of the Officers Academy.
Not only do they get a job based on one incident, but they were the first successful vessel for Sothis and were able to wield the Sword of the Creator. They are the only ones able to awaken this powerful sword's true power.
5 Yennefer - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Yennefer of Vengerberg is one of the most iconic characters in both The Witcher books, the game series, and the Netflix adaptation. No matter her adaptation, she is always made to be a powerful and brazen sorceress who will do whatever she feels is necessary to get the outcome she wants. One of her closest and most important relationships is her mother-daughter bond with Ciri, with whom she teaches magic.
In the game, Yennefer shows some of the strongest, if not the strongest magic wielded. She performs several spells and abilities as she and Geralt search for Ciri. She uses the forbidden art of necromancy and is integral in returning Avallac'h to his proper form.
4 Geralt - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Ciri doesn't just learn from her mother figure, she is also taught by her father figure, Geralt. Her training by Geralt is mostly seen in a flashback in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but it's canon that Ciri was trained by Geralt, Vesemir, and the other witchers. Geralt is one of, if not the most well-known witcher within the series' universe. He has superhuman speed and strength that goes even beyond the skills of other witchers.
He's a master swordsman and in hand-to-hand combat as he can defeat enemies without his weapons. And despite going up against odds that were not in his favor, like facing off against the Wild Hunt, Geralt manages to come out victorious.
3 Amaterasu - Okami
Amaterasu is the main character of the Okami game, but she also becomes the teacher of her son, Chibiterasu, in Okamiden, a spiritual successor to Okami. Despite taking the form of a wolf, when Nippon is in danger, she's the only thing that can stop the evil of Orochi as she is the goddess of the sun.
Using her Celestial Brush, Amaterasu can perform several abilities. She can attack with it using Power Slash, which can cut enemies as well as in-game objects. She can summon the force of the elements and can even change the passage of time by summoning the Sun or the Moon.
2 Kratos - God Of War
Kratos' power has grown with every God of War game to the point that he has become the strongest of the Greek gods, and pretty much the only one left. When he escaped Greece after the events of God of War 3 and found himself in the Northlands, he eventually settled down with a woman named Faye and had a son named Atreus.
2018's God of War sees a different side of Kratos as players watch him try to be both a warrior and a father to his son. For half of the game fans of the series get to watch Kratos wield a new and powerful weapon, the Leviathan Axe, though he does end up wielding the Blades of Chaos once more.
1 Raiden - Mortal Kombat
Raiden is an iconic character for the fighting game series Mortal Kombat. Since the beginning, he's acted as a mentor and guide to Liu Kang, and the rest of Earthrealm's champions. And he's Earthrealm's protector. Earthrealm is full of powerful fighters, but as a literal God of Thunder, Raiden's powers cannot be overlooked.
He has control over electricity and many of his moves incorporate his control over the element. He can see the future and even heal and bring back the dead, as seen in 2011's Mortal Kombat. Even without his powers, his millennia of knowledge and experience have allowed him to know and master many martial arts.