The Saints Row reboot – simply titled Saints Row – promises a completely different setting, character roster, and tone to its increasingly over-the-top forebears. But the series boasts so many memorable characters that fans are hoping for at least a cameo or two from some of their favorites.The new Saints are notably younger and less “gangsta” than the classic characters, so it seems likely that they’ll cross paths with their veteran counterparts at some point during the reboot’s storyline. They might show up for a bit of mentoring, or maybe an all-stars gang war somewhere along the line. Several of them would have to be brought back from the dead, of course, but anything’s possible in the Saints Row universe.
10 Oleg
Players first met this former KGB agent when they found him suspended naked from the ceiling of a Syndicate cloning lab. The next stage of the mission is memorable for Oleg’s state of undress throughout, his modesty protected by nothing more than a cluster of pixels. When offered clothes he simply states, “No time.”
Fans were disappointed by Oleg’s abrupt, cheap death in Saints Row IV, but given that he was cloned numerous times by The Syndicate, there’s definitely potential for a comeback. All that’s needed is a clone who’s as smart as the original Oleg.
9 Lin
A major character in the first Saints Row game, Lin was killed off way too early for many fans’ tastes. As one of Julius’ lieutenants, Playa reports to her as the “quest giver” for the West Side Rollerz missions. It's befitting of her love of cars, and of her love of driving them fast.
Lin’s own mission was a dangerous one and, after successfully infiltrating the Rollerz and passing out information to the Saints, she was caught and dealt with personally by Rollerz leader, William Sharp. Technically though, no one actually saw her die...
8 Troy Bradshaw
At the end of the original Saints Row, Troy was revealed to be a low-down, dirty traitor – an undercover cop who’d been spying on the 3rd Street Saints all along. Yet he’s still a popular character with fans of the series.
This could be because he saved Playa’s life at the very start of the story, or it could be because, even after he returned to the beat and worked his way up to Stilwater police chief, Troy still had a soft spot for the Saints.
7 Julius Little
Julius was the founder and leader of the 3rd Street Saints but, like a lot of characters in this franchise, he was also a backstabbing traitor. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, he planted a bomb intended to kill Playa at the end of the first game.
Playa caught up with Julius in Saints Row 2 and put a bullet through his head, but if Julius were to be resurrected for the Saints Row reboot, it wouldn’t be the first time. He’s already appeared as a superpowered boss character in Saints Row IV’s Virtual Steelport.
6 Dex
Dex was the brains of the 3rd Street Saints in the original Saints Row which – given that most of the things the Saints do ae, well, entertainingly stupid – always made him a bit of an awkward fit.
Eventually growing tired of every one of his carefully crafted plans being adapted to include heavy explosives, Dex left the Saints and took the job of head of security at the Ultor Corporation. Then, after a run-in with Playa, he fled the city. Playa pledged to find him and kill him, but never actually got around to it.
5 Carlos Mendoza
Carlos’ role in the franchise’s story was a brief but important one. He was basically the first person Playa met after emerging from a coma at the start of Saints Row 2, having deliberately gotten himself sent to the infirmary just to meet the Saints legend he idolized.
But Carlos’s time with the Saints didn’t last long. After being caught by the Brotherhood, chained to a truck, and dragged around the docks, he was left in a terrible state. In an unusually poignant moment for the series, it was left up to Playa to put Carlos out of his misery.
4 Pierce Washington
Like Shaundi, Pierce was basically recruited out of nowhere at the beginning of Saints Row 2. One minute, he was loitering in a parking lot; the next, he was asking Playa to kill Ronin in return for his allegiance.
Pierce remained loyal throughout the rest of the series, becoming known as “The Face Of The Saints” and heading up the gang’s marketing and PR as communications director. Within the Saints Row fiction, it’s a running joke that Pierce never gets credit for his ideas, but he does get a lot of credit from fans of the series.
3 Kinzie Kensington
Gamers are suckers for nerdy characters who also happen to be badass, especially women. This probably explains Kinzie’s popularity…but it could also be something to do with her Super Saint outfit in Saints Row IV, a very tight latex catsuit.
Kinzie was introduced in Saints Row: The Third because the series’ new futuristic flavor needed a strong computer hacker character to go with it. She’s been an important character since then and, given how un-gangsta she is, she’d fit right into the reboot too.
2 Shaundi
All Saints Row characters have gone through dramatic evolutions and re-inventions as the series has progressed, but none more so than Shaundi. She became a completely different character between Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third.
Most fans prefer the laid back, sardonic, “hippie chick” version of Shaundi in Saints Row 2 (although she denies being a hippy), but would be glad to see her make an appearance in the reboot in any form at all. Up to now, she’s the franchise's most prominent female protagonist (aside from lady Playas, of course) and it would be worse off without her.
1 Johnny Gat
To many fans, Johnny Gat isn’t just a character in Saints Row – he is Saints Row. All of the gangsta tropes the series plays with are somehow distilled into the character of Johnny. He looks like a ludicrous collage of gangsta cliches, yet still comes off as cool. His behaviour is a similar blend of absurd cliche and infectious charisma.
He’s appeared in every game in the Saints Row series, including his very own spin-off, Gat Out Of Hell. If Johnny Gat were to be absent from the reboot, that would be the biggest crime Saints Row has ever seen — which is saying something.