The Top 7... Most giving characters in gaming

2. Main Character

From: Persona 3/Persona 3 Portable

Persona 3's silent lead proves one thing: sometimes all it takes to make a difference is giving a complete stranger the time of day. Throughout Persona 3, he/she is constantly encountering strangers via social links, and ends up fostering deep relationships with these characters. It's amazing how far these relationships go, starting out as incidental friendships, but quickly turning into something deeper: a full understanding of another's psyche, and sometimes even love.

Our main character doesn't run away from others' heavy woes, either; this is especially evident from the Sun social link, in which he helps a young dying boy come to terms with his own death. And as the social links so notably reveal, everybody is suffering from some sort of hardship in life, whether it's the young girl who's trying to accept her parents' divorce, or the old couple getting over the loss of their adult son. Whoever they are, whatever their circumstances, there’s not a soul that our main character touches that doesn't end up for the better.

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of lending an ear to someone in a time of need, and the main character proves just how powerful our own actions can be to others, no matter how small or insignificant they seem to us. If anything, Persona 3 showcases just how empty our lives would be without the relationships we form, and just how vital it is to our human condition to foster them. The impact we can have on the lives of others is profound, and our main character never takes that for granted. This world is much too dark a place to face completely on our own.

1. Jade

From: Beyond Good & Evil HD

Jade's one of those girls who just has it all. She's insightful, inquisitive, determined and brave, but above all else, she's one of the most generous characters you'll ever meet. Why? For starters, she takes care of a group of children who’ve been orphaned by the attacks of the alien DomZ, working with her partner/”uncle” Pey’j to keep them safe. It’s a role she takes very seriously, going to extreme lengths to rescue the kids and making it her goal teach them to look out for one another.

Jade pays the bills by taking on dangerous assignments as a photographer, documenting the deadlier forms of wildlife on her home planet, Hillys. Before long, however, she uses her talents to give a much bigger gift to a much larger group of people: the truth behind what’s happening to their planet. Driven by a need to serve the public and to understand both sides of the story, she starts infiltrating government facilities, where she learns that Hillys’ would-be protectors – the militaristic Alpha Sections – are in fact in cahoots with the DomZ, and are trafficking in human captives. Any other person might have left the DomZ and the Alpha Sections to fight their pretend war, but when Jade learns the truth, she's not willing to stand idly by, and she risks it all to expose the Alphas for what they really are.

You really have to admire a woman who’s willing to put her life in danger repeatedly to help those who can't help themselves. Jade doesn't step back, and she's never afraid to stand up for what's right, not even when her life and soul are on the line. The same could be said of a lot of game heroes, true, but how many of them pushed themselves to the brink to rescue and resurrect everyone they know? If that’s not generosity, then nothing is.