BEST HERO
Previous Winners 2012: Lee Everett (The Walking Dead) 2013: Lucina (Fire Emblem: Awakening)

Our first year, we declared the best hero to be a teacher helping a young girl navigate the zombie apocalypse. Last year, it was a time traveling ruler from the future as she attempted to save her father. This year, we have a witch, a goddess, a noble fighter, a child looking to defeat a dark queen, and the daughter of the original female bad ass. Here are the heroic nominees…

• Amanda Ripley (Alien: Isolation)

We begin our list with the daughter of Ellen Ripley, the hero from the Alien movies. Originally introduced in Aliens, Amanda has become an engineer for Wayland-Yutani. During the game, she has to deal with androids that are malfunctioning and turning deadly as well as the always deadly and scary Xenomorphs.

• Aurora (Child of Light)

The daughter of an Austrian Duke, Aurora awakes in a strange land that has lost its sun, moon, and stars. In order to return these items to the land of Lemuria, she must defeat the Dark Queen, Umbra. A daunting task, no matter what your age.

• Bayonetta (Bayonetta 2)

One of the last remaining Umbran Witches, Bayonetta watches as her ally Jeanne is killed and dragged into hell. In order to save her soul, Bayonetta must move Heaven and Hell as well as battle through foes that wish to destroy her.

• Neptune (Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1)

The goddess of Planeptune looks to make it a clean sweep in her categories. This hero has a split personality — her normal child-like personality and a more serious battle personality — that endears her to gamers. After being defeated in a three-on-one attack, Neptune must work towards ending the Console War as well as recovering her memory.

• Shovel Knight (Shovel Knight)

A long time ago, Shovel Knight’s life was all spades as he and his partner Shield Knight protected the land. But then, Shield Knight was caught in the Tower of Fate and sealed away for years, leading Shovel Knight to leave knighthood and lead a more modest life. But with the unsealing of the tower, Shovel Knight must dig in to save his partner as well as the land from the Order of No Quarter.

AND THE HEROIC VICTOR IS…

Bayonetta

She may have been shut out of the Hottest Gal award, but she still comes out a winner. Besides, who wouldn’t like someone who would literally go through Hell to save their friends?

Ending today’s presentation is Best Villain, presented by Angela Hinck.

	BEST VILLAIN
Previous Winners 2012: Vaas Montenegro (Far Cry 3) 2013: The Black Samurai/Lilith (Shin Megami Tensei IV)

ANGELA: Everybody loves a good villain. What fun is saving the world, solving a mystery, or surviving your part-time job without someone there to make things difficult? More so than a good hero, a great villain is the crux of any really amazing story. Here are our contenders for the Best Villian of 2014. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)

• Cia (Hyrule Warriors)

Love can make good people do some really terrible things — particularly when love is mixed with jealousy and the corrupting forces of darkness. Yeah, that’ll turn things sour, and that’s exactly what happened to the once peace-loving Cia. Now she might be an evil sorceress hellbent on destroying the peace of Hyrule in her quest for power, but at least she’s a woman who knows what she wants: the Triforce, dominion over the land, and the Hero of Time.

• Masked Lumen/Balder (Bayonetta 2)

Everyone loves a good revenge story, right? Except for maybe those who are the target of said revenge. Just ask Loki from Bayonetta 2, who one day has to deal with the murderous attentions of a mysterious figure known only as the Masked Lumen. It’s later revealed that this man is none other than a youthful Balder, the villain from the first game, seeking revenge for the murder of his beloved. His destructive intent might be misplaced, but until that realization hits, the Masked Lumen is a force to be reckoned with.

The Animatronics (Five Nights at Freddy’s)

How much trouble could some animatronics from the 80’s be? You’d be surprised. They’re quick, they’re creepy, and they’re surprisingly lethal for machines that were created to entertain children. In Five Nights at Freddy’s, the player has limited time and power at their disposal to keep these overly cheery animals out of their personal space. If you fail, prepare to see the inside of an animatronic suit.

• Monokuma (Danganronpa 1)

Don’t be fooled by Monokuma’s cute design and Cheshire-like smile. He might look like a cuddly toy, but in reality, Monokuma is the headmaster responsible for the despair of the students of Hope’s Peak Academy in both Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. This sadistic bear takes as much pleasure in watching murder trials as he does brutally murdering the guilty, and that just ain’t cute.

• Ouroboros (Bravely Default)

Most of our contenders for the Best Villain title this year have been mechanical monstrosities, or are the victims of good hearts gone astray. Ouroboros is neither of those things. Instead, he represents a more old-school villainous type: the power-hungry deity of destruction. Arrogant, selfish, and cruel, Ouroboros destroys his own minions and entire worlds like they’re nothing (which, to him, they’re not.)

AND THE MOST VILLAINOUS VILLAIN IS…

Monokuma

There’s just something especially off-putting about a cute villain, and so it’s no wonder that the cutest of our contenders was victorious. Of course, that’s not the only reason Monokuma defeated the competition. I’d argue that there’s something especially sinister about a villain who rarely becomes directly involved in his own machinations. He sets up the circumstances that brings out of the worst in otherwise good people, then dances in the resulting flames with that eternal smile on his face. And for what? His own gain? No, he just likes to see people suffer. What a jerk!

And with that, we close the first day of the 2014 oprainfall Awards. Tomorrow, it’s all about aesthetics as well as the reveal of the Readers’ Game of the Year. See you then.