Cuteness sells video games — this is an obvious and immutable fact. Every iconic video gaming series has an adorable little avatar, from Mario's Toads to Final Fantasy's Chocobos.
But the stress of being a lovable mascot is probably unbelievable, especially when you consider that video game characters have to have special powers or skills in order to be worth anything. For these cute video gaming mascots, they're probably just one "game over" away from going totally bonkers and destroying everything we hold dear.
4 Kirby: An Ancient God Hiding Behind A Pink Facade
Kirby's cuteness is undeniable — his pink, endlessly smiling face, his adorable "poyo!" sounds, and his love for pastries all seem designed to elicit immediate "aww"s from everyone in the world. But have you ever wondered what drives Kirby's desire to consume everything around him, and how it is that he can imitate everyone from Samus to Sora to Yoshi?
That's right — Kirby is an eldritch god, his pink fluffy exterior covering an endless void within him. He's a black hole stuffed inside a balloon. Kirby hasn't eaten us yet because he likes our strawberry shortcake too much — I don't trust that little pincushion.
3 Isabelle: Probably An Evil Mastermind
Ever since her introduction in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Isabelle has been a fan-favorite Animal Crossing character, beloved for her can-do attitude and tireless work ethic. While you run around your town or island hitting villagers with bug nets and generally acting like a jerk, Isabelle is out here keeping everything going without once asking for recognition; she's selfless and kind and totally adorable.
So... what's up with that? Why doesn't she resent you for literally doing nothing all day while she wastes away behind a reception desk, doing all the grueling work of running a municipal government? She's probably got huge plans to take over the world, starting with your little village. That's why her fur is so fluffy — it's full of classified secrets.
2 Chao: Literal Angels And Demons
Sonic fans love the Chao. These cute plushie-looking dudes made their debut in Sonic Adventure, but it was Sonic Adventure 2's much-missed Chao Garden that really fleshed out their personalities; you can raise them from babies to adults, and how you raise them determines whether they turn out good or evil. But look at their designs: a good Chao has wings and a halo, while an evil Chao has a pointed tail and a murderous expression.
In other words, Chao are actual angels and demons. They're not cute little fluffy pets — they're physical embodiments of the concepts of good or evil. And did we mention that if you add an "s" to their name, they literally become chaos? Run for your life!
1 Jigglypuff: How Are These Things Legal?
All the other characters on this list have the potential to cause chaos, if they only embraced that potential. But Jigglypuff is more dangerous than any of them, because it simply doesn't know its own strength.
Jigglypuffs are blessed with mellifluous singing voices that instantly put anyone in the vicinity to sleep — and if Smash Bros. is to be believed, its voice is also a deadly weapon if you're too close. This makes Jigglypuff dangerous already, but what would happen if someone broadcasted Jigglypuff's voice over the radio or the internet, making everyone in the world fall asleep instantly? Car crashes! Train derailments! People falling asleep in their lunch! The Pokemon U.N. must legislate the heck out of Jigglypuff breeders and keep them in extremely high-security enclosures — the risk of total annihilation is just too much.