The silent protagonist is slowly fading from popularity with the ubiquity of voice acting and improvements to writing in recent gaming history, but they still pop up every now and then.
The following list pays tribute to the greatest quiet heroes of the RPG genre. For the most part, players barely even make dialogue choices for the protagonist, but several entries make exceptions. After all, one of the goals of a silent protagonist is helping better put the player into the hero's shoes, and letting the player pick some dialogue without it being voiced aloud still accomplishes this goal in more open, narrative-drive RPGs.
10 The Warriors Of Light From Final Fantasy
The Final Fantasy series is host to countless iconic protagonists, most of whom have proper names. The Warriors of Light from the debut entry remain silent throughout the whole adventure. Instead of words, they use actions to get their point across. Slaying monsters and defeating the evil knight Garland is all they need to do to prove their dedication towards protecting the world.
9 Vahn From Legend Of Legaia
One of the most underrated RPGs from the PS1, Legend of Legaia starts off in Vahn's hometown of Rim Elm, but he is soon afterwards thrusted into the world in order to revive the Genesis Trees and destroy the four mist generators. He admittedly lacks personality, but deserves commendation for being the player's eyes when experiencing this incredibly unique and woefully under appreciated classic.
8 Dragonborn
Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the most popular RPGs out there, and players explore this part of Tamriel as the Dragonborn. Par for the course in The Elder Scrolls franchise, players' actions and decisions determine how their character develops. One will not find the moral dilemmas of other western RPGs here; stepping into the Dragonborn's shoes is a pure power fantasy as they slay dragons and save Skyrim.
7 Mario From Super Mario RPG
Is there a genre Mario has not tried out yet? Probably first-person shooters and dating simulators, if we're being thorough. However, he has starred in several RPGs, not the least of which is Super Mario RPG on the SNES.
Gaming's favorite plumber - all apologies to the star of Plumber's Don't Wear Ties on the 3DO - generally stays quiet throughout all of his games save for the occasional "wahooo" and "so long gay bowser." In Super Mario RPG he does not let out so much as a peep.
6 Lone Wanderer
Not to be confused with Wander from Shadow of the Colossus, the Lone Wanderer is the moniker given to the main protagonist from Fallout 3 as they search for their father who ran away from his safe vault home. Fallout 4 would go on to add a voice for the protagonist, a polarizing decision some fans despised while others saw it as a logical step forward for the franchise. Regardless of the series' future, Fallout 3 will always remain a classic.
5 Link
Even when Breath of the Wild added voice acting for Zelda and the other characters populating the vast open-world environment during cutscenes, Link still remained quiet. It is difficult to imagine the iconic hero talking, even when everyone else does. Players never choose dialogue for him either. Considering how lively Hyrule is in each game, Link himself lacks a distinct personality, though there's nothing inherently wrong with that.
4 Red
Pokemon is so popular, even people who have not so much as been in the same room as a video game console have heard of the franchise due to the animated series and other related media.
Those who played the original Game Boy classic named their protagonist, but the hero is consistently referred to as Red in pop culture. The formula for the game worked so well, most of the sequels generally copy it, only adding slight quality of life improvements through the iterations.
3 The Hunter
FromSoftware not only makes some of the best games of the past twenty years, but they also have some of the most ambiguous narratives. It is difficult to say what Bloodborne is about upon first glance, but enough is given for the player to know they have to survive and keep marching forward. The protagonist has little personality, but the title of Hunter lends itself well to the mysterious story.
2 New Kid From South Park: The Stick Of Truth
Making games based on popular television and film properties is incredibly difficult. Obsidian Entertainment managed to do it right with South Park: The Stick of Truth, a turn-based RPG based off the raunchy televisions show. The game uses the silence of the hero as a source of humor, true to the show's dedication to pulling jokes out of any and every subject possible. While not from the same developer, South Park: The Fractured But Whole manages to be just as entertaining while introducing a new battle system.
1 Crono From Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is one of Square's most celebrated RPGs. Crono, despite being a man of few words, also sticks out as a particularly memorable protagonist. It is no wonder, since the entire party is filled with unique faces. Fans will likely never see a sequel or even a remake of the legendary RPG, but it is absolutely worth visiting the title today. Compared to the games of its generation, Chrono Trigger has aged incredibly well.