List of black characters in videogames

Most major characters in video games are of caucasian race. This is a list of black video game characters. This list does not include black characters in sports games or other real-world simulation games, unless a game revolves around this character. Other than that, this list only includes fictional characters.

Playable characters
Original characters
Dee Jay in the Street Fighter series (1993 and on)
Dee Jay is one of the available fighters in these series.

Major Jackson Briggs in the Mortal Kombat series (1993 and on)
Major Jackson Briggs, better known as Jax, is one of the available fighters in these series.

Al Simons in several Spawn games (1995 and on)
Spawn's alias Al Simmons is a character, who ends up as a comic anti-hero. Several games have been developed that feature the character Spawn, such as 1995's Spawn, and the more recent Spawn: Armageddon.

Zack in the Dead or Alive series (1996 and on)
Zack is one of the available fighters in these series.

Barret Wallace in Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Leader of anti-terrorist group AVALANCHE and is a personal friend of the game's main character Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace is one of the nine playable characters.

John R. Blade in SiN (1998)
Col. John R. Blade is commander of one of the largest security forces in the city of Freeport, HARDCORPS.

Akuji in Akuji the Heartless (1998)
The main character of the game is black voodoo priest and warrior Akuji.

Michael LeRoi in Shadow Man (1999)
Former English student and taxi driver Michael LeRoi is the game's main protagonist.

Cain in Sanity: Aiken's Artifact (2000)
A psychich powered character called Cain is this game's main protagonist.

Jade in Beyond Good & Evil (2001)
The main character of the game is a young black female journalist known as Jade.

Victor Vance in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
Victor serves as the playable protagonist in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, and also as a minor character in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

Dean Shephard in Men of Valor (2004)
Black soldier Dean Shephard is one of the main characters in the game.

in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
Carl "CJ" Johnson is a black gangster that takes the role of the game's main character.

Garcian Smith in killer 7 (2005)
Garcian Smith is a 33-year-old assassin who has the power to resurrect Harman Smith's fallen personae.

Coltrane Crowley in (2005)
Coltran Crowley, also known as Trane, is the main character of the game.

Agent in Crackdown (2005)
The player-controlled character, the "Agent", is one selected of predefined looks. One of these looks, and one shown on the cover of the game, is a black man.

Zasalamel in Soul Calibur III (2005) and Soul Calibur IV (2008)
Zasalamel is a fighter and the leading antagonist in Soul Calibur III, and a fighter in Soul Calibur IV.

Characters from tv- and film-games
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu in Star Wars video games (1999 and on)
Although the race of Jedi-knight Mace Windu was originally not known, he was portrayed by black actor Samuel L. Jackson in the movies and the games. He appeared in most games that covered Episode I, Episode II and Episode III. In Lego Star Wars: The Video Game (2005) and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007), Mace Windu could be unlocked as a playable character.

Eric Brooks in Blade (2000)
The main character of the game is Eric Brooks, a vampire-hunter better known as Blade.

Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe in Enter the Matrix (2003) and The Matrix Online (2005)
Niobe is a rebel in the war against the machines. She is a non-playable character in The Matrix Online.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Miami Takedown (2004)
Based on the movies, Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey are detective sergeants in the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Real-life characters
Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's Moonwalker (1990)
Based on the movie of the same name, the main character is music star Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was at the time still somewhat black, and is depicted as such in the game.

Michael Jordan in Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City (1994) and Space Jam (1997)
1) Basketball player stars as the game's main character, who sets out to rescue his kidnapped teammates.

2) Michael Jordan is one of the characters that can be choosen to play with.

Shaquille O'Neal in Shaq Fu (1994)
Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal stars as the game's main character, in which he falls into a strange dimension and sets out to rescue a child.

Tiger Woods in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour-series (1998 and on)
Tiger Woods is the naming character to these series of golf games.

Fighters in the Def Jam-series (2003 and on)
In Electronic Arts' series of Def Jam video games, named after the Def Jam Recordings music label, rappers fight each other in several environments. The majority of the rappers featured in the games are black.

Games: Def Jam Vendetta, Def Jam: Fight for NY, Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover and Def Jam: Icon

50 Cent in 50 Cent: Bulletproof (2005) and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (2008)
50 Cent is the main protagonist in his own games.

Non-playable characters
Major characters
Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (1987)
Boxer Mike Tyson is the game's main antagonist.

Doc Louis in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out (1987)
Doc Louis is the player's personal trainer.

Taurus in Interstate '76 (1997)
Taurus is the partner of the game's protagonist Groove Champion.

in (1998 and on)
Jerome "Chef" McElroy, from the South Park animation series, also stars in the games about the animation, and plays the host in the party/quiz-game South Park: Chef's Luv Shack.

Eli Vance in Half Life (1998), Half Life 2 (2004), Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) and Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007)
Eli Vance was a scientist and resistance leader in the Half Life-series.

Vulcan Raven in Metal Gear Solid (1998), Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004)
Vulcan Raven is a member of FOXHOUND and one of the boss characters in the games.

Fortune in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
Fortune is a member of Dead Cell, in search of vengeance for her father's death.

Sergeant Major A.J. Johnson in Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), Halo 2 (2004) and Halo 3 (2007)
Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson is a marine that leads the human forces into battle against the opposing forces in the Halo series. Although he had only a small role in the first game, he was given a significant role in Halo 2, where he joined forces with the Arbiter to stop Tartarus from activating Delta Halo. In Halo 3, Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson leads a squad of marines on the Ark.

Lance Vance in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
Lance Vance, the younger brother of Victor Vance, is a drug dealer in Vice City.

Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in Enter the Matrix (2003) and The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005)
Morpheus is one of the three main characters in the The Matrix-series. He does however not appear as a playable character in any of the games.

Black characters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
* Officer Frank Tenpenny; a corrupt officer of Los Santos Police Department, he serves as the main antagonist of the game.
* ; a senior member of the Grove Street Families that later betrays them and becomes the game's second antagonist.

Alyx Vance in Half Life 2 (2004), Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) and Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007)
Actress Alyx Vance, daughter of Eli Vance, is a prominent figure in the human resistance against the rule of the alien race.

Julius Little in Saints Row (2006)
Leader of the 3rd Street Saints, the gang that the protagonist joins.

Captain David Anderson in Mass Effect (2007)
Captain David Anderson is the supervisor of the player character Commander Shepard.

Scarlet Jacobs in No More Heroes (2007)
Scarlet "Shinobu" Jacobs is an 18-year-old assassin, the youngest confirmed ranked member of the UAA, and a high school student at the local Santa Destroy High School.

Jacob Hughes in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
Jacob "Little Jacob" Hughes is a Caribbean arms dealer that sells weapons to the player's character out of the trunk of his car.

Zombies in Resident Evil 5 (2009)
In this game, the zombie-like antagonists are a black community, presumably residents of a country in Africa.

Minor characters
The Voodoo Lady in the Monkey Island series (1990 and on)
The Voodoo Lady (real name unknown) is one of only three minor characters featured in all of the first four games. Her contract binds her to at least one further sequel.

Kenneth J. Sullivan in Resident Evil (1996) and Resident Evil Zero (2002)
Kenneth J. Sullivan is a black member of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team. He makes a cameo appearance in Resident Evil Zero

in Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Marvin Branagh is a black police officer that plays a minor role in Resident Evil 2. Initially planned to have a supporting role, Marvin Branagh was killed early on in the game.

Kiros in Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
Kiros is one of Laguna's comrades in the Galbadian Army.

in Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2006)
8-Ball is a firearms and explosives specialist who owns three bomb shops throughout Liberty City.

King Courtney in Grand Theft Auto III (2001) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2006)
King Courtney is the leader of the Jamaican Yardies.

BJ Smith in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
BJ Smith is the former tight-end of the Vice City Mambas professional American football team.

Gloria Foster as The Oracle in Enter the Matrix (2003) and The Matrix Online (2005)
The Oracle is an important advisor to Neo in The Matrix-series.

Black characters in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
* ; CJ's older brother.
* Kendl Johnson; CJ and Sean's sister, and Cesar Vialpando's girlfriend.
* ; a senior member of the Grove Street Families, and a heavy drug user.
* ; Carl's friend and neighbor who pursues a rapping career.
* Madd Dogg; one of Los Santos' most well-known rappers.
* Jizzy B.; the biggest pimp in San Fierro who owns a club called "The Pleasure Domes".
* Old Reece; a local barber that has known the Johnson family for a long time.
* Emmet; a gun dealer in Los Santos and a member of the Seville Boulevard Families.
* ; a former member of the Grove Street Families, now a drugsdealer.
* ; formerly a respected member of the Grove Street Families, now he is a drug addict.
* Denise Robinson; CJ's first storyline girlfriend.

Harold Perrineau as Link in The Matrix Online (2005)
In the game Link trains all the newly awakened redpills (players) in various programs before they are allowed to enter the Matrix.

Black characters in Saints Row (2006)
* Johnny Gat; lieutenant of the 3rd Street Saints, the gang that the protagonist joins.
* Benjamin King; leader of the rivalling gang "Vice Kings", a gang made up of mostly black members.
* West Side Rollerz gang-members; this gang is made up of both black and caucasin members.

Black characters in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
* Elizabeta Torres; a successful small-time drug dealer in Bohan that offers Niko a number of missions.
* Manny Escuela; a Puerto Rican former hoodlum who has apparently changed his ways, and now wants to clean up the streets.
* Playboy X; a black drug baron and gangster, who claims to 'own' Liberty City, and the former protogé of Dwayne Forge.
* Dwayne Forge; an old school African-American gangster who was locked up on crack distribution charges and was recently released.
* Real Badman; a Caribbean cannabis dealer and an associate of Little Jacob.

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