When one plays any current action game, the heroes generally fall into one of the following categories; super-soldier, godlike being, physically-dominant warrior, The Hulk. It’s almost a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to portray the main character as one of these stereotypes. Imagine how the Metal Gear series would’ve panned out if Snake wasn’t such a badass?

Granted, Snake is one of very few that fall into this cliché and yet still remains an extremely well-developed character. Others, such as Kratos or Marcus Fenix, remain shallow and one-dimensional figures, possessing pure brute strength and little emotion or regards for anything else.

In this list, I will count down the 5 Most Unlikely Heroes that dare to step away from this over-used practice and shine based on their own personal merits and offbeat surprises.

#5: Derek Stiles (Trauma Center)

He’s a surgeon, plain and simple. No super powers, no over-the-top action sequences, no car chases, no fire-fights. The Trauma Center games are about patience, reflexes, and control – and Derek Stiles is the only man up to the challenge. He’s just about the most ordinary guy on this list, but sadly, he’s far too ordinary to make it any higher.

#4: Ness (Earthbound)

Ness is about…what, 7 or 8 years old? He’s like any normal kid; plays with his friends, enjoys the occasional baseball game, and loves his yo-yo. So why is he such an unlikely hero? He has freaking psychic powers. What. The Hell. Is he Professor Xavier’s son or something?

How does his journey start? By visiting the crash site of a fallen meteor, and meeting an oddly-named alien (Buzz-Buzz) who has received a fated mission from a prophetic fruit -  deemed the Apple of Enlightenment – to destroy the evil alien, Giygas. Already, this is more than your standard action/RPG hero can sustain. And here Ness is, at a ripe young age with an extraordinary gift, soaking it all up.

#3: Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes)

An otaku with a pension for gory violence, wrestling, anime, and lightsabers, of course. When Travis Touchdown wins an aptly-named “beam katana” from an internet auction, he’s thrust into the seedy underworld of the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins that runs the also aptly-named town of Santa Destroy.

Baited into his first “test” one night at a bar, Travis proceeds in killing the 11th ranked member, known as The Drifter, thereby certifying himself as a new member of the UAA and the holder of that rank. So begins Travis’s destiny to become number 1 – and as he begs the game’s female lead, his mission to “do it” with her.

#2: Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)

An MIT graduate with a license to kill. He’s Duke Nukem meets Hal “Otacon” Emmerich; a lab coat meets a rocket launcher; the kid you beat up in high school meets the kid who beat you up. Gordon Freeman is easily one of the most unlikely action heroes to ever grace a video game.

One minute he’s performing an experiment in the labs at the Black Mesa research facility, and the next, he’s ripped open a portal to an alien world, unleashed a parasitic and bloodthirsty race of savage creatures to Earth, and is pumping his shotgun ready for action.

#1: Mario (Every single Mario game…ever)

He’s a freaking plumber. A pudgy, Italian, cape-wearing, flower-wielding, mushroom eating plumber. Whatever Nintendo was smoking when they created this legend, the once-named Jumpman, I highly doubt they had any idea that they’ve just made the gaming industry’s most iconic figure.

Since his inception into the medium, Mario has spawned an innumerable amount of sequels and spin-offs from his main franchise, the “Super Mario” games, which are still in development to this day. As long as the gaming industry still stands, and as long as Nintendo’s deep pockets continue to produce and develop, Mario will remain an icon, a legend, a star, and easily the most unlikely video game hero ever.