To celebrate the fact that October 21, 2015 is Marty and Doc's destination date in Back to the Future II, we're taking a look at our favorite video game time travelers. These character don't need DeLoreans to tear through the fabric of time and space; they use an array of powers, technology, and other phenomena to jump between time periods. Read on to see where your favorites rank!
10. Abraham Lincoln
The Conduit 2
At the end of this first-person shooter for the Wii, Abraham Lincoln and other historical figures come through a portal wearing space-marine armor. We may never know why this happens, because that knowledge requires that a living person plays (and remembers) The Conduit 2.
9. Garland
Final Fantasy
The first boss you fight in an RPG is usually a pushover. Though players trounce Garland early on, a time-travel loop ensures that he survives and eventually becomes the final boss – the god Chaos. Who says entry-level bosses don’t have career advancement opportunities?
8. Hoagie
Day of the Tentacle
The chance to go back in time to witness history-changing events would overwhelm and amaze most people. Hoagie, however, keeps his cool and remains generally unimpressed as he works with America’s founding fathers to prevent an evil tentacle from taking over the world.
7. Sissel
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Compared to the other entries on this list, Sissel’s time-manipulation power isn’t amazing. He only jumps four minutes into the past, but he still saves lives and pieces together the mysteries. Bonus: He would also rank high on a list of Top 10 Ghosts Who Possess Stuff.
6. Commander Repeatski
Super Time Force
No era is safe from the meddling of Commander Repeatski. The dual-eyepatched maniac dispatches the Super Time Force to save the dinosaurs from extinction, steal the Holy Grail, and more. The goal is noble, but correcting the mistakes of the past is even harder than it looks.
Up next: A clever wizard displaced in time and Nintendo's career timer traveler...
(This feature originally appeared in issue 269 of Game Informer)
5. Kessler
Infamous
We’ve all thought what we would say to our younger selves if given the chance. Kessler is able to have that conversation, but he doesn’t warn himself about a bad relationship or pass along winning lottery numbers; he brings death, destruction, and grim tidings for the future.
4. Tim
Braid
Tim doesn’t jump between time periods, but he needs to master all sorts of time-related abilities to solve brain-bending puzzles. He can rewind events, cooperate with a parallel doppelganger, and change the flow of time – but he mainly mopes about a failed relationship.
3. Magus
Chrono Trigger
As a child, Magus was transported from an ancient magical utopia to the Middle Ages. Instead of giving up, he raises an army of monsters to exact revenge on the time-devouring beast that marooned him. When life gives them lemons, evil wizards sure know how to make lemonade.
2. Link
The Legend of Zelda series
If there were a club for frequent time travelers, Link would be a platinum member. The legendary hero frequently uses music, portals, and other tricks to time-hop. Whether he’s traversing days or centuries, his sleep schedule never seems to get thrown off by the time change.
1. Marshal Graham
Time Traveler
So what if only a small fraction of gamers ever played this holographic arcade machine? Logic dictates that a game called “Time Traveler” would be the perfect manifestation of the concept. Therefore, its cowboy hero must be deft and intelligent – and definitely not be prone to numerous bumbling deaths.
(This feature originally appeared in issue 269 of Game Informer)