What Are The Best Characters With Mustaches In Video Games?

Mustaches are tiny crowns on faces, and video games have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to spectacular facial hair. I’ve always been strangely sentimental about mustaches in games — they’re such a simple design choice but they tell you so much: the wink of a rogue, the pomp of a villain, the lived-in grit of a western hero. Off the top of my head I’d pick Mario first — that classic, rounded mustache in 'Super Mario Bros.' is pure iconography. It’s cartoonish, warm, and somehow makes a plumber into a world-saving legend. Wario and Waluigi deserve honorary mentions for taking that silhouette and turning it into mischief incarnate in 'WarioWare' and the Mario spin-offs; Wario’s bristly zig-zag and Waluigi’s thin, sinister curl say everything about their personalities before they speak.

Then you get the over-the-top theatrical types like Dr. Eggman (Dr. Robotnik) from 'Sonic the Hedgehog' and Dr. Wily from 'Mega Man', whose enormous, theatrical moustaches are basically characters on their own. Eggman’s enormous, curving whiskers radiate cartoon villainy — I always grinned whenever the game zoomed in on him plotting. Dr. Wily’s scraggly white facial hair gives him that mad-scientist energy, and it’s a reminder of how much silhouette and a few lines can communicate in sprite and pixel art. On the other end of the scale I love Captain Price from 'Call of Duty' — his thick, utilitarian mustache carries so much weight. He looks like someone who’s been in the trenches and will give you a dry one-liner before leading a mission; his mustache is basically shorthand for salty competence.

If you like rugged, lived-in facial hair, the westerns win: Arthur Morgan and John Marston from 'Red Dead Redemption 2' and 'Red Dead Redemption' respectively have mustaches that change with your playthrough — they bulk up, go scruffier or more dignified depending on your grooming habits — and I adore that. Arthur’s weathered mustache reads like a map of his life; it’s messy, practical, and oddly sentimental when you fast-travel and catch a glimpse in a campfire reflection. Heihachi Mishima in 'Tekken' is a different vibe entirely: a wispier, menacing mustache paired with his angular eyebrows and hair makes him feel like a living kabuki-fighter — ridiculous, regal, and terrifying.

For pure personality I can’t leave out Sir Hammerlock from 'Borderlands 2' — monocle, aristocratic accent, and a glorious handlebar mustache make him impossible to forget. Minsc from 'Baldur’s Gate' (and his big, heroic beard-and-mustache combo) has that lovable, slightly chaotic hero energy; his facial hair matches his larger-than-life personality. Those are some of my favorites, but really, mustaches in games are this tiny, delightful shorthand that designers use to telegraph a little about who a character is. They can make a villain sneering, a mentor respectable, or a goofball unforgettable — and honestly, I’m here for all of it.