Some video game mascots will live forever for game companies, franchises, console manufacturers and so on. Mario is the jack-of-all-trades character that most companies strive to replicate in terms of market share and presence. There isn't a child or adult who doesn't know who Mario is or what he looks like on some level.
While there are plenty of mascot characters that are on par with Mario, like Pikachu for Pokémon and Sonic for Sega, other mascots have come and gone. Some were successful and faded out of existence, while others were never that popular to begin with. Let's go through forgotten and obscure video game mascots that may never return.
Bonk
PC engine caveman icon
- First big game appearance: The Adventures of Bonk
- Developer: Red Company/Atlus
- Publisher: Hudson Soft (Japan)
- Platform: PC engine
- Debut: December 15, 1989 (Japan)
Bonk was the mascot character for the PC Engine console, one that didn't receive much fanfare in North America. That said, the series off Bonk gaming on PC Engine and other consoles was excellent. They featured the titular Bonk, a caveman, who gained various strange powers during his platforming adventures. The Adventures of Bonk was the first game in the series, released in 1989 in Japan for the PC Engine and a year later in North America.
Even after the demise of the PC Engine, Bonk maintained a decent decade of relevance, but the last known titles in which he appeared were a series of basic mobile games released in Japan around 2008. Konami has owned Bonk franchise since it acquired parent company Hudson Soft in 2012, but they haven't done anything major with the franchise or the character since then.
Toro and Kuro
PlayStation's Japanese mascots
- First big game appearance: Doko Demo Issyo
- Developer: Beside
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
- Platform: PS1
- Debut: July 22, 1999 (Japan)
Sony has had many mascot characters over the years, as they never quite found their Mario counterpart. The white and black cat duo, Toro and Kurocame close, at least for Japan. They were featured in various PlayStation advertisements in Japan, along with appearing in several games dedicated to them, usually based on minigames. Toro's first match was Doko Demo Issyo for the PS1 in 1999, while Kuro's debut was in Doko Demo Issyo: Toro and More Parties for PS2 in 2004.
Toro's Friends Networkk for the PS Vita in 2013 was the first game in the series to make it to North America, and was more like a glorified friend-finding app than an actual video game. The characters appeared in other games as well, such as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Everyone's Golf 6, and Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten. They really came around, and they even showed up Astro Bot in 2024, albeit in robot form. So technically they're still around, but they don't have mascot status to promote the PlayStation like they used to. One of their last games was a mobile app in 2019 called Toro and Friends: Onsen Townwhich was taken down in 2021.
Segata Sanshiro
Sega Saturn's biggest reason to exist
- First big game appearance: Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yugi
- Developer: Ecole Software
- Publisher: Sega
- Platform: Sega Saturn
- Debut: October 29, 1998 (Japan)
Segata Sanshiro was the Japanese fictional human mascot for Sega Saturn commercials and print ads starting in 1997. They are some of the funniest video game commercials ever made, making this mascot a trending meme long after the Sega Saturn disappeared. He may not be a cartoon mascot, but he's still an important character in Sega's history. His last ad appearance saw him literally sacrifice himself to save the Sega Dreamcast before it launched in 1999. Decades later, Sega ran some ads featuring Segata Sanshiro's fictional son, Sega Shiro, in 2020, but it didn't take off.
Besides being an ad man, Segata Sanshiro also appeared in some games. He appeared in a minigame collection released for the Sega Saturn in 1998 in Japan called Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yugi. Other examples are making a cameo in the 2012s Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformedand become a party member of Project X Zone 2, which was a tactical RPG released in 2016 in North America. Sega could bring him back in more games, though Project X Zone 2 will probably be his last big hurray.
Titus the Fox
A forgotten developer
- First big game appearance: Titus the Fox: To Marrakech and Back
- Developer: Titus France
- Publisher: Titus France
- Platforms: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MS-DOS
- Debut: 1992
Titus the fox will be recognizable to anyone who grew up in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. It was a red fox mascot for Titus Interactive SA that went through several names and iterations, but this version of the company lasted an impressive twenty years, between 1985 and 2005, before being discontinued. Anyone who grew up in this era must have seen the familiar red fox on game boxes or home screens. The developer didn't have many great games, as they mostly worked with licenses, but they certainly created some infamous titles.
They include Superman: The New Superman Adventures for N64 and 2003 RoboCop games, both of which are considered some of the worst games ever made. There were some gems in there, as well Incredible crisiswhich they only published in North America for the PS1. Titus the fox got his own game, Titus the Fox: To Marrakech and Backwhich is currently available on Steam as only Titus the fox. Originally it was a 1991 game on obscure platforms like the Amiga. So while the company and mascot are now dead, at least Titus the Fox will live on in infamy.
Nests
Nintendo Power's early icon
- First big game appearance: Nester's Funky Bowling
- Developer: Sapphire
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Platform: Virtual Boy
- Debut: February 1996
Nests was a child character who began appearing in Nintendo Power series. His greatest run lasted from 1988 to 1993, so readers got used to seeing his face. He wasn't just in comics either; he appeared in other Nintendo ads in the magazine. He became so iconic that he even started appearing, or being mentioned, in Nintendo games.
Technically, his first appearance was in 1990 in the NES Play Action Footballwhere Nester announced the results of each game. It's more like a cameo, but Nester got his own game in 1996 called Nester's Funky Bowling for the ill-fated Virtual Boy. It wasn't the worst game on the system, but no one could save the Virtual Boy, not even Nester. While his run ended, Nester appeared randomly from time to time to celebrate major milestones in Nintendo Power's legacy, which also went the way of the dinosaur in 2012.
Jazz Jackrabbit
An epic debut
- First big game appearance: Jazz Jackrabbit
- Developer: Epic MegaGames
- Publisher: Epic MegaGames
- Platform: MS-DOS
- Debut: August 1, 1994 (episode one)
Before Epic Games became the gaming company it is today, it began humbly in 1991 as Potomac Computer Systems. In 1992 it was renamed Epic MegaGames and then Epic Games in 1999. They never had an official mascot for the company, but Jazz Jackrabbit was the first mascot character to start appearing in games and became a hit for them. The mascot is notable because Cliff Bleszinski helped design it, who today is best known for creating Gears of War series.
The title character's first game, Jazz Jackrabbitwas released in 1994, followed by new episodes that debuted afterward. This then led to a sequel in 1998, Jazz Jackrabbit 2and then to a 2002 Game Boy Advance game that Epic didn't develop, simply called Jazz Jackrabbit. There were plans between the second game and the GBA title to make a 3D Jazz Jackrabbit adventure, but that was scrapped. Save for some Easter eggs here and there, including one i Fortnitethe character has ceased to be meaningful to Epic Games for decades now.
