We here at MTV Multiplayer love animals.
Yes, we do. Especially virtual ones (no shedding).
And that’s why we’ll let other video game websites squabble over competitions to name the Greatest Video Game Ever. We’re after something far more grand.
We are now launching a year-long quest to name the Greatest Animal In Video Game History. And we will need your help.
It’s time our video game animal friends got the appreciation they deserve. Whether used for travel, companionship and/or battle, there have been many video game animals that we’ll never forget. So every month we’ll list the nominations for the best beasts from a certain category — dogs, cats, and so on. At the end of the month, our Blue Ribbon panel will choose the winning creature for the species. Then, as 2008 draws to a close, we’ll choose the very best animal across all species.
Throughout this process we will depend on you to remind us of any animals we forgot.
To start this grand effort, we are channeling our inner equestrian to nominate a shortlist of Greatest Horse In Video Game History. (Voting concludes at the end of the month.) From a variety of no-names to unforgettable life-savers, these are the some of the most beloved video game horses we came up with for consideration:
Epona in “The Legend of Zelda” Series
Link’s loyal companion Epona has not only carried him around long distances throughout the series, but she’s also helped him in multiple horseback battles, most recently the final epic fight with Ganondorf in “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.” And — bonus points — she has her own song.
Pegasus in “God of War II”
What kind of horse would be worthy for the most formidable Spartan warrior? A flying one, of course! Pegasus was equally as fearsome as his master and rode Kratos through some of the toughest aerial battles.
Agro in “Shadow of the Colossus”
When a man named Wander is charged with saving a girl’s life by beating not one or two but 16 giant bosses called “colossi,” there’s only one companion who helps him throughout this massive undertaking: a noble steed named Agro. Like Lassie, Agro also comes when Wander calls.
The Horse in “Sunset Riders”
Levels in this classic Konami title had you riding your trusty steed to do Wild West-like things such as chasing trains and shooting enemies in the desert.
The Horses in “Gun”
This game could’ve been called “Horse” as well as “Gun” considering how much you need your four-legged buddy to complete the game.
The Horses in “Assassin’s Creed”
Your horse in the Crusades-era epic can help you kill quickly and then make a hasty getaway. These horses may also be the only ones capable of going incognito, but walking sloooowly.
Hudson Horstachio in “Viva Pinata”
What’s better than a horse filled with internal organs and bodily fluids? One filled with candy!
The Horse (Head) in “The Godfather Game”
Animal lovers beware: The most infamous scene from the classic film dutifully makes it way into the video game version.
The Baby Unicorns in “Second Life”
Via a shop called “Sensual Stoneworks,” your avatar can mate with an adult unicorn to produce an ever-so-cute baby unicorn. (And yes, to us, a unicorn is a type of horse.)
The Horses in “World of Warcraft”
Getting your first mount — which could be a horse — at level 40 in the popular MMORPG allows you to travel 60% faster than on foot throughout the lands of Azeroth. That’s good, because walking sucks.
“Rapidash” in the “Pokemon” Universe
Evolved from Ponyta, this Pokehorse has hooves harder than diamonds and a flaming mane that will burn enemies to a crisp. And at a full gallop, Rapidash can reach 150 m.p.h. (they don’t call it “Rapidash” for nuthin’!).
The Horses in “Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion”
The first ridable mounts in the “Elder Scrolls” series, “Oblivion’”’s steeds help the player travel while he/she completes all the minutiae the highly detailed action-RPG could muster.
Aluminum in “Tin Star”
Robots meet the Ol’ West in this SNES rail-shooter. The game’s protagonist is a mechanical sheriff named Tin Star who rides his metallic horse while shooting members of the Bad Oil Gang.
The Horse in “Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master”
The most venerated game in the series, “Shinobi III” had protagonist Joe Musashi riding a horse through certain levels, helping him hunt down baddies while jumping over pesky obstacles.
The Horse in “Gun.Smoke”
Nameless and randomly placed throughout the game, the horse’s purpose in “Gun.Smoke” is to protect western bounty hunter Billy Bob for up to three hits. Sort of like a four-legged bodyguard.
Shadow in “Darkwatch”
Shadow, the vampiric horse of blood-sucking outlaw Jericho Cross (natch), heeds his master’s call. With Shadow, Cross has unlimited ammo and a quick attack speed. Shadow also never gets tired. You know, because he’s an undead horse.
Ixion in “Final Fantasy X”
The aeon of lightning appears as a white unicorn with magic defense attributes. Ixion’s also got a special move called “Thor’s Hammer,” which channels electrical energy from the tip of its horn to lift enemies into the air and electrocute them.
Odin in “Final Fantasy VII,” VIII” and “IX”
Odin is not a just horse per se, but when the Esper summon appears, he rides in on his six-legged steed (yeah, count ‘em), and he immediately kills foes by slicing them in half. So with Odin in tow, this horse has a leg or two up on the competition (sorry). [UPDATE: Helpful commenters have reminded me that the name of Odin’s horse is Sleipnir… not that it’s going to matter. He ain’t winning!]
We know we forgot some. Do you have more beloved video game horses to add? Weigh in on your favorites and check back at the end of the month for the results!
[UPDATE 1/30: Our all-star panel of judges chose the winner. Check it out here.]
January 15th, 2008 at 9:33 am
The astounding completeness of this list intimidates me. That said, I’d have to throw my support behind Agro, if only because I actually shouted “No!” when… you know, when that thing happened near the end. (Has the statute of limitations run out on Shadow of the Colossus spoilers yet? I’m not sure.)
Also, how you missed the lovable equines of Ubi’s Horsez, I’ll never know.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:21 am
you gotta go pokemon here … unless pokemon are gonna have their own separate category, in which case, you gotta go gun.smoke.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Mitch Krpata,
We considered including the horses from games like “Horsez,” “My Horse And Me” and “Barbie Horse Adventures,” but none of us have actually played those games. If you feel that the horses of “Horsez” needs to be nominated, by all means!
- Tracey
January 15th, 2008 at 11:23 am
The endearing and eternally-replayable “Horsez” would get my vote too, if not for my custom-bred steed lovingly named “Glue Factory” in PS2’s “Gallop Racer 2006″.
And hey, where’s the commodore classic “M.U.L.E.”???
January 15th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I still contend that Unicorns are not horses, they are their own SEPARATE species of animal.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Winner (IMO): “Agro” from Shadow of the Colossus
honorable mention: “hudson horstachio” from Viva Piñata
January 15th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I vote for the horse from Gun, the horses in Oblivion were god awful.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Agro from Shadow of the Colossus is my favorite by far.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Agro, easily one of the most realistic horses I’ve ever seen and you connect to him like no other horse because there is no other character to connect with. That impresses me more than anything else.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
[…] Article here […]
January 15th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Epona and Rapidash are awesome, but I’ll hand my vote to Epona.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I gotta go with Agro from Shadow of the Colossus.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Epona gets my vote. Not only the first horse we ever got to control in a 3D game, but also: she f***********cking talks!… sometimes… the one time… shut up.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Yeah, I agree with this. From the first one I was like what else is their, and I slowly scrolled down hoping someone could possibly think Gun.Smoke. Amazing game from my childhood haven’t played it in at lead 8 years. Can’t figure how I remembered that before I saw it on the list.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Odin’s horse is named Sleipnir
January 15th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Agro! Agro. Agro!
Over and over and over again.
I shouted in despair when he fell before that final battle. It was an emotional connection I hadn’t even realized existed - I thought I hated the damn creature.
So yeah. That’s a vote.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Agro, Baby.
Agro is the only horse in a game I have ever felt a true emotional connection with.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
And hello here! What’s this?
And why ELSE did you think that unicorns only responded to maidens?
To make sure THEY were the father, of course!
And thank you! I’ll let Minx know you all love her Unicorn design! It’s nice to see ourselves appreciated for our sense of humor and work.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
If Agro doesn’t win this, something is wrong with the world.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Another vote for Agro here. It’s the only in-game horse I’ve ever encountered where riding really feels like you’re interacting with an actual animal. The fact that he avoids obstacles is a simple thing, but it makes him feel intelligent and realistic, where every other horse might as well be the same as driving a car or a motorcycle - you steer them exactly where you want them and hit the accelerator and brakes.
It’s obvious that the SotC team were quite attached to Agro too, given that they devoted a specific action to petting him.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Epona by a hookshot.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
There are some people who have not yet played Shadow of the Colossus… so thanks for the spoiler!
I’ll go with Epona, she’s the mother of all 3D gaming horses!
January 16th, 2008 at 12:25 am
No no no, Epona by a Longshot. lol
January 16th, 2008 at 12:42 am
Epona.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:57 am
Oh man, this feature is awesome. Please continue to do it for various other animals.
Anyways, my vote goes to Epona, and this thread also reminds me that I still need to play Shadow of the Colossus.
January 16th, 2008 at 3:03 am
Agro made me realize how Epona was badly animated and just lame.
Greg > That’s not a spoiler, cheeseface. What’s written here is the synopsis of the game.
Oh, and how about Ubi Soft’s Horsez ? A whole game for the animal !
January 16th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Agro!
January 16th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Epona
BTW, Odin’s horse is called Sleipnir.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:53 am
[…] Da série “listas que vão mudar sua vida”: o Multiplayer, um blog de games feito pela MTV norte-americana, publicou um artigo com uma compilação fundamental. Melhores jogos de 2007? Maiores expectativas para 2008? Que nada! Trata se de Os maiores cavalos da história dos videogames. […]
January 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Agro, all the way, no doubt about it… I really cared for that horse during the course of the game…
January 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Epona
January 16th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
[…] sites to check daily. Yesterday, the site kicked off a year long venture to find the “Greatest Animal in Video Game History.” To kick off the event, they’ve created a list of potential candidates for the […]
January 16th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Oblivion’s horses and one unicorn.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Oblivion’s horses! Oh, and the unicorn.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I HOPE U MAME IT BEY
January 16th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Agro… no doubt. Please play Shadow of the Colossus.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Agro, totally.
The horses in Assassin’s Creed were all, incidentally, named “Horsums.” Because I said so.
January 17th, 2008 at 3:18 am
man i love epona in the N64 zeldas, but i the horses in wow and oblivion are pretty customisable compared, but the most kick ass horse is ixion .. lets face it.. a horse the shoots lightnig out of a massive impaling horn is just too kool to say no to. may i mention.. your missing RED HARE!! .. Lu Bu’s horse that Guan Yu steals in the dynasty warriors gaming series.. oh and the horse in kameo.. REALLY AWESOME animation, unlike in wow the horse rider dosent move with the mount, kameo is like one with the horse, and the horse side steps and all… i love it
cheers
January 17th, 2008 at 4:05 am
True, Epona’s the first 3D gaming horse, but I’ll have to go with Agro on this one.
January 17th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Agro is the one I cared for the most, and yes the animation is superb. If any of you have not played Shadow of Colossus, you are not fully informed on this topic
January 17th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Odin’s horse (in the mythology, at least) is called Sleipnir.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Epona or the (black) horses from Oblivion. Particularly… (for got its name… describy time:) That you get from the vampire in the Dark Brotherhood missions. I think Its name was Nightmare…
OR! The Chivalric Knights from Medieval II Total War. Or the Templar Knights from the same game… THEY were friggen amazing.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:22 am
While Epona will probably win because of the endless Zelda fanatics…
Agro is by far the greatest horse in gaming history. No other horse “dies” with such dignity and honor for their master.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I was about to say what Kadaj just said. Um… well his lance is called Gungir… just so that I can say something useful in this comment.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:50 am
@TheBoxNinja
Its called Shadowmere
January 17th, 2008 at 10:37 am
I can’t believe you missed Sprinkles from Barbie Horse Adventures?!
January 17th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I VOTE AGRO. That horse is gorgeous and wonderful, the most beautifully animated horse I’ve ever seen. And you can do, like, cossack stuff on him. He has great emotional value. Epona doesn’t hold a candle!
January 17th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Agro! I could never have resurrected Mono without him.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Don’t forget the pony that you start with as a knight in NetHack — assuming you can keep it alive long enough to ride and joust with it. Also useful for killing yourself on the first turn (”do not pass go, do not collect 200 zorkmids.”)
January 17th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Epona (and them other horses) is cool and all, but until I played SotC, i didnt realize how well a horse could be done in a game.
you develop a very strong connection with the horse, which is amazing. i’ve never felt that sort of connection with Epona.
I m not embarrassed to say, that I almost cried coz of agro.
so yeah, agro gets my vote.