Left-Handed Characters

According to Scientific American, 15% of people are left-handed. Lefties out there also show that they are better at handling large amounts of stimuli, making them naturally better at playing video games, according to research conducted by Dr. Nick Cherbuin at least.

The Gamer is a lefty. I always have to remember that he needs to sit on the outside of booths and tables so that there isn’t any uncomfortable bumping of elbows and what not. At school, I could sometimes see leftover pencil marks on his left hand. Whoever is in charge of making notebooks should make accessible left-handed notebooks. I digress.

In honor of my left-handed, video game playing husband, I decided to highlight some video game characters who are also lefties, particularly swordsmen. Most of these characters are among The Gamer’s favorites.

LINK (The Legend of Zelda)

This one is quite obvious. The creator of this iconic character, Shigeru Miyamoto, is also left-handed. Link is by far the most popular left-handed video game character out there. The Master Sword is the weapon of choice for this individual. The gear and items that Link uses in the series are numerous as well. This proves that lefties are awesome. In other words, HYAA!

SEPHIROTH (Final Fantasy VII)

A main antagonist in the seventh installment of the Final Fantasy series, Sephiroth is noted as one of the best villains in the series. Without giving too much away, Sephiroth wanted to take over the Planet upon discovering some interesting facts about his past. It’s up to Cloud and his friends to try and stop him. This antagonist uses the Masamune. The sword is long (about 7ft.), and you do not want to get stabbed by it!

MARISA (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones)

Known as the Crimson Flash, Marisa is a member of Gerik’s mercenary company. She is shy and quiet, but can pack quite the punch. She takes sword fighting seriously. She even sleeps on her right side so that she can quickly wake up and grab her sword if she needs to. Can I get a shout out to this awesome gal?!

KAIN HIGHWIND (Final Fantasy IV)

This leftie is a sarcastic, love-sick man who wants the girl of his dreams and to follow in his father’s footsteps. He wears a dragon mask and is equipped with a spear-type sword. Kain, to me, seems like a brooding teenager as he hides his feelings for everyone, but hey, he can fight.

CRONO (Chrono Trigger)

Crono is a silent protagonist. He wields a katana as he travels through the past, present, and future to save the world from the intergalactic parasite known as Lavos. He is a quick fighter and specializes in lightning magic. A lot of his attacks are wind based as well. He's become quite iconic as this rare game has swept players up in the story and gameplay.

There you have it, the five left-handed swordsmen. I guess the gaming industry doesn’t care about statistics because they have more than a handful of left-handed playable characters other than the ones I've mentioned. I mentally give them a slow clap. Way to make the lefties of the world feel included.