Despite what many people may believe in recent years, LGBT characters have long been introduced across multiple media platforms from movies to reality TV to video games and more. However, not all of these characters were positive portrayals, and many writers and directors have done what’s called “queer coding” their villains. That is, giving their bad guys traits that mirror stereotypes of gay and trans people. For instance, the Little Mermaid saw its queer-coded villain in Ursula whose design was based off a well-known drag queen at the time named Divine. Western media isn’t the only one guilty of this, however, as many Japanese shows and games also code their villains as LGBTQ+ as well.

While this portrayal is seen as problematic, many members of the community continue to love these characters nonetheless. Not to mention that now with other forms of queer representation found outside the role of the antagonist, there’s less of a stigma around giving a villain these traits. Especially when done right. So here are a list of the Top Five Queer Characters in gaming and how well they portray LGBTQ+ people.

5. Reaver from Fable

An ally to the player in both Fable II and Fable III, Reaver is immortal, a sharpshooter, and the most eccentric character across the entire series. He is a classic case of the flamboyant narcissist, and his horrendous actions make him a rather controversial addition to history’s cast of queer characters. He’s canonically bisexual as not only does he flirt with the player regardless of their gender, but if the player manages to explore Albion a bit they learn that he’s had two lovers named Penelope and Andrew. In the caverns beneath his mansion he casually talks about Penelope setting his home on fire while he was still in bed with Andrew, and his diary entries scattered about make more references to his relationship to both parties.

However, he remains at the bottom of the list for the terrible conditions he puts his workers through as well as his greedy, snobbish attitude. Queer or not, Reaver is wicked in every sense for the things he’s done to the people of Albion regardless of how much more interesting he makes the latter half of the third installment.

4. Damien Bloodmarch from Dream Daddy

Dream Daddy is a dad-dating simulator absolutely filled to the brim with dad jokes, emotional moments, and, you guessed it, gay dads. However, the biggest star in my humble opinion is Damien Bloodmarch: one of the eligible bachelors you get to date. Damien is a sweetheart throughout the game, constantly worrying over his son and having a deep love for the Victorian era aesthetic. He also works at an animal shelter in his free time and is employed as an IT worker.

At first glance, he’s not all that different from all the other dads at the cul-de-sac, but upon the first date with him there’s a piece of dialogue that references him owning a collection of chest binders. While that line may have confused cisgender players—the amount of questioning looks I myself have gotten when casually bringing up binders is definitely more than the number of fingers I have on both hands—trans and gender-nonconforming players might have been pleasantly surprised by this reveal. While gay characters are no longer as rare in gaming, trans characters haven’t had as many chances to catch up. Yet, plot-wise, he doesn’t add that much as Dream Daddy is a simulation game. Not to mention he’s fairly forgettable when compared to the infamous Joseph whom many players feel drawn to as he is the only dad in the game you can’t get a paired ending with—a classic case of the closeted father trope. Thus, he remains in fourth place.

3. Claude from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Ah, where would the Fire Emblem community be without its most recent bi icon? Claude is one of the three lords from Nintendo’s 2019 release, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and is the most mischievous of them all. With a mysterious air around him and an easy smile that’s always ready-to-go, Claude is quite popular. His ultimate goal is to bring unity between Fodlan and the outside world that it holds such heavy disdain for, hoping that people will learn to put their differences aside to work together for the greater good.

While the player isn’t able to romance Claude in the game, his dialogue with them is a clear indication that he harbors strong feelings for Byleth regardless of their gender. This has led many fans to label him as queer-coded as he is never explicitly made out to be attracted to both men and women. The biggest indicator of this is the ball scene during the first half of the game where, in a cutscene, we see Claude approach Byleth and take their hand, giving a flirtatious wink, before leading them out to the dancefloor. This happens with both gender options. He’s certainly a respectable guy despite his schemes, and his charisma is unmatched, winning him third place.

2. Ghirahim from Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

This flamboyant villain is well renowned amongst Nintendo fans for his thin physic and slimy tongue. Working as one of the main antagonists, Ghirahim fits the criteria for a stereotypical, queer-coded villain from his long hair and lipstick—giving him a feminine touch—to the tone of his voice. His goal to revive the Demon King using Zelda makes him a constant threat to the game’s protagonist, Link, as he pops up every so often to hinder the hero’s progress in finding his friend.

Ghirahim could easily be compared to another, more popular queer-coded villain: HIM from The PowerPuff Girls. Their mannerisms and attitude are nearly identical, as is their choice in fashion. Who doesn’t love tall men in skin-tight clothes? If you were to put these characters side-by-side, it’s easy to see how Ghirahim falls into the same category of “evil, effeminate gay man” that HIM is so well-known for. His active role as a bad guy within his respective game as well as the fact that he is an example of a more classic and recognizable form of queer-coding brings up to the number two spot on this list.

1. Erica Anderson from Catherine

This character is perhaps the most subtle character, making her a perfect fit for this list. Erica is a side character working as a waitress for the Stray Sheep in Catherine and its remake, Catherine: Full Body. She’s also a friend to the main protagonist, Vincent, and the other guys who frequent the space: Orlando, Toby, and Jonny. On Day 6 of the game, it’s hinted that she and Toby even slept together, and that to Toby it “felt weird” and he wasn’t sure if that was how it was supposed to feel, making the others in the group visibly nervous. While not an unusual piece of dialogue—after all, Toby is an established virgin, never even having had a girlfriend before—but other parts of the game hint to the fact that she’s transgender.

For one, in the story of Catherine, men who have sexual relations out of a traditional marriage are plagued with supposed nightmares. A curse that seems to affect everyone in town. After Erica sleeps with Toby, she reports having these nightmares as well. Though fans have declared this to be transphobic as it implies that Erica is still a man, the whole concept of the nightmares follows religiously conservative values—especially considering the fact that the nightmares are meant to target men who cheat on their partners or don’t want to be “tied down” by marriage. This is because the one pulling the strings behind this phenomenon—Boss—believes that this course of action would be the best way to keep the human race alive: the more marriages there are, the more people can have kids and keep the population afloat, but this is only viable if the child is conceived while the couple is married. So the curse not seeing Erica as a woman is pretty consistent with this type of thinking. Not only that, but we see Erica before she transitioned in one of the true endings of the game and Toby is informed of her old name in another. Her deadname is also revealed in the credits, artbook, and manual, and the writers refer to her as a male.

This has, of course, caused some controversies amongst fans, but Erica as a character—while the writers and developers seemed to not have handled her reveal in the best way—is dubbed as one of the best representations of trans characters. Not only does she seem happy with her body and fully passes, but she’s also an older woman, and thus is seen as a symbol of pride. In the remake, Full Body, she’s also an older sister figure to Rin who is another queer-coded character, establishing a sense of support between two people belonging to a marginalized group. Honestly, what is there to not love about Erica? Her established character and the well-written, subtle hints to her identity are why she places at number one on this list.

Well, hope you enjoyed this Top Five list I’ve established. Who are some of your favorite queer characters? Stay tuned for next week where we continue this list, but this time we’ll be analyzing anime!