Summary
- Duke Nukem's side-scroller games were incredibly fun and popular in the 90s, with colorful visuals, a wicked soundtrack, and engaging gameplay.
- Duke Nukem 3D propelled the franchise into stardom, with its urban and futuristic levels, interactive elements, awesome weapons, and an iconic soundtrack.
- Duke Nukem's attitude and design, including his red vest, spiky hair, and sunglasses, make him a likable and charismatic character with memorable one-liners and pop culture references.
Duke Nukem is a nineties icon that is still highly recognizable and revered to this very day. After a slew of stellar titles, the series was waiting for an official sequel that sadly didn’t live up to expectations after such a long wait. Even though fans are waiting for another mainline Duke Nukem game to appear, the love for this protagonist remains strong.
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Those not familiar with the franchise may not know exactly why Duke Nukem, both the character and video game series, are so beloved, but there are a hefty number of reasons why that’s the case.
7 Duke’s Side-Scroller Games
Duke Nukem first started out as a side-scroller character. Back then, he wore a pink vest and didn’t say much, outside a few lines of dialogue at the beginning of each stage. Nevertheless, for 1991, it was exceptionally fun to play and was said to have sold well over 60,000 copies.
The sequel improved on the original in every way. Colorful visuals, better sound effects, more action-packed gameplay, a wicked soundtrack by Bobby Prince, and more varied level designs helped put Duke on the map for all to marvel at. Sunstorm Interactive even created a 2.5D spin-off side-scroller with Duke clearing out the Big Apple from alien invaders in what is an enthralling experience.
6 Duke’s 3D Games
Duke Nukem 3D truly propelled the character and franchise into stardom. It was just like DOOM, albeit with even more amazing features. Levels were a mix of urban locations and futuristic space stations, things like computers and water fountains could be interacted with, freaky aliens could be wasted with Pipe Bombs and Shrink Ray, and the soundtrack was nothing short of amazing. That goes double for its main theme "Grabbag," which was famously covered by Megadeth.
During the wait for Duke Nukem Forever, numerous spin-offs were created. Titles like Duke Nukem: Time to Kill and Land of the Babes played like Tomb Raider with a Duke flavor. He even had games on Nintendo consoles, and they were just as badass.
5 His Attitude And Design
Red vest, spiky blonde hair, black sunglasses; all of these things are a dead ringer to Duke Nukem. His design is just that iconic. Of course, the copious amounts of muscles on him are also part of his trademark design. It’s no wonder he’s portrayed as a hunk in his games.
It’s not just for show. Duke may be egotistical, but he’s most certainly likable. He’s always prone to dropping cheesy one-liners that fans recite verbatim (such classics include “come get some!” And “damn, those alien b*stards are gonna pay for shooting up my ride!”), and always has a wry or cheeky comment to share when he’s with his admirers. The man oozes charisma in his own silly, larger-than-life way.
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4 Pop Culture References And Easter Eggs Galore
Duke is well known for his pop culture references, even in the first game. From vaporizing over-amped Energizer bunnies to stumbling across the remains of a certain “doomed space marine,” there are countless silly jokes and references snuck in here and there.
Even his one-liners feature references to other IPs, mostly movies. Lani Minella wrote in references to Army of Darkness and They Live for Duke Nukem 3D. Duke has also been known to take jabs at other protagonists and games at times, including a rather rude quip regarding those who wear power armor in Duke Nukem Forever. Master Chief certainly wouldn't like to hear it, though.
3 His Numerous Feats
It’s never a dull day for Duke. He’s traveled through time in numerous games, for one thing. He held onto a launched rocket piping and fearlessly fought aliens in Duke Nukem 2 and booted the eye out of a towering “one-eyed freak” in Duke Nukem 3D after kicking its butt. Zero Hour had him killing the nefarious serial killer of Victorian London, Jack The Ripper, and he took down a giant robot based on his own likeness in Manhattan Project.
His list of feats doesn’t stop there. Even in the critically disappointing Duke Nukem Forever, Duke has smashed aliens in a monster truck, driven and ran across the surface of the moon while holding his breath (it’s a long story), and also has a best-selling autobiography called Why I’m So Great?
2 The Voice
Duke Nukem is famously voiced by Jon St. John, who was told to impersonate a beefed-up version of Dirty Harry for an over-the-phone audition for Duke Nukem 3D. Some could argue that the hero’s voice alone is almost as recognizable as Mario’s.
After all, he sounds assertive and tough but cool at the same time. While Duke sounds a bit different in each and every title, there’s no denying the impact that his voice had on his claim to video game fame.
1 Memes And Jokes
Yes, there’s no denying that Duke Nukem has been a popular figure in internet memes, often with impersonators badly imitating the character and getting him to say questionable things. He’s also been featured in some hilarious fan-made animations. Those who want a taste can check out gems like Duke Nukem ForeverQuest for starters.
Duke’s voice actor has made his fair share of contributions, too. He’s recorded lines as the character saying humorous quips and tongue-in-cheek jokes. There are even videos of Jon St. John’s Duke puppet, called the "Duppet," dropping naughty one-liners and silly banter. While the world waits for a new game, at least these videos can help pass the time. They genuinely sound like the sorts of gags he’d say at the dinner table!