Lara Croft - First Character I ever played who was a female, a bad-ass AND knew her way around a gun.
Sonic - because I watched the cartoon on SatAMs
Tails - see Sonic
Mario Mario - Because my first console was Nintendo and I used to watch the cartoon.
Luigi Mario - Because I got to choose him as a character in Mario 2 and he was the second best racer in Super Mario Kart (SNES).
Yoshi - Needs no explanation, IMO.
Scorpion - The first Mortal Kombat character I ever knew the Fatality for.
Max Payne - His story hit me in the first game and I couldn't help but root for him.
Tommy Vercetti - I love mobster and gangster films and once I realized it was Ray fucking Liotta as the voice....I couldn't help but love the character even more
CJ - Carl Johnson is a fucking LEGEND!!!! PERIOD!!!!
Kratos - He was tricked by ARES!!! THEN he finds out Zeus, that sneaky little fuck was his father THE WHOLE TIME!!!!! I wanted revenge right along with him.