Rand from Breath of Fire 2... cept he had that horse head thing going on.. that was werid.

Oh... Dekar from Lufia 2, he was strong, couldn't use magic, and dense as a rock.

Koh and Mouse are not manly. Koh is a little teenage guy who uses knives, that isn't manly. Mouse is less manly then Sephiroth. Being a musician is not manly in any way, and he to is a small man.

I think they're manly.

Then, from the other-realms of more-popular gamedom, I think the following are manly:

Magus - Chrono Trigger - He's dark and evil, has his own personal agenda, and uses the most powerful weapons and magic.
Ayla - Chrono Trigger - Don't tell me she's not manly. She's more manly than her boyfriend, Kino! She uses brute force to solve just about everything.
Barret - FF7 - Yes, I agree Barret is manly. He's got a gunarm; that makes just about anything manly.
Solid Snake - Metal Gear/ Solid - He's manlier than Sam Fisher, okay? He's a clone of the world's greatest spy, has taken down four real Metal Gears an countless wannabes, dove into the ocean to chase a fifth real Metal Gear, and has escaped death numerous times.
Big Boss - Metal Gear - He had the resourcesto build his own nation, twice, and build two Metal Gears. Someone who commands that many resources must be a man.
Nightmare - Soul Calibur - He's got a big body and a big sword, and takes off a lot of HP with each hit.
Cervantes - Soul Calibur - Yeah, he's manly, too. He's got two swords and he was a pirate. And he's dead!
Glenn - Chrono Cross - Another two-sword-wielding man. And he's had that scar on his face since childhood. That makes him a man.
Kyle - Lunar - He's a thief from the desert who gets drunk-off-his-ass a lot, cross-dresses, and puts up with a whiney girlfriend all the time. Man, anyone who can put up with a whiney girlfriend definately deserves a "Man's Man" award.
[Edit]Ryu Habuyasa - Ninja Gaiden - The original game ninja. Have you seen his mad ninja skills in the new game? He can easily tear anything's butthole open.
Einhänder's Pilot - Einhänder - Oh, it's me! No, seriously, anyone who pilots a craft that has a single claw and rips the weapons off his foes to turn agan them has got to have some guts. Not to mention, no shields, so one hit and he dies. It's virtually a suicide mission.[/Edit]
Michael Jackson - Moonwalker - ... ... ...NOT!

I'm going with Kyle from Lunar...it's not even one of my favorite games, but I remember how well he flew with me.

Oh yeah, but Solid Snake is fucking bad ass. He would definitely kick sam fisher's ass.

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned Ben from Full Throttle. How can anyone be more manly than Ben? He rides a motorbike, is part of a gang called the "Polecats", has the ultimate in gravely tough voices and takes crap from no one.

The only thing is that Sam is voiced by Michael Ironside. And they don't come much more bad ass than Ironside.

Solid Snake definatly. Who else can single handedly take out a Metal gear armed with only a Stinger and Cigs.

Well if you can remember the fact that every damn character in most games weilds one fuggin huge weapon, it's pretty funny.

Yeah, Snake all the way. Nothin better than him.

Ronfar from Lunar 2, simply for this exchange.
Lemina : "Okay everyone, keep your eye on your valuables....RONFAR! Get your hands out of your pockets!"
Ronfar: "Hey, just following orders..."
Lemina: " ....you are DISGUSTING."
Jean: "But funny!"

I was about to agree with Otaku about Glenn, but then I realized that it just wasn't so...I mean I want to say "hell yeah he's a man," but he's got a kenshin scar (like who doesn't these days...), and weilds two swords that don't look that hard to use. that's about all that contributes to manlyness. He doesn't have a very strong personality to be 'manly' in.

Now FARGO, woah, there we go. Nothing's better than him flying at you, slicing you about eight times with his pirate sword, screetching to a halt at your other side, taking his cigar out, and taking a nice long drag from it. He was a true pirate.

I kinda agree with Dekar too. About as smart as a bag of hammers and equally as tough.

The reason I think Sephiroth is manly is cuz he has a badass sword and a unappeaseable lust for power and killing. And if you wanna see a prettyboy... See that one boss from FF9, kuja is his name. I thought he was a she when I first saw him. And what can be manlier than someone who saves the chicks, and gets laid doin it, runs around with a shotgun blowing off enemy heads, rips off their heads and shits down their necks.

None of the ones that have been named, because the 'manliest' man wouldn't be the guy who could just beat up the most people or looked the 'coolest', but I think something totally different.

I wouldn't say the manliest character is the one that could kick the most ass. Cloud kicked enough ass, but without his feminine side he'd be a somewhat bland character.