Top 10 Video Game Villains of All Time

Video Games. You know them, love them, and sometime even bow down to them. But what makes a video game is very facile. There’s the plot, the main characters, the settings, the graphics, and of coarse, those teeth grinding villains. Video Games would be nothing without those classic, iconic villains. So, to pay tribute to all of those cyber villains, here’s my Top 10 Video Games Villains List, and it perfectly makes sense because I had already lectured on Villains from Movies and Literature, so this is another apple to go in the pie. So buckle up, and enjoy my list, and remember how much time it took you to fight off these nail biting calumniators.

10. Duck Hunt Dog

Remember when you would miss shooting a duck in the classic NES game Duck Hunt. This irritating dog would pop up and laugh at you. Now, you are probably thinking to yourself, why did I put him on the list. Well, I felt that I should have because many people became ticked off at this conniving pooch. You will at least miss once in Duck Hunt, and this darn dog will pop up and laugh at you like an idiot. Now, believe it or not, there is actually a hack that you can use to shoot the dog, but why would anyone want to do that. I would get mad at him but I surely do not want to put the dog down like Travis did to Old Yeller. But no matter, this chuckling pouch fills in the number 10 spot on my list. All I can say to that dog is to shut up and except the fact that nobody is a perfect duck shooter.

9. Mother Brain

Remember this ugly looking antagonist? That humungus brain with those spike and that one eye? I do, and  must tell you, she is a hard son of a gun! It takes a quite a few shots to take down this massive mother of all the space pirates. Even Samus Aran needs a breather when she is battling this ginormous dollop. And remember that huge body she had in Super Metroid, perhaps the greatest Metroid game of all time? It was as hard as the callous on my finger. No matter how you put it, Mother Brain is a true badass villain, whether it’s her appearance or her powers to bring Samus to a disheveled end.

8. Dr. Wily

Out of all the Megaman villains in the entire franchise, Dr. Wily is the meanest, more harsh of the bunch. This mad scientist will do anything to bring Megaman to an end in Capcom’s trademark games. A rival to the ally, Dr. Light, Dr. Wily creates treacherous experiments that surely put up quite a battle with Megaman, not even his fire power is enough to take out what Wily has in store. But of course, we all know that Wily becomes good later in the series, teaming up with Megaman’s friend, who is the father of Lan. But no matter if he is redeemed or not, Dr. Wily is a tyrannical figure and a terrifying edition to my list.

7. Dracula

I vant to suck your blood! Far different from Bela Lugosi and even Max Schreck’s take on the classic villain, Castlevania’s Dracula was a badass enemy that everyone was eager to beat. Instead of feeding off of people like maidens and the usual unsuspecting person, this Dracula has an entire army to use on people. What a blood sucking guy! And get this, he has a son, Alucard, who is against all of Dracula's evil doings, teaming up with Trevor Belmont in Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse to take him out . I guess you can call him the Boba Fett of the Castlevania series. And worst of all, Dracula can be reborn into different bodies, so that he can carry on his blood thirsty doings for many centuries to come. Who know that a character from a classic Bram Stoker novel would make such a gruesome video game antagonist?

6. King K. Rool

Get it? King Cruel. Remember that epic final battle at the end of Donkey Kong country? Surely the music didn’t fit the whole scene (no offense, I love that final battle tune), but the battle against this crocodile of death is worth it to get back Donkey Kong’s stash of bananas. And like Mother Brain, he was as hard as all hell. This barrel throwing reptile takes no chances against Donkey Kong and his nephew, Diddy Kong, and will kill you, fitting the name King K. Rool. In later games, King K. Rool displays his ability to turn invisible (wouldn’t be surprised if someone hit him with a car), making it even harder to beat this conniving jerk. But like all villains, King K. Rool is cruel and nasty, and will take any great video game hero down, with his strong croc arms.

5. Wart

Talk about a guy who doesn’t like his vegatables! In the blacksheep Super Mario Bros. 2, know as Doki Doki Panic in Japan, Wart is a gigantic frog who is eager to take over the dreamworld of Subcon. But with the tossing ability of Mario and his friends, they are able to throw veggies of all sorts down Wart’s throat, making him turn to stone and fall to his demise. Like I said in my review of the epic Super Mario Bros. 2, this is probably why kids did not want to eat their veggies, probably thinking that they would share the same fate as Wart. But even if he bares a striking resemblence to King K. Rool (just look at the two), Wart is a great video game villain, and the only arch-nemesis in the Mario series besides Bowser and Wario. Be sure to keep an eye out for him in Link’s Awakening.

4. Space Invaders

In the epic best seller known as Space Invaders, floating alien creatures attempt to destroy a canon that shoots at them. As the the aliens get further down the screen, they get faster and faster, and go totally erratic! The reason I put these guys on the lists is because these alien dudes are iconic. There are t-shirts with them on it, there are coffee mugs, baseball hats, and I bet you can even find a can of tuna with them on it. It’s probably intergalactic space tuna and taste like crap, but you get my picture. Anyway, these guys are epic and monsterous, and will do anything possible in the game to put an end to the canon and the person inside of it. Make sure you hide behind them space rocks or you will get what I called “space fried”.

3. Ganon

Ah, yes, the great Ganondorf. This cruel swordsman is as nasty as he is smart. Skilled with the dark arts and with a sword, Ganon will always be known as Link’s arch-foe. Like Bowser, he will keep on returning, with a thirst for vengeance. Whether it’s stealing the Triforce of Power or imprisoning the all mighty Princess Zelda, Ganon is just as bad, whether he is a pig or human. And he is incredible in Twilight Princess, and as you might have guessed, hard as hell. But no matter what Legend of Zelda game it is, Ganon is a true classic, and resides at my number 3 spot.

2. Bowser

Who does not know the sinister foe, Bowser? This guy is not just a great game villain, but perhaps one of the greatest villains of all time. And like in every Mario game, he always has quite a challenge for Mario and Luigi. In Super Mario Bros., it was cloning himself and his castle. In Super Mario Bros. 3, it was an encounter with a boss at the end of each world, and jumping onto the floor of his palace to kill Mario. In Super Mario World, it was floating in a hover cup with a smiling face on it, and in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, he turns into a King Kong sized Bowser to shoot maximum fire balls at Yoshi and Baby Mario. I bet there is even a game where he throws magic cheeseballs but that’s not the point. Bowser always finds a way to cheat death, and that’s the reason why we keep getting all of these great Mario games. Without Bowser, there would be not Super Mario Bros, excluding Super Mario Bros 2. Don’t go near this hammer throwing maniac, or you will suffer an ultimate fate in the lava!

And the number one video game villain of all time is…..

1. The Ghosts

Shadow, Speedy, Bashful and Pokey, aptly names Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. These ghosts in Pacman are legendary for one reason. They know how to bring an end to that yellow banana peal, Pacman. All they do is touch this dude to kill him, and if that weren’t bad enough, they are constantly running all over the screen to stop Pacman in his tracks. But when Pacman eats the shining power pellet, the ghost are vulnerable to Pacman’s idiosyncratic eating habit. But the thing that raises the question, why are the ghosts after Pacman? What do they want from him? Is he the reason they are ghosts in the first place? Whatever the reason is, the ghosts of Pacman are whimsical as they are mischievous. But I wonder what it would be like if the ghosts could do a bit more than they were programmed to do. I wonder what they could do with guns or fire flowers?

There you have it folks, my Top 10 Video Game Villains list. But before I go, I wanted to explain to you guys why villains like Donkey Kong and Wario are not on the list. Well, in my book, I believe villains like them to be more of good guys than bad guys, after all, they have entire games devoted to them, and they are main characters. And Mario himself was even a villain in Donkey Kong Jr., but we all know him as the gallant mascot of Nintendo and the main protagonist in the Mario Bros. series. And Dr. Robotnik is a good villain too, but as you all know, I am a Nintendo buff, not a Sega one. So before you raise questions or send hate mail, I wanted to make that clear. I hope all of you enjoyed and I will see you all later.