As the year is coming to an end, I’ve been thinking back to many questions I’ve been asked throughout the year. Many of which have been irrelevant, I was asked one question that had started the gears in my head slowly grinding. This question was; “Who would you be, if you were a Villain and why?”
Now this intrigued me as the normal topic would be about which hero I would prefer to be and the reason that is, but I’ve never really thought about the chaotic nature of the ‘super villain’. Well, I think it’s time we analyse some of the best god-damned villains out there in the world of gaming. Here’s my top 10 villains of all time.
#10 – Bowser – Super Mario Bros.
Keep trying, brah!
Bowser of all the villains in the world, is not the scariest, but I have put him on the list as he’s the most determined. Determined I hear you ask? Of course! During the majority of Super Mario games, he is the main antagonist in the majority of Super Mario games. When you think of the original games, who was it bringing the fireballs at you? Bowser. If it’s not him then it is baby Bowser, the younger counter-part of this old villain. When did Bowser even have chance to conceive if he was too busy kidnapping Princess Peach? Or would we rather just not ask ourselves that question… Either way, I’ve put Mr Bowser in my list for trying so hard! 10 out of 10 for effort!
#9 – Creeper – Minecraft
“Here’s – SSSsss!”
For those of you who have ever played Minecraft, be it the PC edition or the Xbox edition, you have all encountered the vile creatures known as Creepers. For those who haven’t, Creepers as they are known creep around the lands of Minecraft, at night. Now that isn’t so bad if you have somewhere secluded in the sky. But for those who haven’t, you and your structures will be in a world of hurt. There are many predicaments you will somehow end up in, one way or the other and this could be; outside in the when a Creeper is about, building when a creeper is about and being in a dark enough room where Creepers can spawn. So what you say? Well, these creatures have a habit of seeing you and then silently coming up behind you and once they are behind you, exploding destroying a part of your structure or even killing you. The only way you will ever know when the Creeper is behind you is when they’re one block behind you and start to hiss. This generally ends up with the loss of items and an angry gamer throwing his controller/keyboard across the room. Thank you for your inconvenience, Creepers.
#8 – Ghetsis – Pokémon Black/White
The most evilest of all Pokémon Executives.
In every Pokémon game there is some kind of evil organisation that wants to take over the world in some way or other, be it the genius that is Team Rocket, with their herds of Rattatas and Zubats or be it any other team. My particular villain hails from the depths of Generation 5’s group, Team Plasma. Now, not many villains from the Pokémon have had any deep impact on the game per se but Ghetsis is another story! Ghetsis is one of the executives of Team Plasma and also the adopted father of N, Team Plasmas leader. His plan is to manipulate his adoptive son and leader to force Pokémon trainers to release their Pokémon in order to save them from enduring fights against one another as a sport, all well and good (minus the force). However Ghetsis is using this for his ulterior motive of ridding people of the world of all their Pokémon before conquering it with his own Pokémon and having no one to stop him, pretty evil if you ask me. This is not the only reason for Ghetsis to be on my list, but the villain has a ‘father-son moment’ with N, telling him that he is a pathetic leader and his life so far has been nothing but a manipulation of his own will. That is what makes the Pokémon storyline the darkest written so far, that and he has the intentions to kill the player in the final battle.
#7- Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid
“You like to play Super Mario Sunshine, don’t you?”
Ah, Psycho Mantis. What a villain eh? Having played the original Metal Gear Solid (1998) and the remake Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (2003), Psycho Mantis is and always will be, my favourite boss battle. With the ability to break the fourth wall and quite frankly, scare the bejeebers out of me by vibrating my control and reading my ‘mind’, this Mantis is pure evil. Unfortunately I can’t put him at the top of my list as, with the mind fuck, came a sense of humour. Even though I found it amazing how he read my memory card, I found it funny as he mentioned the caption above. An evil character with an almost hissing voice talking about Super Mario Sunshine kind of crosses a line between the boundaries of a villain being evil or coming across cheesy. Which in this case he did. Nevertheless it was an amazing fight to his demise and a very clever way of using the two player port to prevent him from reading your ‘mind’.
#6 – Wander – Shadow of the Colossus
Manipulated all along…
Now, as those who may have read my review of Dragon’s Dogma and The Art of Gaming piece, then you know that I am in love with the game, it’s a beautifully rendered masterpiece in my opinion. Anyway, Wander is on the list as, though he is the protagonist, he is going against all heroic convention though he doesn’t realise it. Now, to explain what I mean by that. Wanda is basically trying to save a young girl named Mono by bringing her back to life. In order to do so he has to save an evil spirit (though he doesn’t realise that it is evil yet) named Dormin by destroying 16 huge colossi and piecing him back together again. Unwittingly Wander proceeds to release Dormin, in turn saving Mono but turning himself into a demon of sorts before being used as a host by Dormin to punish those who sealed him away in the first place. Now, even though he saves Mono, if you look at it from the eyes of the town where they had originally come from you could see why he has made my list. Wander had trespassed on forbidden land where he proceeded to cut down 16 guardians of the land, before letting himself be possessed by the demonic spirit to crush the town’s guardsmen. All for what seemed to be love, he had endangered people and dabbled in a bit of necromancy. That’s pretty selfish but I’d do the same therefore this young anti-hero has made my list.
#5 Malak – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
One vicious villain!
Some sort of Star Wars character was bound to appear on this list, normally Darth Vader would be the one to come to mind but I’m afraid not. Malak was once a Jedi who had fallen to the dark side along with his Master, Darth Revan during the Mandalorian wars. If you’ve played the game you will know that he and Revan was intent on following a series of star maps to find an old machine capable of building fleets of cruisers in next to no time at all. However on the journey he and Revan had fallen to the dark side and the once heroes became something much more sinister. The reason I chose Malak instead of his master is because whilst fighting the Jedi, Malak decided to turn on his master and destroy the ship he was on, thus killing him and becoming the Sith master. Which we find out later on isn’t so, but still he takes on the title of master. Because betrayal between friends on a scale that you want to murder them is pretty damned evil and not forgetting the destruction of Taris which was ordered by him, well done Malak you’ve made the list!
#4- Master Hand – Super Smash Bros.
“I brought you into this world, I think its rather fitting that I should be the one to take you out of it.”
Well with all the villains we have, none have been the creators. This right hand is essentially the hand of God. The apparent creator of the Super Smash Bros Cast’s trophy forms he is also their destroyer and to me this is pretty evil. What kind of sadistic nature must someone have to destroy what is their creation, their baby, if you will? If anything, the hand reminds me of a child. I mean, I’ve built cities out of Lego and tore them down for sheer fun, there was no right or wrong in the eyes of a child. But when they fight back, there is frustration and that is what seems to be happening here. So in a way, we’re all the Master Hand at some point or another. It’s so metaphorical, it beautiful! As the Master Hand is something that we are in one way or another, it deserves a place on the list of villains!
#3 – Lieutenant General Shepherd – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
“Oorah?”
Now this guy, he’s a nasty piece of work. Commander of both Task Force 141, Shadow Company and the U.S Army Rangers, he serves as support for the characters you play as throughout the majority of the game but turns out to be one of the major antagonists near the end of the game. Spurred on by his hatred for the world, its politics and the loss of 30,000 men he was glad to watch the world turn to shit. Now, I understand the hatred, or at least I try to comprehend the feeling of losing all those soldiers but what has made me put him on this list is the fact that he kills Roach and Ghost. Now, what’s the big deal? Well my personal vendetta is because you play as Roach. You more or less become him and work with the team, there’s a bond. Then Shepherd comes out of the blue, pops a cap in his ass and then sets him and Ghost on fire. The most disturbing and yet brilliant thing about this is that you start to see it through Roach’s eyes. Not many games have done this to me but this particular event brought forth an emotion and a general ‘gutted’ feeling that genuinely moved me. Well done Shepherd, you’re a real bastard!
#2- Alduin – Skyrim
“Zu’u unslaad, zu’u nis oblaan!” – “I am immortal, I cannot die!”
I’m a fan of Skyrim, just like many of you out there, I know that this dragon should be on there because he is one major badass. Let’s start with his other names; World Eater and also the God of Destruction. The name Alduin itself means; Destroyer-Devour-Master in dragon form as well, if that doesn’t shout out evil then I don’t know what does! A God and a dragon that can eat worlds? Bah! I wouldn’t want to meet him down a dark alley. Speaking of eating worlds, this beast can go to Sovngarde and devour the souls of all the mortals that make it there to regain his strength. It kills what is dead, how does that even work out?! That’s pretty damn evil! This villain just wants to kill every last mortal in the Nirn and then kills them again! This is a beast among beasts! And one evil son of a gun that is pretty much indestructible. So Alduin my dragon friend, welcome to number 2 on this list, you deserve it!
#1 – The Moon – Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
“Come at me bro!”
Those of you who have ever played this game must really know the terror of the moon. This piece of rock in the space that is being pulled into the atmosphere due to the Skull kid using Majora’s mask. Now I know what you’re thinking, how is this a villain? Those who have played it would know the panic of having to complete the specific tasks within the three days. Three days is not a long time, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing and you’re desperately trying to get that damned ocarina! Now, knowing all that and the moon is coming into the atmosphere and the world you’re in is coming to an end, that’s already scary enough but there’s more! This god damned moon has the dirtiest of smiles, looking down at the earth like it wants to molest it with its face. And it will if you don’t remember the Song of Time! Well done for all those nightmares you’ve given me over the years, how I love to hate you. Even though you’re no Alduin, you are the destroyer of the world, crushing everyone in your wake!
Now with everything being said and done, those are my top ten villains that if I had the choice to be I would be. Now, take the time to comment below on which evil-doer you’d be and why? Thanks for reading and I hope to have reminded you of some good villains that you can go back to and take on! Who knows, maybe by going back to them, you may be reminded of some classic games? God speed, heroes and heroines!
