Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

10 Badass Game Villains You Don’t Wanna Mess With

10 Badass Game Villains You Don’t Wanna Mess With

Gaming is a form of escapism that helps us deal with whatever else might be going on in our personal lives. There’s no denying that no matter your political affiliation, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for everyone. With accusations being tossed around about who stands on the right side of history, we started thinking about a certain subset of people who truly embody villainy: video game antagonists. Join us as we count down ten of the most memorable gaming villains to ever stand in our way.

Spoiler warning: By necessity, this list contains story details for the games to follow, so peruse at your own risk.

Kefka – Final Fantasy VI

Kefka – Final Fantasy VI

It’s often said that Kefka is one of the few villains to ever achieve his goal of world domination, and while that’s true, his sociopathy is what makes him so dastardly. His utter lack of conscience is revealed early in Final Fantasy VI when he poisons the water supply of Doma, killing its entire population, including the wife and child of taciturn knight Cyan. He’s also got one hell of a memorable laugh.

Senator Armstrong – Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Senator Armstrong – Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Is it too on-the-nose to include a politician in this list? In Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Senator Armstrong uses his connections and political influence to commit atrocious war crimes, all in the name of rebuilding America. His climactic duel to the death against Raiden is intense and outrageously over-the-top, thanks to nanomachines that augment his body and make him nearly invincible. Raiden triumphed in the end, but their battle lives on in our memories.

Pyramid Head – Silent Hill

Pyramid Head – Silent Hill

Pyramid Head is an iconic character who has become emblematic of the Silent Hill franchise. An enormous, nightmarish humanoid with a rusted cleaver, Pyramid Head stalks Silent Hill 2 protagonist James as he searches for traces of his dead wife in the titular town. As a manifestation of James’ sins, Pyramid Head is more than a mere monster, adding a dimension of horror beyond what we normally see in video games.

Ganon – The Legend of Zelda

Ganon – The Legend of Zelda

Shrouded in darkness and a lust for power, Ganon is an equal and opposing force who always appears to thwart Link at critical points in Zelda history. Never quite the same from game to game, he has taken many forms throughout the Legend of Zelda series, including his humanoid form, Ganondorf, and the piglike demon known as Ganon. The inevitable face-off between Link and Ganon is a highlight of every Zelda game, making him one of our most favorite recurring villains.

Flowey – Undertale

Flowey – Undertale

Flowey is pure, unadulterated nightmare fuel. This seemingly frail flower greets you at the beginning of Undertale, serving as a battle tutorial of sorts until his duplicitous nature is quickly revealed. He vanishes for much of the game before finally returning at its climax. It turns out Flowey was simply biding his time, waiting for the right moment to steal the main character’s hard-won SOULs. He has a horrific final form, genocidal tendencies, and even the ability to save the game, just like the player! He wants nothing more than to kill you and everyone you love. Quaint!

Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid

Psycho Mantis – Metal Gear Solid

The original Metal Gear Solid broke new ground for cinematic storytelling in video games. Among its highlights was a lineup of unique bosses who defied expectations, and Psycho Mantis stands out as the most memorable of them all. He plays with your mind by reading your memory card data, making jabs about your gaming interests, and even makes your controller rumble using his psychic powers. Well, that’s what he says, anyway. Either way, it made for an unforgettable moment in a game already jam-packed with them.

June – 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

June – 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

June isn’t strictly a villain in the traditional sense; she’s more of a Machiavellian manipulator who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She orchestrates the entire Nonary Game at the center of 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors in order to create a situation that allows protagonist Junpei to psychically interact with her child self, ultimately saving her from certain death. Unfortunately, her plans require the brutal deaths of many people across many different timelines, and she goes even further in subsequent Zero Escape games. Everything she does is for the good of the human race, but her machinations aren’t without a heaping helping of collateral damage.

Dracula – Castlevania

Dracula – Castlevania

We’ve all heard Dracula’s iconic opening lines in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ad nauseum, so I won’t repeat them here. But like Ganon, Dracula is a powerful force who refuses to stay dead (or is that un-undead?) throughout the Castlevania series. His many forms range from majestic to bizarre, and every fight against him is a spectacle. His persistence and sheer power make him a foe to be remembered.

Nyx – Persona 3

Nyx – Persona 3

Persona 3 is a game that deals with dark themes, although much of it is suffused with levity, it being a story about high schoolers and all. Things take a dramatic shift for the melancholy during the last month of the game, when your characters learn that an avatar of death called Nyx is about to descend on them and that there’s seemingly nothing they can do about it. The resulting atmosphere is oppressive and crushingly sad; you watch as the optimism and determination drain out of each person in turn until there’s almost nothing left. Eventually, they resolve to confront Nyx, knowing that they’re likely to die in the process, but they miraculously pull through. Still, Nyx is an outstandingly effective villain who comes terrifying close to wiping out humanity for good.

Porky/Pokey – Mother series

Porky/Pokey – Mother series

Image credit: The-Mighty-King-P

In EarthBound, Pokey (or Porky as he’s known in Japan) is a snotty neighbor who taunts protagonist Ness throughout his journey. He eventually becomes the right-hand man of the cosmic destroyer, Giygas, and though Ness defeats him at the end of the game, it signals the beginning of his true rise to villainy. In Mother 3 , the sequel to Earthbound that has never been released outside of Japan, Pokey is an absolute monster. He forms the New Pork Army, a brigade of soldiers who experiment on animals and brainwash people. Now a time traveler, Pokey has become immortal, and hatches a plan to destroy everyone in the world but himself by awakening a Dark Dragon. His final, infurating act is to seal himself inside of a capsule that protects him from ever being killed, but also prevents him from ever escaping, dooming him to an eternity of isolation. It’s a fitting punishment for someone so evil, but by robbing the player of the ability to ever truly vanquish him, Pokey cements himself as one of the most memorable video game villains ever.

To top