Nintendo has a history of creating likable and family-friendly characters. Because of this, creating bad guys can be a little tricky. Villains are meant to be vile, deceitful, and sometimes downright evil. If they’re not careful, Nintendo might have trouble creating great villains that still stay true to their brands.
But this is not the case. Even without going into dark territory, Nintendo has managed to create an impressive group of villains that can challenge their heroes. Through fun sports and competitive games, these villains have gained their own loyal fan base that sometimes rivals the heroes they fight. Here is a list of some of their best villains.
10 Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong is an interesting character considering he’s been pretty much overhauled into one of Nintendo’s popular heroes with its spin-off Donkey Kong Country, but it didn’t start out that way. In his signature game, Donkey Kong was actually the villain.
Even before Mario faced his legendary rival Bowser, Mario had to contend with Donkey Kong. He was so evil that he screwed Donkey Kong Jr. into his evil ways. Obviously, it wasn’t meant to last, but it’s important to remember that Donkey Kong’s roots as a villain are inherently tied to Nintendo’s origins as a company.
9 Bowser Jr
It wasn’t enough that Mario had a buggy to contend with. In Super Mario World, Bowser’s entire family is introduced. Although there is a lot in the Koopa family that fans will love, there is just something about Bowser Jr that stands out from the rest.
Perhaps because he shares a name with the patriarch. He has such a goofy and lovable design that it’s hard to take him seriously as a villain, and it’s funny when he throws tantrums because of it. However, he has been known to cause a stir for Mario and others on more than one occasion.
8 King K Roll
Nintendo and the task that was just in front of them as they sought to rebrand Donkey Kong from villain to likable hero. However, in order to pull it off, they needed to create a new villain for Donkey Kong to take on. King K Rool and his army of Kremlins was a great choice.
They are definitely lizards and share a bit of a resemblance to the Koopa villains who deal with Mario. Their leader is a particularly vicious foe and was impressive enough to last several sequels.
7 hand master
Master Hand is a strange and ominous villain in Nintendo’s roster. He does not have a particular background nor is he based on any one character. As far as fans can tell, it’s just the hand of a person or a puppet master playing with their favorite toys, but this is not particularly confirmed.
It is only heavily hinted at by the introduction to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is the overarching boss of the entire series, but his villainy is abstract and without context. However, with the series being as popular as it gets, Master Hand must respect being in charge as his main antagonist on his own level.
6 King Bo
There are many enemies featured in the Mario games. There are Piranha Plants, Hammer Bros, and Goombas. Boos are another iconic enemy, and it helps that these mischievous ghosts have a king that Mario and Luigi can take on head-on.
Boo has become such a popular image that even non-gamers can pick it out from a list by name. Having a massive Boo with a crown on his head is a goal that could catapult this devious class of enemies into the spotlight no matter what game they appeared in.
5 The Rocket Team
It’s hard to narrow down a single antagonist for the Pokemon series. The original Pokémon video games at some point become mixed with the anime, so fans may think the video game franchise’s villains are the same. They really aren’t. Even then, it’s hard to tell.
Mewtwo is often seen as evil, but it’s just a misleading Pokémon. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, is often portrayed as the main villain as well. But his presence as a mastermind is largely absent from the games. Instead, Team Rocket as a whole has been the main villain across the series.
4 Waluigi
Since Mario got his own twisted mirror version with Wario, it was only a matter of time before Luigi got his mirror version too. Physically, while Luigi is a great caricature of Luigi’s tall frame. However, his naming convention was not as easy to decipher as Wario.
Apparently Nintendo was just lazy to put “wa” in front of Luigi similar to what Wario was to Mario. but, “warui” Means bad in Japanese. So the name was a lot more clever than fans first realized. And since he was such a dominant force in his Mario Tennis debut, he’s developed a fan base of his own ever since.
3 Wario
Although not the main villain of Mario, Wario is still an exact copy of the popular hero. It’s a perfect cartoon that features Mario as an obese and treacherous character who has his own group of loyal fans.
What makes it perfect is that the “M” in Mario’s name is turned upside down to create the “W” for Wario. However, in Japanese, “warui” mean bad. So it’s a very fitting coincidence that makes Wario the opposite of Mario in more ways than one.
2 Janon
Just like Link and Zelda are constantly evolving throughout the Legend Of Zelda franchise, so is Ganon, aka Ganondorf. He’s had many different guises across the series, sometimes taking on multiple guises in a single game, but he’s always remained the title’s main villain.
Even when games featuring other villains appear, fans know it’s only a matter of time before Ganon returns. After all, he’s the third member of the Triforce alongside Zelda and Link. They are all characters locked in an ongoing conflict through the ages.
1 camper
As far as villains in the video game industry are concerned, Bowser may be at the top of the list, just as Mario is at the top of the list of heroes. He has always been alongside Mario in all of his sports and family-friendly games and has even been billed as a hero in games like Super Mario RPG. But the rivalry between Bowser and Mario is legendary.
Perfectly in keeping with the Nintendo brand, it’s both scary and lovable at the same time. No matter what he looks like, he is always considered a threat and has a family of Kobas at his side to help him with his schemes.
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