What makes a villain memorable? Is it theirlooks?Their thoughtfulwriting?Is it theirmenacing demeanor,theirevil laugh,or perhaps theirdastardly mustache?The truth is it’sreally hard to describe what makes a villain great.
Some villains are deeply believable (likeThe Masterfrom Fallout) and others are one-dimensional (likeBowser). Is one worse than the other?Absolutely not.They’re just different.Bowser doesn’t need deep writingbecausehe’s mostly just there to get stomped on.And while he may not have aShakespearean character arc,he’s still one of the most iconic gaming villains. Here’s why these antagonistswork, why they’rememorable, andwhy we love them.
There are some very minor spoilers ahead!
1010/10 SHODAN (System Shock)
SHODAN is the evil machine intelligence of theSystem Shockseries, and she’s absolutely terrifying, mainly because of hercarefully crafted voice.To create SHODAN’s iconic voice,Looking Glass Studiospatched together multiple different voice actors. Additional sounds, such as pitch-shifting and stuttering, were then added in.
The result isamazing. SHODAN sounds like anunholy amalgamation of glitched-out hate.The best part is that she justkeeps on talking.It’s like she’s so wrapped up in her own ego thatshe doesn’t even realize how broken she sounds.Some of SHODAN’s lines will sendchills down your spine.“What is it like to be afraid? Why do you cling to such a pathetic existence?”
99/10 Senator Armstrong (Metal Gear)
There’s something so hilarious about this behemoth of a man sharing his vision for America while he gives Raiden ajumping double-stomp to the chest.For those unaware, Senator Armstrong is the villain ofMetal GearRising: Revengeance. He’s a Colorado senator with dreams of becoming president. He’s also a 7-foot-tallformer college football playerwho hasnanomachinesbecauseof course he does.“Nanomachines, son!”
There’s no doubt Senator Armstrong is iconic.Revolver OcelotorMajor Zeromay spring to mind first at the term “Metal Gear villain”, but Armstrong pops up often in memes. His boss fight isridiculously fun, quotable, and probablyone of the best boss fights of all time.
88/10 Dagoth Ur (The Elder Scrolls)
Dagoth Uris the main antagonist ofThe Elder ScrollsIII: Morrowind, and an extremely iconic villain. His backstory is deep and complicated, but basically, he’simmortal, he wants torestore his ancient noble house, and hefancies himself a god.
One of the best things about Dagoth Ur ishis lovely voice.He sounds not at all how you would expect him to. Voice actorJeff Bakerplays Dagoth Ur as agrand oratorwith abooming, noble voice,shouting things like"I’m a god! How can you kill a god?“Also going against the villain type, Dagoth Ur issurprisingly polite.He evenlets the Nerevarine get the first hit on himwhen they fight.
Dutch Van Der Lindeis a mysterious figure inRed Dead Redemption1. Though often talked about, he doesn’t actuallyappearuntil the end of the game. He’s fleshed out more in Red Dead 2 as thecharming, idealistic gang leader.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a very long game. Some players don’t like that, but it didallow Rockstar to do something pretty cool with Dutch’s character.He has anarc.At first he’s a kind, almost fatherly figure. Then there are little cracks. He’s weirdlyelitist.He occasionally makesrude comments.He always tells you to get to work, but never reallydoes anythinghimself. The player can grow to hate Dutch’s narcissismthrough gameplay,the same way Arthur might.
66/10 Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney)
Miles Edgeworth is a prosecutor in theAce Attorneyseries, the first major threat Phoenix Wright faces in court. His charming persona is disarming, but he’s a serious antagonist. Surrounded by rumors ofevidence tampering,Edgeworth initially has a reputation as a man who willdo anything to win a case.
Without spoiling too much, Edgeworth’s character is actually much deeper than this, which is why he’s fondly remembered by fans. Edgeworth’scharming personality, histouching character arc, and hiscomplicated relationshipwith Phoenixall make him one of the most iconic video game villains of all time. He even got his ownspin-off gameat one point.
55/10 Ganon (The Legend of Zelda)
Ganonis the legendary villain ofThe Legend of Zelda. Having been around for many years and going through multiple incarnations, he seeminglyalways comes back to haunt Link.He even fights inSuper Smash Bros.in his humanoid form,Ganondorf.
One cool thing about Ganon is his consistency (or lack thereof) between games. At one point, he’s agiant boar.In Breath of the Wild, he’s avicious cloudlike beast.As is mentioned in theHyrule Historia,though Ganon may die, he willnever truly leave Hyrule.His energy will reincarnate, over and over, always bent on world domination. He’ll likelystill be aroundeven if the Legend of Zelda games are separated byhundreds of years.
44/10 Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Also known asEggman,Dr. Ivo Robotnikis the dastardly villain of theSonicseries. He has an iconic appearance with hisovular body,cool sunglasses,anduntamed mustache.His crazy inventions, which often seem impractical, makegreat boss fights.He has a funvoice— his voice actor,Mike Pollock, is a legend. Eggman was even portrayed byJim Carey!
In the early days of Sega, its designers had a competition to come up with a new mascot for the company.Sonic the Hedgehog won the competition,of course, butRobotnik was also in it.He was originally drawn as a cute mustachioed man in pajamas. His design was reworked when he was introduced as Sonic’s nemesis in the first game, and the rest is history.
Pyramid Head is by far the most iconic villain in any horror game. He first appears inSilent Hill2, with most fans regarding his appearances in later games asinappropriate,evennon-canon.
Pyramid Head, like the other monsters of Silent Hill 2, isa representation of the protagonist’s thoughts.He looks like like ademonic executioner.The pyramid itselfconjures images of torture deviceslike theiron maiden.It’s specifically mentioned inThe Book of Lost Memoriesthat “he [Pyramid Head] is a manifestation of James Sunderland’s guilt and desire for punishment”. He’s also completely silent. Pyramid Head earned his reputation without saying a word,just based on his look.
22/10 GLaDOS (Portal)
GLaDOS is the popular, iconic villain of Valve’sPortal. Not only is she a great villain, she’s a great character. Shemakes Portal what it is.Without her, it’sjust another puzzle game.The best thing about GLaDOS is her sardonic wit.
She might be thefunniestvideo game villain of all time, poking fun with lines like"Here come the test results: ‘You are a horrible person.’ That’s what it says … We weren’t even testing for that.“GLaDOS’s humorsets her apart from other murderous AIslikeSHODAN,AM, andHAL 9000. It reminds us that GLaDOSis fundamentally human, which arguably makes her even scarier.
11/10 Bowser (Super Mario)
Bowsertops this list becausehe’s the one most people think of firstwhen they hear"video game villain”.He’s got a simple personality, little to no dialogue, and he’sextremely predictable.He kidnaps Peach. That’s what he does, and it’s just aboutallhe does. Still, Bowser isinarguably the top dog.
Part of Bowser’s success is probably due to all the spin-off games he’s in. He’ll put aside his differences with Peach andMarioso the three of them candrive go-kartsorplay some tennis.On the rare chance that he gets some dialogue, Bowser is actuallykind of endearing.He comes across as a buffoon whoreally loves Peach, kidnapping her becausehe doesn’t know how else to show it.Bowser’s menacing appearance and long, storied history with Mario makes himthe most iconic video game villain of all time.
