TOP 10: Nintendo Antagonists

To kick off the month I'm going to name the Top 10 Nintendo Baddies. Some of these characters are picked based on their personalities, others because of how iconic they are, and some just because they are cool. Note that the picks do not have to be the final bosses, or even the main villains of their respective games. But let's kick this off and see who's the baddest of the bad.

Number 10: Pigma Dengar
First Appearance: Star Fox 64 (N64)

Although Pigma Dengar is not the primary antagonist of the Star Fox franchise, he serves as an antagonistic force in most of the games aside from the original and Star Fox Adventures. Pigma made this list not because he is badass or anything, but because he lacks every ounce of morality. Pigma was originally a member of James McCould's team along with Peppy Hare, only to betray James to Andross, seemingly leading him to his death. Pigma then joins the Star Wolf team and continues to serve Andross for the remainder of Star Fox 64, proving to be an obstacle for Fox and his team. During the events of Star Fox Assault, it is revealed that Pigma also betrayed Star Wolf, causing Wolf to declare that should he see Pigma again, he will kill him. Finally, Pigma ultimately betrays the entire Lylat System when he brings the memory core to the Aparoids and becomes one of them, aiding them in their conquest of all life forms. This repulsive and treasonous character is worthy of the tenth spot on this list.


Number 9: Nightmare AKA N.M.E.
First Appearance: Kirby's Adventure (NES)

Nightmare (or N.M.E. as he is known in the show) is the primary antagonist and final boss of Kirby's Adventure and it's remake Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. Nightmare doesn't actually appear until the very end of the game, and it isn't even his forces at work doing all the evil in the game. Kirby is actually sent on his quest after King Dedede steals the Star Rod from the Fountain of Dreams, and spends the entirety of the game chasing after King Dedede and Meta-Knight in hopes of retrieving it. What Kirby did not know, however, is that King Dedede stole the Star Rod to prevent Nightmare from conquering Dreamland through people's dreams. When Kirby restores the Star Rod to the Fountain of Dreams, Nightmare appears and serves as an epic final boss battle for the game. In addition to his role in the game, N.M.E. is the leader of Nightmare Enterprises which stirs up all sorts of trouble in the show Kirby Right Back At Ya! He finally makes his debut in the two-part series finale where Kirby stops him and saves Dreamland once and for all. Nightmare is easily the most memorable villain aside from Dedede and Meta-Knight in the series and deserves a spot on this list. 


Number 8: Ghetsis Harmonia
First Appearance: Pokemon Black & Pokemon White (DS)

Since its first generation, almost every villainous leader featured in the Pokemon games have been forgettable, except for Team Rocket's leader Giovanni who has become an icon in the Pokemon world. With the release of the latest generation of Pokemon games, the new villainous Team Plasma brought the greatest and most memorable leader to ever be featured in a Pokemon game: Ghetsis Harmonia. Ghetsis is one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma, but was secretly the one behind its formation and the one responsible for raising it's leader N. When Ghetsis discovered N as a child and realized he had the ability to talk to Pokemon, he used him as a way to create an organization dedicated to "liberating" Pokemon from their trainers. Unbeknownst to N, Ghetsis was only using this as a way to ensure that he was the only person in Unova with Pokemon, effectively being able to conquer the region. When his plan backfires and the player causes N to realize the error of his ways, Ghetsis goes into hiding and Team Plasma dissolves. Two years later in Pokemon Black 2 & Pokemon White 2, Team Plasma returns, this time not under the guise of liberating pokemon, but rather just stealing them from people to conquer Unova. The leader of the new Team Plasma is a scientist by the name of Colress, but it is revealed at the end of the game that he was another pawn of Ghetsis, who used Team Plasma to capture the legendary pokemon Kyurem and freeze all of Unova. Ghetsis is easily the most evil of the villainous leaders, going so far as to ordering Kyurem to impale the player with glaciers to try and stop them. Ghetsis eventually goes mad at the end of his second defeat, but who knows, maybe we'll see him pop up again sometime soon.


Number 7: Bowser
First Appearance: Super Mario Bros. (NES)

This may come as a surprise to many, but yes, Bowser is only number seven on my top ten list of Nintendo antagonists. The primary reason for this is because Bowser has begun to take a backseat to his son in the last few games, only serving as the final boss. Bowser was introduced in Super Mario Bros. and again returned as the antagonist for Super Mario Bros. 3. Bowser's goal is generally always the same: kidnap Princess Peach and take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser seems to have two different personalities throughout the games. In Super Mario 64, Bowser was portrayed as quite evil and cunning, which is the personality I prefer for the villain. In later games, such as the Paper Mario series and Super Mario Sunshine, Bowser is a bit more of a comedic villain, similar to Doctor Eggman in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Luckily, Bowser's evil side was restored in both Super Mario Galaxy games, where instead of simply wanting to kidnap the Princess, he wishes to conquer the entire galaxy, and even almost destroys it to do so. Whether it is the evil side to Bowser or the soft side to Bowser, he will always remain the most iconic and recognizable villain in the Nintendo universe.


Number Six: Ghirahim
First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

When I first heard they were going to have a new antagonist in the latest Zelda game, I was a little disappointed, as there had not been a good addition to the Zelda villains since Vaati was introduced in Four Swords. To my surprise, the Demon Lord Ghirahim was one of the most refreshing and brilliant villains to ever be introduced into the series. What I particularily enjoyed about Ghirahim in contrast to the series antagonist Ganondorf was that Ghirahim actually perceived Link as a threat. While Ghirahim did play around with Link a little bit, he ultimately knew Link was going to be an obstacle in his dark quest, and made sure he kept tabs on him, in contrast to Ganondorf who constantly underestimates Link. Ghirahim's primary quest in Skyward Sword is to capture Zelda and use her soul to resurrect his fallen master. Ghirahim's dialogue, as well as his creepy theme music, make him one of those very likeable evil clowns that appear in various forms of media, and his three boss fights were some of the best in the series. The newcomer to the Zelda franchise ultimately makes number six on my top ten list for his memorable boss fights, personality, and theme. 


Number Five: Master Hand
First Appearance: Super Smash Bros. (N64)

Master Hand is the final boss of the Classic mode in all three Super Smash Bros. games. While Master Hand isn't necessarily "evil," as he has no real personality, he is very iconic and one of the most remarkably bizarre bosses in the Nintendo world. Seriously, who came up with this idea? The Nintendo characters battle it out to be faced by their final challenge: a giant hand. He is no normal hand though, Master Hand has the ability to shoot lasers, fire missiles, and shock you when you're in the palm of his hand. Aside from the Super Smash Bros. series, Master Hand has also made a cameo in Kirby's Amazing Mirror as a boss along with his counterpart Crazy Hand. Master Hand grabs the number five spot on my list.


Number Four: Ridley
First Appearance: Metroid (NES)

Ridley, or as he has been called in later games, Meta-Ridley, is one of the most reoccurring antagonists of the Metroid series, although never serving as its primary antagonist. Ridley first appears as one of three leaders of the Space Pirates in Metroid, along with Kraid and Mother Brain. Ridley then makes his next appearance in Super Metroid, where he steals the last living Metroid from Samus and serves as a boss very late in the game. Ridley also appears in many forms in the Metroid Prime series, where he is first seen as Meta-Ridley in Metroid Prime, and then returns in this form at the beginning of Metroid Prime 3, but transforms into Omega Ridley as one of the last bosses of the game. Ridley's latest appearance was in Metroid: Other M, where we see him in his chick and larva forms, before actually becoming what he is today. Ridley is also responsible for the death of Samus' parents and is the last living Space Dragon in the galaxy. Although we can never really tell if Ridley is the same character every game, it is assumed that Meta-Ridley is the same Ridley from the first Metroid that was saved through becoming a cyborg, and that continues to be the same Ridley until the end of Super Metroid, where he is ultimately destroyed but rebirthed in Metroid: Other M. Ridley's boss fights always serve as the most epic of their respective games, such as the one in Metroid Prime 3 where you fight him in an elevator shaft or the Super Metroid one where he flies around above you. Ridley also served in his normal and Meta-Ridley forms as bosses in the story for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Ridley is easily one of the best bosses in the Nintendo universe although he has no personality whatsoever.


Number Three: Dimentio
First Appearance: Super Paper Mario (Wii)

Dimentio is first introduced in the third entry in the Paper Mario franchise: Super Paper Mario. While not introduced as the primary antagonist of the game, Dimentio is ultimately revealed to be the primary antagonist and serves as the final boss. Throughout the game, the villainous Count Bleck uses a book known as the Dark Proganisticus to summon a black hole called the Void to consume all worlds and destroy everyone, in hopes of creating a better world. Dimentio is one of Bleck's minions, and is a reoccurring boss throughout the game. Dimentio is the first to discover that the Dark Progonisticus refers to a "man in green" who will decide the fate of the worlds, and makes his plans accordingly. Dimentio plants a seed inside of Luigi's brain early in the story, while guiding Mario and the heroes to Count Bleck's castle and aiding them in defeating him. When Count Bleck is defeated, Dimentio reveals that this was his plan all along, and that he was the one who would destroy all worlds, not create a new one, but to simply allow the Void to consume all. Dimentio merges himself with Luigi and becomes the final boss of the game, but is eventually defeated by Mario and Co. Dimentio, like Ghirahim, is one of those evil clown characters who has a synical way of looking at the world. This is why Dimentio claims the number three spot on my list.


Number Two: Ganon(dorf)
First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda (NES)

Ganondorf, the King of Thieves and Prince of Darkness featured as the primary antagonist the the Legend of Zelda franchise takes my number two spot. Ganondorf first appeared in the original Leged of Zelda game in his evil demon form under the name Ganon. Ganondorf's goal is primarily the same in every game: acquire the complete Triforce and conquer Hyrule. The first time the name 'Ganondorf' is stated in the games is the A Link to the Past, where Ganondorf is mentioned to be Ganon's original self before becoming warped into the pig-like demon he was at that time, and his life as Ganondorf is further expanded in Ocarina of Time. Ganondorf seems to have his sights set only on Hyrule and not the rest of the world, as seen in Wind Waker where he completely ignores the new world and simply wishes to conquer the sunken Hyrule. Ganondorf always uses pawns to gain what he needs, such as Vaati, Veron, Onyx, Aghanim, Zant and the Twinrova sisters, and comes very close to conquering Hyrule on multiple occasions, most notably in Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, and A Link to the Past. Ganondorf appears in almost every single Zelda game, and even when he is not the villain, sometimes the villains have some sort of connection to him (such as Malladus from Spirit Tracks or Demise from Skyward Sword). Aside from his characteristics, Ganondorf has some of the most epic boss battles of the series, such as his Ganon battle from Ocarina of Time or his 4-part battles in both Wind Waker and Twilight Princess that end with a 1 on 1 sword fight between Link and him. Perhaps one of the greatest villains in video game history, Ganondorf takes my number two spot.


Number One: Majora
First Appearance: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)

The number one spot on my list goes to one of the greatest, unsung villains of the Nintendo universe, Majora. Nobody really knows much about Majora other than he is a powerful demon that was sealed away into a mask long ago by a dark tribe. While he was dormant for many decades within the mask, in Majora's Mask, the spirit of Majora is finally free once more when the Skull Kid steals the mask and puts it on. Initially, Skull Kid is still in control of his body and simply gains the dark powers of Majora, but as time progresses, Majora begins to use Skull Kid as a host to fulfill its destructive needs. Majora uses his immense powers to try and crash the moon into Termina and it is up to Link to try and stop him. Majora is so powerful, that even after Link is able to remove the mask from Skull Kid, he has stored up enough strength from his host to be able to continue on as simply the mask, creating powerful and disgusting forms for himself that proves to be one of the most difficult boss fights in Zelda history. Many players are even unable to beat Majora without using the Fierce Deity Mask, which significantly increases Link's strength. Majora, being easily the darkest villain to ever appear in a Nintendo title deserves this top spot for his unsung villainry, and I hope in the near future, Majora is able to make a return in a title, whether it be a remake on the Nintendo 3DS or an entirely new game. Perhaps Ganondorf can find the Majora's Mask...who knows what those two would do together.

Honourable Mentions:

Andross- Star Fox (NES)
King K. Rool- Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Bowser Jr.- Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
King Dedede- Kirby's Dream Land (GB)

Giuliano V.