Our Favorite 7 Video Game Baddies of All Time

For a movie or even a video game to be successful, both the hero and the villain characters must carry equal weight. For instance, all the movies that did well in the past had some remarkable villainous performances that still stand the test of time. A meek or easy-to-conquer villain may just be the reason behind a movie or video game’s failure. Fortunately, there were/are some memorable video games villains. We have gone through the whole list of candidates and managed to mat down our favourite 7 video game baddies of all time.

Bowser (Super Mario Bros)

Bowser belongs to the initial few generations of video game baddies. Compared to other baddies on this list, he may not come across as venomous. In fact, some may simply not consider him a potent villain. But for people who were constantly hooked on to Super Mario games a decade or two ago, the character haunted them for days together, leading to fear-filled days and sleepless nights.

Bowser first featured in the first Super Mario game released in 1985. Since then, he’s been the main villain in all Mario games. The character is the brainchild of Shigeru Miyamoto, the famous video game developer and producer. Shigeru has been instrumental in the successes of several video gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong.

Though the turtle dragon look of Bowser is as iconic and popular as Mario’s bushy moustache and red hat, not many know that Bowser was initially conceived as a creature similar to an Ox.

Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)

Handsome Jack is perhaps one of those few villains who’s got two extremely polarized fan groups. There are people who simply love him, and there’s another group that hates him with extreme prejudice. Simply put, some people would do anything to kill the guy, and others may not mind sharing a drink or two with him. Handsome Jack’s optimistic demeanor and charm makes him a truly likable villain. He has all the classic traits of a villain – he is egoistic, treacherous, cruel and will not give a hoot about planting a bullet right at his opponents while casually cracking a joke.

He first showed up in Borderlands 2 wherein he captured the Hyperion Corporation and pronounced himself Pandora’s new leader, despite not being the people’s choice. Handsome Jack didn’t start evil. He, in fact, took the evil route after being betrayed by his trusted friend, thereby bearing testament to the notion that evil is created and not born.

Arthas (Warcraft 3)

Arthas embodies the idea “the bigger the size, the heavier the fall.” Arthas is a unique video game baddie, for he desires to do things right, despite being shown as vindictive. Ultimately, his good intentions lead to his undoing. His corruption influences the whole course of the Warcraft story, which includes the transformation of Sylvanas Windrunner to Banshee Queen from ranger, turning her into Forsaken’s ruthless leader from being Silvermoon’s loyal defender. If the path to hell has good intentions paved, Arthas can be credited for the majority of the stones.

Pagan Min (Far Cry 4)

Pagan Min carries the same likable facade and charm reminiscent of Handsome Jack, which cloaks his immoral ventures. However, for us, Pagan Min is much more stylish and suave than Handsome Jack, or any other video game baddie.

Pagan is a Hong Kong drug boss’ son. Right from early teens, he had a wobbly relationship with his dad, thanks to his queer personality and flamboyance that clashed with his dad’s more traditional and serious ways. Post his dad’s death, Pagan inherits the fortune left behind and abandons his past identity. He adopted the moniker “Pagan”, inspired by the dangerous Burmese king who murdered his entire family for the throne. Similar to the Burmese king, he set several power struggles and betrayals, and killed any individual in his way to the throne.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

Video gaming enthusiasts will be aware of the ongoing debate over who should be crowned Final Fantasy franchise’s biggest antagonist. For us, the pick is always Sephiroth. He’s perhaps the evilest villains on this list, courtesy his actions that involved killing the innocent and destroying the planet. In fact, he stabbed Aeris, his love interest, in her back with a sword. Besides, he enjoys burning down villages and launching a murder spree for corporations. Sephiroth is also a Final Fantasy baddie who makes his mind to turn into god and destroy the whole world. Right from his sheer power and skill to his evil plans and the sweet theme song, Sephiroth time and again proves his evil demeanor.

GlaDOS (Portal)

GlaDOS is among the most-referenced video game baddies of all time. She’ll make it to any list that features video game villains. She is calculative, cold, and snide. But the thing that really makes her compelling, besides her cruel humor sense, is how her character is sketched as the series progresses. At Portal's beginning stages, GlaDOS is simply the voice administering Chell tests. The voice is robotic and flat. But her true personality shows up when she ventures out of the testing chambers.

The voice for GlaDOS is computer-generated but still possesses some real character. When the game’s protagonist frees himself from her shackles, GlaDOS becomes extremely desperate about her situation and ends up flooding her control room with neurotoxin – the deadly substance that she often used for killing her opponents. GlaDOS is a classic example of good code turned bad - something that always appeals to most gamers.

Gannondorf (The Legend of Zelda)

Gannondorf perhaps is the most difficult villain to control or curtail. In fact, in terms of true villainy, Gannondorf is Satan’s video game counterpart. Also called simply Gannon, Gannondorf tops our favorite baddie list primarily for his track record. In the game Ocarina of Time, Gannon kills the Hyrule king and uses Triforce to conquer and rule the region with a fist or iron. And this is just scratching the surface. In the game Twilight Princess, he manages to survive even after having been sentenced for an execution by sword. And courtesy the Triforce, Gannon easily manages to turn into multiple powerful monsters. Now this is some evil challenge to beat.

Who are your favourite video game baddies? Let us know in the comments below.