We always establish some level of connection with our player character in games, but it is usually the villain who gets the most time in the spotlight. In many series, it is the villain who remains the constant while the hero changes, building up a rivalry that extends beyond the game itself. What makes a good villain can be a lot of things. They can be especially hard boss fights, have sympathetic goals and motivations, or are just so comically evil that we just love to see them on screen. We’ve been thwarting some villains since the NES generation, while others are more modern. No doubt we will find even more fantastic villains in upcoming video games, but for now, this is our ranking of the best video game villains of all time.
7. Dr. Wily
Dr. Wily deserves a spot on this list for being one of the first recurring villains on the NES. Each Mega Man game featured a unique cast of robot masters to fight, but the same mad scientist was always behind them going rogue. In the end, we always bested his robots, stormed his castle, and captured him (except for that one time when Mega Man was fed up with it all and tried to murder him). It was always world domination with Wily, and only because his partner got all the glory for their work in robotics. Neither his motivation or goals changed much from game to game, but fighting him at the end was always a treat with all the powers you’d coallected.
6. Bowser
Okay, calm down everyone. Yes, Bowser is only number 6 on the list, but we have to be honest with ourselves here. How good of a villain is Bowser, really? He’s iconic, no doubt, but he’s just a cartoon villain at the end of the day. He either wants to kidnap Peach, take over the Kingdom, or just get rid of Mario with rare exceptions. The only game to give him some depth was Super Mario RPG, but he wasn’t even the villain in that game. Bowser is fun to fight and is so well-established that we don’t want to see him go away forever, but at this point, he’s basically Mario’s friend most of the time.
5. Ganon/Ganondorf
Meanwhile, Ganon is never friendly or funny even in the slightest. This is arguably Nintendo’s strongest long-running villain who only seems to get better with every game he’s in. Ganon began as just a weird pig-monster not all that different from Bowser in the grand scheme of things, but has evolved in amazing ways across the Zelda games. Ganondorf was a menacing figure who succeeded in turning Hyrule into a wasteland, but there are plenty of other instances where Ganon has essentially won and all you can do is try and save what’s left. Ganon still gets just slivers of screentime, but they’re used to convey his power and instill fear and intimidation. Mechanically, facing off with Ganon in his various forms is always the highlight of the game.
4. Vaas
All it took was one trailer for fans to become fully invested in Vaas. That single line that bookended the trailer of “did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?” showcased just how dangerous and unstable this guy is. But a villain being fully insane isn’t good. Like the Joker, Vaas is insane but has his own moral code. The problem is that code is impossible to decipher so we can never be sure how he will react to anything. We just wish Vaas was the real villain of Far Cry 3 and the game hadn’t dragged on after his final confrontation.
3. Albert Wesker
Even before we knew he was a traitor, there was something about Wesker’s face that made us want to punch it. Those sunglasses, slicked-back hair, and smug attitude almost gave away his evil side. As the main antagonist of the Resident Evil series up until 5, Wesker was a physical and intellectual force that no one character could overcome. He had grand plans to pull the strings on a global scale with various viruses and weaved a massive web of conspiracy that was satisfying to untangle. It isn’t often that you get to actually fight Wesker, and there is the rediculous boulder punching moment right at the end, but shooting him with RPGs in a volcano was very cathartic.
2. Sephiroth
There are some differences between the OG Final Fantasy 7 and the new remakes in terms of how Sephiroth is portrayed, but that gets kind of complicated with those technically being sequels, so we’re just going to bundle it all together. Competition was still high for picking a Final Fantasy villain, but there’s a reason Sephiroth is the one everyone remembers. What made him so terrifying in the first game was how long it took to actually see him. For the first several hours you only hear his name and see his path of destruction. His figure is just as imposing as the buildup lead you to believe, and you get to see what pushed him over the edge into villainy. Like the best villains, Sephiroth believes he is doing the right thing.
1. Senator Armstrong
Metal Gear and Kojima games have been predicting the future for decades, but it might never be more on the nose than Metal Gear Rising’s Senator Armstrong. This corrupt politician speaks exactly like one in the real world, spouting about how the strong should be free to do as they please and that “they’ll make America great again.” He fights for a philosophy of might makes right and is a fierce nationalist who wants to spark a new revolution. That’s scary enough, but it only becomes more terrifying in hindsight as this video game villain’s evil plan seems to be coming to life right before our eyes. At least in the game you get an awesome fight with a sick soundtrack.
