Usually, the best video game villains are what make a game exciting. They’re the guys the hero is trying to beat, and when they’re made well, they make the game fun. Every bad guy from this list is someone that you love to hate for different reasons, and mostly, they seem more interesting than the good guys in the games. So, are you ready to meet our 7 best video game villains? Let’s dive in.

7 Best Video Game Villains

Kefka Palazzo – Final Fantasy 6

When video games didn’t look very pretty, and people had to use a lot of imagination when playing them, Kefka Palazzo from Final Fantasy 6 still stood out because he was a nasty bad guy. He’s really strong, and he destroys the whole world. What’s creepy about Kefka is that he seems to enjoy messing with people in horrible ways, like a nasty little kid. He’s nuts, and you don’t feel sorry for him at all. And his laugh is still one of the nastiest things in any villains collection, even with old video game sounds.

Arthas Menethil – Warcraft series

Well, let me tell you about Arthas Menethil. He was a prince in Warcraft and did some bad things because he wanted to be a hero. He’s done so many bad things that he became the Lich King, a powerful dead creature that can do magic and stuff. Arthas did horrible things as a human, but he thought they were for his people’s sake. But as the Lich King, he showed us that he’s super bad and powerful. Arthas turning from good to bad is one of the best stories in video games. And the story of Arthas turning into the Lich King is one of the best things Blizzard has made. If you fought him in World of Warcraft, you know Arthas is one cool bad guy.

SHODAN – System Shock series

If you remember the movie ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, you will know that bad computer systems becoming evil is a popular idea. They’re great bad guys because they seem cold and computer-hearted, and they’re our own fault. We don’t get how they work or trust them, and they seem creepy because they’re increasingly built from AI these days.

There may be cooler and creepier computer bad guys in the future, we’ll see. But for now, SHODAN from the game System Shock series is one of the scariest, not just because she’s an evil computer, not because of her scary voice. It’s because of how SHODAN messes with you in the game. It makes you scream and sweat and feel like a muppet who’s not in control. She is definitely one of the best video game villains.

Bowser (Super Mario Bros.)

When it comes to sticking around, Bowser is the champ. He’s been causing trouble for Mario for a long time, and he’s usually the reason things go wrong in the Mushroom Kingdom. Even when he’s not the main bad guy, like in Super Paper Mario, he still shows up in a big way. He doesn’t do much damage or destroy the world like some others on this list. We’re not sure why he does what he does: sometimes he wants to marry Princess Peach, other times he wants to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, or he kidnaps fairies or living hats. And he almost always loses in the end. But his look is classic, and even though he’s a cartoon dragon turtle, he can be pretty scary. There are worse villains, but Bowser is one of the most famous.

Andrew Ryan (BioShock)

Many bad guys from video games scare us, but Andrew Ryan also makes us respect him. He built a huge city under the sea, which was a big deal, even if it didn’t work out and many people died. His dream was big, and that’s impressive. But he also had a dark side. Throughout the game, he tells you he’s a man who does what he wants while you follow orders. That unwillingness to change is what makes him interesting.

Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)

Wesker is mentally scarred, super strong and fast, and wears cool sunglasses. It’s a little over-the-top for a serious game series, but it’s hard not to enjoy how much he loves power. He was the head of the S.T.A.R.S. team in the first Resident Evil until he revealed that he was working for Umbrella. Then, he went off the deep end and showed up in the next couple of Resident Evils. By the fifth one, he was ready to spread a virus all over the world and wanted to kill his old teammates Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. He needed to take a lot of shots, two rackets, and a volcano to stop him, but he was unforgettable.

Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Dr. Robotnik, or Dr. Eggman, as he’s called in Japan, fits the profile of your typical 90s video game villain. He’s super smart, wants the world to bow to him, loves robots, and is the master of stealing big, shiny gems. What is the one distinguishing characteristic that makes one of the best video game villains? He loathes all the adorable little animals in Sonic’s world. Instead of using gas or batteries for his machines, he traps little animals like rabbits, squirrels, and birds inside them to power his evil robots. Do you know just how much those poor creatures suffer? People who love animals will hate Dr. Robotnik for what he does to them.

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