Sunday, December 29, 2013

My Top 50 Favourite Video Game Villains: #50 - #41


Why hello there. Yes it's been a while since I did my last listing. I felt spontaneously up for doing one the past few days and decided to just go full pelt with it. I've been doing so much DJ stuff recently that if I contemplated doing this listing then left it, it probably wouldn't have ever been done, or at least, for many years from now. So if you're wanting new freelance journalism from me rather than DJ shows, or for me to talk about video games rather than music, you're in luck!

That being said I'm still doing my DJ stuff, just over this listing. See I can multitask! The next DJ show will be due up for Thursday/Friday time, so look out for that if you're interested.

Anyhoo, back to the listing. As you can see by the title, this listing is going to be concentrating on my favourite villains in video game history. 50 to be exact. And I'll be covering this over a period of 50 days, one villain a day, so keep checking the site if you want to follow the countdown!

The criteria for this listing is simple. The characters have to be in a video game, and be a villain, or at least, act in a villainous/anti-hero way for a good length in a game or series. And the final criteria, is that I've not included more than one villain from an individual title, but of course, if a villain is over a multitude of games in a series there will be villains that appear in the same game on this list.

Also to give you the heads up is the fact that I've once done a list of Favourite Final Fantasy Characters before. And yes, there are a lot of FF characters in this list. But, hey, it's my list, and it's my favourite video game series of all time so why wouldn't there be? There's also a lot of Resident Evil characters.

A final note: it's a biased list so don't get offended if certain villains aren't in the list (like Ganondorf, Big Boss and Bowser for instance, are not in this list). I either haven't played these games or am not as attached to these games or characters as most people are.

So without further delay, let's start the listing!

Note: There are possible spoilers in each entry so avoid them if you don't want to ruin any storylines.

#50: Ogre
Other Names: True Ogre, Ancient Ogre, Monstrous Ogre
Debut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998)
Famous Quote?: None
Other Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2

That's Ogre from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but even back in 1998 Ogre was something else. I'd never really seen a dragon-esque looking character look so amazing before, when this game came out. He's just an incredible specimen, and fighting as Ogre or True Ogre is a fun experience. Using the flame move of course is a highlight. While Ogre himself has not really had a big impact on the Tekken series as a whole, his role in Tekken 3 is great as you fight him in both forms one after another. He's not really much of a villain but more of a big bad boss that kicks arse and looks awesome.

#49: Tom Nook
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Animal Crossing (2001)
Famous Quote?: "...hm?" - at the end of practically every sentence
Other Appearances: Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Grrr. What a pain in the arse Tom Nook is. I suppose he's not really a villain as there aren't really any in Animal Crossing. But jeez, he's so annoying and, like I suppose, any landlord in real life, all he cares about is money, or more accurately, your money. As soon as you've paid for your house he gives you a bigger debt to pay for a bigger house. And it's just so frustrating! And he's quite arrogant as well. But, at least he helps you in the game, but it doesn't stop me calling him a villainous character, at least for Animal Crossing proportions.


#48: The Tank
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Left 4 Dead (2008)
Famous Quote?: None
Other Appearances: Left 4 Dead 2

Once again, not really a villain but still a badass monster that is an absolute pain to deal with in the L4D series. And also, a bad guy with an awesome battle theme. Taking on a tank is no easy feat. You and (hopefully) three of your teammates need to work together to take him down and he takes so much health before finally being taken down. You really need to experience a Tank battle to believe one.


#47: Akuma
Other Names: Gouki
Debut Game and Year: Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994)
Famous Quote?: "To challenge me is to respect chaos, and to respect death!" - when victorious in Street Fighter Alpha 3
Other Appearances: Street Fighter Alpha series, Street Fighter The Movie, Street Fighter EX series, Street Fighter III series, Street Fighter IV series

I don't know a single person who loves Street Fighter who doesn't love how much of an utter badass Akuma is. He's stupidly strong, stupidly evil and looks both as well. His moves are vicious and his super powers impressive. He truly is a villain that backs up his words with evil fury. He's not really a character that I like using much when playing Street Fighter, but I hate getting my arse handed back to me in pieces when getting beat by him, that's for sure.


#46: Ba'Gamnan
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Final Fantasy XII (2006)
Famous Quote?: "After them!" - chasing your party down
Other Appearances: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

A personal choice, I'm more than aware, but Ba'Gamnan stands out so much as a character full of bland a set of characters as the sands you're forever venturing through in Final Fantasy 12. He's a simple yet perfectly created character; a big bully with smaller bullies who follow him through fear, he cares about very little but money and hurting people, and is a very successful and determined bounty hunter. He stalks Balthier for most of the game and comes up short in the end, however his finest moment is definitely early on in the Lhusu Mines, when he and his lackeys chase you out of the mines; it's pretty terrifying, not to mention that circular chainsaw looks pretty menacing.


#45: Mr. X
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Streets of Rage (1991)
Famous Quote?: "You really want to die, don't you... I'll be happy to oblige!" - before the final battle commences
Other Appearances: Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3

A very traditional 16-bit villain, but still awesome all the same, is Mr. X of the Streets of Rage series. Lurking in the shadows, referenced throughout the game, causing chaos from the outskirts, the moment you finally see Mr. X in person is great. Just sitting there, in his grand chair, bringing in more and more lackeys to kick your butt and failing, he just looks brilliant. Mr. X laughs at every opportunity whilst beating you down, using his Tommy gun for added effect, everything about Mr. X is evil and awesome. I love Mr. X; he's the epitome of what makes a 16-bit villain great.


#44: The Director
Other Names: Lionel Starkweather
Debut Game and Year: Manhunt (2003)
Famous Quote?: "You're really doing it for me! Why I ain't been this turned on since... Well, let's not go there..." - The Director "getting off" on Cash killing someone
Other Appearances: None

He may look like a fat piece of trash because he is. But you don't see what he looks like for the majority of the game, otherwise he's just this creepy voice, "guiding" you on a killing spree for his sexual fantasies. The Director is one sick bastard but despite all of that, he's one hell of a villain. Like a lot of villains, the justice given in killing him is all worth it. And the death scene is pretty disgusting of course, to be expected. The Director is a great, and certainly memorable villain in video game history.


#43: Tiny Tiger
Other Names: Taz Tiger
Debut Game and Year: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)
Famous Quote?: "Crash! Leave the [crystals] for Tiny, or Crash get CRUSHED!" - warning Crash about collecting more crystals in Crash Bandicoot 3
Other Appearances: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped! Crash Team Racing, Crash Bash

I love Tiny, he's one of my favourite characters in the Crash Bandicoot series. He's a big lump of dumb muscle but says some great quotes, another being "Tiny squash too many cars!" in Crash Team Racing. His boss fights are usually fun too. He's just a great minor villain in the Crash series and is easily memorable for kids playing these games for the first time.


#42: Goldman
Other Names: Caleb Goldman
Debut Game and Year: House of the Dead 2 (1998)
Famous Quote?: "Man committed a sin; disturbing the life cycle of nature. The original sin that man is responsible to! To protect the life cycle!" - before the final battle in House of the Dead 2
Other Appearances: House of the Dead 4

Goldman is actually a decent little villain underneath the surface of hilariously bad voice acting. The House of the Dead series has some of the worst voice acting in video game history, particularly the second in the series. And Goldman is at the centre of it. The lines are absolutely butchered in bad voice acting it's truly a terribly funny sight to see. But underneath that, Goldman is a good little villain and is very similar in his long term scheme and logic behind his motivation; he wants the world cleansed of man because of the sins the human race have created. But in the end, Goldman is in this list because of the bad voice acting and how memorable he is in the second entry in the game.


#41: Bryan Fury
Other Names: None
Debut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998)
Famous Quote?: "Come on, scream for me! Cry out for your mommy! Do something instead of whimpering like a dog!" to Craig Marduk in Street Fighter X Tekken
Other Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken 6, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Street Fighter X Tekken

The reason Bryan is so far down on this list is because of the fact that there are not many villains, or rather, there are lots of villains in Tekken, take your pick. Most people in the series have a motive, not all of them evil, and Bryan is one of these people. However, I absolutely love Bryan, he's been consistently my favourite person to play as whenever I play Tekken. His moves are so brutal and he's so hard to stop once you get him kicking butt. But yeah, I can't really place him much higher in the list as he's not an "super dooper evil" guy, just a selfish, destructive robot humanoid who wants to be the strongest thing in the universe. So that's why I place him at #41 in my list of video game villains.



See other parts of this listing!
#50 - #41 | #40 - #31 | #30 - #21 | #20 - #11 | #10 - #2 | #1 + More

Other entries you might want to read:
The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show Christmas Special (20/12/13) - DJ Show
My Top 50 Favourite Mega Drive Games - Listing
My Top 50 Favourite Final Fantasy Locations - Listing


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