The Well and the badif one is missing, the other also vanishes. This dualism perpetual that is gradually spreading itself in countless shades, has brought to life various villains of the videogame world who have been able to win the attention (if not the heart) of players all over the world. Such as Bowser for Mario, Cortex for Crash Bandicoot, Megatron for Optimus Prime, this list wants to talk about the villains (not exactly famous) who have become so “important” that they are now indispensable within their reference saga. But it is a list that also overlooks the uses of players and developers, also analyzing those “enemiesInvisible, not always written in the code but which are there, ready to make us suffer, angry, cry or just laugh. And why not, perhaps leaving us completely indifferent. Let’s find out together!
Handsome Jack (Borderlands) – inevitable confrontations
Handsome Jack has literally conquered Pandora and beyond. This crazy evil lover has enormous charisma and although physically he may seem like a sucker, his jokes and his way of reacting have marked the entire saga of Borderlands. Between the “Butt stud”And his boundless affection for enemies and life made him eternal and above all indispensable. Not wanting to make spoilers, just think that the aforementioned nemesis is everywhere (from Borderlands 2 onwards), in every product of the saga (spin offs included). The developers are aware of the power of him and can not help but indulge in one way or another. Any villain from now on he will find himself being compared to Jack and the challenge will always be difficult. Getting rid of Handsome Jack might be impossible (it’s like Star Wars trying to “not” make recalls a Darth Vader or as the series of Far Cry desperately looking for some enemy worthy of Vaas) and that’s okay with us.
Tom Nook (Animal Crossing) – sneaky and cuddly evil
I know what you’re thinking: “Tom Nook is not a villain“. Mistaken. One that first of all soaks you in a gigantic debt and that forces you throughout the game to try to earn money to expand your home … the only element of progression of the entire game (in addition to the passage of time with all the seasonal events) what is that? Let’s talk about a damned tanooki that does nothing but ask you things, from game to game. And as it happens, you are always there dreaming of having a big house, always starting from scratch… while he is always richer. From the first chapter of Animal Crossing to today … he went from managing a small shop of “objects” to being the owner of countless ISLANDS (in the face of Tortimer). Don’t be fooled, Tom Nook is a devious villainbusinessman and unscrupulous, and has also become essential to the Animal Crossing universe, more than many other animal faces (and if you want to learn even more about this shady figure, read our Player One special).
“You Are Dead” (Dark Souls) – the pursuit of evil
He is a desired enemy of all Dark Souls players. Anyone who approaches a Dark Souls (but not only) knows that he will meet him sooner or later, he MUST meet him. He wants it. He craves it. If he doesn’t meet this enemy … he’s not a real Dark Souls (and down to criticism). Who are we talking about? From the death! Or rather, of the multi-sighted phrase “You are deadWhich appears whenever you are defeated in any Dark Souls game. This is an inevitable enemy and has been dictating the law for many other videogame sagas for years. An enemy who founded a subgenre: i soulslike. An enemy however that must be “right”, one must die for objective difficulty, not for bugs or playfully impossible situations. An enemy who must defeat you in a fair way and therefore goes to indicate that YOU you did something wrong. It is a “death” that wants to teach you something, that spurs you to improve and that creates “addiction”. This is an enemy you seek, from fight to fight, from game to game, in an experience of growth made of virtual pain and real swearing. Also known trivially as “Game over”, Is partly hidden (or sedated if you prefer) in other video games with the addition of easy modes but not here, not in Dark Souls. And we like this.
Money (Kingdom Hearts) – the dark engine of darkness
No its not Xehanort the main villain of Kingdom Hearts and deep down, deep down… you know it too well. The main enemy of the whole Kingdom Hearts saga are the MONEY (the real ones, not the imaginary ones required by the infamous of Tom Nook). Only a huge thirst for money can move the minds and hands of creatives and developers to produce a quantity of spin off (more or less necessary), fragmenting a plot that is not in itself very simple and creating a macro universe (hi Marvel) whose mosaic is more and more confused. You can spend months joining the pieces looking for logical reasons for certain productions or development choices but the answer is only one: money. We know, money is behind any video game and that’s right, God forbid. But Kingdom Hearts is such a heartbreaking series remake, remastered, collection, spin off, DLC and so on and so forth … that the power of money is undeniable. A model that can only compete with the infinite versions of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and (albeit to a lesser extent) Grand Theft Auto V. It could even be joined to these The Last of Us. These last three games, however, are a continuation recycling of themselves and it is therefore a different case from Kingdom Hearts that “forces” the most avid fans to buy every single chapter in order to hope to obtain at least a decent vision of the vision of the “everything“. And if we really want to find someone who can follow these same steps … just stay at home Square Enixbecause Final Fantasy VII could follow suit.
We stop here but …
Today we talked about “bad”Which have become, in one way or another, indispensable for their saga of reference (for better or for worse). We know there are so many of them and we might as well come back with a sequel, or two, or three… And you? Which “bad” would you like to talk about?