The Top 25 Video Game Villains of Every Subtype Imaginable

[CC13]

I'm pretty disappointed that people gave up on this next one so quickly. I thought I was pretty much gift-wrapping this one for you guys, but I reckon that I forgot that none of you are psychics (at least AFAIK). In any event, here's our first honorable mention:

H1. The Bees (Crystal Castles/Paperboy/720º)
Developed & Published By: Atari/Atari Games/Atari Games
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1983/1984/1986

There's a very good reason I listed all three games The Bees appeared in: each one could be construed as a separate premiere for them. Crystal Castles was their first appearance, where they served as a hurry-up of sorts, showing up on levels where the player dawdled for too long, much like The 'Invincible?' Pterodactyl or Baron Von Blubba. Paperboy was made by a company legally separate form the old Atari, so that also counts as a debut. Finally, 720º was their breakout role after paying their dues in their first two appearances–they have to be considered the main antagonists here, since they are the only things that can end your game, showing up with a callout of "SKATE OR DIE!" if time runs out before you can get a ticket and make it to a skate park.

The Bees are mainly here because of their presence in some quality & influential games–Crystal Castles is a near-perfect snapshot of the state of video gaming right before the Great Video Game Crash of 1983, while Paperboy is emblematic of the last stand of the arcade before the NES and its successors and rivals sent arcades into a slow death spiral. However, the most influential title here is undoubtedly 720º–as far as my research indicates, 720º was the first game that could be called an "extreme sports" game and could also be interpreted as a distant ancestor to open-world gaming. Unfortunately, I couldn't put them in the main part of this list because they are, after all, only bees and their achievements & personal "cool factor" are fairly low. Still, don't let that stop you from taking in some of the best that the arcades of old had to offer.

Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains: Not only did they beat Atari at their own game, but they got it all on tape!

 

[DrainoBraino]

The bees? That was a tricky one.

I have no idea for the next one, I'm guessing something atari?

 

[CC13]

The bees? That was a tricky one.

I have no idea for the next one, I'm guessing something atari?

Reread the clue, my friend. It says that our next game "beat Atari at their own game", so it wasn't a product of that storied company, though I attempted to imply that it drew inspiration from one of their works. Here's another clue: the game our upcoming entry imitated was named one of the 10 most influential games of all time by Stanford University in 2007.

P.S. I'll admit The Bees were an offbeat choice, but "float like a butterfly" should have been a dead giveaway, IMO.

 

[DrainoBraino]

I meant to type "not" atari...

Ok I'm guessing Galaxian

 

[CC13]

I meant to type "not" atari...

Ok I'm guessing Galaxian

No, Galaxian is a Japanese game. Remember that this is the Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains. In any event, here's another clue: what add-on would let you play games on your Atari 2600...on tape?

 

[jkonami]

These are pretty tough. Dracon Armada from Phaser Patrol? I didn't know Caswell created that, he made one of my favorite games ever, Impossible Mission. He also made another game for Starpath called Escape from the Mindmaster which I've only played via emulation. It's pretty cool though being a 3D dungeon type game for the 2600.

 

[CC13]

These are pretty tough. Dracon Armada from Phaser Patrol? I didn't know Caswell created that, he made one of my favorite games ever, Impossible Mission. He also made another game for Starpath called Escape from the Mindmaster which I've only played via emulation. It's pretty cool though being a 3D dungeon type game for the 2600.

This community never ceases to amaze me. This is another one I thought nobody would place...and yet, here we are. Good on you, jkonami! Here's the Dracons' writeup:

H2. The Dracons (Phaser Patrol)
Deceloped & Published By: Starpath
Platform: Atari 2600 (Starpath Supercharger)
Year of Release: 1982

Oh, whither gentle Starpath? You were truly an emblem of all that was right with the Atari 2600 in the early '80s. Starpath were a small American developer for the Atari 2600 whose games were so advanced that they would only run on the Starpath Supercharger, an add-on that expanded the Atari 2600's RAM nearly 50-fold and ran its games off of ordinary cassette tape players. Phaser Patrol was the pack-in game for the device, with Star Raiders as its obvious inspiration; however, it handily trumped the disappointing Atari 2600 port of its inspiration.

If you've played Star Raiders, you pretty much know what to expect—manage limited energy supplies and a panoply of onboard systems on your quest to destroy the invading fleet of the Dracon Armada. Still, you can scarcely fault Starpath for lacking originality—two of their follow-up acts were the brain-bending Escape From The Mindmaster & Dragonstomper, which some gaming historians argue should be considered the first console RPG. Unfortunately, that wouldn't save Starpath once The Great Video Game Crash of 1983 came about. Fortunately, all their games were collected on the excellent Stella Gets A New Brain compilation disc, although you will need the original hardware to play the games on; give it a look if you have the requisite gear.

Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains: All hail the ruler of all galaxies!

 

[CC13]

This community never ceases to amaze me. This is another one I thought nobody would place...and yet, here we are. Good on you, jkonami! Here's the Dracons' writeup:

H2. The Dracons (Phaser Patrol)
Deceloped & Published By: Starpath
Platform: Atari 2600 (Starpath Supercharger)
Year of Release: 1982

Oh, whither gentle Starpath? You were truly an emblem of all that was right with the Atari 2600 in the early '80s. Starpath were a small American developer for the Atari 2600 whose games were so advanced that they would only run on the Starpath Supercharger, an add-on that expanded the Atari 2600's RAM nearly 50-fold and ran its games off of ordinary cassette tape players. Phaser Patrol was the pack-in game for the device, with Star Raiders as its obvious inspiration; however, it handily trumped the disappointing Atari 2600 port of its inspiration.

If you've played Star Raiders, you pretty much know what to expect—manage limited energy supplies and a panoply of onboard systems on your quest to destroy the invading fleet of the Dracon Armada. Still, you can scarcely fault Starpath for lacking originality—two of their follow-up acts were the brain-bending Escape From The Mindmaster & Dragonstomper, which some gaming historians argue should be considered the first console RPG. Unfortunately, that wouldn't save Starpath once The Great Video Game Crash of 1983 came about. Fortunately, all their games were collected on the excellent Stella Gets A New Brain compilation disc, although you will need the original hardware to play the games on; give it a look if you have the requisite gear.

Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains: All hail the ruler of all galaxies!

I assume from the lack of guesses that this one has people stumped, so here's another clue: the game is a reimagining of a smash hit 1979 shmup.

 

[DrainoBraino]

Ok ok....I'm guessing Phoenix?

 

[CC13]

Ok ok....I'm guessing Phoenix?

That wasn't the answer I was looking for, but it was a very good guess, so I'll give you two clues to mull over:
1. One of the main gimmicks of the game was the ability to transform your ship into one of three forms; a certain pair of ships in 2-player mode could combine to form a single more powerful vessel.
2. The villain of the game is an obvious riff on one of our more prominent members' namesake.

Also, I misstated the year in my previous clue; it should have said 1979, not 1978. I'll go edit the original clue now.

 

[Fungi]

Mukor - Blasteroids

 

[CC13]

Mukor - Blasteroids

That's the one! Here comes the writeup:

H3. Mukor (Blasteroids)
Developed & Published By: Atari Games
Platform: Arcade
Year of Release: 1987

Blasteroids didn't blaze a trail quite like some of the other games on this list, but it still did some very important things right. The design team correctly sensed that the basic gameplay of Asteroids was sound and built upon that solid foundation, adding a transforming ship with three forms, power-ups, asteroids with different properties, a fuel gauge and a Star Raiders-esque sector map. Some of the highlights of these upgrades include Homing Asteroids (which do what you think they do after you shoot one), the Starlet (formed by docking a Speeder onto a Warrior, with the former serving as a high-powered turret) and the Ripstar (which makes your ship spin around wildly and shoot in all directions). It all adds up to a tense experience that peaks in each sector when you've cleared all systems and are ready to face off with Mukor.

Mukor is pretty obviously inspired by Sinistar, but he also has his own unique attributes, even if his synthesized speech wasn't as big a draw in 1987 as his inspiration's was in 1982. The most aggravating of these is his ability to make more asteroids and enemies from his many tentacles; however, those tentacles are also his weak points, as he will retreat once you have destroyed them all. However, even if you should drive him off, Mukor is not so easily defeated; you must defeat him in all the galaxies in the game before you've truly put him down. This is a fine template for updating older games and Ed Rotberg and his team should be congratulated for what they achieved here.

Next Time on The Top 25 Pre-1991 Western Arcade & Console Game Villains: We turn our attention to Gottlieb's finest hour, but not as you know it...

 

[DrainoBraino]

Gotta be....Coily from Q bert!


*crosses fingers*

 

[CC13]

Gotta be....Coily from Q bert!


*crosses fingers*

That's not quite what I was going for. Let me clarify the clue somewhat: what Gottlieb table does absolutely everyone on these forums want to see in TPA? Once you can tell me that, you'll be that much closer to your answer.

 

[DrainoBraino]

man i suck at this.

 

[Fungi]

Freddy

 

[CC13]

Freddy

Freddy's actually a fairly popular pick, but there's one Gottlieb table that I've heard come up again and again on peoples' personal wish lists over here. It is a horror-themed table, though, so you're on the right track.

 

[netizen]

class of 1812

 

[CC13]

class of 1812

That's not it, either. The table I'm thinking of got a multiball mod recently...

 

[netizen]

haunted house