To the horror of bloggers with stale ideas everywhere, Guinness World Records announced their list of "Top 50 Video Game Villains of All Time" today. The compendium of votes from Guinness readers provided the list's crowing villain as none other than the king of the koopas himself, long time Mario nemesis Bowser.
Taking approximately 20% of the vote (irony abounds of a king being voted, but that's how they roll over at Guinness), Bowser's tenacity is surely what helped him win the election as the quintessential virtual villain. According to the press release, "Mario's arch enemy is nothing if not persistent: few enemies would attempt to kidnap the same princess twice, let alone eight times during the past 28 years!" True, but perhaps there's something else that fuels the spikey shelled tortoise's motivation for "peach pie."
Bowser managed to overtake the cake promising AI from Valve's Portal series. After that, it was the Joker's performance in Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylumthat landed the crown prince of crime in third place.
Kevin Lynch, writer for Guinness World Records 2013 Gamer's Editionsaid: "It was really interesting for us to put the vote out to our readers and see who their favourite villain was - Bowser's top place is no big shocker, but there certainly are surprises in there. I think what this list really reflects is that video game villains tend to be a lot cooler than the heroes they're pitted against."
Plenty of other notables made the list too, including The Legend of Zelda's Ganondorf, Final Fantasy's Sephiroth, Mortal Kombat's Shao Kahn, and more.
A total of 5,699 total votes were cast on the Guinness World Records website in order to make the list. The full list and many other features can be found in "Guinness World Records 2013 Gamer's Edition," which is out now. Or, you could just take a look at the list below. Enjoy!
50. Hades, Kid Icarus
49. Atlas, BioShock
48. Jacqueline Natla, Tomb Raider
47. Shepherd, Call of Duty
46. Herobrine, Minecraft
45. Solidus Snake, Metal Gear Solid
44. Diablo, Diablo
43. Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog
42. Dr. Neo Cortex, Crash Bandicoot
41. Shao Kahn, Mortal Kombat
40. Zoran Lazarevic, Uncharted
39. Tabuu, Super Mario Bros.
38. Kaos, Skylanders
37. Wheatley, Portal
36. Mother Brain, Metroid
35. Ghirahim, The Legend of Zelda
34. Dr. Nefarious, Ratchet & Clank
33. Xehanort, Kingdom Hearts
32. Kessler, Infamous
31. The Flood, Halo
30. The Locust Hordes, Gears of War
29. Vanitas, Kindgom Hearts
28. Darth Vader, Star Wars
27. Dr. Wily, Mega Man
26. Team Rocket, Pokemon
25. Kefka Palazzo, Final Fantasy
24. Police, Grand Theft Auto
23. Zombies, Call of Duty
22. Aliens, Space Invaders
21. The Readers, Mass Effect
20. N, Pokemon
19. Zeus, God of War
18. Alduin, Skyrim
17. M. Bison, Street Fighter
16. The Covenant, Halo
15. Andrew Ryan, BioShock
14. Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong
13. Psycho Mantis, Metal Gear Solid
12. Albert Wesker, Resident Evil
11. Vladimir Makarov, Call of Duty
10. Creeper, Minecraft
9. Liquid Ocelot, Metal Gear Solid
8. Inky, PAC-Man
7. The Borgias, Assassin's Creed II
6. Sephiroth, Final Fantasy VII
5. Gary Oak, Pokemon Red/Blue
4. Ganon, The Legend of Zelda
3. The Joker, Batman: Arkham Asylum
2. GLaDOS, Portal
1. Bowser, Super Mario Bros.
