5 Nintendo Villains We’d Love To Hang Out With (& 5 Heroes Who Seem Like Jerks)

Over a hundred years after its inception, Nintendo is arguably the most popular videogame company in the world, with a range of terrific iconic franchises that fans clamor to see new entries in. Long-running series such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, and Animal Crossing have had many beloved games that feel as fresh today as when they were released.

These franchises are home to some of the most memorable heroes and villains in all of gaming, most of which are true archetypes of good and evil. Nonetheless, some of Nintendo’s villains feel like they’d be fun to hang around with when they’re not ending the world. Conversely, some heroes are probably deeply unpleasant to be around when they’re not saving the day.

10 Fun Villain: Bowser Junior

The lead villain and arch-enemy of Mario, King Bowser Koopa, is undoubtedly mean since he’s always kidnapping Princess Peach, attempting to kill Mario and Luigi, and what’s worse, doesn’t seem to have a life outside of menacing the Mushroom Kingdom. On the other hand, his son Bowser Junior is evil but seems to be a lot more fun. In his first appearance in Super Mario Sunshine, he plays dress-up as Mario, has a keen interest in street art, and was possibly the one who invited Peach and friends to the sunny Isle Delfino for a vacation. He’s emotional, mischievous, and is also good at building things.

9 Jerk Hero: Kirby

While not as popular as Mario, Kirby’s been the star of many platforming adventures since Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy all the way back in 1992. He’s even had his own spin-off racing and fighting games, just like Mario. Unlike most videogame heroes though, Kirby’s powers are all about eating people. It’s bad enough when Kirby’s inhaling his enemies, but the Waddle Dees are harmless innocents, and Kirby still consumes them. In Smash Bros Kirby’s the only character with the power to steal another fighter’s abilities. He’s also been known to eat his friends and beat up a harmless tree until it cries.

8 Fun Villain: Cia

Most of the main villains of The Legend of Zelda series seem like real buzz-kills. Ganondorf, for example, dresses in drab armor, never cracks a joke, and doesn’t associate with anyone. Cia from Hyrule Warriors, on the other hand, feels like she’d be a lot more entertaining. She dresses a lot more flamboyantly for a start, complete with a Mardi Gras-style mask, suggesting she’s a real party girl, and her magic would make her the life of that party. Most importantly, everything she does is for love, even if it’s unrequited.

7 Jerk Hero: Link

Link has been the central hero in pretty much every Legend of Zelda game. A master swordsman, musician, expert in foreign cultures, likes to travel, saves the world constantly, Link seems like the perfect guy. However, he’s not. In The Wind Waker Link didn’t seem that concerned that his sister was kidnapped by the evilest man in the world, and never seems in a hurry to save Zelda either.

In Breath of the Wild he let all of Hyrule be destroyed. Additionally, according to Ocarina of Time, he’s really just a little kid in a man’s body, which means he never grew up. He also never talks, despite everyone talking to him.

6 Fun Villain: Tom Nook

Business raccoon Tom Nook is painted as the unofficial bad guy of the Animal Crossing series, despite the games being generally laid back and chill. The reason for this is that he gives the player a massive loan at the beginning of the game, then all of Animal Crossing is spent paying him back. However, this loan is entirely interest-free and allows the player to buy a place to live, which actually makes Tom Nook sound like the nicest capitalist ever. He’s also really supportive of his two nephews, always gives the player the first choice in home furnishings, and is generally a helpful and lovely guy.

5 Jerk Hero: Samus Aran

Metroid’s intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran, is just as much a miserable loner as most Nintendo protagonists. She never talks to aliens, she always goes in guns-blazing, even if a creature is indigenous. She has spent most of the games attempting to commit genocide of the Metroid species. At one point a baby Metroid adopts her as its mother, and she gladly lets the little parasite give its life to save hers in Super Metroid.

4 Fun Villain: Star Wolf

While Andross is the evil space monster of the Star Fox series of shooters, Wolf O’Connell’s Star Wolf team of mercenaries just seem to be a more interesting flip-side to Fox McCloud’s Star Fox squadron. Despite occasionally being employed by men like Andross, that’s just a job, and they’re not evil themselves.

While they all have bounties out on them, they all just seem like a bunch of guys looking for a paycheck and a good time. They certainly convinced beloved Star Fox Adventures heroine Krystal, who joined Star Wolf after being forced off Star Fox, and she appears very happy there.

3 Jerk Hero: Captain Falcon

The main headliner racer in Nintendo’s F-Zero futuristic ultra-fast racing games, Captain Falcon already looks like an overconfident jerk, with his muscled costume, black racing visor, single oversized shoulder-pad, and pretentious scarf. He’s an expert at marketing himself and loves being in the limelight, as even Mario Kart has billboards with his face on them. It’s the Smash Bros fighting games, however, that solidified how much of a jerk he is, such as the way he names his moves after himself (which he calls out before doing them.

2 Fun Villain: Wario

Mario’s evil rival Wario has been around since 1992’s Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy and instantly became an appealing character. Despite being hyper-greedy and jealous of Mario’s success, Wario was so much more fun than Mario. Not only did he get his own game series, but he took over as the player character of the Mario Land games too. Wario is reckless, greedy, crude, and a little dumb, but generally he’s more interesting than Mario. He also gained a brother, Waluigi, and has a gang of misfit friends from the WarioWare series, so he’s not a loner either.

1 Jerk Hero: Mario

Despite being intended as a blank character for players to imprint on, Nintendo’s mascot Mario definitely has a personality, and it’s not necessarily a nice one. Mario has let Peach get kidnapped and the Mushroom Kingdom fall to ruin countless times. He only seems to visit the Princess when she’s in mortal danger. Out of all the hundreds of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, etc that Mario has stomped on over the years, many of them weren’t even attacking him. Mario seems to relish in destruction, bashing every block and stealing every coin he sees. Plus, he needs to have his name in every single one of his activities, such as golf, tennis, or the always-popular kart racing, so he’s a bit arrogant too.