• Top 30 Bad Guys From Super Mario Brothers

  

  Written by Zeromage 66 Comments
  Last Updated:: April 14, 2009

  No game in history has left a cadre of memorable bad guys like the Mario Bros games have. Others have tried, but nobody else has taken a the dreams of an acid riddled hippie and turned them into lush landscapes full of monsters, floating blocks, pits to infinity, and poor plumbing like Nintendo has. Mario has been the flagship of this company since the early eighties, and rightfully so. In this list we name the top 30 bad guys from the Mario brother series.

  30. Ninjis

  The Ninjis made their first appearance in Super Mario 2. It was assumed that they were minions of Wart, subsequent games, however, taught us two lessons; first the Ninjis would work for Bowser, which means must have been some sort of mercenaries, and second that they had some strange ability to cross between the dream world and the real world. That makes them more powerful than Freddy Krueger in my book. I would also imagine that they had tons of training, the title “Ninji” was most likely not given out to anybody. You probably had to be shaped like a star previously as well. I think it would be difficult to have to mold yourself into one afterwards. An office poll shows that these guys have the same coolness that Boba Fett had before Lucas ruined Star Wars. They are just rare enough that it give them a mystique of awesome. Thank God Lucas doesn’t run Nintendo.

  29. Shy Guys

  The shy guys are an odd bunch. They also made their first appearance in Mario 2 as agents of Wart, though like the ninjis they apparently were able to leave Subcon as they appeared in subsequent games. Much like the koopa troopas they came in a variety of colors and abilities. Some would walk off cliffs to their death, while others had the good sense to turn around. They never seemed all that shy as they would head right toward which ever character you would happen to be playing at the time. Like most of the enemies in Subcon they were easily dealt with and could be used as a weapon against each other. A rather humiliating experience I would imagine.

  28. Piranha Plant

  You have to give Bowser credit for these nasty little plants. All of us here at OW have owned a venus fly trap at one point or another and we all have similar stories of failure. No matter what you did they always died. Bowser on the other hand had one growing in practically every pipe in the entire game. We don’t know what he did, but I would love to find out. They also came in a couple of different flavors; the timid green ones, the fearless red ones, fire breathing versions, some that walked and spit spiked balls, some that jumped, and some that flew. Mario had to think twice before jumping down a pipe because most likely a hungry piranha plant was waiting for him.

  27. Boss Bass

  Boss Bass was found in Mario 3 in the third water world. He was annoying not just because he could eat you alive, but because every time you killed him, he came back. This eternal recurrence ability made him one of the more powerful enemies in all of Mario 3. Shells and fireballs could destroy him, but he would be back in a second waiting for a platform to lower so he could eat you alive. Spending entire levels trying to avoid this bastard proved to be one of the most controller-breaking moments in Mario 3. Give me the whistle. I don’t want to have to face this fish over and over.

  26. Triclyde

  Triclyde was a boss in Mario 2, and one of the most difficult at that. He was much more difficult than Wart who could be beaten with mere vegetables. This three headed snake inhabited Mario’s land of dreams, spewing the most powerful fireballs in the game at him. If you knew how to skip levels by finding warp zones you wouldn’t have to face him. If you didn’t though, you would be facing a boss as difficult as Ridely from Metroid. Triclyde was the most nefarious looking boss in all of Mario 2, and for good reason when experiencing how hard he was.

  25. Ludwig Von Koopa

  The eldest of the Koopa kids, Ludwig von Koopa was the king of Pipe World in Mario 3. One wonders why he had a different last name than the other Kooplings, but no matter, he was one of the most difficult final bosses to face on the conspicuous airships at the end of each level. He was quick, and he threw out his wand smoke rings faster than most other kooplings and just looked freaking mad. A little known fact about Ludwig was that he was also a composer. What kind of music did Ludwig compose? With his first name you could probably infer that he tried to make classical pieces like Beethoven, but we never hear. Maybe he created the whole soundtrack of Mario 3. Maybe this was his greatest legacy.

  24. Rocky Wrench

  This devious demon was first introduced to the gaming population in Super Mario Brother 3. These characters are some seriously sneaky bad guys, with an orange furry coat and black shells, and sporting the ability to burrow inside objects and pop up when ready to attack. Their primary target being Mario or Luigi, these menacing little maniacs armed themselves with an unlimited supply of shiny heavyweight wrenches. Tossing them through the air, the wrench would keep an impeccable straight line towards Mario’s face, disobeying all laws of gravity and air resistance. Not only were these wrenches shiny and sneaky, they were doubled up and spinning at a high velocity, for an extra hard hit. Found in the wooden airships or tanks, these mole-like enemies would pop up, lid still balancing on their head, throw their evil wrenches and pop back into their hole quite quickly. Jumping on these enemies’ heads the split second before they burrowed back down to safety is an especially fulfilling action. Watching them fall down below the airship or tank off the screen is just icing on the cake.

  23. Boomerang Brothers

  Its obvious that these guys are Australian. Nobody can handle a boomerang like the Aussies. It also means that they are the descendants of criminals the British government not only wanted removed from society, but actually did remove from the country. That being said these dudes must be bad ass. We first met them in Super Mario 3 when Bowser must have conscripted Aussie turtles to supplement his otherwise vast army. Sadly they weren’t all that tough. They used boomerangs that were comically too big and also too slow. I would have used small fast ones, that way Mario wouldn’t see what’s coming. Then again the Aussies aren’t know for being the smartest bunch, let alone the Aussie turtles.

  22. Mouser

  What needs to be said about a larger than life mouse with a bomb fetish who feels the need to wear gloves, glasses, and boots, but no undergarments? This lovable bomb throwing rodent was introduced to the public in Super Mario 2 as a Stage Boss standing in the way of Mario as he attempts take Subcon by storm. While his attempt to blow Mario to bits usually ended with Mouser being blasted by his own bombs, his grasp on our memory still emains intact. Mouser was also a regular on the Super Mario Brothers Super Show acting out as King Koopa’s second in command. The show gave him a bit more personality, having him speak with a German accent and plaingy dress up with the Koopa Klan, depending on which “Mushroom Kingdom World” they happened to be in. So to all you fans of Crazy Naked German Bombers, this is the character for you!

  21. Buzzy Beetle

  Buzzy Beetle. The name is synonymous with “fire-proof”. Every gamer knows that the only difference between Buzzy Beetle and a regular Koopa Troopa is that Buzzy can’t be taken out by fireballs. One wonders what the logic was behind making beetles impervious to fireballs, while turtles and mushroom men weren’t. Granted its not like these guys really look like any beetles I’ve ever seen anyway, but they sure were tough once you got them spinning.

  Pages: 1 2 3

66 Comments

1. #1 BERSERKR says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 6:11 pm

   @Wild Bill:

   The only problem i have with your list is Canada is not on it:P we have Infinitely better Beer than the US:P
2. #2 DM says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 11:37 am

   @ pounder

   Zywiec and TYSKIE are better than any American beer

   wtf? zywiec better than ANY US beer? You are crazy. EVen Black Boss Porter (Polish) is better than Zywiec…even if the built in beer thermometer is cool.

   @ Salo

   GREAT LIST!! Mine is a bit different, but we will get into that later. As another subjective list, there will be a TON of arguments on the matter. There is NO way to put all of the great beer countries on the list, so when a favorite gets left off we get those awesome comments like “NO GUAM?!?! enjoy your fail old-failures.”

   It will be fun.
3. #3 Darren says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

   Polish beer sucks.
4. #4 BERSERKR says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 3:10 am

   Every country has good and bad beer, you just have to experiment and not just buy the Generic stuff, Bud, Kokanee, Molsan Canadian ect, you see people buy that kinda Beer you know there only in it to get drunk and not for the love of the Drink:P
5. #5 Rawr says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 9:11 pm

   No chain chompy?
6. #6 Droops says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

   Great list!
7. #7 Heroic Janitor says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 10:58 pm

   This was a funny list. And can’t wait to read that beer countries list. Just hope Japan makes the cut. Also, ever try any beers from Italy?
8. #8 Joe says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

   I love Lemmy Koopa so much I commissioned a painting of him fighting Tanooki Mario. See website.
9. #9 Adam says:
   November 20th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

   I’ll admit, there were a few head-scratchers here. Putting the Podoboo on this list at all, let alone at #4, is pretty suspect. I’d have replaced it with the Chain Chomp. That thing was a bastard in Mario 64! That being said, the diatribe on the worthlessness of the Goomba made the whole reading experience worth it. Nice work!
10. #10 The Duke says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 7:17 pm

    Funny list!
11. #11 One Eyed Willie says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 1:54 am

    Thwomp:

    Nonetheless you always got a certain satisfaction after beating them and watching as they made faces and knowing that they have now lived an entirely meaningless existence.

    LOL.
12. #12 Captain Raccoon says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    This list was absolutely hilarious. One of the best video game lists I’ve ever read. Nice work.
13. #13 julian says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

    other enemies ….. wiggler,kingbo,DONKEY KONG,