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. Both 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 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.
LOL. This was a funny list. Brought back a lot of memories too. Especially loved the last blurb about Bowser. Really funny stuff.
Acctualy, I read that the first 7 Bowsers that fell into lava were decoys.
Big A2:
Try taking the list with a grain of salt. Don’t think it was meant to be taken that seriously.
“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 Freddie Crougger in my book.”
LMFAO!!!
I don’t think a video game article has ever made me laugh as much as this one did. I can’t commend you guys enough on this article. You should have made it a top 50!
some suggestions for more mario lists:
Top 10 Levels
Top 5/10 Games
Top Boss Fights
Too 10 Items
Top 10 Hardest Levels
Would love to see some of these from you guys…
I agree with the above posts. This was FUNNY SHIT! LOL. Great work here.
LOVED this list.
Stand out blurbs:
Ninjis, Bullet Bill, Thwomp, Dry Bones and of course…Bowser! This was the best list you guys ever did!
Yeah don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone compare shy guys and ninjis to freddy kruger. then again, not many people still talk about shy guys or ninjis, much less write about them. I guess thats why I come here. lol
I thought this list was stupid. Here’s why:
Pirhana Plants are number 28??? Are you serious? Have you ever PLAYED a mario game before? For that reason alone I REFUSE to take this list seriously.
please send me the address of this “OWHQ” that you refer to and I’ll send you a package.
Dan, I think you need to get a life.
LOL great list!
Awsome list. Very well written
Dan,
The Old Wiz HQ already has a package being sent to your location. A bag of flaming pirhana poo.
That and your tears will make great fertilizer for your crybaby garden.
LOL at this list! Great stuff!
It actually makes me sad to read this list, because you guys have so much potential to be one of the truly great video game sites on the internet. This is one of your funniest pieces, and yet I’m sure next week you will bring yourselves back down to the gutter by trashing Sega or writing an asanine article like your “Top 10 Tips For Using a Public Bathroom” when it is obvious you guys are capable of SO much more. If you could write an article like this every week you’d be my favorite site. Oh well.
this list is a work of a comic genius! great list!
Why is Wart on this list? Take him off and its almost perfect.
OldWizard never made me laugh this hard before. Kudos!
I wish this included ALL Merio enemies instead of just Mario Brothers. This would have widen the games out to the Kart series, Mario RPG, and about 50 other spinoff games… hm… now that I think about it, that would be hard to go through. My main gripe was that no Mario RPG villians were here.
*thumbs up*
nice!
virgin!
get a life!
the hammer bros were the hardest enemy by far in the original super mario bros
i hate them
good list. one question though: what version of super mario bros do you have for the second picture for goombas and the picture for bowsers? it’s obviously not from the original since the bushes aren’t color swaps of clouds.
Apparently, Birdo isn’t exactly a female. His/her gender has been debated ever since his/her debut.
And the answer to your question shalb – it’s Mario Brothers 3.
Mario Brothers 3? Couldn’t be. The first image for Goombas is obviously from the original Super Mario Bros. The second image is a near replica of the first image but with updated graphics. The third image is from Mario 3, since it has the info on the bottom. The fourth image is from Super Mario World.
i remember that sun from smb 3 damn that was the only day that i wanted rain=P
man i hated hammer bros on 8-3 in the original super mario bros. they were such bastards.
anyway, i say this on like every list, but id like to see you guys do a top old wizards list
great list!
I used to get so pissed off as a kid when I would see that sun that I would just use my P-wing and get the hell out.
Yes, I also use the P wing here. and now, why it was a P wing?
^@Eddie: Hah, me too. Once I thought there were something wrong in this stage, then suddenly that hobo just pulled his tricks outta there. Mario brothers’ suit must have been pretty high-tec to survive that kind of distance to the sun, and that again, that concept is one of the most creative in video games in my opinion.
The sun used to just scare the shit outa me as a kid. Hell it still does! Haha I would also use the P-wing
Ah I forgot to mention this: The moving layout (the one that slowly eating the level from the left…) and the botomless pit are the best “bad guys” haha.
Epic list. But why there are images form the old and the update “all star” version of SMB 2?
AWESOME list! I will definitely check this site out again!
LMFAO!
Great list. Loved reading the descriptions of the various bad guys. Nice work.
This list sucks. Why are there so many SMB2 bad guys? Where are the Sledge Brothers? Where are mirco-Goombas? Worst video game list I’ve ever read.
Where’s Clawgrip?
Man this website is so dead these days, i hate to say it but please come back Macphail and breath some much needed life back into these talkbacks.
Everything seems to have slowed down, were not getting as many lists and when we do hardly anyone is saying anything, its gotten quite dull and its kinda sad:(
@Zeromage
Sounds cool, definitely looking forward to see what you guys think makes a Hardcore game considering you guys prefer the Wii and the Wii really doesn’t have that many:P and i SWEAR to the gods i will renounce you if you guys dare put the US above Canada in the top 10 Beer countries list, we all know the US would most likely be in the Top 10 worst beer countries list:P, and I’m not biased just because I’m Canadian:P But we are definitely one of the best Beer countries anyway hope all is well with you guys take er easy
David Mcleod
Poland had better be #1 or I will POUND you guys.
Zywiec and TYSKIE are better than any American beer.
My list:
1. Poland
2. Czech Republic
3. Germany
4. Ireland
5. Belgium
6. UK
7. Lithuania
8. Denmark
9. Canada
10. Australia
I would separate the countries in the UK, personally.
1. England
2. Ireland
3. Germany
4. Belgium
5. Scotland
6. Canada
7. Czech Republic
8. USA
9. Poland
10. Japan
Not sure what my top 10 is, glad to see someone recognize Japan though, their 3 major Beers, Asahi, Kirin and Saporo are all quite good, my favorite Beer right now is Innus&Guun Original Oak aged Beer from Scotland.
Sounds like a great list. Can’t wait to read it.
@Berserkr:
Yeah I love Japanese Beers too. (Y)Ebisu BLACK beer is Made with 100% barley (not rice), malt and hops; and you can taste it (as opposed to not taste it).
My list:
1 ) Germany
2 ) The Netherlands
3) Belgium
4 ) Japan
5 ) Croatia
6 ) New Zealand
7 ) Ireland
8 ) UK
9 ) Norway
10 ) USA
Now, what about worst beer countries:
Italy and France would have to be near the top of that list.
@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
@ 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.