Mariois one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all time and while Nintendo’s flagship IP is for the most part whimsical and very much family-friendly, there are a fewdisturbing things in theMariogames.
RELATED:The Best ’90s Video Games, Ranked
While the various games over the years have had their fair share of evil villains there are also a fewMariocharacters who are surprisingly dark, especially when looked at through a different lens. For example, if certain elements of the plot or character’s motives were applied to real life, they would actually be rather creepy.
7Chauncey, The Ghost Baby
Anyone who has playedLuigi’s Mansion, a game about catching ghosts, will remember the extremely creepy ghost baby known as Chauncey, who is the game’s first boss. While Chauncey is far from the scariest or evenmost iconic ghost in video game history, the mystery surrounding his death or even life makes him relatively dark for aMariocharacter.
This is particularly true given that he is an aggressive ghost who is the strongest out of all his family members. While Chauncey himself doesn’t appear to be evil, he is nonetheless a dark and creepy character.
6Bowser
Koopa King Bowser is the main antagonist of theMarioseries and if his actions in the mostly whimsical Mushroom Kingdom were applied to the real world, he would certainly be seen as dark. WhileBowser has done many weird things, his most persistent crime is kidnapping Princess Peach.
RELATED:Game Villains That Get Redeemed In The End
While Bowser’s motives for capturing Princess Peach vary across games, none of them is an excuse for what he does. Bowser is also a tyrant and rules via evil, single-handedly creating most of the pain in the world.
5Fawful
Fawful first made his appearance inMario & Luigi: Superstar Sagaas a servant to the equally evil Cackletta, but soon went on to become the main antagonist of future games. In his service, he would do anything to please his master, no matter how dark.
Fawful was also notoriously angry despite his intelligence and would often lash out unexpectedly. Despite his initial loyalty, Fawful grew power-hungry and eventuallydecided to betray his master. The fact that he was stopped from doing so does not lessen his evil.
4King Boo
Not all villains have to crave complete power or have the intention of destroying the entire world, and in fact, the more compelling enemies in any story often have way darker and more personal motives. This is the case with the ghost King Boo who first appeared inLuigi’s Mansionand countless games and stories since.
King Boo considers Luigi his greatest rival and seems set on revenge for Luigi’s use of a Poltergust and general interference. Despite this being a personal grudge, King Boo isn’t bothered about using others such as Mario and Princess Peach on his path to cause ruin for Luigi. Over the course of many games, King Boo does some rather dark things. If players find this particular rivalry interesting, they can check outthe best solo Luigi games.
3Count Bleck
It’s fair to say that Princess Peach has been through a lot, and while she has been kidnapped by Bowser many times, perhaps one ofthe darkest things to ever happen to Princess Peachwas when Count Bleck forced her to marry Bowser to create the Chaos Heart inSuper Paper Mario.
If the crime of forcing these two characters to marry under duress isn’t bad enough, then the fact that the Chaos Heart has the potential to open The Void and destroy the known universe should set alarm bells ringing. It is for these reasons alone that Count Bleck can be considered one of the most evilMariovillains of all time. However, he did eventually have a change of heart and the game’s true antagonist was soon revealed.
2Cackletta
While there are many evil villains in theMariogames and expanded universe, it is the ones who are willing to achieve their goals by any means necessary who are truly dark. The witch Cackletta is one such example, as proven by the fact that she steals Princess Peach’s voice to take control of the powerful Beanstar inMario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
RELATED:Darkest Open-World Games, Ranked
If possessing someone’s voice for one’s own gain isn’t bad enough, she then possesses Bowser’s body in an attempt to kidnap the real Princess Peach.
1Dimentio
Dimentio is a trickster magician who manipulates dimensions and eventually turns out to be the true antagonist ofSuper Paper Mario. Despite appearing to work under and for Count Bleck, it is all a skillful act from Dimentio, who always planned to betray his master and take the Chaos Heart for himself.
Dimentio is so dark and evil that despite having power in his hands, he decides to entertain himself by causing chaos for others and the world. Much of this is rather sadistic, especially for a family-friendly game. His plans for destroying all dimensions and creating his own cement Dimentio as the darkestMariocharacter of all time. Nevertheless, this entertaining twist means thatSuper Paper Mariocan be counted among theMariogames with the best stories.
