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Right now Resident Evil 2's Mr. X is the hottest villain on the block, with his hat and his memes and his physique that makes The Rock feel inadequate. In his honor, we decided to ask the GamesRadar team who their greatest gaming foes have been, and we got some surprising answers. This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your responses and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.
Blue / Gary from the Pokemon Series
Pokemon is a lie. No matter how many times I make it, no matter how many times I am crowned the very best, like no one ever was, I'll still have to start all over again. And he'll always be there, trying to beat me to it. I know there have been other iterations of your rival from Pokemon Red and Blue, but I know he's in there, underneath the facade of some new rival. I also realize that the real enemies here are Team Rocket, who seem to reinvent themselves every time too - but realistically they're so inept at being bad guys and floundering in their ability to actual steal Pokemon or cause any kind of world event, they're not really much to worry about. That Gary on the other hand will always be there, challenging me, forever truly unbeatable. Sam Loveridge
Orchid from Killer Instinct
I can still picture Orchid's victory pose. Standing there with her arms above her head in an outfit that was very bright green but totally impractical for fighting giant werewolves and guys made out of ice. Killer Instinct on N64 was the competitive game of choice for me and my next door neighbor, and Orchid - who’s fast, agile and has combo chains that are relatively easy to learn with a bit of practice - was his go-to character. It was his N64 (I had a PlayStation because I make good choices) so he always got to pick first, meaning most of the time I was left choosing someone bigger and/or slower, like stupid Tusk. Whenever we played I’d always know that once Orchid was in the roster I didn’t really have a chance. She’s not too tough when the CPU is in control but throw in the unpredictability of a human and I really hated her. Plus I was about 12, so despite spending a good few hours in the training room practicing combo breakers, she was just too fast for my tiny brain. I mean, she can turn into a bright yellow panther mid-combo, then after you’ve been beaten she’ll turn you into a frog and stomp on you. James Jarvis
Father Gascoigne from Bloodborne
Many will undoubtedly tell me to just "git gud," but as my first introduction to the Soulsborne series, Father Gascoigne was brutal. I was determined to beat him without using the internet for help, so it wasn’t until he’d transformed into a werewolf and sliced my head off countless times that I discovered I could use the Tiny Music Box to stun him. When I say countless times, I mean it - I was stuck on him for months, albeit with some breaks from the game because I grew sick of him killing me. I did eventually beat him, though my Bloodborne experience didn’t last for much longer when I came across the Blood-Starved Beast. Ford James
Lunastra from Monster Hunter World
I've thrown a lot of praise at Monster Hunter World, but one of its newest Elder Dragons, Lunastra, is simply one of the most annoying video game bosses I've ever fought. Her male counterpart, Teostra, is a great fight. Teostra has clear tells, accurate hit boxes, an accessible weak spot, and most importantly, a reasonable flame aura. Lunastra has none of these things, and she has nothing but scorn for your attempts to counter her. She's just impossible to deal with effectively. Fire defense and life steal don't make a dent in her constant fire damage. For some arbitrary reason, you can't flash bomb her out of the air. Her wings are her best hit zone, but they're firmly out of reach. And don't even get me started on her instantaneous wing attack, which I like to call, 'Haha, now everything is on fire, including you.' Austin Wood
M. Bison from Street Fighter 2
I was going to say Metal Gear Solid 5's penultimate mission, A Quiet Exit, which made me punch my bed repeatedly shouting "WHY?!" after three hours of restarts, but then I remembered fighting M. Bison on Level 7 on the Super Nintendo and the time I stood at the top of the stairs and let myself drop. Ok, ok, let me rewind a bit. I didn't really drop. Just made my body floppy and kind of bounced down 13 carpeted steps. A few burns. Maybe a bruise. But I didn't die. I do recall thinking, quite acutely, that perhaps my life was utterly futile and perhaps it wouldn't matter if I let a few limbs take a snapping… but there you go. To recap: M. Bison (a sort-of Russian bus conductor dressed like a 1990s Euro House DJ) had the ability to completely bend the rules of Capcom's seminal 2D fighting game. So it was quite possible to, say, batter him within an inch of his life with a perfectly executed series of combos, heart throbbing out of your chest and chilled with sweat, until he was reduced to a nanometer of energy bar - only for Bison to launch into three completely unpredictable head stomps, and a Psycho Crusher that drained two thirds of your energy bar. At least, that's how I remember it. I don't want to say modern games are easy, but if you're not letting yourself fall 15 meters down some steps, perhaps consider ratcheting the difficulty up a notch. Or rather, don't. That's a terrible idea. Dan Dawkins
'Helpful' AI survivors in Left 4 Dead
The world has come to an end. Zombies shamble across the Earth. Shotguns become a must-have accessory. Everything is on fire. And the survivors have lost any and all common sense. Unfortunately for those who couldn’t get a full team of players in Left 4 Dead, the game took control of whoever was left. Although these walking disasters put up a fight, the ones carrying first aid kits (which were always in short supply) pursued those who got so much as a paper cut with the relentless determination of a T-1000 who’s done a course on wellbeing. That meant there were no health packs left for when you actually, you know, needed them. As a result, I spent longer than I’d care to admit running away from my allies in a twisted-but-well-meaning game of tag. Having our brains eaten may have been preferable, to be honest. Benjamin Abbott
Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks
Everyone knows that Shao Kahn, the masked big bad of the Mortal Kombat universe, is one of the cheapest final bosses in existence. He'll shoulder-charge your health bar to nothingness in nanoseconds, letting out a booming laugh while you seethe with rage. But if you think he's unfair in a 2D fighting game, try taking him on in a 3D brawler with a zoomed-out camera and finicky projectile aim. The majority of Shaolin Monks is a good time, as Liu Kang and Kung Lao string huge combos against waves of enemies with heavy-hitting melee attacks - but close-quarters combat is a death sentence against Mr. Kahn. Instead, the best - and perhaps only - way to defeat him is to spam projectiles from afar, whittling away his gigantic health bar centimeter by centimeter, making sure to run for your pathetic life if he swings his hammer even remotely near you. I tried my damndest to beat Shao Kahn in a recent playthrough alongside PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon - but after a few futile attempts, it was obvious that this nigh-undefeatable boss fight wasn't worth our time, and we hopped over to YouTube to watch the ending without a second thought. Lucas Sullivan
Imlerith from The Witcher 3
There are always some enemies who are truly memorable every few games or so. Imlerith from The Witcher 3 absolutely had me by the balls for basically a whole evening. He’s immune to practically all of Geralt's signs - which usually provide an edge in battle - and it’s suicide to fight him head-on anyway. Throw in his teleporting ability and massive mace attacks and I was left floundering, trying everything until finally getting through using a mad combo of lunatic movement and bomb throwing idiocy to finally succeed. What a terrible b*stard. Rob Dwiar
