The Top 7... Villains that need their own spin-off games
Make that antagonist a protagonist, stat!
Which is why we've assembled a dirty dozen (or, rather, dirty seven) of villainous misfits that we think should have their own shot in the spotlight.
7. Captain Qwark in: From Metropolis With Love
But what if thats all an act? What if Qwark isn't as cowardly as we think? What if hes actually a hero? Thats the Captain Qwark game we want one where he plays the fool to Ratchet, only to secretly be pulling the strings in the background to save the day. He can have access to the typical assortment of tools found in R&C games, from crazy weapons to crazier gadgets, interspersed with the occasional stealth segment, where he needs to protect Ratchet without being exposed.
6. Super Waluigi Bros.
For years, Mario/Luigi/Wario/Waluigi voice actor Charles Martinet has been championing a Waluigi game in which players need to cheat to win. We think this is a fantastic idea, and would love to see Nintendo actually do it. Make it a fairly typical platformer filled with nostalgic cues from past Mario games, but let Waluigi literally cheat the game make it a major mechanic. He gets hold of a magic scepter or computer or something that lets him stop time, move platforms, gain extra coins, or do other things that would typically be considered cheating. Embrace his quirky personality, and finally give the character his due.
5. LeChucks Secret of Monkey Island
LeChuck is simply an awesome villain, and we have a feeling his descent into true villain-dom could make for an awesome game. Gameplay-wise, it should be a fairly typical point-and-click adventure, showing his life and death to give the already interesting character more depth. Plus, even if we end up disliking the young LeChuck, we have a feeling thatll just grow our appreciation of the undead, green, monstrous LeChuck we already know and love.
4. Dr. Wily's Robot Builder
We want to do that. We want to build robots. We want to design the perfect foes for the end of each level - heck, we want to design the levels, too. Games like Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord have made being the bad guy fun, and we think a similar gameplay style can make for a Mega Man-tastic good time.
3. Star Wolf: Bounty Hunter
Wed kill for a Star Wolf game with traditional Star Fox gameplay. Choosing between bounties, hunting down different anthropomorphic pilots, occasionally running into Fox it would make for an absolutely awesome experience. Not only would it give us more of the Star Fox action we desperately crave, but it would show us the dark underside of Nintendos Star Fox universe. We have to imagine theres some pretty seedy stuff down there.
2. Bobby Kotick's Game Pub Story
The game (which we assume would be developed by Activision) would be a fairly true-to-life representation of the day-to-day duties of running the world's biggest game publisher, albeit made more interesting by giving the boss a hands-on approach to the game development. Kotick would be able to decide whether or not to pump out yearly sequels, create a new IP, resurrect an old fan favorite, or cancel a highly-anticipated new title. But here's the fun part: a major responsibility of the job would be making sure the stock doesn't fall. If you don't get that yearly CoD game out, you better believe the stock is going to suffer, and taking a risk on a new IP will almost always lead to some crappy earnings. Bobby Kotick's Game Pub Story would let us see why Kotick makes the choices he makes - and to figure out whether or not we'd actually be able to do a better job.
1. Andrew Ryans Sim Rapture
An Andrew Ryan game would put us in the dress shoes of the entrepreneur himself in a Sim City-style city-building game. Wed be responsible for placing the different districts, plotting the buildings, building the tunnels, and doing everything else a hands-on city-builder like Ryan would have done. But it extends far past that wed also make important decisions, like which babbling psychopaths should be put in charge of different areas and which controversial programs to enact. Maybe well just kill all of the poor people! Maybe well start a secret police force! Andrew Ryans Sim Rapture would be a blast, providing a drastically different take on the BioShock series and the city-building genre. How often do you get to raise taxes on using toilets in Sim City? Thats what we thought.
What did we miss?
Don't just sit there shouting at the screen, though - comment below and let us know what you think of this Top 7.
And if you want to read more about our favorite villains, check out the Top 7 villains that never stay dead and the The Top 7 bestest frenemies.
Hollander Cooper was the Lead Features Editor of GamesRadar+ between 2011 and 2014. After that lengthy stint managing GR's editorial calendar he moved behind the curtain and into the video game industry itself, working as social media manager for EA and as a communications lead at Riot Games. Hollander is currently stationed at Apple as an organic social lead for the App Store and Apple Arcade.
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