Today, the Lab is welcoming uber gamer chick Cate Peace and she’s sharing six of her all time favorite villain battles. What is it about those bad, bad boys? 😉

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I was a reader before I was a writer, but I was a gamer before anything else.

You see, I didn’t discover my love of writing until I was eight years old. However, I discovered my love of gaming the day my father brought home a Nintendo Entertainment System and The Super Mario Bros. I was five. My life was changed forever.

I love anything that tells me a good story, be it a book, a movie, or even a song, but being as visual as I am, I’ve always depended on RPGs (role-playing video games) to provide me with a brain-changing experience. I love being completely immersed in worlds like Thedas (Dragon Age), Midgar (Final Fantasy 7), Endiness (Legend of Dragoon), Hyrule (Legend of Zelda), or a host of other places. There are amazing characters who own my heart—Sephiroth, Altair, Auron, Rose, Terra, Squall and Rinoa among so many, many more—and epic adventures I’ll never forget. These adventures, plus my science fiction/fantasy upbringing, are what led me to what I write.

But my favorite parts of video games (besides magic and awesome abilities)? The villain. The person you spend 80+ hours searching the vast forests and dark caves for upgrades, grinding levels to not get annihilated, buying the best armor and weapons, and hoping and praying to the gaming gods that this time, this time you won’t get your ass handed to you on a silver platter. Today, I wanted to share six of my all-time favorite video gaming power battles with you, and believe me, this list was almost impossible to write.

Bowser (Super Mario Bros)

The one who started it all by kidnapping the princess and forcing Mario/Luigi to go through castle after castle to find her. Fire-breathing, high-jumping, spiked Bowser killed my poor Mario more times than I care to admit, and honestly, there was no more satisfying feeling than hitting that little axe and watching the bridge disappear from beneath his clawed feet.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

My first real experience with falling in love with the bad guy. Sephiroth is everything I adore—tortured, brooding, determined (and that long silver hair is just…oh yes)—and he’s also FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT. In both his FF7 and Kingdom Hearts forms, Sephiroth is always the toughest fight you’ll ever have. And with his absolute bad-assery, that enormous sword of his isn’t compensation; it’s a preview.

Melbu Frahma (Legend of Dragoon)

The much over-looked Legend of Dragoon has some of the most epic boss battles I’ve ever played, but the final battle with Melbu is one of the most satisfying kills on my gaming belt because it’s one of the longest battles I’ve played. I think once, before I understood the nuances of annihilating him, it took me eight hours of playing to beat his ass. I’d never been so committed to anything, but that guy was going down by any means necessary.

Avion (Shadow of the Colossus)

By far one of the most brilliant (and strange) games I’ve ever played, and one that’s literally all boss fights. As Wander, you travel the land searching for sixteen Colossi, which you must kill to revive your true love. Weird as crap ending aside, this game challenges your mental toughness and determination. My favorite of all sixteen battles, though, is Colossus number five, Avion, the gigantic bird. He dips, he dives, he barrel rolls, and Wander has to hang on through all of it. Avion is a challenge in an unrelenting game, but whenever I think of favorite battles, I think of this one.

Shaft (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)

Besides having one of the all-time best video game soundtracks and the uber-sexy Alucard as your protagonist, SOTN also has one of the most evil final bosses ever—if you play the game right. In most all Castlevania games (except for 64, but we won’t talk about that one, even though I still love it), Dracula is your final, evil a-hole boss, but in this one? Two words: Upside-down castle. And in that castle? SHAFT. Not the 70s detective movie, but an evil priest person who’s been manipulating the darkness in Castlevania for the entire game. Getting to him is enough of a feat. Beating him? Even. Better. Especially if you sing the Shaft theme song while you do it. 

Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X)

FFX doesn’t get much love either sometimes. But this fight is one of the best because it necessitates several things—patience, leveling, Rikku’s limit break, and intense concentration. I think I had more trouble with him than with the final battle, and more than once, I threw the controller in frustration. When I finally beat him, I cheered. Not gonna lie. Also, I was totally a sucker for that soft voice and the blue hair… And the swirly tattoo things.

These are just a few of my favorites. Would loooove to read yours!