10 Video Games Where You Play As The Villain

There aren’t many video game bad guys that are so popular that they get their own games. Wario is even more unique in that his playable appearances have spun off into multiple different directions, from platformers to the downright insane “microgame” madhouse that is the Wario Ware franchise.

Mario’s recoloured rival first appeared in the GameBoy title Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, acting as a greedy and malicious counterpart to the benevolent do-gooder. Despite being apparently designed out of frustration by Nintendo R&D1, who didn’t want to work on a game with a character they didn’t create, he was enough of a success that the next Mario Land game saw him take centre stage.

Going from antagonist to protagonist within the incredible turnaround time space of 18 months, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 surprised fans by putting Mario’s newest villain at the forefront. Fighting to make as much money as he possibly could by plundering the coffers of the Syrup Pirates, the game introduced many of Wario’s key traits such as his shoulder barge and comedic villainy.

Wario Land was such a success that it spawned several follow-ups on Nintendo handheld consoles across the years as well as his own 3D platformer, Wario World, and he remains a key part of the Mario IP to this day.