Best Villains In Mario RPGs, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Mr. L from Super Paper Mario offers a darker twist on Luigi with great dialogue and classic design.
• Shadow Queen/Peach in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door provides a short but memorable dark turn for the princess.
• Popple from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a fun thief who provides humorous moments with Bowser.

Mario has had a great career spanning many consoles and taking part in many genres. The franchise first tackled the RPG genre in 1996 when Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was released for the SNES. In addition to that solitary game, there have been two other RPG franchises: Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi.

It may be an obvious thing to say, but Mario has fought a lot of wacky villains throughout his RPG career in these three distinct Mario RPG franchises. So, in celebration of the release of the latest RPG adventure, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, let’s go through the best villains he has faced over time. There will be spoilers ahead, and their rankings will be based on presence, personality, and power.

8 Mr. L (Super Paper Mario)

A Brother’s Secret Identiy

Mr. L hails from Super Paper Mario, the Wii entry that played more like a traditional platformer than an RPG. Mr. L is Luigi with amnesia, who started working with the game’s villains. He’s with their crew for a good portion of the game, giving fans a darker look at Luigi.

Mr. L is dressed like he belongs in Team Rocket from the Pokemon series, or a classic Sentai show. His design is classic, and his dialogue is some of the best in the game, especially when he berates Mario or his fellow villains. While he’s not truly a villain, Mr. L deserves a nod, and Luigi should return one day as a villain in the future. Walugi can’t have all the tall lanky villainous fun.

7 Shadow Queen/Peach (Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door)

The Darkness Emerges

The Shadow Queen is the main boss of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It’s a darkness that gets unleashed toward the end of the game and takes over Princess Peach. Like Luigi as Mr. L in Super Paper Mario, Peach gets a turn at being villainous too.

It’s a fun light to see the character in, even if her dark time to shine is much shorter in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door compared to Luigi’s experience. Peach or not, the Shadow Queen is like a dark aura influencing the minds of those around her to think nasty thoughts as the very embodiment of evil. It’s is a bit cliche for an RPG villain, but still memorable.

6 Popple (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)

A Thief In The Night

Popple is like a spiritual successor to Croco from Legend of the Seven Stars, as they are both thieves and side villains in their respective games. Popple stands out because of his classic burglar design and because he has a recruit helping out his villainous deeds throughout the game.

After the initial crash of Bowser’s airship in the beginning, Bowser gets amnesia. That’s when Popple scoops him up, rebranding Bowser as his disguised sidekick. The team-up leads to some laughable moments, and Popple’s battle theme is one of the better ones in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

5 The Axem Rangers (Legend of the Seven Stars)

It’s Axin’ Time!

The Axem Rangers are a small part of Legend of the Seven Stars, only appearing right before a boss battle. As the name may imply, they are a parody of the Power Rangers, featuring green, yellow, black, pink, and red versions of the villains.

It’s a tough boss fight as there are many enemies to contend with, but they aren’t the brightest bulbs. They constantly argue, which is a far cry from the Power Rangers. Despite their small presence in the game and series, fans still remember the Axem Rangers as much as they remember Geno.

4 Extension Corps (Mario & Luigi: Brothership)

A Bumbling Basket Of Tools

The Extension Corps is one of the newer sets of villains in the series, and are comprised of Ecks, Shun, and Ten in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. They all have some sort of gadgetry built into their designs. Ten, for example, has a screwdriver on his head.

While they are the sidekicks to the main villain, the Extension Corps shows up more. They’re less villainous as they bumble their way through setups and fail every time. They’re like the Team Rocket of Mario & Luigi: Brothership — hilarious, but not effective in their missions.

3 Bowser (Legend of the Seven Stars)

The King Of Koopas Plays Dual Roles

Another small nod needs to go to Bowser in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The game begins like other entries in the mainline Mario series, with Mario going to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. However, in the fight, Bowser’s castle is taken over. Until he joins the party much later in the game, Bowser can be seen in the background trying to muster up an army to get his castle back.

He’s a bit pathetic, which adds to his charm as a villain. Even as a party member, he tries to make himself look like the strongest, but deep down, everyone can see how insecure this turtle lizard really is. He’s great in all the Mario RPG games as an on-again-off-again villain/party member.

2 Booster (Legend of the Seven Stars)

These Tears Taste Salty

The main villain of Legend of the Seven Stars is Smithy, but he isn’t unveiled until the final conflict of the game. That doesn’t give players enough time to fear him as a person. The villain that fans tend to gravitate toward instead is Booster, an original character created for that game.

Like Bowser, Booster is desperate for a wife, so he kidnaps Princess Peach. The middle section of the game has players face off against Booster and his goons. It turns out that he is as villainous as Bowser is — which is to say that Booster is misunderstood and perhaps a little awkward around people. The guy licks tears and complains they are salty. He never truly does anything wicked, but that’s okay, as Booster’s charisma still makes him a highlight.

1 Fawful (Mario & Luigi Series)

I Have Fury

Fawful is a straight-up villain who wants to see the world burn in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the Game Boy Advance. He is the sidekick to the main villain in the game, Cackletta, who is also a great antagonist. Fawful is more fun though, because of his random leet speak. He’s like a culmination of the Internet at the time, but wasn’t as cringe-worthy as he could have been.

Fawful also had a good arc in the Mario & Luigi games, starting as a sidekick and then graduating to the secret villain of the third entry, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. Fawful gained some of Cackletta’s energy after the first game’s battle and was trying to harness it while manipulating others to do his bidding in the background. Fawful may be a conniving sleaze, but at least he is a loyal servant in his own way.