Baby on Board

During Ms. Pac-Man‘s third intermission, the newest member of the Pac-Family was introduced when Junior was delivered via stork. This Pac-Child was presumably the star of Jr. Pac-Man years later, but Baby Pac-Man was released first and is noteworthy for featuring the first baby protagonist in gaming history. The game was designed by Bally Midway without the authorization of Namco, however, so I’m not sure where Baby Pac-Man fits into the timeline. A baby was prominently featured in the 1982 animated series and other infants were introduced in subsequent Pac-Man games, but these children were always referred to as “Pac-Baby” rather than Baby Pac-Man. It’s unclear if Baby Pac-Man is even considered an official member of the Pac-Family anymore, but I’m mentioning him here in the name of historical significance.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is an homage to campy horror movies from the 1950s, and it’s embedded with LucasArts’ trademark humor and wit. The game centers around two teenagers who are trying to save their neighborhood from zombies, vampires, werewolves, mummies, martians, evil dolls, doppelgängers, and pretty much any other creature that you’d expect to see in a late night monster movie. They also have to contend with giant snakes, giant spiders, and – yes – giant babies. The titanic toddlers stand 40 feet tall and use oversized bottles to squirt milk at their enemies. They move around in an erratic fashion, and they can flatten regular-sized humans without even realizing it. The giant babies are presumably the result of an unethical science experiment, but they’ll shrink down to normal size if they’re defeated.

Even though he’s the youngest member on his team, Baby is the brains of the Monkey Ball crew. The highly intelligent baby came from the future to stop the evil Dr. Bad-Boon from ruining his parents’ relationship. He’s wise beyond his years, and his age doesn’t impede his skills in a monkey ball one iota. He’s smaller and lighter than his parents, but this makes it easier for him to stay on narrow paths. As Baby battles evil space pirate chimps and reclaims stolen bananas, he puts his genius-level IQ to good use. He has a robotic clone, he occasionally fights in an elaborate robot suit, and his futuristic shades serve as a constant reminder that he’s the coolest baby around. Baby is well-behaved and rarely makes a fuss, but he’s easily excited and his cries reverberate across Jungle Island on the rare occasion when he’s upset.

The concept of a robotic baby doesn’t make a lot of sense, but you’ll have to take the issue up with Bon Bonne’s creator. Although he’s the youngest child in a famous family of air pirates, Bon Bonne is also the biggest and strongest member of the crew. His punches are powerful enough to knock down trees, and he keeps his enemies at bay with missiles, clapping gestures, and a giant party horn. His body parts are also replaceable, so he can be modified for nearly any scenario. He even manages to survive after his head gets blown off! Bon Bonne is dependable in battle and leads Servbots in missions despite his poor communication skills. The only thing he can say is “Babuu,” but his older siblings can still understand him somehow. When he’s not fighting other robots, Bon Bonne moonlights as a train engine.

Captain Commando is a superhero who defends the Earth from a gang of super-powered villains. His team of faithful “Commando Companions” consists of a knife-wielding alien mummy, a sword-wielding ninja, and a genius baby who fights in a mecha of his own design. Baby Head’s robot body could be likened to a Swiss Army knife, and its infant pilot has plenty of options when it comes to combat. He can launch missiles from his knees, use his fists as veritable drills, or crush enemies under his flying elbow attacks. He might be young, but his robot body allows him to hold his own against the most notorious criminals in the galaxy. To his credit, Baby Head understands diplomacy. His mecha has incredible destructive power, but it also allows him to communicate in over three million languages across the cosmos.

As the prince of a magical kingdom, Upa was obviously destined for great things. He was forced to become a hero when he was still an infant, however, since he accidentally broke an urn containing the spirit of an evil demon. When this spirit ran amok on the kingdom, adults were drained of their life force and babies were abducted. Upa was shouldered with responsibilities beyond his years, so it was fortunate that the urn he broke also contained a helpful fairy. This fairy presented Upa with a magic rattle that allowed the unlikely hero to inflate enemies and turn them into floating platforms. Upa also had to use his wits as he crawled into action. The little guy had to make use of scuba equipment at one point, but his most interesting venture required him to eat through a giant cake in order to proceed!

The Donkey Kong Country games had a revolving roster of heroes, and Kiddy was the fourth ape to be featured as a playable character in the series. Dixie’s cousin is the youngest member of the Kong family, but the toddler has tremendous power despite his youth. He can pick up heavy items with ease, and he helps Dixie get to hard-to-reach areas by throwing her long distances. He’s every bit as powerful as Donkey Kong himself, and he’s especially dangerous when he starts rolling around like a ball. Even though he has strength beyond his years, he still has a childish personality. He’s distracted by his own pyjamas, he throws tantrums when he’s hurt, and he can’t tell the difference between a crib and a jail cell. These quirks make his heroics all-the-more impressive.

An unhatched Togepi egg was at the center of a major story arc in the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the concepts of Pokémon breeding, Pokémon eggs, and Pokémon babies were later introduced in the second generation of Pokémon games. Eighteen baby Pokémon have been identified in the series thus far, but none are more adorable than Togepi. (Sorry, Pichu fans.) The tiny Pokémon’s round body is still encased in its eggshell, and it’s impossible to look at one without being reminded of their youth. Togepi are said to exude a relaxing aura when they’re treated nicely, and they enjoy sharing their happiness with kindhearted people. They have a low tolerance for hunger and will communicate this is an effective manner, but they’re still seen as symbols of good luck.

After Samus Aran eradicated nearly every Metroid in the galaxy, she came across one last hatchling. The hatchling clung to her like a lost child, but Samus promptly turned the creature over to researchers. With the last Metroid in captivity, the galaxy was finally at peath. Unfortunately, a group of space pirates stole the hatchling, so Samus pursued them. By the time Samus located the stolen Metroid, it had grown exponentially and had started to embrace its life-sucking instincts. The hatchling initially attacked Samus, but it had an apparent change of heart. Samus was the closest thing the hatchling ever had to a mother, and it eventually gave its life to protect her. Part of the Metroid was imprinted onto Samus in the process, and the legendary bounty hunter became obsessed with babies as a result.

Mario was already a household name before we learned about his past. While Mario and Luigi were being delivered to the Mushroom Kingdom via stork, they were ambushed by Baby Bowser’s caretaker. Luigi was kidnapped during the scuffle, but Mario fell to the ground below where he met Yoshi. At this point, Yoshi decided to help reunite the helpless child with his twin brother. The events of Yoshi’s Island play out like elaborate escort mission, and Yoshi’s primary objective is to prevent Mario from being abducted. Baby Mario is useless for the most part, and he immediately starts to scream whenever he’s separated from his dinosaur pal. Even though he’s a literal crybaby, Baby Mario later proved his worth as an athlete and a go-kart racer. His hammer skills in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time were also impressive.